Atlantic

Origin: Birmingham (England)

ATLANTIC

Discography:

Power - 1994 (with lyrics)

Notes:

- Firmly in the classic AOR tradition, Atlantic musicians Phil Bates (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards),
Simon Harrison (guitar, keyboards), Glen Williams (keyboards), Chris Taylor (keyboards), Paul Hoare (bass) and Andy Van Evans (guitar) represent an unfashionably large musical nucleus, complicated by the fact that drummer Andy Duncan does not play live, being replaced on such occasions by Phil Ridden. The group was formed in the summer of 1991 when Harrison was working on a television pilot theme song. He discovered his kindred spirit Bates in his quest for a suitable backing singer. The latter had already performed session tracks for Billy Ocean, Long John Baldry and producer Tony Visconti, while his own bands, Trickster and Quill, had supported ELO and Boston. His many session commissions included an appearance on the Gladiators television theme tune. His recent history up to the formation of Atlantic had also seen him singing with ELO Part 2. Together with an assembly line of local musicians, plus producer Colin Thurston (Duran Duran) and session drummer Duncan (Trevor Horn, Simple Minds), the duo concocted a set of AOR rock and power ballads, released by the Music For Nations label. A touring band was assembled, while a single, "Every Beat Of My eart", was used to promote the album. -

(http://www.allmusic.com/artist/atlantic-mn0001059864/biography)



- ATLANTIC was the brainchild of ex-STRANGER and WISH guitarist Simon Harrison. Amongst Harrison's comrades came frontman Phil Bates, previously with TRICKSTER and QUILL. The project had been initiated in 1991 by songwriting sessions atThe Old Smithy recording studio in Kempsey.

ATLANTIC's debut album, released through Music For Nations in the UK during 1994, featured a guest vocal from SIAM and SHY singer Tony Mills. Drummer Phil Ridden, of GHOST repute, joined the band for live work. The album saw release in Europe through the Bellaphon label and in Japan on Pony Canyon. -

(http://www.rockdetector.com/artist/united+kingdom/atlantic)



- An english band that released a fantastic one-off AOR album during the grunge era. Atlantic were formed by Simon Harrison and Phil Bates during 1991, or thereabouts. Bates is the better known of the duo, having been a member of 70's melodic rockers Trickster. Bates also had significant time with the Mk2 version of Electric Light Orchestra, along with his solo career, so how he managed to find time to play with Atlantic during what was a busy time frame is a mystery to us all. Harrison and Bates put the music together, Bates wrote most of the lyrics, while the album was produced by Harrison and bassist Paul Hoare, with Bates co-producing. Atlantic are in a similar vein to FM, A.S.A.P, and Brian Howe era Bad Company, though the songs are more AOR than those outfits (FM excluded of course), with Bates' vocals being an album standout, sounding like a cross between Johnny Edwards (King Kobra, Foreigner) and the aforementioned Brian Howe. -

(http://www.glorydazemusic.com/articles.php?article_id=3593)