Biography:

Tigertailz are a Welsh glam metal band from Cardiff. Their 1990 album Bezerk made the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the hit singles “Love Bomb Baby” and “Heaven”.[1] The band reformed in 2005.[2]

History

Formation and early years

Tigertailz (originally Stagefright) formed in 1984[3] when guitarist Jay Pepper joined bassist Pepsi Tate and drummer Ian Welch, responding to their advert in Cardiff record store Spillers Records.[4] Adding guitarist Phil Harling and singer Jim Dovey, the band amassed a local following. Former Treason and Crash KO members vocalist Steevi Jaimz (Steve Denham) replaced Dovey, and drummer Ace Finchum (Stephen Wayne Finchum)[5] replaced Welch to complete the lineup for the band’s debut album.[4]

Commercial success (1987-1995)

Part of the nascent glam metal scene in the late 1980s, Tigertailz issued their debut album, Young And Crazy, in 1987 with Jaimz, Pepper, Tate, and Finchum.[6] The album included their first single, “Livin’ Without You”.

There was conflict among band members as Tigertailz toured, so the band recruited Kim Hooker to replace Jaimz for follow-up album Bezerk, released in 1990 on Music For Nations.[6]

Prior to the release of Bezerk, the band re-recorded “Livin’ Without You” with Hooker as vocalist, releasing it as a single. Bezerk saw the band break through as a headline act, and delivered three singles, “Love Bomb Baby”,[7] “Noise Level Critical” and “Heaven”. The album peaked at number 36 on the UK Albums Chart.[1]

Tigertailz released Banzai!, a collection of B-sides and re-recorded tracks, in 1991 in Japan. They also issued Wazbones in 1995, by which time the lineup had fragmented. Cy Danahar replaced Pepper on lead guitar, and Andy Skinner replaced Finchum on drums. The band toured, but was unable to secure a record label deal to sustain the band.

Reunion (2005-2009)

In 2005, the band reformed their classic lineup, replacing Andy Skinner with former City Kidds drummer Matt Blakout. The band won a court order for ownership of the Tigertailz name, reclaiming it from a spin-off band fronted by Steevi Jaimz.

They completed a reunion tour of the United Kingdom, then performed in festivals in Sweden and Spain for more than 70,000 people with Whitesnake and Twisted Sister. Kerrang! magazine wrote in praise of the reunion, journalist Steve Beebee describing it as “persistently entertaining, with monstrous melodies that reach delirious peaks”.[citation needed]

Bezerk 2.0 was released on Demolition Records in August 2006.

On 18 September 2007, aged 42, Pepsi Tate died after suffering with pancreatic cancer. He died at Holme Towers Cancer Hospice in Penarth only a few weeks after he had married his longtime partner, Welsh opera singer Shân Cothi.[8]

The band signed a new recording contract with Sanctuary Records, and in August 2007 released Thrill Pistol, a double album packaged with the previously unreleased original version of 1992’s Wazbones album. Beebee praised the album in Kerrang!, calling on fans to “kindly hail this rejuvenated band for the time-defying devils they are”.[citation needed] It was dedicated to Pepsi and his family.

Following Tate’s death in September 2007, Tigertailz continued to tour with former City Kidds lead guitarist Glenn “Nailz” Quinn playing bass. They played numerous European festival shows, supported Ace Frehley in the UK, and performed at the UK’s Hard Rock Hell festival in 2008 and 2009.

Credits:

Wikipedia