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Kingdom Come (German band)

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Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come is a hard rock band fronted by Hamburg-born vocalist Lenny Wolf. The group's first album, Kingdom Come was that band's only international hit. It currently consists of an entirely German line-up.

History

The group was formed in 1987 after the breakup of Wolf's moderately successful rock project Stone Fury. Wolf's A&R man, Derek Shulman and record company, Polygram, allowed him incredible freedom to assemble Kingdom Come's lineup and direct its sound, and he recruited Pittsburgh-based lead guitarist Danny Stag, Louisvillians Rick Steier (guitar) and James Kottak (drums) and Northern Californian Johnny B. Frank (Kenny Brewer) on bass. Stag and Frank had previously been members of the bands WWIII[2] and Population 5.[3] Kingdom Come marked the first band where Wolf sang without playing guitar. The frontman later admitted that, for a while, it was a very awkward adjustment.

In 1988, the band released its debut LP, Kingdom Come. The band's first single, "Get It On," was a big enough hit on AOR stations that the band's eponymous debut went gold. Their second single/video for the power ballad "What Love Can Be" received much airplay on US radio and MTV. By the time the single/video "Loving You" was released, the album had sold to platinum status in the United States, Germany and Canada, among other music markets. The band was chosen to open for the North American Monsters of Rock tour in 1988, supporting Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica and Van Halen.[4] Following that, they were tapped to support the Scorpions on their North American "Savage Amusement" tour, until they were forced off. (According to Stag, Lenny Wolf found the stage ramps reserved for the Scorpions' set irresistible. After several reprimands from The Scorpions' management, the singer continued to use the full stage and the band was asked to forfeit the rest of the tour. Coincidentally, Scorpions were also signed to PolyGram, though only in America.)

Quickly, the band was directed by management and Polygram to get a new recording available. In 1989, Kingdom Come released their next LP, called In Your Face. However, the subsequent backlash against the band's perceived appropriation of a similar Led Zeppelin sound (earning them the derisive moniker of "Kingdom Clone") hurt their commercial appeal, and after the band's second album failed to sell well, all members other than Wolf quit the group.

Stag went back to Pittsburgh and immersed himself in blues and classic rock projects as well as releasing an instructional video. Steier and Kottak went back to Kentucky and assembled the short-lived Wild Horses, who released an album on Atlantic Records. Both would later resurface in Warrant. James Kottak did not go unnoticed by the Scorpions and eventually earned a place as their permanent drummer. Frank has kept a very low profile for the last several years. With a new lineup, Kingdom Come managed one more international release on Polygram, an album entitled Hands of Time in 1991, co-writing with harpist/songwriter Carol Tatum (Angels Of Venice), which was recorded by with several session guitarists and drummers, including future Poison guitarist Blues Saraceno, and former Dancer drummer Bam Bamm Shibley, with Lenny Wolf himself playing the bass. By 1993, Wolf had returned to Germany to regroup. With a new, mostly German lineup, Kingdom Come remains active with several subsequent releases and tours in Europe under their collective belt.

Comparisons with Led Zeppelin

The musical style on Kingdom Come's debut album was very close to the early blues-rock style of English rock band Led Zeppelin, to the point that some listeners initially thought that Kingdom Come was actually a Led Zeppelin reunion.[5] With a sound that was thought by many to be highly derivative of Led Zeppelin's, there was a backlash from critics, with the band being dubbed "Kingdom Clone" in the press.[6]

Led Zeppelin's guitarist and producer Jimmy Page himself commented in 1988:

Obviously it can get to the point where it gets past being a compliment, and it can be rather annoying, when you've got things like Kingdom Come, actually ripping riffs right off, that's a different thing altogether.[7]

Band members

Current members

Former members

Discography

Albums

Year Album US UK[8] Certification
1988 Kingdom Come 12 43 Platinum
1989 In Your Face 49 25 -
1991 Hands of Time - - -
1993 Bad Image - - -
1995 Twilight Cruiser - - -
1996 Live & Unplugged - - -
1997 Master Seven - - -
2000 Too - - -
2002 Independent - - -
2004 Perpetual - - -
2006 Ain't Crying For The Moon - - -
2009 Magnified - - -
2011 Rendered Waters - - -

Singles

Year Single Chart positions
US Hot 100 US Main Rock UK[8]
1988 "What Love Can Be" - 26 78
"Living Out of Touch" - 27 -
"Get it On" 69 4 75
1989 "Who Do You Love" - 37 -
"Do You Like It" - 21 -
"Overrated" - - -

References

  1. ^ a b Demalon, Tom. "allmusic (((Kingdom Come > Overview)))". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  2. ^ SleazeRoxx site for WWIII info
  3. ^ Brief Population 5 info
  4. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 447. CN 5585.
  5. ^ allmusic.com bio
  6. ^ Rolling Stone
  7. ^ Paul Du Noyer, “Who the hell does Jimmy Page think he is?”, Q magazine, August 1988, p. 6.
  8. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 303. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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