RUMFORD – The ’80s band Britny Fox and Greg D’Angelo of White Lion will rock the stage Saturday, June 2, at The Shak, at 12 Oxford Ave. Limited tickets, costing $15, are available. For tickets, call 364-4649.
Britny Fox started in 1988 as CBS/Columbia recording artists with the release of the group’s self-titled debut album. By the end of that year, the band had scored three major MTV video hits, including the popular “Long Way to Love,” the band’s first No. 1 video and Top 40 single; and the famous “Girlschool” video. Both still receive steady play on VH1 classic today.
Britny Fox toured around the world with the likes of Bon Jovi, Poison, Ratt, and many other hit bands of that genre. Britny Fox’s self-titled debut was one of the most successful premieres of the 1988-89 season, selling about 1 million copies and drawing more than 625,000 fans to its 130-plus shows. The band also won Metal Edge Magazine’s 1988 Reader’s Choice Award for Best New Band.
Britny Fox’s sophomore studio release, “Boys in Heat” (1989), had two major videos and one Top 40 single, “Standing In The Shadows.” “Dream On,” a midtempo radio anthem, was the band’s second Top 40 single.
Britny Fox toured in support of “Boys in Heat” with Alice Cooper, Great White and many other artists until problems developed within the band, resulting in a breakup.
After listening to hundreds of demos, Britny Fox finally selected its new frontman, Tommy Paris, who has proven to be a real asset to the band. With the help of famous names like Poison’s Rikki Rockett and Ozzy’s Zakk Wylde, Britny Fox released the hard rockin’ “Bite Down Hard,” with Atlantic Records in 1991. Although its third album sold only about half as much as its predecessor, it was an album of growth.
In 1999, the band was approached by Spitfire Records for a two-album deal, almost unheard of for a retro band. The band signed its third major record deal and released the first of the two, a live album called “Long Way to Live,” in 2001. The album didn’t disappoint. It received good press and led to the band’s next project, a studio album titled “Springhead Motorshark” released in 2003. It saw good reviews and respectable sales. A greatest hits album followed on Sony in 2004, and the band released a live album this year on Sony as well.
Britny Fox has decided to tour again, but two original members, guitarist Michael Kelly Smith and drummer Johnny Dee, cannot commit to a one-year tour. D’Angelo will fill in in Dee’s absence; and guitarist Tommy Krash will fill in for Smith. Dee and Smith are not leaving the band.
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