Bob Catley (ENGLAND)

[Horex]

Bob Catley - The Tower (1998) (Escape Music Limited Edition 2024)













Year : 1998 (Escape Music Limited Edition 2024)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 167 mb

Bio:

Robert Adrian Catley (born 11 September 1947) is an English singer. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947,Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks- bass & Brian Worrell- drums Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years, however the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remained throughout.Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.In the summer of 1995 Tony Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe.After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, and they released the albums Hard Rain and When The Good Times Come. It was around this time that Catley launched a solo career using various songwriters, including Gary Hughes of the band Ten. However, Hard Rain found gigs and booking hard to come by, and there were discussions about renaming the band as Magnum. Also, at this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.Tony Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004.Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Album Charts at #70, the first time Magnum have charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the BBC Rock Album Charts and No. 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market outside of the UK along with Scandinavia.The band disbanded in early 2024 following the death of Tony Clarkin in the January of that year.

Album:

2024 Reissue By Escape Music Inc 3 Bonus Tracks.The Tower is the debut solo studio album by Bob Catley, released by Frontiers Records in 1998.Bob Catley collaborated with Ten frontman, and longstanding Magnum fan, Gary Hughes who wrote all the songs on The Tower. He wrote the songs having in mind classic Magnum tunes and trying to combine the epic scope of On a Storyteller's Night with Wings of Heaven commercial appeal."I dug out all my classic old Magnum records and they inspired me to write in this style for Bob. Tony Clarkin is such a great writer. I think he's one of the most underrated writers around. Songs like "Les Mort Dansant" and "How Far Jerusalem" are simply stunning pieces of songwriting." - Gary Hughes.

Line-Up:

Bob Catley - vocals - See also: Avantasia (live), Magnum, ex-Hard Rain, ex-Paradox, ex-The Capitol Systems
Vinny Burns - guitar - See also: Dare
Gary Hughes - keyboards, bass - See also: Gary Hughes, Ten, ex-Frontiers All Stars
Greg Morgan - drums - See also: exDare, ex-Ten, Three Lions

Production:

Recorded At – Startrack Studios, Manchester
Mixed At – Gracieland Studios
Mastered At – The Digital Audio Co.
Engineer [Additional] – Neil Amison
Mastered By – Jon Blamire
Mixed By, Engineer – Ray Brophy
Producer, Written By, Arranged By Gary Hughes

Tracklist:

01. Dreams 6:46
02. Scream 7:34
03. Far Away 6:03
04. Deep Winter 5:27
05. Fire And Ice 5:35
06. Madrigal 6:45
07. Steel 4:58
08. The Tower 6:33
09. Fear Of The Dark 6:31
10. Epilogue (instrumental) 1:53
11. Just Like An Arrow (Live) 3:53 (Bonus Track)
12. Lonely Night (Live) 3:59 (Bonus Track)
13. On A Storyteller's Night (Live) 4:48 (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Bob Catley - Middle Earth (2001) (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)













Year : 2001 (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 155 mb

Bio:

Robert Adrian Catley (born 11 September 1947) is an English singer. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947,Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks- bass & Brian Worrell- drums Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years, however the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remained throughout.Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.In the summer of 1995 Tony Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe.After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, and they released the albums Hard Rain and When The Good Times Come. It was around this time that Catley launched a solo career using various songwriters, including Gary Hughes of the band Ten. However, Hard Rain found gigs and booking hard to come by, and there were discussions about renaming the band as Magnum. Also, at this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.Tony Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004.Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Album Charts at #70, the first time Magnum have charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the BBC Rock Album Charts and No. 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market outside of the UK along with Scandinavia.The band disbanded in early 2024 following the death of Tony Clarkin in the January of that year.

Album:

Escape Music announced the 2025 re-release of much loved vocalist BOB CATLEY (Magnum / Avantasia) “Middle Earth” album on Vinyl and CD with the new artwork by the legendary artist Rodney Matthews and bonus tracks.After the great success of ‘The Tower’, Bob and Gary got together again for the follow-up – ‘Legends’. It was during this period that Bob and Gary first discussed their mutual love for the work of JRR Tolkein, which planted a seed in Gary’s mind, which finally led to this full-blown concept album based around Tolkein’s work on ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’.”Middle Earth” is, of course, the mythical world where all these events take place, and once again Gary’s wonderfully evocative lyrics fully immerse us into this wonderful and colourful universe. As with the previous album ‘Legends’, the band again mostly consisting of members of Ten, such as superb guitarist Vinny Burns and Steve McKenna (bass), with the drum stool being occupied by Dante Fox’s Jon Cookesy.Artwork has once again been provided my worldrenowned artist Rodney Matthews, whose career is inextricably linked with Magnum/Bob Catley. This ‘fellowship’ was once more prepared to take Gary’s evocative work and Bob Catley’s mercurial vocals out into the world once more.First of all, the songwriting here is top draw. The melodies and lyrics are incredibly well crafted, and Sir Bob Catley sings them with a singular authority. Musically ”Middle Earth” is significantly more melodic than even Bob’s own band, Magnum, at the time.Simply put, if you want to hear a wonderful singer tackle incredibly well-written and structured melodic songs about Middle Earth’s fantasy, you’ll enjoy this record a ton.There are some real standouts here, each aligned broadly with a scene / idea / concept from the Tolkien novel. The opening track ‘Wraith of the Rings’ gives a real sense of danger and the unknown, as the ringwraiths circle on the shire, and Frodo leads his friends towards Bree.‘City Walls’ perfectly encapsulates the quiet honor of the battle of Helm’s Deep. ‘The End of Summer’ does a fantastic job of conveying Galadriel’s timeless beauty and effortless presence.But the cornerstone, the heart, the timeless classic of this work is ‘Where You Lead, I’ll Follow’, a touchingly tender song about the one and only Gandalf. Bob’s aching, caring voice calls to this walking allegory of a character, amongst some of the most easily-treasured melodies he ever recorded. That sounds like a stretch, but, believe you me, if you’ve read thus far; there’s a good chance you are interested enough to find out.There are numerous other highlights on ”Middle Earth”. Finding your own golden moments should not prove to be a difficult task.The musicianship is top-notch, Mr. Catley’s inimitable voice shines with the passion many singers lack, and the story is, well… ‘epic’ in the true sense of the word. The songwriting is so well-done that you can almost hear Bob and Gary in their rehearsal room discussing how they can’t mess up something as important as an album with Tolkien as the subject matter.

Line-Up:

Bob Catley - vocals - See also: Avantasia (live), Magnum, ex-Hard Rain, ex-Paradox, ex-The Capitol Systems
Vinny Burns - guitar - See also: Dare
Gary Hughes - keyboards, bass - See also: Gary Hughes, Ten, ex-Frontiers All Stars
Steve McKenna – bass
John Cooksey – drums
Tracey Hitchings – vocals on “Against the Wind”

Production:

Recorded At – Startrack Studios, Manchester
Mixed At – Startrack Studios, Manchester
Mastered At – The Digital Audio Co.
Design [Sleeve Design] – Sebastian Kozak
Engineer – Audu Obaje, Gary Hughes, Kirk Podmore, Vinny Burns
Management – Annie Minion
Mastered By – Jon Blamire
Mixed By – Audu Obaje
Photography By – Scott Michael Carroll
Producer – Gary Hughes
Written-By – Gary Hughes

Tracklist:

01. The Wraith of the Rings
02.
(I) The Fields That I Recall
(II) Emissary
(III) The Fields That I Recall (Reprise)
03. City Walls
04. Against the Wind
05.
(I) Where You Lead I’ll Follow
(II) Stormcrow and Pilgrim
(III) Where You Lead I’ll Follow (Reprise)
06. Return of the Mountain King
07. The End of Summer (Galadriel’s Theme)
08. This Gallant Band of Manic Strangers
09. The Fellowship
10. Deep Winter (Live at Gods) (Bonus Track)
11. Fire and Ice (Live at Gods) (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Bob Catley - Legends (1999) (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)













Year : 1999 (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 183 mb

Bio:

Robert Adrian Catley (born 11 September 1947) is an English singer. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947,Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks- bass & Brian Worrell- drums Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years, however the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remained throughout.Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.In the summer of 1995 Tony Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe.After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, and they released the albums Hard Rain and When The Good Times Come. It was around this time that Catley launched a solo career using various songwriters, including Gary Hughes of the band Ten. However, Hard Rain found gigs and booking hard to come by, and there were discussions about renaming the band as Magnum. Also, at this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.Tony Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004.Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Album Charts at #70, the first time Magnum have charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the BBC Rock Album Charts and No. 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market outside of the UK along with Scandinavia.The band disbanded in early 2024 following the death of Tony Clarkin in the January of that year.

Album:

2025 Reissue By Escape Music Inc 3 live bonus tracks.Legends is the second solo studio album by Bob Catley, released by Frontiers Records in 1999.This brilliant release with new Rodney Matthews artwork is available as both gate-fold double vinyl (limited to 500) and CD (limited to 1,000). Using the Japanese master.The album's songs are based on legendary characters and literature, (Homer, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, etc..).Songs penned and produced by Gary Hughes (TEN), of course, are slightly reminiscent of this band. Musicians from TEN and DANTE FOX make sure the compositions come to life. The British vocalist with its charismatic voice full of epic and dramatic moments interprets the songs in a very unique way. There is a lot of rocking moments, too. Two live bonus tracks ("Fear Of The Dar" and "Far Away") are given, as well as a totally new artwork by the one and only Rodney Matthews!

Line-Up:

Bob Catley - vocals - See also: Avantasia (live), Magnum, ex-Hard Rain, ex-Paradox, ex-The Capitol Systems
Vinny Burns - guitar - See also: Dare
Steve McKenna - bass
Jon Cooksey - drums
Gary Hughes - keyboards, bass - See also: Gary Hughes, Ten, ex-Frontiers All Stars

Production:

Artwork By – Rodney Matthews
Engineer – Audu Obaje
Producer – Gary Hughes
Limited edition only 1000, all will be numbered 001 to 1000
The LP contains 14 songs, the CD only 13 (LP: 4 live recordings, CD: 3 live recordings and in a different order)

Tracklist:

01. The Pain 5:39
02. Shelter From The Night 4:58
03. Carpe Diem 6:09
04. Tender Is The Night 5:20
05. Medusa 4:54
06. Hydra 5:20
07. A Beautiful Night For Love 5:41
08. Too Late 6:16
09. The Light 11:11
10. Where The Heart Is 3:14
11. Dreams (Live) 6:46 (Bonus Track)
12. Fear Of The Dark (Live) 7:38 (Bonus Track)
13. Far Away (Live) 7:15 (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Bob Catley - When Empires Burn (2003) (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)













Year : 2003 (Escape Music Limited Edition 2025)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 149 mb

Bio:

Robert Adrian Catley (born 11 September 1947) is an English singer. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947,Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks- bass & Brian Worrell- drums Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years, however the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remained throughout.Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.In the summer of 1995 Tony Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe.After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, and they released the albums Hard Rain and When The Good Times Come. It was around this time that Catley launched a solo career using various songwriters, including Gary Hughes of the band Ten. However, Hard Rain found gigs and booking hard to come by, and there were discussions about renaming the band as Magnum. Also, at this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.Tony Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004.Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Album Charts at #70, the first time Magnum have charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the BBC Rock Album Charts and No. 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market outside of the UK along with Scandinavia.The band disbanded in early 2024 following the death of Tony Clarkin in the January of that year.

Album:

Escape Music continue to crack on with their re-issues of dear old BOB CATLEY’s solo output. We already featured in exclusive the re-release of ‘The Tower’, ‘Legends’, and ‘Middle Earth’ – they have now re-issued Bob’s forth album – “When Empires Burn”. As with the previous three, there is new artwork, done by legendary artist Rodney Matthews, and bonus tracks.Whereas the first three of Bob’s solo albums were written by Ten’s Gary Hughes, there remains a TEN connection here with ”When Empires Burns [Escape Music 2025 reissue + bonus]” being written by the (then) TEN keyboardist Paul Hodson. And we have a Magnum presence as Bob’s old Magnum colleague Al Barrow plays bass.Hodson’s songwriting is superb. This is a much heavier album with a strong symphonic feel to it. Bob seems to enjoy it too with a more powerful vocal style being needed than a typical Magnum song. Guitarist Vince O’Regan slams in a massive performance with the huge muscular, flowing riffs and shredding for his life. Hodson’s keyboards add the atmosphere without going overboard.There’s plenty of well placed hooks and melodies among the general bombast which highlight the strength of Hodson’s songwriting. In fact, and while all BOB CATLEY albums are good, “When Empires Burn” should be the best of all, mixing hard rock, AOR and lite prog. Seriously, this album is just awesome!A two minute wonderful instrumental leads in to Children of the Circle. Big guitar intro. All nicely heavy and symphonic, Bob’s giving his all with the vocals and O’Regan serves some roaring guitar work. A proper attention grabber of a song. It’s quite catchy too.Gonna Live Forever calms it down a little being more of what might be considered a “traditional” melodic rock type song with a big hook.Then comes The Prophecy, a glorious, sweeping six and a half minutes of hard hitting hard rock with plenty of power and poise. Superb stuff. The title track and Someday Utopia give us more rich heaviness full of the big swelling keys, huge riffs and soloing as the songs scorch along.My America is another winner. A song of two halves. The celtic style first part will have you thinking of Thin Lizzy. Bob’s vocal is nicely sensitive as befitting the lyrics. It builds in to the heavy stuff with yet another marvelous slab of O’Regan’s powerful, flowing lead work.Whilst this is generally a heavy album – there are some lighter moments such as Every Beat of My Heart – which are more akin to say Magnum.A most fine album of hard hitting, atmospheric and symphonic rock/metal. Good on Escape Music for continuing with their work on re-issuing Bob’s solo work. Wonder if they’ll do Spirit of Man next?”When Empires Burn” is overall an album throughout which Paul Hodson proves to be a fine songwriter giving Bob Catley a heavier framework, plenty of melody and AOR hooks too.

Line-Up:

Bob Catley - vocals - See also: Avantasia (live), Magnum, ex-Hard Rain, ex-Paradox, ex-The Capitol Systems
Vince O’Regan – Guitars
Al Barrow – Bass, Vocals
Jamie Little – Drums
Paul Hodson – Keyboards, Vocals

Production:

Produced and mixed by Paul Hodson
Recorded At – The Tent Studio, Stourbridge, England
Mastered At – Mastertone Sound Studios
Design [Album Design], Photography, Artwork – Al Barrow
Executive-Producer – Mark Ashton
Management [Bob Catley Is Managed By] – Annie Minion
Mastered By – Graham 'Graydo' Woodcock
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Bob Catley
Written-By, Producer, Engineer – Paul Hodson

Tracklist:

01. The Torment (Intro)
02. Children Of The Circle
03. Gonna Live Forever
04. The Prophecy
05. I’ll Be Your Fool
06. Every Beat Of My Heart
07. When Empires Burns
08. Meaning Of Love
09. This Is The Day
10. Someday Utopia
11. My America
12. Heaven Can Wait (Bonus Track)
13. When The Earth Lies Still (Demo)(Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Bob Catley - Far Away…Live In Concert (2026)











Year : 2026
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 178 mb

Bio:

Robert Adrian Catley (born 11 September 1947) is an English singer. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947,Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks- bass & Brian Worrell- drums Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years, however the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remained throughout.Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single "Just Like an Arrow". This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.In the summer of 1995 Tony Clarkin announced the band were to split following a farewell tour of the UK and Europe.After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, and they released the albums Hard Rain and When The Good Times Come. It was around this time that Catley launched a solo career using various songwriters, including Gary Hughes of the band Ten. However, Hard Rain found gigs and booking hard to come by, and there were discussions about renaming the band as Magnum. Also, at this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.Tony Clarkin and Catley re-launched Magnum with the album Breath of Life in 2002 on SPV. They were again joined by Stanway, with former Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and former-Thunder drummer Harry James. This was subsequently followed by Brand New Morning in 2004.Magnum completed work on a new studio album, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow released on 26 March 2007, that also marked the return of cover artwork by Rodney Matthews. The album entered the UK Album Charts at #70, the first time Magnum have charted in the UK since 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the BBC Rock Album Charts and No. 60 in Germany, the band's biggest market outside of the UK along with Scandinavia.The band disbanded in early 2024 following the death of Tony Clarkin in the January of that year.

Album:

Escape Music has the pleasure to announce the release of much loved vocalist Bob Catley (Magnum/Avantasia) “Far Away Live in Concert” with artwork by Rodney Matthews! The Vinyl will be a double gatefold limited edition of 500 copies only, “Blueberry” and “Mimosa Marble” colours, all will be numbered 1-500, 180g audiophile, also on CD.Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young.He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college.Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks-bass & Brian Worrell-drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970.Formed in 1972, Magnum throughout the next 16 years consisted mainly of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably ‘Soldier of the Line’, ‘Sacred Hour’ and ‘The Spirit’.Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single ‘Just Like an Arrow’. This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor (Queen) produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990.Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain a tighter control, and after their initial mainstream success, the band lost their major label backing and returned to a more personal level of production.This finally found the band splitting and the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more Pop orientated direction with a band that included Sue McCloskey on lead vocals. This new direction didn’t sit well with Catley, and after a headline performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records saw Catley agree with a decision which eventually led to his debut solo album, ‘The Tower’. This release was completely written by Gary Hughes of Ten, with the writing completely decided to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the amazing Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. On release, the many positive reviews concluded that the release of ‘The Tower’ had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination…..and Bob Catley’s solo career had been launched with amazing success!!After the great success of ‘The Tower’, Bob and Gary got together again for the follow-up – ‘Legends’. While not a full-blown concept album, each track was written about legendary figures from literature, mythology and real-life. Where else would one see songs about Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe standing should to shoulder with tales of Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, Medusa and the Hydra amongst others.It was during the tour to support ‘Legends’ that Bob played at the renowned Lokerse Festival in Belgium, using members from Native Cain, along with Paul Hodson (Hard Rain/Ten) on keyboards, as his backing band. With a set consisting of tracks from his first two solo albums, as well as a fair amount of Magnum classics, this was a show to go down is history – and the fervent crowd certainly added to the spectacle!!The release is on both CD and also double vinyl, adorned with artwork by the legendary Rodney Matthews.As a fitting end to our collection of Bob Catley albums, this is one release that fans of Magnum, and quality Melodic Rock, should certainly add to their collection! Date of release 24th April, 2026.

Line-Up:

Bob Catley - Vocals - See also: Avantasia (live), Magnum, ex-Hard Rain, ex-Paradox, ex-The Capitol Systems
Connor Emms - Lead guitar
Chris Walton - Rhythm guitar
Jon Hayward - Bass
Dez Wooton - Drums
Paul Hodson - Keyboards

Production:

Executive producers: Bruce Mee & Khalil Turk
Audio restoration and mastering: Mark Ayres, additional mastering by Fredrik Folkare
Remastered by: Fredrik Folkare
Live photos: Jeff Price

Tracklist:

01. The Light 8:36
02. The Pain 6:51
03. Dreams 6:29
04. Scream 7:02
05. Far Away 6:07
06. Too Late 5:33
07. Start Talking Love 4:30
08. Lonely Night 5:05
09. On A Storyteller's Night 4:41
10. Fear Of The Dark 7:29
11. Les Morts Dansant 4:32
12. Just Like An Arrow 3:27
13. A Beautiful Night For Love 5:35
14. The Tower 6:26 (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/