Hellcats

The forming of US rock-band the Hellcats came as the result of the dissolution of their better-remembered forebears, Starz. Both Michael Lee Smith (vocals) and Richie Ranno (electric guitar) have been essential members of this group, and produced Hellcats in the first 80s with the help of Peter Scance (bass) and Doug Madick (drums), recruited from Prism. Like Starz before them, the group elected to focus on a traditional American rock design, replete with effective hooks and adept musicianship. Each one of these characteristics were evident on the self-titled 1982 debut, although release of the follow-up album had taken many years to negotiate. An added bonus track within the much less impressive Hellcats Children was a live edition of ‘Rip It Down’, a staple from the Starz live arranged, which indicated the five-year break between albums might possibly not have incubated an adequate number of refreshing musical ideas