Hero

Hero was a hard rock band from Denmark. Formed in 1984, the six-piece released one critically acclaimed studio album on Vertigo in 1986 and split up in 1988. Hero was part of the first wave of Danish heavy rock bands that attracted international attention in the early 80’s, spearheaded by Mercyful Fate and Pretty Maids. Centered on the aggressive riffs and harmony guitars of Johnny Thomas and Peter Fernando, Hero blended in keyboards, extended chords and soulful vocal harmonies to create a distinctive melodic hard rock sound.
Hero came together in the small town of Kalundborg, from where they built a strong following drawing crowds of almost a thousand people at local concerts. The group performed live around Denmark eventually doing shows in Copenhagen with Nazareth, Cinderella and Pretty Maids. After recording three demos at Elsound Studio in Copenhagen with producer Lars Overgaard Christensen, Hero was offered recording deals from international labels such as Neat Records and Roadrunner Records. The band was also approached by Danish major labels Medley Records and Replay Records who introduced the band to producer Nils Henriksen. It was Henriksen who convinced PolyGram’s A&R, Ernst Mikael Jørgensen, to finally sign Hero. PolyGram Denmark normally put out music on the Mercury imprint, but the band asked specifically to be released on Vertigo Records so they could be label mates with bands like Thin Lizzy, Def Leppard, City Boy and Dio. Hero became the first Danish artist ever to be released on the Vertigo label.
In January 1986 Hero, with Nils Henriksen, entered Werner Studios in Copenhagen to record nine songs for their eponymous debut album, released on May 28, in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The album got favourable reviews but right after the release, singer Steen Larsen decided to quit the band for undisclosed reasons and sadly died by his own hand just a year after. Hero carried on with singer Kenny Lübcke for a short while but disbanded in 1988. Keyboard player Bo Brinck joined Savage Affair and drummer Michael Fast later went on to play with Pretty Maids.
In 2021, 35 years after its release, Universal made the original Hero album available worldwide on the streaming services.