kingdom come

Kingdom Come is a hard rock band fronted by Hamburg-born vocalist Lenny Wolf. The group's first album, Kingdom Come was that band's only international hit. The musical style on their debut was very close to the early blues-rock style of Led Zeppelin leading to a backlash from critics and the band being dubbed "Kingdom Clone" in the press.^[1] The band currently consists of an entirely German line-up.

History

The group was formed in 1987 after the breakup of Wolf's moderately successful rock project Stone Fury. Wolf's A&R man, Derek Shulman and record company, Polygram, allowed him incredible freedom to assemble Kingdom Come's lineup and direct its sound, and he recruited Pittsburgh-based lead guitarist Danny Stag, Louisvillians Rick Steier (guitar) and James Kottak (drums) and Northern Californian Johnny B. Frank on bass. Stag and Frank had previously been members of the bands WWIII^[2] and Population 5^[3]. Kingdom Come marked the first band where Wolf sang without playing guitar. (The frontman later admitted that, for a while, it was a very awkward adjustment.)

Kingdom Come's sound was thought by many to be highly derivative of Led Zeppelin's, to the point that some listeners initially thought that Kingdom Come was actually a Led Zeppelin reunion.^[4] In 1988, Lenny & company released their debut LP, Kingdom Come.

Opening act for 1988 Scorpions Savage Amusement US Tour. They toured in England supporting Magnum on their Wings Of Heaven tour during that year.

The band's first single, "Get It On," was a big enough hit on AOR stations that the band's eponymous debut went gold. Their second single/video for the power ballad "What Love Can Be" received much airplay on US radio and MTV. By the time the single/video "Loving You" was released, the album had sold to platinum status in the United States, Germany and Canada, among other music markets. The band was chosen to open for the North American Monsters of Rock tour in 1988, supporting Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica and Van Halen. Following that, they were tapped to support the Scorpions on their North American "Savage Amusement" tour, until they were forced off. (According to Stag, Lenny Wolf found the stage ramps reserved for the Scorpions' set irresistible. After several reprimands from The Scorpions' management, the singer continued to use the full stage and the band was asked to forfeit the rest of the tour. Coincidentally, Scorpions were also signed to PolyGram, though only in America.)

Quickly, the band was directed by management and Polygram to get a new recording available. In 1989, Kingdom Come released their next LP, called In Your Face. However, the subsequent backlash against the band's perceived appropriation of a similar Led Zeppelin sound (earning them the derisive moniker of "Kingdom Clone") hurt their commercial appeal, and after the band's second album failed to sell well, all members other than Wolf quit the group.

Stag went back to Pittsburgh and immersed himself in blues and classic rock projects earning him further respect including an acclaimed instructional video. Steier and Kottak went back to Kentucky and assembled the short-lived Wild Horses, who released an album on Atlantic Records. Both would later resurface in Warrant. James Kottak did not go unnoticed by the Scorpions and eventually earned a place as their permanent drummer. Frank has kept a very low profile for the last several years. With a new lineup, Kingdom Come managed one more international release on Polygram, an album entitled Hands of Time in 1991, which was recorded by a bunch of session guitarists and drummers, including future Poison guitarist Blues Saraceno, with Lenny Wolf himself playing the bass. By 1993, Wolf had returned to Germany to regroup. With a new, mostly German lineup, Kingdom Come remains active with several subsequent releases and tours in Europe under their collective belt.

Band members

Current members

• Lenny Wolf -- lead vocals, bass, guitar (1987–present)
• Eric Foerster -- lead guitar
• Frank Binke -- bass guitar
• Hendrik Thiesbrummel -- drums, percussion, piano

Former members

• Danny Stag - lead guitar (1987–1989)
• Rick Steier - rhythm guitar (1987–1989)
• James Kottak - drums, percussion (1987–1989)
• Johnny B. Frank - bass (1987–1989)
• Dion Murdock - drums, percussion (1997)
• Billy Liesgang - guitar
• Heiko Radke-Sieb - guitar
• Kai Fricke - drums, percussion

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

1. ^ Rolling Stone
2. ^ SleazeRoxx site for WWIII info
3. ^ Brief Population 5 info
4. ^ allmusic.com bio

External links

• Kingdom Come – The Kingdom Come Official Website
• Historical Interview with Lenny Wolf
• on MySpace
• Tribute to Kingdom Come
• Band Interview about the release of the In Your Face album, 1989