The Cross
The Cross onstage in Germany, 1990.
Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Rock Dance
Years active	1987 – 1993
Members
Roger Taylor Spike Edney Clayton Moss Peter Noone Josh Macrae

The Cross was the late-1980s side project of Queen's drummer Roger Taylor. Originally a classic rock band with dance influences, the band abandoned the dance aspect of their sound and produced two straight forward rock albums. Although Taylor stated when the band formed in 1987 that the group would be "a force to be reckoned with" within six months, the group never took off in any market except Germany and subsequently disbanded in 1993.

History

With the conclusion of Queen's Magic Tour in 1986, Roger Taylor took the opportunity of a lack of activity on the Queen front to form his own band, which he named the Cross. Leaving his drum kit behind, Taylor assumed the duties of rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist for the group. Outside of recruiting Queen's tour keyboardist, Spike Edney, the rest of Taylor's new band were found through an ad placed in the music press. They were a group of unknowns, consisting of Clayton Moss (guitar), Peter Noone (bass guitar), and Josh Macrae (drums). Contrary to popular belief, Taylor did not play drums for the band; he acted more as the frontman, a position he claimed was "new" to him.

With a group of songs already written, Taylor decided to record the first Cross album, Shove It largely by himself, then tour with his new band. A hybrid of classic rock and dance influences, the album received some praise in the British music press but failed to get higher than the bottom of the album charts, as did its three singles. In the United States, the album failed to chart and the group would not release another album there. The band resumed operations after the next Queen album with Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, which was written by all the members in the band and embraced a classic rock sound. The lead single, "Power to Love," only dented the bottom of the British charts, while the album failed to chart at all. However, the band did continue to do well in Germany, and, with no record support in England, released their third album, Blue Rock, in that country only. After a final gig in 1993, the band broke up. Taylor went on to record solo albums and continue his work with Queen. Macrae accompanied Taylor on his solo tours as drummer and played percussion at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Both Taylor and Edney participated in the Queen + Paul Rodgers tours whilst Macrae works behind the scenes as a sound engineer and Pro Tools engineer for them.

Discography

Albums

• Shove It (1988) – UK #58
• Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know (1990) – Germany #48
• Blue Rock (1991)

Singles

• "Cowboys and Indians" (1987) – UK #74
• "Shove It" (1988) – UK #82
• "Heaven for Everyone" (1988) – Germany #68, UK #84
• "Power To Love" (1990) – UK #83
• "New Dark Ages" (1991)

Trivia

• "Heaven for Everyone", from Shove It (album version only), features lead vocals from Freddie Mercury. It was later reworked and included in Queen's 1995 album Made in Heaven.

• Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know features a cover of the Jimi Hendrix song "Foxy Lady" (only on CD).

References

1. http://queen.musichall.cz/index_en.php?s=ro&d=roger91