Last update – 4 July 1997.

German group Lucifer’s Friend has it's roots in one German and one English band. Peter Hecht (keyboards), Dieter Horns (bass and backing vocals), Peter Hesslein (guitar and backing vocals) and Joachim Reitenbach (drums) played until early 1970 together in a band called "German Bonds". In November 1970, the four of them started recording, it was after the recording of the backing tracks that John Lawton came in. He played with his own group "Stonewall" in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. He recorded the lead vocals and in January 1971 they released their first album. John had previously released an album in 1970 on the German Decca label called Asterix with the members of German Bonds. It is also a fact that the members of "Lucifer’s Friend" recorded two other albums under the name of "Pink Mice" on the German budget label Europa. The band play classical themes on these albums in the style of the Dutch band "Ekseption". John Lawton was on these albums but was limited to backing vocals. It is also common knowledge that Hesslein and Hecht also worked for years with "The James Last Orchestra" and that John Lawton sang with "The Les Humphries Singers" when he was not recording with Lucifer’s Friend.

"LUCIFER'S FRIEND" (1971 German Phillips. Reissued on CD by Repertoire)

The first album is filled with typical early seventies hard rock, heavy, melodic and stuffed with riffs all over, for us, tans of Uriah Heep, this album is the one to get in the first place. The original German issue has a fold open cover with embossed sleeve. John Lawton sings wonderfully on it. The music fits in with bands like pre-Gillan Deep Purple, early Heep and Atomic Rooster. The arrangements are full of the great organ sounds that we already know from Lord, Hensley and Crane (if Crane wasn't already in heaven wouldn't that make a great trio?). From this album there were also two singles released, the first being "Ride the sky", backed with a non-LP song "Horla". The second single "In The Time Of Job When Mammon Was A Yippie", backed with the album title track "Lucifer’s Friend", didn't add any new material.

"WHERE GROUPIES KILLED THE BLUES" (1972 Vertigo)

By 1972 the group had decided to become a studio band. Disappointment with live situations and touring had brought them to that decision. It also gave the musicians the opportunity to work on other projects. Their second offering went in a more progressive direction. John's writing input is again limited to two songs, the single "Hobo" (this could be on any Heep album!) and the opening track "Burning Ships". I think this album musically and production-wise ahead of its time. Due the great potential of the musicians involved we get a very sophisticated album which displays the rich musical background of the band. Peter Hecht had also broadened his battery of keyboard with Piano, Moog and Mellotron. A track like the seven minute long "Mother" is a tour de force with a King Crimson like opening and then developing into an almost classical piece but always coming back to what Rock is all about, power and emotional expression , carried by Lawton's powerful voice. Think of Heep's "Salisbury". Side two holds another three tracks in this style, "Rose to the vine" is the most experimental track of the three. It has the King Crimson like middle passage , but then breaks into a theatrical melody. This album was also picked up in the U.S.A. by the Passport/Billingsgate label. Interesting to know is that the American version was mastered by Bob Ludwig which is a guarantee for a great sound. It was released there in 1975 and was a cult-hit. No non-album material released here.

Very different but a four star rating!

"I'M JUST A ROCK'N ROLL SINGER" (1973 German Vertigo or US Billingsgate)

(this one reissued on Repertoire too)

The third album states John Lawton as a writing partner for all of the eight tracks. It is also a return to a more hard rock sound although the sophisticated arrangements remain. The song material may be a bit less impressive on this one, but the vocal arrangements are the cream of the crop! The introduction of horns and a choir are also new to the band. Extra percussion is added by their soon-to-be new drummer Herbert Bornhold. John's vocals on this album are much like what we can hear him do later with Heep. The best songs are "Closed Curtains" with the interaction between Lawton and the choir being great and "Blind Freedom" with a jazzy Fender Rhodes which is very prominent and the introduction of brass, arranged by Hecht. "Song for Louie" is a seven minute epic which comes the closest to the songs on the previous record. The single "Rock’n’Roll Singer" has more brass to it and sounds like a big band with a rock section. The flipside features a non-LP song called "Satyr's Dance". This album arises again some interest in the States and became an important bestseller. Three stars.

"BANQUET" (1974 German Vertigo or US Billingsgate. Reissued on CD by Repertoire)

For their forth album James Last's Herbert Bornhold had taken over the drummer seat from Joachim Rietenbach and a big orchestra was used including brass, woodwind and string instruments along a small choir. Peter Hecht arranged everything, which was quite rare for a rock band. Hesslein and Bornhold had also played together in pop-band "The Rattles" who had a big hit in Europe with "The Witch". 1974 sees also the release of a non-LP track as a single : "Our World is a Rock’n’Roll Band" backed with the also non-album "Alpenrosen". "Banquet" has only five tracks of which two are over ten minutes. The album opens with "Spanish Galleon" (a Hesslein/Lawton composition) and has a Santana-like introduction with guitar and Fender Rhodes. When the orchestra sets in and John begins to sing, it becomes clear that this album is the logical follow-up to "When the Groupies Killed the Blues." The mellotron has been replaced by the orchestra. Jazz-rock passages are mixed with classical sounding orchestral arrangements, very strange and experimental indeed, but it shows what can be done with rock if the musical skill is there! "Thus spoke Oberon" is another ambitious piece of music written by outsiders although co-writer J. O’Brian Docker is also prominent on the second album as a writer. The piece goes to a climax with the band and the orchestra melting together in a brilliant way. This is dazzling stuff! Side two opens with a Lawton co-written powerful rocker called "High Flying Lady-Goodbye". Again the interaction between band and orchestra is amazing. "Sorrow" is the second ten minutes-plus piece with a Chicago-like introduction followed by a quiet passage with a "Chick Corea" like feel and develops into big band supported power singing by John. Again Heep's Salisbury is not far away, it's just jazzier. The final track "Dirty old Town" (also co-written by John) is a ballad that wouldn't be out of place on a Heep record. The album was received much critical acclaim in Germany and is by far their most ambitious work. Five stars.

MIND EXPLODING (1976 German Vertigo or US Janus)

It took the band almost two years before their fifth album got released. Herbert Bornhold was again restricted to the role of percussionist and was replaced on the album by top German drummer Curt Cress. The album sleeve also credits Karl Hermann Luer as a sixth member on saxophone, flute, clarinet and violin. No big orchestra this time, The experience accomplished on the "Banquet" album and compressed into shorter songs results in a most enjoyable record. Overall it's heavier than it's predecessor. Lawton is involved in the writing of all the songs and it becomes clear that his style was a sure influence on Heep in the second half of the seventies. Musicianship is again of a high standard and John's singing is on par with the rest. The album ends with a great show case song for John's voice. It's called "Yesterday's Ideals" and it is a very representative closing of the first part of John's career with Lucifer's Friend. I don't know if there were any singles released from this album, but a problem with their record company in Germany makes me quite sure that there were none. Any information on this matter is welcome once more. By the way: "Mind Exploding" is another five star album! Collector's note: It's not the easiest one to find.

After this album the group wanted to tour again but they have one serious problem: John Lawton is no longer in the band. He's replaced by Scotsman Ian Cussick who later made a lot of solo records for the German market. His stay was brief and he was later replaced by another Scotsman Mike Starrs who made a great album with Colloseum II. Bornhold was behind the drum kit again and in 1978 they released the album "Good Time Warrior" on Elektra. Two years later they released another album on Elektra, "Sneak Me In" and had added a second keyboard player with Adrian Askew. Both albums are nice mainstream melodic rock albums. The band had left their progressive experiments for sure.

MEAN MACHINE (1981 Elektra)

By the end of the seventies John had left Heep and made a solo record called "Heartbeat". He was backed on it by Lucifer's Friend musicians and drummer Curt Cress. It was released on RCA and contains material that is a bit too poppy for me. Shortly after he worked again with Lucifer's Friend for their next album. "Mean Machine" is a straight forward hardcore record. With the keyboard moving to the background, this is a more guitar oriented album. The band is back to a five-piece with Askew out. The songs are all credited to the whole band but John's contribution is obvious. A song like "Hey Driver" could have been on any three albums he made with Heep, the production is less open than with Heep and the sound is sharper and misses clarity. A CD re-issue would be welcomed, certainly remastered and hopefully remixed. A much different Lucifer's Friend album but not one to miss by Lawton-era Heep fans! I wish this material had been played by Heep. Three and a half stars.

After this album the band did a last German tour with Dieter Horns replaced by Andreas Dicke after which they called it a day. Lawton moved on to "Rebel" (one album on Ohr in 1983) which later became Zar (again one album on Hurricane in 1990). But surprise, surprise: Lucifer's Friend is back in 1994 with a new CD and the nucleus of Lawton and Hesslein back in charge with a little help from Andreas Dicke, Curt Cress, Jogi Wichmann and Lido Damen. You should all have heard "Sumogrip" by now and made your own judgment. I like it for sure and I hope it's not a one-off project. John, you were and you always will be my favourite Heep vocalist, it's nice to have you back on scene!

(c) 1997