Five Records That Changed My Life, Part 3: Marc Storace
Marc Storace has fronted Swiss hard rock band Krokus for more than forty years. The Maltese born vocalist started his career in the 1960s and relocated to London in 1970. Krokus was in the middle of the band’s farewell tour when the global pandemic forced all touring to be postponed. The band released the “Adios Amigos Live @ Wacken” album earlier this year. Roppongi Rocks’ Stefan Nilsson checked in with Marc to learn what records have inspired him.
Elvis Presley “Elvis Presley” (1956)
“The first Elvis songs I heard came from the jukebox of the Wild Swan Bar. I was still six years old and the place was taboo, but the energy of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ or ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Money Honey’ was hard to overhear amongst all the other artists’ songs blaring out daily from the bar only five doors up from the house where I grew up. The backbeat of Elvis’ up-tempo tunes got teenage Teddy Boys up and jivin’ on the bar floor with their pretty petticoated young ladies! Things got romantic with ‘I Love You Because’ or ‘Blue Moon’. I was one of those pre-teens hanging out on that doorstep across the road from the lively bar, doing our thing whilst the early night-time rock`n`roll virus entered our systems…Hallelujah!”
The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967)
“’Sgt. Pepper’s’ was released 54 years ago, two years after I had joined my first neighbourhood band. Hell yeah, I was sweet little sixteen and busy reading between the lines…like all Beatles fans were doing by then! ‘Sgt.Pepper’s’ was jam packed with visual novelties and lyrical mysteries. We were all smoking pot and eager to enter and share the realms of new found artistic music fantasy. The Rolling Stones’ equivalent was ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request‘ containing ‘2000 Light Years From Home’. The fantastic age of psychedelia was in full swing. I loved the late-half of the sixties!”
Deep Purple “Deep Purple In Rock” (1970)
“This album pinned me to the floor with headphones on and left me breathless and elated. Wow! What a ‘live’ masterpiece! I had been a Deep Purple fan since discovering their very first album ‘Shades of Deep Purple’ but to me the energetic forces and the sound of each great number on this album epitomised the best classic hard rock sound of the day!”
Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin II” (1969)
“By the third listen to ‘Zep Two’ I became a fully converted man! This riff driven high energy power rock band took it all to new limits with their jazz and blues-influenced unorthodox music, rhythms and breaks. The psychedelic part in ‘Whole Lotta Love’ reminded me of previous meanderings by other sixties bands…a sign of the times, but I was more into the punch in Bonham’s powerful delivery, Plant’s wild and free vocal approach and Page’s wild but imaginative guitar solos and musical arrangements rounded by the way Mr. Jones’s bass patterns held this roaring fury together. The Zeppelin sound has accompanied me throughout every stage of my life since then and I’m thankful for it and for all the memories their music awakes.”
Yes “Fragile” (1971)
“One day after moving to London, I walked into the record store in Piccadilly Circus and heard Yes’ music coming out of the speakers for the first time! I didn’t know what hit me! I bought a copy of the album to analyse the intricate craftsmanship and the multitude of interwoven melodies rhythms and riffs this intriguing new band had to offer in such a strong and rocky determined manner. I had just discovered progressive rock! I’m sure being born and raised into a classically influenced family with my dad singing as tenor in the church with a big organ opposite the Wild Swan Bar had some deep connection…and what about Rick Wakeman’s keyboard magic? My life’s journey soon took me to record three progressive rock albums with a Swiss band called TEA before eventually returning to the earthy boogie influenced hard rock and riding the new wave of heavy metal with the mighty Krokus.”
“The wretched world-wide covid pandemic started its devastation right after the European leg of the Krokus ‘Adios Amigos’ farewell world tour, so we were forced to cancel the second leg which would have taken us across the big pond to the UK, USA, Canada and Mexico. I hope Krokus can continue what we started in 2023, but in the meantime I’ve kept myself busy working on a solo album which I hope to release this November 2021. Yes, it’s gonna be a hard rock album, of course! Until then, stay safe – rock on and all the best!”
