Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Their history is generally divided into two main active periods: the early to mid-1970s and the early 1980s. The band underwent multiple stylistic changes but are best known for their hard progressive rock sound, particularly the singles "Tomorrow Night" (UK No. 11) and "Devil's Answer" (UK No. 4), both released in 1971.
The band were reformed in 2016 with permission from Crane's widow, initially involving members associated with earlier 1970s line-ups.
In the summer of 1969, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown split during a US tour, after which Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer returned to England. They briefly considered collaborating with Brian Jones following his departure from The Rolling Stones, but after Jones's death on 3 July 1969 they formed a new group, adopting the name Atomic Rooster, reportedly influenced by the US band Rhinoceros. They recruited Nick Graham on bass and vocals, continuing a line-up similar to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown with vocals, organ, bass and drums.
The band performed live in London and played an early headline show at the London Lyceum on 29 August 1969, with Deep Purple as the opening act. They signed with B & C Records and began recording their debut album in December 1969. "Atomic Roooster" was released in February 1970, along with the single "Friday the 13th".
By March 1970, John Cann joined as guitarist, while Nick Graham left the band. Cann also took over vocal duties, and some bass parts were replaced using Crane's Hammond organ through overdubbing techniques. Carl Palmer left in mid-1970 to join Emerson, Lake & Palmer and was replaced first by Ric Parnell and then by Paul Hammond. The band recorded "Death Walks Behind You", released in September 1970. Although initially unsuccessful, it later achieved chart success following the single "Tomorrow Night", which reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1971, while the album reached No. 12.
In June 1971, "Devil's Answer" reached No. 4 in the UK. The band then recorded "In Hearing of Atomic Rooster", reaching No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart. During this period, Crane sought a more prominent lead vocalist and recruited Pete French. John Cann and Paul Hammond left the band shortly afterwards to form Bullet, later known as Hard Stuff. French performed all lead vocals on the album except for "Black Snake", which was sung by Crane.
The line-up featuring French toured internationally, including performances in Italy, North America and Canada. They also appeared at a major benefit concert at The Oval cricket ground in September 1971. French later left the band to join Cactus.
In 1972, Chris Farlowe joined as vocalist. The band released "Made in England" and the single "Stand by Me" on Dawn Records, showing a stylistic shift towards soul influences. The release did not achieve significant commercial success. Steve Bolton left in late 1972 and was replaced by John Goodsall (credited as Johnny Mandala). The band released "Nice 'n' Greasy" in 1973, including the single "Save Me", a reworking of "Friday the 13th". Following continued commercial decline, the band were dropped by their label and the line-up disintegrated. A final single under the name Vincent Crane's Atomic Rooster, "Tell Your Story, Sing Your Song", was released in 1974, and the group effectively ended in 1975.
During the hiatus between 1975 and 1979, Vincent Crane worked on music for theatre and radio projects and collaborated again with Arthur Brown on recordings including "Chisholm In My Bosom" and "Faster Than the Speed of Light". Other former members pursued separate projects: John Cann, Paul Hammond and John Gustafson recorded as Hard Stuff before the group ended following a car accident involving Cann and Hammond. Cann later worked as a session guitarist and released solo material, including "The World's Not Big Enough" and a later minor hit version of "Don't Be a Dummy". Hammond also performed with various short-lived groups and recording projects during the period.
In 1980, Crane reformed Atomic Rooster with John Cann (now known as John Du Cann). They recorded a self-titled album released on EMI Records and toured, with several changes in drummers including Preston Heyman, Ginger Baker and Paul Hammond returning to the line-up. The band released further singles in the early 1980s, but experienced limited commercial success. Bassist changes included Mick Hawksworth and later John McCoy, who recorded under pressure from Polydor Records. The band were eventually dropped by the label.
Crane later restructured the group for the album "Headline News", released in 1983. The album featured contributions from several guitarists, including David Gilmour, Bernie Tormé and John Mizarolli, and incorporated a more electronic and synthesiser-based sound. The material was largely written by Crane, and the album is sometimes regarded as being close to a solo project. Following its release and touring activity in Europe, the band disbanded again in late 1983.
After this period, Crane worked on further projects including Katmandu and joined Dexys Midnight Runners, contributing piano to their album "Don't Stand Me Down". Plans to reform Atomic Rooster in the late 1980s did not materialise due to Crane's death on 14 February 1989. John Du Cann and Paul Hammond later managed reissues and archival releases of the band’s catalogue. Hammond died in 1992 and Du Cann in 2011.
In 2016, Atomic Rooster were reformed again with authorisation from Crane’s widow. The initial line-up included Pete French and Steve Bolton alongside Christian Madden, Shug Millidge and Bo Walsh. Subsequent changes included Adrian Gautrey replacing Madden, and later drumming changes involving Paul Everett. French left the group during a 2023 European tour, with Gautrey subsequently taking over lead vocal duties. The band released the single "No More" / "Rebel Devil", marking their first new material since 1983.
In 2025, the band announced the album "Circle the Sun", their first studio album in 42 years. It was released on 10 October 2025 via Cherry Red Records.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Rooster
Studio albums
Atomic Roooster (1970)
Death Walks Behind You (1970)
In Hearing of Atomic Rooster (1971)
Made in England (1972)
Nice 'n' Greasy (1973)
Atomic Rooster (1980)
Headline News (1983)
Circle the Sun (2025)
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
…shrink me down again