British Lions were in large part a continuation of
Mott (the post-
Ian Hunter version of
Mott the Hoople), retaining keyboardist
Morgan Fisher, lead guitarist Ray Major, bassist Overend Watts, and drummer Dale Griffin; ex-
Medicine Head singer/guitarist
John Fiddler was added on lead vocals. Just as
Mott had been a devolution from
Mott the Hoople, so did
British Lions continue the dilution into journeyman British hard rock. The
British Lions concentrated on the American market, feeling the UK scene to be unsympathetic to veteran rockers during the new wave/punk days, and toured the US supporting groups like
Blue Oyster Cult and
UFO. Their single "Wild in the Streets" made the lower reaches of the Top Hundred, and they did an album for RSO in 1978. The band collapsed after making a second album, which RSO did not release, although it was issued in the early 1980s. Another album (
Live and Rare) of live-in-the-US recordings from the 1978 tour, as well as some previously unreleased demos and rehearsals, appeared in 1999. ~ Richie Unterberger