The Halloween Project, The Fluffy Jackets, Ronni Le Tekrø (TNT) and Neil Murray (Whitesnake) combine on a tribute that is as intriguing as it is enjoyable.
July 25, 2021
The Halloween Project, The Fluffy Jackets combine on an 80th birthday tribute to Nazareth-guitarist Manny Charlton. Special guests include Ronni Le Tekrø (TNT) and Neil Murray (Whitesnake).
The tribute consists of two brand new Nazareth cover versions, released as two singles. First, the ensemble storms through a rendering of the Nazareth classic "Telegram" before slowing down the pace on a heartfelt ballad called "Ship of Dreams".
The songs are the product of a collaboration between the The Halloween Project and The Fluffy Jackets, supported by special guests Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and Ronni Le Tekrø (TNT).
Telegram Telegram (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4) first appeared on Nazareth's mini rock opera "Close Enough for Rock 'N' Roll" in 1976, an album produced by Manny Charlton. Fans considers the production of Telegram to be one of Nazareth's finest achievements, and the song also became Nazareth's concert opener for many years. A fine version appeared on their classic "Snaz" live album from 1981.
This new tribute version was recorded at 'Studio Studio Nyhagen' and is co-produced by The Halloween Project and Kjartan Hesthagen, with overdubs recorded at The Fluffy Jackets Sound Studio. The track was mastered at Jailhouse Studios APS in Denmark. The performing musicians on the track are: Rune Nergård – drums, Frode Nergård – bass, Odd Gunnar Nergård – guitars, Leif Knashaug – vocals, Helge Rognstad – vocals, Markus Klyve – keys and Ronni Le Tekrø - guitars.
Ship of Dreams
Ship of Dreams is a song originally penned by Manny Charlton following the death of his mother. The song first appeared on "Malice in Wonderland", which was a Nazareth album produced by Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter in 1980. This cover version is produced by Helge Rognstad, and was recorded at The Fluffy Jackets Sound Studio with overdubs by Neil Murray (Whitesnake). Vocals are shared between Helge Rognstad (The Fluffy Jackets) and Leif Knashaug (The Halloween Project), who recorded his overdubs at 'Studio Studio Nyhagen' with engineer Kjartan Hesthagen. The single artwork for Ship of Dreams is a drawing of Manny Charlton, created by the artist and illustrator Flynnt Biggar (UK).
Both tracks are released in celebration of Manny Charlton’s 80th birthday on the 25rd of July 2021 and are available now on all download and streaming platforms via Cargo Records.
The Halloween Project
After a wait of 35 years, The Halloween Project finally released their debut album “Masters Of It All” in 2019. Their story goes as follows: In the early 1980s, a group of young boys from Løten in rural Norway decided to start a band. After a few months of rehearsing in a borrowed garage, the band built up a loyal following. Then, in 1984, the German band Helloween emerged, with a pumpkin logo, similar to the one used by Halloween. Despite this unfortunate bump in the road, the band soldiered on changing their name into Loud ‘N’ Proud. However, the original line-up eventually fizzled out and their material was never recorded. Fast forward to 2014, the idea of recording those old songs started getting floated around - and eventually saw the day in 2019! The band has since been performing regularly, catching up for lost time. Read more at www.thehalloweenproject.no
The Fluffy Jackets
The Fluffy Jackets first appeared on the London scene with a self-titled EP in 2007, but it was not until 2014 that they made a dent in the charts with the debut album «Fighting Demons». Recorded at the legendary Sun Studio (Memphis, USA) by multiple Grammy Award winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang, the outing won the Blues Hour’s «Best Studio Album of the Year» award and also earned the band their first international hit in «Why Don’t You Smile». The slow blues was made particularly memorable for featuring a sizzling guitar solo from Nazareth guitar legend Manny Charlton, backed up by bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and Jerry Lee Lewis‘ drummer Rob Hall (The Killer Band). Their latest release “Something from Nothing” (2019) was produced by Manny Charlton and featured a two-hour DVD documentary film celebrating their decade long existence. Read more at www.fluffyjackets.co.uk
Ronni Le Tekrø
For most hard rock aficionados Ronni Le Tekrø is a household name, being the mainstay with Norway's premier rock export TNT since their inception in 1982. The Norwegian Grammy award winning artist reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart in America with the self-penned single "10,000 lovers (in one)" and has since cooperated with other notable guitarists, including Terje Rypdal and Mads Eriksen.
Neil Murray
Neil Murray shot to fame as the original bassist with Whitesnake, playing on all their albums from the 1978-beginning, right up to and including their highly successful “1987” album. He has also been a member of Gary Moore’s band (1982-3) and a member of Black Sabbath for 3 years in the late 80s and mid-90s. An in-demand session musician, Neil Murray is known for having worked with a long list of rock stars over the years including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Ozzy Osbourne, Sting Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Brian May, Queen, Gary Moore, Peter Green, Paul Rodgers, Robert Palmer, Ian Gillan, John Martyn, Scorpions and Michael Schenker to mention a few.
