WRATHCHILD

Wrathchild was formed in 1980 in Evesham, England. The original line-up of the band consisted of Rocky Shades on vocals, Phil "Wrathchild" Vokins on guitar, Marc Angel on bass, and former Grim Reaper member Brian "Thunderburst" Parry on drums. The band soon added two members from the band Medusa; guitarist Lance Rocket, who would become a mainstay in the band, and new drummer Eddie Starr, who would replace Brian Parry. After releasing a string of demos, such as Mascara Massacre in 1982, the band was offered a record deal by Bullet Records. On this label the group put out their first official release in 1983, an EP called Stackheel Strutt.
In 1984, the band recorded and released their debut studio album, Stakk Attakk. It would spawn two singles; a cover version of the Gary Glitter classic Doing Alright with the Boys and Trash Queen. A music video was made for the title track. Also in that year, the band opened for fellow glam metal band W.A.S.P. on their UK tour.

Unfortunately, just as Wrathchild was garnering success, they came embroiled in contractual problems with their label, Heavy Metal Records. RCA Records, a major label, unsuccessfully attempted to sign the band from Heavy Metal Records in an effort to free them from their contract. Meanwhile, the group released a video compilation in called War Machine in 1986.

After finally settling the dispute with Heavy Metal Records nearly four years later, the band released their second album, The Biz Suxx, in 1988. The album spawned a single, Nukklear Rokket, which had a promotional video that was directed by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden.

The band's third and final studio album, Delirium, was released shortly after in 1989. It featured Grim Reaper's Steve Grimmet on backing vocals. Soon after the release, Wrathchild broke up.


Post-Wrathchild

Bang Bang Machine
Marc Angel, under the name Stan Lee, went to co-found Bang Bang Machine, an indie rock outfit fronted by singer Elizabeth Freeth (whom he later married in 2005) in 1989. The band released two albums, Eternal Happiness and Amphibian, through London Records. They had a John Peel 'festive fifty' number one (famous BBC Radio one show) with the song "Geek Love." Bang Bang Machine disbanded in 1996.


Psychowrath
Marc Angel, Eddie Star, and Phil Vokins, along with new singer Gaz Harris, are currently in a band called Psychowrath. They released their debut album in 2007.


Wrathchild Reunion
In 2009, Rocky Shades reformed Wrathchild with 4 new band members, which include Ian Richardson and Jon Sudbury on guitar, James Crofts on bass, and Ace Finchum (formerly of Tigertailz) on drums.