Epitaph
Biography Epitaph
EPITAPH
The EPITAPH story begins in the winter of 1969/70 at what was back then Dortmund’s top music venue Fantasio. Down in the cellar, FAGIN’S EPITAPH, consisting of Yorkshire guitarist and singer Cliff Jackson, Scots drummer James McGillivray, and German bass player Bernd Kolbe practised and refined their repertoire, before emerging from the depths to play gigs as the house band between such big names as Black Sabbath, Rory Gallagher, Yes and Argent . The band was already showing a good standard of professionalism, and their big break came as Champion Jack Dupree cancelled his Fantasio appearance and the popular blues pianist Günter Boas stood in for him with FAGIN’S EPITAPH as his backing group.
Günter Boas’ producer recognised the band’s potential, and it was not long before they had signed their first record deal with Polydor, moved to Hannover, shortened their name to EPITAPH and, along with Klaus Walz as second guitarist travelled to London’s Wessex Studios to record the eponymous album Epitaph, released in the autumn of 1971.
This was followed by gigs across Germany and an invitation to appear on the legendary German music show Beat Club in 1972, EPITAPH’s first TV appearance.
In April 1972 the band were back in the studio recording Stop, Look and Listen (Polydor), before playing numerous gigs that included all the major German festivals of the day.
McGillivray left the band at the end of the year, to be replaced by Achim Wielert (who later went on to marry a French lass and become Achim Poret), whose straightforward, powerful style manoeuvred the band into a stronger rock direction. EPITAPH then undertook two USA tours in August and November, also signing a contract with the US record label Billingsgate Records and recording their third album Outside the Law in Chicago under the aegis of Billingsgate boss Gary Pollack.
It looked like their big international breakthrough was within reach; Outside the Law was showered with praise and appreciation, and sales were going well. Irving Azoff (manager of Eagles, REO Speedwagon, Journey) and Seymour Stein (producer of bands like Fleetwood Mac, and credited with discovering Madonna) approached EPITAPH. And then Billingsgate Records had to file for bankruptcy. The planned mammoth USA tour was cancelled, and to avoid being saddled with the debts made by their record company, EPITAPH disbanded in January 1975.
But in 1976 they were touring Germany again with the line-up Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe, Klaus Walz and Jim McGillivray, where their melodic, American-oriented rock caught the attention of Christian Wagner, director of the German TV music show Rockpalast, who contracted them to do a gig for the show. Shortly before they recorded the show at the WDR studios in Cologne on 2 February 1977, Jim McGillivray left the band and was replaced on drums by Fritz Randow (Eloy).
In the summer of 1977 Klaus Walz and Bernd Kolbe left the band, to be replaced by guitarist Heinz Glass, bass guitarist Harvey Janssen and keyboarder Keyboarder Michael Karch. Soon afterwards EPITAPH joined the Hungarian group Omega on its extensive European tour. Then in 1978 EPITAPH appeared as support for Omega at three legendary concerts in Budapest, where they were given a rapturous reception by an audience of over 30,000. This new line-up recorded EPITAPH’s fourth album Return to Reality, which was released on the cult Brain label in April 1979. For more info visit: www.epitaph-band.de
