about sacred heart

Formed in 1994 by Paul Stead & original drummer Mark Beeby - upset at the then current musical climate - hard rock had taken a backseat because of grunge, indie & the dance scene.

From the mid to late 90's - joined by Mark Stephenson on guitar & Paul Hamilton on bass -
the band recorded a number of well received E.P's but called it a day in 1999 when Paul moved to USA.

Remaining friends, Paul & Mark (Stephenson) started jamming again in the summer of 2003 - by Christmas (with Claudio Cafolla on drums & Leigh Westbrook on bass) they had recorded the live demo "A New Dawn" - which led to the first of many high profile supports.

In 2004 they hit the studio to record the 10 track demo album "Lay It On The Line" with the intention of showing there was more to the band than 3 or 4 decent songs. The CD became public (though was only ever recorded to showcase the band to labels) and songs from that release had airplay all over the world. Subsequently the band was offered a number of record deals but the labels wanted new material as "Lay" was out there. Proud of the tracks on that album & the response to them the band decided to promote that release for a while.

For 2007's "Shake" - the official debut album - Darren Jhuboo took up the bassist role.

The release received mixed reviews: the heavier & more modern nature of the album didn't appeal to all of those who liked the fluffier, dated rock style of 2 previous SACRED HEART releases. But the guys had grown up - it was no longer the likes of Def Leppard & Dokken that were influencing the band, it was Nickelback & Black Label Society. But "Shake" did receive some fantastic reviews and for a self-financed release (without the budgets or experience of a labels backing) it did them proud.

The songs from "Shake" are still a staple part of the bands live show and soon it will be revisited (extra production values added): remixed & re-mastered with a view to a 2012 digital download re-release (with bonus tracks).

After further high profile support slots - as well as headline shows - around the UK, Claudio & Darren decided to take a break from music and left the band.

Joining Paul & Mark for the recording of 2009's critically acclaimed "Darkness Falls" album were long-term producer Alex Burke on drums & Nathan J. Lark on bass - with the latter also contributing his songwriting skills on a couple of tracks.

Again, more modern & poppier than before - though with some balls out hard rockers to boot (as well as the re-recording of 4 tracks from "Lay It On The Line") - the album has garnered incredible reviews from all over the world, and positive feedback from all ages has been astounding.

New album "Propaganda" was released on 3rd October 2011 & has continued where "Darkness Falls" left off: mature & with a mixture of out and out hard rock, beautiful ballads and modern pop/rock songs. Current line up includes the welcome return of Darren Jhuboo on bass & drummer Dave Thurlby. With Alex returning to producer & studio duties.

Though the DIO inspired band name conjures up images of leather & band patches, SACRED HEART are just a pop/rock band - not metal, not AOR, not hair metal etc - no doubt some of those styles will be in what we do but just listen to - and enjoy -the songs.