RENDEZVOUS were an obscure melodic Rock studio project from the Isle of Wight/UK, formed in 1983, operating mostly as a duo (Tim Prouten and Hugh Kim Lewis). Both were active before on the NWOBHM band Warrior (actually, the fifth Warrior band that sadly never recorded anything) and Hugh also shared drumming duties with cult Powerpop band Cassie. Their best track "Decisions in Love" appeared on the 1984 "Feet on the Street" sampler LP. After a few more studio demos, the duo vanished two years later. This is where melodic Hard Rock crosses over with Powerpop, a style popularised by late 70s bands like The Babys, Cheap Trick, New England and Rick Springfield. All songs remastered and booklet includes rare band photos and band history.
Rendezvous were formed out of the ashes of NWOBHM band Warrior. They had played some fairly large gigs on the Isle of Wight in 1981, supporting ‘Overkill’ who had just played the Reading Rock Festival and also Demon Preacher which was future Hanoi Rocks Drummer Razzle’s band at the time! They had also headlined a few of their own gigs to good audiences. Warrior consisted of Simon Wake on Lead Vocals, Brian Clarke on Lead Guitar, Steve Hargreaves on Rhythm Guitar, Terry Lake on Bass Guitar & Hugh Kim Lewis who was also playing with Cassie on drums. The band lost their vocalist, lead guitarist & bass player leaving only Steve Hargreaves & Hugh Kim Lewis remaining. A bass player was recruited and Tim Prouten joined the band on Lead Guitar. The band decided to go for a softer, more melodic style than Warrior. Rehearsals took place and the band concentrated on covers by bands such as Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang & Girl. Things never really worked out and the bassist & Steve left the band leaving only 2 members remaining: Tim Prouten & Hugh Kim Lewis. No effort was made to keep the band going and Hugh by this time was fully concentrated on his commitments to Cassie. Writing songs was something that interested Hugh & Tim and they purchased a Teac 4 track porta studio. Tim got on & handled lead vocals and all of the guitar parts and Hugh the drums and helping out with the backing vocals. They wrote probably a dozen songs in total but unfortunately only 6 were ever recorded. Rod Gammons the famous producer (Ultravox, Eartha Kitt, etc.), heard a demo and asked the lads to participate in the 'Feet on the Street' LP project of 1984. 'Decisions in Love' and 'Don't Give Up' were subsequently re-recorded at Rod's Sound studio in Brighstone on the Isle of Wight in late 1983. 'Decisions in Love' was considered the strongest & most commercial track and was chosen for inclusion on the album. After much critical success from the press following the release of the album in 1984, Dakota Records expressed interest in the song, but sadly nothing materialised. After the LP project, it was thought that putting a band together could be fun & a bass player and keyboardist were recruited and the band rehearsed extensively with a view to writing more songs and getting out and playing live. This period was however short lived and they split up citing musical differences. Tim & Hugh got back together in late 1985 to write again and ‘Hollywood’ & ’Tell me you Love me’ came from those sessions using the porta-studio. In 1986 ‘Forgetting About the Pain' and 'Don't Say it on the Phone' were recorded at Paul & Pete’s 8 Track studio in Ryde, on the ‘the Isle Of Wight. Hugh & Tim moved on to other things around January 1987 and never officially ‘split-up’. Sadly, they never played live and only six songs exist.
File Under: Melodic Rock, AOR, Power Pop.
For fans of: The Babys, All Sports Band, The Roll-Ups and Ya-Ya.