Biography.
​
​
​
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​Setting The Scene
If you walked into any rock venue in the 80’s there was one band that you couldn’t miss... Rhabstallion who rode the wave of ‘Heavy Metal’ glory, with TV appearances and national media features, alongside sharing the stage with bands such as, Hanoi Rocks, Diamond Head, Stampede, French band Trust and Saxon. These guy’s dominated the scene by pumping out their rock - honest, hard and fast...
​
Back to the 80's
Rhabstallion originally formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire during the emergence of the NWOBHM movement and consisted of Stuart Toddington, Dave Thompson, Andy Wood on guitars, Graham Hooper bass, Jack Himsworth drums with Steve Ancliffe on vocals.
In 1980 the band were working hard the
length and breadth of the country, having
featured on the NWOBHM album,
‘New Electric Warriors’. 1981 saw the
release of their first vinyl single, Day to Day
/ Breadline. The exposure attracted a large
following and delivered outstanding
reviews in local and national music press,
culminating in a near sell out appearance
at St Georges Hall in Bradford.
Soon after, Rhabstallion featured on the BBC’s ground breaking music show, ‘Bubbling Under’, a showcase for exciting and original performers on the edge of national and international success. The TV show saw recorded ‘live’ performance in front of a mass of fans – the ‘perfect format’ for a band who were used to delivering a power packed performance to satisfy their dedicated following.
Taken from the show ‘Stranger Stranger’ and ‘You’re to Blame’ are classic examples of the on-stage power and energy of Rhabstallion.​
​
Despite the band receiving a considerable amount of record company and media attention in the early eighties, offers fell short, and this talented New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) band decided, reluctantly to go separate ways. A great shame for the fans who lost a band that effortlessly encapsulated the excitement and sound of the NWOBHM.
​
Rhabstallions’ style of music is ROCK, HONEST, HARD AND FAST.
​
Reuniting the Rhabs? (1994)
In 1994 Vinyl Tap Records approached the band to produce an album covering the complete chronology of Rhabstallion. The album was simply named, ‘Day to Day’, and contains a variety of recordings, including demo tapes, and releases. A feature track on the album is the classic version of ‘Chain Reaction’ recorded at Cargo Studios for the ‘New Electric Warriors’ compilation album and released by Logo Records.
Two live tracks, ‘Stranger Stranger’, ‘You’re to Blame’ were also included, taken from the BBC’s ‘Bubbling Under’ Show, and a further two tracks not previously available were recorded for inclusion on the album. ‘Sioux Child’, with its superb twin guitars and a band and fans favourite, ‘DayGlo Disco’.
The brief return to the studio in 1994 led to rumours of a reformation, but in the intervening years the band members had ventured off in different directions involving themselves with various other independent musical projects, the best deal now was to agree... ‘Never Say Never’.
(That agreement forms the title of a Rhabstallion anthem from Back in the Saddle...read on!!)
​​
Two more appearances on compilation albums followed... ‘Shock & Roll’ featured on Hallmark Records ‘Noise Level Critical’
​
‘Chain Reaction’ was included on the ‘Noise from the Valleys’ quadruple CD set, released by Bradford Noise Records
​
​
The Reformation of the Rhabs (2017)
This new era began when the band realised it had unfinished business. So on a cold January morning in 2018 in the corner of a dark satanic mill in Halifax the band were pieced back together.
Original members Dave Thompson and Stuart Toddington (Gtr’s), Jack Himsworth (Skins) Graham Hooper (Bass) and Andy Wood (Vocals & Gtr) started to piece back together the foundations of this exciting band from Yorkshire. Promising to be a bigger, harder and more unforgiving sound, Rhabstallion prepared their return to the stage with a new format that features three guitars.
​
Back In The Saddle (2021)
The release of their first full album in March 2021 (appropriately named “Back In The Saddle”) saw many great reviews and awards, not bad when considering the recording and production was carried out in the midst of the Covid lockdown. The line up was almost unchanged with Andy Wood emerging as a strong vocalist (replacing original vocalist Steve Ancliffe, and Stuart Toddington then retired early 2023). Making the band a compact 4 piece.
​
Bat Shit Crazy (2024)
The second full album from Rhabstallion was released in 2024 to critical acclaim gaining a number of 5 star reviews.​
​
The Future (2025-????)- to be continued!!!!
The band are still in rehearsals and live shows are being planned for 2025 and beyond, and a buzz of anticipation surrounds the bands future as word get’s out.
They are faithfully rekindling the atmosphere of the original experience by reproducing the awesome fury of their back catalogue, plus a wealth of fresh material.
This is a "Not to be missed" experience to witness one of the original NWOBHM bands live!
Catch them on the road, if you get chance, to witness for yourselves the raw northern energy, soaring guitars, strong vocals, backed by a thunderous rhythm section, but don’t be surprised at some of the tracks!! Rhabstallion produce old style rock in a fresh way.
After all!!!!!!. This is NWOBHM with a twist.
​
​
​
​
