GRAND SLAM

1984....

Grand Slam was co-formed in 1984 by Thin Lizzy's legendary frontman bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott and Magnum keyboard player Mark Stanway, who were joined by Laurence Archer (ex-Stampede and one-time Magnum touring guitarist), Doish Nagle (guitar) and Robbie Brennan (drums, replacing Thin Lizzy's Brian Downey during the early stages of Grand Slam's formation).

Armed with an array of strong new song material, the band soon established itself as a live act, with a busy schedule of touring throughout 1984. New songs written by Phil Lynott and Mark Stanway such as "Sisters of Mercy", "Military Man", "Breakdown" and "Crime Rate" sat comfortably alongside Lynott solo material and a handful of lesser played Thin Lizzy songs in the band's live show and the band also recorded demos of its original material.

Sadly, despite the band's popularity as live act, the anticipated record deal never materialised and by 1985, Phil Lynott began focussing on solo projects, while Mark Stanway had returned to Magnum.

Grand Slam songs would later resurface as Phil Lynott solo recordings and collaborations with Gary Moore, while several albums of Grand Slam live and studio material from Mark Stanway's personal archives were released many years later.

2016....

2016 Mark Stanway relaunched the band with a new line-up, joined by Laurence Archer from the 1984 incarnation of the band plus bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Snakecharmer, etc), drummer Micky Barker (Magnum) and vocalist Stefan Berggren - a pedigree line-up of world class musicians.

The new line-up appeared at the Robin 2 in Bilston ahead of an appearance at the prestigious Sweden Rock Festival in June 2016.