Nazareth
The origins of Nazareth date back to 1961, the year Pete Agnew founded "The Shadettes". The first lineup of this group was: Pete Agnew (guitar and vocals), Brian 'Pye' Brady (guitar), Alfie Murray (guitar), Alan Fraser (drums) and Bobby Spence (bass).
The group gained consistency in 1964 and 1965 with the arrival of Darrel Sweet and Dan McCafferty. In 1968, two very important events occurred in the band's history: the joining of legendary guitarist Manny Charlton and the name change to Nazareth.
Until then, the group had limited themselves to doing covers; however, with Manny joining the group, the Scots began to compose their own material.
After moving to London, they released their first album, called Nazareth, in 1971.
In 1972 they caught the attention of the music world with their second album - Exercises -, the slowest work ever made by the band.
In 1973, the band was looking for a producer for their next album, which was to have a much heavier sound than the previous one. The choice couldn't have been better: Roger Glover. According to Dan McCafferty, "Roger Glover ended up getting involved in that album because Nazareth was opening for Deep Purple on the English leg of the tour. We were looking for a producer, and then we played our demos for Roger, who had obviously already seen us live. He liked the material and we went to the studio. Everything was very simple, because we all knew what we wanted within the band, and Roger, being on tour with us, knew it too. We recorded everything in two weeks, and we had to do two songs a day (laughs). It had to be a very focused job!" (excerpt from an interview published in Roadie Crew magazine, issue no. 76 - May/2005 - with reporting by Claudio Vicentim and photos by Ricardo Zupa).
Thus, Razamanaz emerged, launching Nazareth to stardom and culminating in two songs that reached the top ten in the UK - "Broken Down Angel" and "Bad Bad Boy".
The two albums that followed, Loud 'N' Proud and Rampant, were also produced by Glover, but they were somewhat less successful.
Nazareth's most famous album, Hair of the Dog, was self-produced and released in 1975, marking a milestone in 1970s rock. Their rendition of the Everly Brothers' "Love Hurts" went platinum in the United States and enjoyed similar success in the United Kingdom. This was followed by a series of albums that reached the Top 100 of the Billboard 200.
In 1978, guitarist Zal Cleminson (Sensational Alex Harvey Band) joined the group, recording only two albums with Nazareth. Zal, however, left his mark: his duet with Manny Charlton on the album No Mean City is still remembered as one of the best guitar performances ever recorded in a studio. Zal was replaced by Billy Rankin, who was only 19 years old at the time.
In 1981 they recorded the acclaimed "Snaz", an album that originated from a show performed by the Scots in Vancouver, Canada, on May 13 of that year.
In the 80s, the band's success was no longer the same, but they continued on the road, searching for new directions for the group.
The 1982 album "2XS" featured the tracks "Love Leads To Madness" and "Dream On," which marked Nazareth's return to radio stations worldwide. The former, in particular, was a major hit on the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera "Sol de Verão."
However, in their next two albums (Sound Elixir and The Catch), the band received strong criticism, being accused of abandoning rock and roll somewhat and dedicating themselves to a more pop sound. The ballad "Where Are You Now?" was the only hit from this turbulent period.
Billy left the band in 1983, and Nazareth thus returned to its original quartet.
The album Cinema (1986) brought back the band's competent rock sound, but that wasn't enough to recapture the great success of the 70s.
In 1990, it was Manny Charlton's turn to leave the band to pursue a career as a producer. With this, Billy Rankin was called back, this time with the difficult task of replacing a legend.
Many thought that Manny's departure would bring an end to Nazareth's career, but their love for rock music led the Scots to continue on the road. Billy, for his part, proved himself up to the task.
In 1992, the album No Jive was very well received and restored some of the prestige Nazareth had lost in the 80s.
In December 1994, Billy left Nazareth for the second time and Jimmy Murrison was chosen as his replacement.
In 1995, the band welcomed the experienced musician Ronnie Leahy as their keyboardist.
In 1999, the album Boogaloo was released, receiving little publicity, but certainly one of the best albums ever released by the band.
Also in '99, more precisely on April 30th of that year, the unexpected happened: drummer Darrel Sweet passed away, a victim of a sudden heart attack, minutes before a show the band was to perform in the United States, during the first leg of their tour to promote this new album.After a short break of a few months to absorb the hard blow of their friend's death, the Scottish veterans found the strength to get back on the road.
Pete called his son Lee Agnew, who was Darrel's drum roadie, to replace him: Nazareth was back to continue the Boogaloo album tour.
In 2002 they released their first live DVD - Homecoming - where the talented musicians of the band show that they are still in top form.
In 2003, Ronnie decided to leave the group and Nazareth returned to its traditional line-up: vocals, guitar, bass and drums.
The DVDs From The Beginning and Live From Classic T Stage were released in 2005 and portray two distinct moments in the band's career: the first features various passages from the 70s and the second was recorded in London in the same year of its release.
On August 4, 2006, another hard blow for the Scots: John Locke, the band's former keyboardist, passed away at the age of 62, a victim of cancer.
Nazareth is today considered one of the most influential bands in the rock scene, especially among those still active. Their victorious rock persists, despite the many difficulties encountered along the way. The successful trajectory of these Scotsmen is currently considered a great example for musicians who are starting their careers, as well as for those who feel discouraged after some failures in the pursuit of success. The reason is that veterans Dan McCafferty and Pete Agnew never gave up in the face of adversity, always facing it with great determination and love for the work they do.
On November 8, 2022, Dan McCafferty, the original vocalist of the Scottish band Nazareth, passed away.
NAZARETH - FUTPEDIAMUSIC SELECTION
Nazareth
Futpediamusic Selection
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