| Jaguar | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Bristol, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Heavy metal, speed metal |
| Years active | 1979–1985, 1998–present |
| Labels | Neat, Majestic |
| Members | |
| Jamie Manton Garry Pepperd Simon Patel Will Sealey |
|
| Past members | |
| Gareth Johnson | |
Jaguar are an English heavy metal band, formed in Bristol, England, in December 1979. They had moderate success throughout Europe and Asia in the early 1980s, during the heyday of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.
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The original December 1979 line-up consisted of Garry Pepperd (guitar), Jeff Cox (bass, vocals) and Chris Lovell (drums). In the following April, Rob Reiss (singer) was added. They built a local reputation and recorded two demos, the latter of which earned them a deal with Heavy Metal Records, and in 1981 they released the single, "Back Street Woman", which sold over 4,000 copies.
On 22 March, and 22 December 1980, Jaguar recorded six tracks that were released on a demo cassette in early 1981. The songs were "Stormchild" (Cox); "Ain't No Fantasy" (Pepperd); "War Machine" (Pepperd); "Battlecry" (Cox/Pepperd); "Feel The Heat" (Pepperd); and "Piledriver" (Cox/Pepperd).
In 1982, after an appearance at a Dutch rock festival, they secured a recording contract with Neat Records, and the subsequent single, "Axe Crazy", sold well. After intensive touring, Jaguar's debut album, Power Games, was released in early 1983. Their follow up album, This Time, was released in 1984 and was a marked change of direction. However, this musical change of direction saw sales and interest evaporate, and by the end of the year the band folded.
A revival of interest in the NWOBHM in Europe and Japan, and a successful re-release of their first album in those regions, prompted a reformation in 1999, with a modified line-up of Pepperd, Jeff Cox, Nathan Cox on drums and vocalist Jamie Manton. The album Wake Me followed in 2000, before Jeff Cox was then replaced by Darren Furze. The next album, Run Ragged, appeared in 2003. In 2007, the band released two live albums. The first release was a recording from a show the band performed in Holland in 1982, which originally saw only a limited release. The second was the first of three planned releases covering early, unreleased recordings. Entitled Archive Alive Vol.1, it covered the period of the band's successful period, the birth of the band and their rise to NWOBHM prominence. Sleeve notes were written by the band's guitarist, Garry Pepperd, and the album cover included rare photographs.
Jaguar intend to release their latest album shortly. This will be the first new material since 2003's Run Ragged.