Strife - Better Man than I Live at the Boat Club Nottingham 1976
Once upon a time in the
1970's there was a band called "STRIFE". They played high-energy rock - and they played it very well. Wherever they played, the audiences loved them. You would think that they were bound to make it big - travel the world - sell millions of records - make their fortune and live happily ever after. You would think
...... From the start, they were unfashionable - they came from
Merseyside at a time when even the
Beatles didn't go there. They did not have a trendy manager - they didn't have a manager at all! They could not get a record deal in
London. They had to travel to LA. to get a record deal - and then it was with
Chrysalis Records who were based in London!
The first album "
Rush" went into the top 10 of the
Virgin LP charts just as they finished a tour supporting "
Baker Gurvitz Army". They were getting a reputation in the music business as a band you did NOT want as a support band - they were likely to blow the headlining band clean off the stage. One big push from their record company and they would be there!
Chrysalis were having great success with
Leo Sayer etc. and less success with their
Rock acts, and were considering repositioning themselves as a more
MOR label.
Without a manager to fight for them, STRIFE were put on hold. Chrysalis would not release any further recordings, but would not release "STRIFE" from their three-year contract. They were trapped. They gigged more than ever, and continued to go down well. The situation was frustrating, but they were still much in demand, and the contract would soon run out. In
1977, they released a maxi-single with 3 tracks "SCHOOL" "GO" and "FEELS SO
GOOD" on their own "
Outlaw" label.
EMI heard it, realised its potential, and released it. It is a great single but it didn't chart. Gull records released the "
Back to
Thunder" LP later that year, but the time had passed - punk had arrived - and "STRIFE" split leaving lots of "if only's" and "what if's". "Rush" was released on CD in
2001 and has reached 2,252 in the
Amazon charts. A very respectable position for a re-release from a comparatively unknown 1970's rock band.In
2005 the second
album "Back To Thunder" was released on cd on
Timeline records and in
March 2006 the very much awaited "
LIVE" album "ROCKIN' THE
BOAT" a recording of the set played at the NOTTINGHAM BOAT CLUB sometime in
1976 has been released as testament to the band's live performances.