Night Ranger
This talented and sophisticated American pomp-rock group released a string of first class albums between 1981 and 1988. Featuring Jack Blades (vocals/bass), Brad Gillis (guitar, ex- Ozzy Osbourne), Alan Fitzgerald (keyboards, ex- Montrose), Kelly Keagy (drums) and Jeff Watson (guitar), they gigged in and around their Californian hometown, San Francisco. They soon attracted the attention of promoter Bill Graham, who secured them the support slots to Santana, Judas Priest and the Doobie Brothers. Their first four albums made the Billboard Top 40 album charts, with SEVEN WISHES reaching the Top 10 in June 1985. They also scored two Top 10 single hits in the USA with Sister Christian and Sentimental Street peaking at number 5 and 8, respectively. MAN IN MOTION saw the departure of Fitzgerald and the band adopting a more hard-rock direction. Produced by Keith Olsen, the album was their first commercial failure. The band split up shortly afterwards, with LIVE IN JAPAN emerging two years later, featuring one of their 1988 concerts. Jack Blades joined Damn Yankees with Ted Nugent, Tommy Shaw and Michael Cartellone. Night Ranger were an impressive outfit in the Journey/ Kansas/ Styx mould; however, despite their success in the USA, they did not make any real impression in Europe.