What started off as one of the most promising supergroups, but unfortunately never really became that, despite some awesome albums to their credit was started in 1983 when Fast Eddie Clarke (Motorhead) and Pete Way (UFO) became disgruntled with their respective bands and set out on their own, dubbing their new project Fastway and recruiting ex Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley and then unknown, but excellent vocalist Dave King. For whatever reasons (contract problem with Chrysalis, or an offer to play for Ozzy Osbourne) Pete Way decided to quit a mere few weeks before the band's debut was to be recorded, had he stayed Fastway's career probably wouldve fared much better and the material much less choppy, not wanting to waste any time in recording the album though, Eddie and company recruited session bassist Mick Feat to do the bass on the album (Alfie Agius would play on the tour) and so the excellent Fastway album was recorded and released.
It became and instant critical and commercial success (as well as an early MTV favorite) and climbed quickly up the top 40. Despite Eddie's metal history, the album was ripping blues rock at its finest with a metalesque guitar and Plant like howls via Dave King. Riding high on the success of the first album, Charlie McCracken was recruited as permanent bassist and 1984's All Fired Up recorded and released. Following in the exact vein of the debut, it was another classic spawning some great songs, and still climbed into the top 60. However, after the tour, Shirley and McCracken left. Not ready to give up, Clarke and King revived Fastway with a new line up in 1986. Recruiting Shane Carroll (keyboards), Alan Connor (drums, and Paul Reid (bass) all from King's first band Stillwood. This lineup wrote and recorded Waiting For The Roar, which instead of following usual Fastway formula took an AOR approach to the music adding synths and toning down the blues rock guitar of the earlier albums. The album performed poorly, and had limited success at best along with dissappointing many fans.
Fortunately, in 1987 an offer came along for Fastway to do the soundtrack to the horror movie Trick Or Treat. Dropping the synths and stripping back down to the hard driving blusey metal of the two previous albums, the soundtrack was a success managing to stay on the Hot 200 chart for eleven months, despite the film being an overall flop. The success of the soundtrack, and low money flow caused in-fighting about the direction the band should take and they unfortunately disbanded shortly thereafter. Undeterred by the loss of King, who left to form Katmandu (and later fing success with Flogging Molly) Fast Eddie decided to start the band over from scratch. Bringing in new vocalist Lea Hart, bassist Paul Gray, and drummer Steve Clarke, they shortly recorded and released 1988's On Target. The album ended up featuring a return to the AOR approach, imposed by the record label, but didnt fare as well as was hoped. Clarke and Hart would then use various session musicans, including members of Girlschool to record 1990's Bad Bad Girls which featured a bit of a return to a harder edge, although there were still some pop elements hanging around. Unfortunately, rock and metal was on the decline, and the album flopped. In 1997, Say What You Will Live was released, their lone live offering, and a reworked version of On Target, due to Eddie Clarke's dislike of how the original album came out. Instead of being a direct rerecording of the album, he also rerecorded many Fastway classics, with Hart on vocals (Eddie also made a solo album in the interim between those and Bad Bad Girls). Neither seemed to garner any interest and Fastway seemed to be done, up until 2007, a decade later Toby Jepson (vocals), Steve Strange (drums), John McManus (bass), and of course Fast Eddie Clarke on guitars got together to do a festival tour.
In an interview with Komodo Rock at the Hard Rock Hell Festival in November 2007, Eddie Clark confirmed that he and Toby Jepson would be working on new material. He said "Toby and I are going to sit down and maybe do a few tunes over the winter. See if we can write some tunes". Hopefully, they make a return.
Fastway (1983)
1.)Easy Livin'
2.)Feel Me, Touch Me (Do Anything You Want)
3.)All I Need Is Your Love
4.)Another Day
5.)Heft!
6.)We Become One
7.)Give It All You Got
8.)Say What You Will
9.)You Got Me Runnin'
10.)Give It Some Action
11.)Far Far From Home (Bonus track on CD)
All Fired Up (1984)
1.)All Fired Up
2.)Misunderstood
3.)Steal The Show
4.)Station
5.)Non Stop Love
6.)Hurtin' Me
7.)Tell Me
8.)Hung Up On Love
9.)Stranger
10.)Telephone
11.)If You Could See
Waiting For The Roar (1986)
1.)The World Waits For You
2.)Kill Me With Your Heart
3.)Tired Of Your Love
4.)Change
5.)Move Over
6.)Little By Little
7.)Rock On
8.)Waiting For The Roar
9.)Girl
10.)Back Door Man
11.)Doin' Just Fine (Bonus on remaster)
Notes: Was released in europe as "The World Waits For You" with a different track order that included "Doin' Just Fine", the track did not see an american or CD release until the 2006 remaster.
Trick Or Treat (1987)
1.)Trick Or Treat
2.)After Midnight
3.)Don't Stop The Fight
4.)Stand Up
5.)Tear Down The Walls
6.)Get Tough
7.)Hold On To The Night
8.)Heft!
9.)If You Could See
Probably what is considered by many to be their legacy album, and more well known due to being the soundtrack to "Trick Or Treat", its not half bad, not quite as good as their first two, but it did show a welcome return to form after the somewhat of a let down given by the synth heavy, AOR tinged "Waiting For The Roar". Everything starts off excellent with the title track and has Fastway sounding full force with Eddie's guitar and King's howl right in your face. The album manages to stay strong through two more new tracks, "After Midnight" and "Don't Stop The Fight" which range right up there with the first cut. The next three arent particularly bad, just really boring and mediocre. They manage just flow on without making too huge of an impression, up until you get to "Hold On To The Night:" another new song, and instant classic Fastway rocker. Than, unfortunately, instead of more new material, everything closes out with two classic tracks from their first two releases, great songs and all, but I would've much preferred a full album of new material, hell based on the strength of what else is contained here, they clearly had the power to do it, but I guess thats what goes along with doing a soundtrack. Overall, a good album, its just too bad they didnt stick with the stripped down sound.
1st Press cover
More common cover
On Target (1988)
1.)Dead Or Alive
2.)Change Of Heart
3.)A Fine Line
4.)Two Hearts
5.)You
6.)Let Him Rock
7.)She Is Danger
8.)Show Some Emotion
9.)These Dreams
10.)Close Your Eyes
Bad Bad Girls (1990)
1.)I've Had Enough
2.)Bad Bad Girls
3.)All Shook Up
4.)Body Rock
5.)Miles Away
6.)She Won't Rock
7.)No Repair
8.)Death Of Me
9.)Cut Loose
10.)Lucky To Lose
11.)Big Beat, No Heart
Say What You Will Live (Live 1998)
1.)Easy Living
2.)Say What You Will
3.)The World Waits For You
4.)Waiting For The Roar
5.)Girl
6.)Steal The Show
7.)All Fired Up
8.)Kill Me With Your Heart
9.)Feel Me, Touch Me (Do Anything You Want)
10.)Sex, Booze & Rock N' Roll
Note: The performance is from the 1986 tour, although it wasnt released until 1998
On Target Reworked (1998)
1.)Trick Or Treat
2.)The Answer Is You
3.)These Dreams
4.)Station
5.)Change Of Heart
6.)Two Hearts
7.)Make My Day
8.)She Is Danger
9.)Dead Or Alive
10.)Easy Livin'
11.)Let Him Rock
12.)Show Some Emotion
13.)Say What You Will