Cloven Hoof

Booking Agent

Bart Gabriel

bart@dragon-productions.com

All regions

Biography

Cloven Hoof was originally formed in the heart of the West Midlands, England, in 1979. The group went through various lineup changes until the spring of 1982 when the established lineup consisted of Lee Payne (bass guitar), David Potter (vocals), Steve Rounds (lead guitar) and Kevin Poutney (drums).

The first demo tape was given appraisal from no lesser stars than Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), who took a copy of the tape to national BBC Radio One, and Rob Halford (Judas Priest) similarly had the demo played on a radio station based in Phoenix, Arizona. The station was bombarded with callers who wanted to know more about the band. Soon afterwards, the group were taken under the wing of ex-Judas Priest manager David Hemmings.

“The Opening Ritual”, a four-track mini album, was released in 1982, and the EP stayed in  the Sounds and Kerrang! heavy metal charts for six weeks, peaking at #18. Cloven Hoof was also placed at the top of Geoff Barton’s (founder of Kerrang! Magazine) “Breaking Through In ‘82 Feature” and associated playlist. The Opening Ritual attained airplay on numerous radio stations worldwide. Still, it was not until Tommy Vance and Geoff Barton played tracks from The Opening Ritual on BBC Radio One that Cloven Hoof’s career really began to break into a gallop.

On the strength of the band’s popularity, Neat Records signed the outfit to record the album “Cloven Hoof”. The opus notched up sales figures of 24,000 units in 1984 alone, and it became apparent that the band’s gigging activities would have to stretch further afield due to the success of sales overseas. 

The second full-length release, “Fighting Back,” was a live album featuring an array of new songs. Unfortunately, after this record, contractual and internal problems forced the band to split, leaving only founder member Lee Payne to rebuild the band from the ashes. A new lineup was established in 1988, comprising Lee Payne, Russ North (vocals), Andrew Wood (guitar) and Jon Brown (drums). The band signed a recording deal with FM Revolver and a publishing deal with Trinifold, who were associated with acts such as Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), The Who and Judas Priest. “Dominator,” a Sci-Fi concept album, was released in 1988, produced by Guy Bidmead, who had previously worked with Motorhead, Cozy Powell and Whitesnake.

Cloven Hoof’s fourth full-length release, “A Sultans Ransom,” shortly followed and was considered one of the best British heavy metal releases of the year by Metal Hammer Magazine. Despite the extended success across this period, in 1990, the band agreed to shelve its activities for a second time due to contractual reasons. Cloven Hoof was, sadly, for all intents and purposes, in a process of suspended animation… But they would rise again!

To aid the resurrection of Cloven Hoof, the band enlisted producer Tom Galley, known for his work with Brian May (Queen), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Glen Hughes (Deep Purple) resulting in the release of Cloven Hoof’s fifth full-length release, “Eye Of The Sun” in 2006 with future releases coming in 2008, “The Definitive Part One,” 2010 “Throne Of Damnation (EP)” and 2014, “Resist Or Serve”. Another accolade of note was the song “Nightstalker”, being included in the Brutal Legend game by EA. This was like a who’s who of the greats in heavy metal. In 2017 the band released another album entitled “Who Mourns for the Morning Star”. Two more successful releases, namely “Age of Steel” (2020) and “Time Assassin” (2022), proved the band would never be content to rest on its laurels.

In 2023 Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer, Titan Force) joined the band on lead vocals, and his soaring, powerful range and dynamic stage presence have raised the bar to a whole new level. Ash Baker, on drums, and Chris Dando, on backing vocals and keyboards, were also added to complete the latest and greatest incarnation of the band. Lee, Chris and Luke are proud to be joined by these top rate musicians, and the Cloven Hoof have sounded better than ever on their recent tours
of Europe.

In 2024 the band released a brand new album entitled “Heathen Cross” worldwide on High Roller Records. Currently the latest and greatest lineup are working on a new album called “Never a Prophet in your own land” and it will be released sometime in early 2026. Exciting times are ahead for Cloven Hoof fans everywhere. With a history of 44 years, the legends of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal continue to get even better!

Media

Tour Dates

No shows booked at the moment.