Ironhorse Explained

Ironhorse was a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, formed by Randy Bachman, the former The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist and singer. The initial incarnation of the band also included Tom Sparks (vocals, guitars), John Pierce (bass) and Mike Baird (drums).

This line-up of Ironhorse released 1979's Ironhorse album on the Scotti Brothers label, and had a minor U.S. hit single in April 1979 with "Sweet Lui-Louise", which peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In Canada, the song peaked slightly higher at #26. The same track reached #60 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1]

Ironhorse then had an almost complete line-up change, retaining only Bachman. The second incarnation of Ironhorse consisted of Bachman (guitars, vocals), Frank Ludwig (lead vocals, guitars), Ron Foos (bass), and Chris Leighton (drums). This line-up issued 1980's Everything is Grey, also on Scotti Brothers Records.^[2] One of its singles, "What's Your Hurry Darlin'," peaked at #84 in Canada. In the U.S., the song peaked at #89 in May 1980.^[3]

Foos then left the group to rejoin Paul Revere and the Raiders. In 1980, Ironhorse disbanded, with the remaining members (Bachman/Leighton/Ludwig) forming Union with Bachman's former Bachman-Turner Overdrive band-mate Fred Turner. Union put out one album On Strike on the CBS subsidiary Portrait Records, and had a minor hit with the track "Mainstreet U.S.A."

As of May 2013, Randy Bachman has been able to secure the rights to the two Ironhorse albums.

Discography

Ironhorse - Scotti Brothers (1979)

Track listing

1. "One and Only" (Randy Bachman) - 3:32
2. "Sweet Lui-Louise" (Randy Bachman) - 3:11
3. "Jump Back In The Light" (Randy Bachman) - 3:11
4. "You Gotta Let Go" (Randy Bachman) - 4:00
5. "Tumbleweed" (Randy Bachman) - 3:19
6. "Stateline Blues" (Tom Sparks) - 3:47
7. "Watch Me Fly" (Tom Sparks) - 3:41
8. "Old Fashioned" (Randy Bachman) - dedicated to Slowhand - 3:10
9. "She's Got It" (Tom Sparks) - 3:12
10. "There Ain't No Cure" (Randy Bachman) - 3:57

Personnel

• Randy Bachman - vocals, guitars
• Tom Sparks - vocals, guitars
• John Pierce - bass
• Mike Baird - drums

Everything is Grey - Scotti Brothers (1980)

Track listing

1. "What's Your Hurry Darlin'" (Randy Bachman, Carl Wilson) - 4:28
2. "Everything Is Grey" (Randy Bachman) - 4:09
3. "Symphony" (Randy Bachman, Tom Sparks) - 3:24
4. "Only Way To Fly" (Frank Ludwig) - 3:56
5. "Try A Little Harder" (Randy Bachman, Frank Ludwig) - 3:30
6. "I'm Hurtin' Inside" (Randy Bachman) - 3:59
7. "Playin' That Same Old Song" (Randy Bachman, Frank Ludwig) - 3:50
8. "Railroad Love" (Randy Bachman) - 3:40
9. "Somewhere, Sometime" (Randy Bachman, Frank Ludwig) - 3:55
10. "Keep Your Motor Running" (Randy Bachman) - 3:44

Personnel

• Frank Ludwig - lead vocals, keyboards
• Randy Bachman - vocals, guitars
• Ron Foos - bass
• Chris Leighton - drums

with:

• Tom Sparks - backup vocals and guitar

See also

• List of bands from Canada
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

External links

• [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p18447|pure_url=yes}} Ironhorse] at Allmusic

Notes and References

1. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 271.
2. Book: The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Guinness Publishing. 1995. Second. 0-85112-656-1. 180.
3. Web site: The Hot 100: Week of May 31, 1980. Billboard.com. 15 May 2015.