Bernie Torme
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Bernie Torme is a rock guitarist born in Dublin, Ireland. He was greatly influenced by Thin Lizzy and formed his own band as a child. After leaving school and frustrated by the lack of musical opportunities, he relocated to London. He again formed his own band and attracted a cult following on the punk rock scene.
In 1978 He came to the attention of Ian Gillan who recruited him for his band Gillan, and it was as part of this band that Torme is best known. His talented and distinctive "screaming guitar" style perfectly suited audiences of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and he became a "guitar hero" of that genre.
In 1981 Torme walked out on Gillan after becoming disenchanted with the way the band's pay was organised, and played as a live session man for Atomic Rooster then Ozzy Osbourne as the immediate successor of Randy Rhoads. Torme was hired to play on makeup dates resulting from cancelled concerts after Rhoads' death. After three weeks on tour, Torme quit to concentrate on his own band and was replaced by Brad Gillis.
Since 1982 Torme has led his own band under various names and lineups (including a version of Torme with singer Phil Lewis, formerly of Girl and later with LA Guns), attracting a small cult following, and makes a living as a session musician.
Torme spent several years attempting to lauch the band Desperado with former Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider. Although the record saw limited release, Snider re-used a number of the songs for a subsequent project, Widowmaker (not to be confused with the 70s English band of the same name).
In addition to the continued release of new Torme recordings and re-issuance of his back catalog titles, Torme also became involved with the Silver project, which also included initial Michael Schenker Group vocalist Gary Barden.
In 2005, Torme announced the formation of Guy Mccoy Torme ( aka G.M.T.), with former Gillan bassist John McCoy and drummer Robin Guy. An Internet-based fan club is taking the unusual attempt of trying to finance and operate a US tour for the band in 2006.
