History & Biography Quartz was Bandy Legs between 1974 and 1977 and then was active until 1983. The band reformed in 2011. Amazingly, Hopkins has been playing since the mid-1960s. He was in Way Of Life with John Bonham. He was also in The Idle Race with Jeff Lynne who would go on to ELO.
The Birmingham, England hard rock and progressive band obtained a deal with Jet Records (Ozzy Osbourne, etc.) and changed its monicker. Influences from Black Sabbath, Budgie and Jethro Tull are obvious. The group opened for AC/DC and Back Sabbath immediately. A self-titled debut appeared in 1977. Tony Iommi, Brian May of Queen and Ozzy Osbourne were contributors, but Ozzy’s tracks were not used. Iommi produced and Chris Tsangarides engineered the LP. Brian May’s and Ozzy’s work were heard on the track Circles on the Stoking Up The Fires Of hell single in 1980. Singer Mike Taylor, guitarists Mick Hopkins and Geoff Nicholls (later in Black Sabbath), bassist Derek Arnold and drummer Malcolm Cope comprised the line-up on the debut. Three tracks from the debut appeared on an EP called Sugar Rain (take that Def Leppard!). Nicholls left only to re-appear between 2011 and 2017. He died in 2017. Quartz appeared at the Reading Festival in 1976, 1977 and 1980. The last one was as a replacement for The Headboys. The band would also open for Rush, UFO, Saxon, Saga and Iron Maiden overtime. The band switched to MCA for its second record. Live Quartz was recorded in Birmingham. Mike Taylor, the band’s founder, left the act at this stage. He would die in 2016. The band was dropped by MCA in 1981. Against All Odds, whose cover would be like Q5’s debut, featured Geoff Bate on the microphone. Nicholls was back briefly. Against All Odds was inspired by the band’s toils at the studio. There were several compilations in the band’s absence.
Like all heavy metal musicians the band would return in 2011 and issued Live And Revisited independently in 2013. It was partly taped at the reunion show in 2011. Garner was on mike. The band was subject to another compilation. Fear No Evil came in late 2016. Singer Garner took his leave in 2019. On The Edge Of No Tomorrow features returning singer Geoff Bate on several tracks. Dave Garner can be heard on several other tracks. The band plays at Mearfest Flame in September 2023.
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