Dark Star

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riginally opening shop under the name Berlin, Rick Staines (vocals/synthesizer ), David Harrison (guitar/vocals), Robert Key (guitar), Mark Oseland (bass/vocals; who had replaced original member Chris Causton in 1980) and Steve Atkins (drums/percussion/vocals) would become the settling founding members of NWOBHM act Dark Star. Their first break was on the Metal For Muthas 2 compilation in 1980 with the acclaimed track Lady of Mars. Deviating slightly from the stereotypical Brit-metal sound their eponymous debut emerged in 1981. The album failed to overwhelm the audience and denied them a hardcore fan base causing a 5-year split in 1982 when the label went bankrupt. When they emerged in 1987 Staines, Harrison and Key recruited Atkins back in and David Keates as a session man to release Real To Reel (1987), an album that had been aborted due to the 1982 bankruptcy of their supporting label. The album met with equal notice as their previous effort and they folded permanently soon after.

After the split-up, all the members except Staines went on to form the blues based rock band Poker Alice; Staines managing Marshall Law for a short time.