Demon is the name attributed to more than one artist:
1) A British hard rock/heavy metal band associated with the NWOBHM.
Formed during the first wave of NWOBHM by lyricist/vocalist Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner, with Paul Riley on bass, Clive Cook on guitar and John Wright on drums, the Midlands, United Kingdom quintet hooked up with Clay Records supremo, Mike Stone, in 1980, to release their first single, 'Liar'. Issued on blood-red vinyl, in a limited edition run of just 5000 copies ,Dave Hill and Mal Spooner were in a glam rock band Iron Cross before forming Demon. "Liar" marked the beginning of an incredible story spanning two decades - and counting.
January 1981 saw the band venture into the studio to record their first album, 'Night of the Demon', whilst Clay Records struck a licensing deal with Carrere Records, to secure the album's release. Half tales of mystery and imagination, half straight-ahead rock, 'Night of the Demon' was both powerful and thoughtful - polished metal of the highest quality. Another single, 'Ride the Wind', also taken from the album, followed. The Demon machine was starting to gather momentum, which was infused with energy by the interest of Radio 1 DJ Tommy Vance. Invited to the BBC's studios at Maida Vale, in London, to record four tracks for broadcast on Tommy's Friday Rock Show, Demon produced one of the Radio 1 sessions of the year with rousing renditions of 'Full Moon'/'Night of the Demon', 'One Helluva Night', 'Father of Time' and 'Decisions'. As the second single from the album, 'One Helluva Night', was released, Riley and Cook left the band, to be replaced by Chris Ellis and Les Hunt, respectively.
1985–1992
The following release Heart of Our Time (1985) showed that the remaining members of the band were determined to continue, and it was the start of a new songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Although the album is regarded as the weakest of the band's releases, it paved the way for the critically acclaimed Breakout (1987) and its follow-up Taking the World by Storm (1989). Demon released two more albums in the 1990s: 1991's Hold On to the Dream and 1992's Blow Out, before splitting up in 1992 which, according to singer and founding member Dave Hill, was because of fatigue.
Reunion (2001–present)
Hill reunited the band with new members in 2001, and released a new album called Spaced Out Monkey. The band has since gone onto release a further three albums: Better the Devil You Know (2005), Unbroken (2012) and their latest release Cemetery Junction, which was released on 28 October 2016.
All of the band's post-reunion releases have received positive reviews from the press, leading the band to go on and play many festivals across Europe - including the Bang Your Head!!! festival and Sweden Rock Festival - but to rarely embark upon full tours. The band toured with Magnum singer Bob Catley in 2005, and in 2018 celebrated the 35th anniversary of The Unexpected Guest by touring the UK, playing all of the songs from the album, plus some other classics.
On March 26, 2024 the band announced a new album: Invincible, to be released May, 17.
2) Demon AKA Jéremie Mondon is a French House producer, who has already left behind him an unusual and promising trail. Though he was influenced by artists from a wide range of disciplines (Kitano, Bukowski), Hip-hop was his first musical love (Mobb Deep). Correspondingly, in the early '90s, while Rap is exploding in France to full effect, he produces an aggressively underground album ("Symbiose"), already beyond classic conventions and inspirations. For Demon, it's the creation of a label, 20000st, that in turn allows him to widen his musical horizons. From November 1997, he produces "A-Typique", his first 5-track EP, ahead of its time, claiming the combined influences of Hip-hop and Funk. This EP experienced an incontestable commercial and media success, the programming of "Lil'Fuck", highlight of this EP, was equally explosive on Radio as on the House scene. April 1998 was marked by the release of Demon's second EP, "Electronic Boogie", as precursory as ever, with its electro edge foreshadowing the present trends. Solid, the famous Parisian label, then chose to bestow on him responsibility of creating Poumtchak #6, following in the footsteps of Dimitri From Paris, Alex Gopher or indeed La Funk Mob. Given rave reviews in numerous magazines (NME, I.D., Magic, Groove Germany) this record achieved as equal a success in France as on the other side of the Channel. After having created remixes for Alex Gopher, Jean-Louis Murat, Mr. Oizo, Etienne De Crécy and a good many others, Demon launched his first LP "Midnight Funk" on february 2000. This LP confirmed the hopes made about the young phenomenon, who is already considered as one of the best artist of the "french touch" movement. Filled with melodic, groundbreaking house sounds, this opus is an end-of-century musical synthesis. "Midnight Funk" blends various styles (Hip-hop, funk, electro) on a trip to an imaginary world where a city resounds with music that is both melancholic and celebratory.
The extraordinary world success of Demon vs. Heartbreaker hit "You Are My High" and its sulphurous video, left us eager to discover Demon's future relases. This totally innovative video, nominated at the "Victoire de la Musique", is the essence of the single and has greatly contributed to give the single a large publicity in the media.
In 2002 Demon is nominated at the MTV Music Europe Awards for the "Best French Act", next to artists such as Manu Chao and Daft Punk. The same year, Demon worked on a new original music project, "Branding", a new album with famous and exclusive remixes, skilfully combining a variety of surprising rhythms. "Branding" is the result of Demon numerous works for various artists who asked him to mix some of their singles, such as Etienne Daho, Bran Van 3000, Benjamin Diamond, Roy Davis Jr., etc...
In 2002, after the release of WUZ, a project he has been working on with Alex Gopher, Demon released his second album "Music That You Wanna Hear".
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