Magnum are a British melodic rock band from Birmingham.Formed in 1972, Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years but the core of vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin remain today.Magnum began as the covers or house band at Birminghams famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran) before they began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street in 1976.Their debut album 'Kingdom of Madness' was released at the end of 1978 and reached # 58 in the Uk Charts. Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced 'Chase The Dragon' (1982) which reached # 17 in the UK. The following ‘The Eleventh Hour’ was a relative commercial failure which put the band into a twelve month period of instability.In early 1985 they released the epic 'On A Storyteller's Night' which reached # 24 in the Uk and launched the band across Europe. Their success earned the band a major label deal with Polydor and they embarked on the most commercially successful period of their history with releases such as 'Vigilante', 'Wings of Heaven' and 'Goodnight LA'.The band also got one off recording deals for various record labels: in 1992 they released famous ‘Sleepwalking’.Even though Magnum split in December 1995, they have been touring throughout 2005 to mark the 20th anniversary of 'On A Storyteller's Night'… and they are even said to be at work on a new studio album, due for release in 2007.
