Airforce (band)
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Airforce are a classic rock / nwobhm band from London, England, which was formed in 1986.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
Chop Pitman and Tony Hatton first played together in a band called EL-34, which was formed in East London in 1979, with Chop on guitars, Tony on bass guitar and drummer Mick Dietz, with a number of different vocalists. After several years of playing in and around London, including iconic rock venues such as “The Marquee Club”, “The Ruskin Arms” and “The Cart & Horses”, the singer and drummer departed in 1986, leaving Chop and Tony looking for replacements..[1]
Chop Pitman was a good friend of Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and even lent him some of his equipment in the early days of the band. In 1986 Chop mentioned to Steve Harris that he was looking for a drummer to join his band and Steve suggested Doug Sampson, who had played drums in Iron Maiden back in the 1970s and was part of Iron Maiden’s first studio recording “The Soundhouse Tapes”. Doug had left Iron Maiden in 1979 due to health issues aggravated from the constant touring[2], but had recently told Steve he was ready to return to the music scene. After a jam session with Chop Pitman and Steve Harris, Doug Sampson decided to join Chop and Tony, and shortly after Doug’s brother Sam Sampson joined as a new vocalist.
It was then decided that a fresh start was needed with a band name change, and the new name Airforce was decided upon.
Rolf Prommel took over from Sam Sampson on vocals and was responsible for a lot of writing for the band. After a few years Tony Hatton and Doug Sampson decided to go their separate ways, while Chop Pitman carried on playing live for several more years with various musicians, before the band finally disbanded in 1997.
Chop’s Airforce[edit]
Airforce was reborn when Chop Pitman took to the stage once again in 2008 with Dee Dyaz on vocals and Ian Jacklin on drums. However more line-up changes followed: Dee had to be replaced after family commitments became a priority, Sebastian Bolocan took over for a while, later to be replaced by Freddy Ball on lead vocals and bass guitar.
In 2015 Airforce was contacted by Watch Out Records and was asked if the band would supply a track for the "Origins of Iron" compilation CD which featured all ex-Iron Maiden members. This stirred a renewed interest in the band, and a year later they released their 1st album "Judgement Day", which was a retrospective compilation of different Airforce line-ups over the years, with only Chop Pitman present on all the tracks.[3]
Reunion[edit]
Doug Sampson and Tony Hatton came to the launch party of the “Judgement Day” album and it was collectively decided to get the original band back together. Airforce auditioned Dilian Arnaudov for the vacant vocalist position, and the missing piece of the puzzle was found. The band wasted no time in writing new material and performing in the UK and Europe. Airforce released two EPs "The Black Box Recordings" Volume 1 (2017) and Volume 2 (2018), with ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno being a special guest on the track “Sniper”[4]
After Airforce appeared at the Hills of Rock festival alongside Iron Maiden and Judas Priest in Bulgaria in the summer of 2018, Dilian Arnaudov decided to remain in his native country and leave the band. Later that year, Italian singer Ivan Giannini (Vision Divine) joined Airforce to help the band fulfill their live commitments.
In March 2019 the band’s show in Poland was broadcast live on the internet and later released as the live album. This show marked the debut of Portuguese singer Flavio Lino, who joined Airforce later that year as the lead singer[5]. The new album Strike Hard with Lino on vocals was recorded and released during the 2020 lockdown[6]. Paul Di’Anno was a guest vocalist once again for the track “Don’t look in her eyes”.
In 2021 Airforce changed record labels and signed to Rock of Angels Records (ROAR), with whom they released a live album “Live Locked n Loaded”.
After reuniting the band toured regularly in the UK, as well as in the US and Europe, including some festival appearances. In the end of 2021 Steve Harris, who remained a good friend of the band's guitarist Chop Pitman throughout the years, invited Airforce to support his solo project British Lion on the UK Winter Tour.[7]
Band members[edit]
Current members[edit]
- Chop Pitman - guitars
- Doug Sampson - drums
- Tony Hatton - bass
- Flavio Lino - vocals
Former members[edit]
- Ivan Gianini - vocals
- Dilian Arnaudov - vocals
- Fred Ball - vocals and bass
- Sebastian Bolocan - vocals
- Ian Jacklin - drums
- Dee Dyaz - vocals
- Rolf Prommel - vocals
- Sam Sampson - vocals
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
- Judgement Day (2016)
- Strike Hard (2020)
- Live Locked n’Loaded (2021)
EPs and Singles[edit]
- The Black Box Recordings Volume 1 (2017)
- The Black Box Recordings Volume 2 (2018)
- Band of Brothers (2019)
External Links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Blabbermouth (2021-06-10). "AIRFORCE Feat. Former IRON MAIDEN Drummer DOUG SAMPSON: New Album Coming Soon". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ↑ Mick, Wall (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (third ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. Search this book on
- ↑ "Review: Airforce "Strike Hard" [Pitch Black Records]". ANTICHRIST Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ↑ "AIRFORCE (UK) Album Review: "Strike Hard" - METAL GODS TV". metalgodstv.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ↑ "AIRFORCE – Interview with Chop Pitman (guitarist) – Metal Centre". www.metalcentre.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ↑ "Airforce – Strike Hard (Album Review)". Sonic Perspectives. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ↑ Blabbermouth (2021-10-21). "STEVE HARRIS's BRITISH LION Announces Winter 2021 U.K. Tour". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
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