Dare - Out Of The Silence II (Anniversary Special Edition) (2018)

This UK melodic rock quintet was formed in 1987 by ex-Thin Lizzy keyboard player Darren Wharton. The band’s name was derived from Wharton’s christian name, a suggestion made by Lemmy of Motorhead. Relocating to Manchester after Lizzy’s demise, it took Wharton six months to find musicians on his own wavelength. He eventually teamed up with Vinny Burns (guitar), Shelley (bass), James Ross (drums) and Brian Cox (keyboards), taking on vocals and additional keyboards himself. They debuted with Out Of The Silence in 1988, a grandiose, keyboard-dominated album, reminiscent of Giuffria, Journey and House Of Lords. The follow-up, Blood From Stone, released three years later, adopted an approach rooted in hard rock structures, and featured up-front guitar along with improved vocals from Wharton. Tipped to make a significant impact on the international rock scene, harsh reality intervened as the band became another fixture on ‘might have been’ lists. Wharton, still playing as Dare, gigs regularly in north Wales and north-west England.