Fortune will return with their first new album, "II", in nearly 35
years on April 26, 2019.
Pre-order "II" HERE: http://radi.al/FortuneII
Cult melodic rock/AOR heroes Fortune are back
with a new studio album, “II”!
The seeds of Fortune were planted by brothers Richard and Mick Fortune, who
came from a family of professional musicians. Their mother was a singer and
their father a singer and bassist. Richard started playing the guitar when he
was 16 and went on to play guitar and tour with the likes of Buddy Miles, Booker
T & The MGs, and Spirit, while Mick started out as an accordion, keyboard,
and trombone player before switching to drums. The brothers formed Fortune in
the '70s and cut a self-titled album, "Fortune" for Warner Brothers in 1978, but
by 1982 had totally revamped the group. A key acquisition for the new version of
the band being the recruitment of Roger Scott Craig. A classically trained
pianist from the age of 8, the Irish born keyboard player was previously known
for a successful stint with the Scouse pop group Liverpool Express in the '70s.
The lineup was rounded out by Larry 'L.A.' Greene, also of Top Gun soundtrack
fame, on vocals and Detroit area session player and Elton John bassist Bob
Birch.
Fortune eventually released their second self-titled album in 1985 (not to
be confused with the 1978 album) to a warm reception, especially in Japan and
Europe. It is still highly regarded today by fans of the genre as being a
crucial AOR/melodic rock release of the time period. For many fans, it is indeed
considered one of the best, if not THE best AOR album of all-time. While this is
of course very much open to debate, the reality is that Fortune’s album is one
of those lost gems from yesteryear that has aged like fine wine while the years
have passed.
Camel/MCA Records (the same label that had, at the time, launched Night
Ranger and Giuffria to stardom) was the label home for the '85 album, but
unexpectedly declared bankruptcy for undisclosed reasons not long after the
release and refused to give up the masters of the album, making an album
re-release impossible until fairly recently. The band remained silent for years
and while Larry Greene and Roger Scott Craig started working together with the
band Harlan Cage (who released several albums in the second half of the 90’s and
early 00’s), the Fortune brothers started the band back up again as a trio in
2006, until a proper band reunion happened in 2016 when the band performed at
the Rockingham Music Festival that same year and then - thanks to the acclaim
that followed that performance - in 2017 as well. These appearances ultimately
led to discussions with Frontiers about a new studio album, "II". Fortune hasn't
lost a step and their new studio album promises to be one of the AOR highlights
of 2019!
The band will also perform live at Frontiers Rock Festival on April 28th in
Milan, IT. For more information, visit www.frontiersrockfestival.com
Tracklist:
1. Don’t Say You Love Me
2. Shelter Of The Night
3. Freedom Road
4. A Little Drop Of Poison (For Amy W.)
5. What A Fool I’ve Been
6. Overload
7. Heart Of Stone
8. The Night
9. New Orleans
10. All The Right Moves
Lineup:
Mick Fortune - Drums
Richard Fortune - Guitar
Larry Greene - Vocals
Ricky Rat - Bass
Mark Nilan – Keyboards
