Algy Ward, the founding frontman of cult British heavy metal band Tank, has died aged 63 after suffering from recurring health issues.
Ward, born Alasdair Mackie Ward, was reported to have died on Wednesday (May 17) at a hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The news was confirmed by Tank guitarist Mick Tucker, who posted the following message on social media:
“RIP Algy… I heard the sad news that my old bandmate passed away in hospital on Wednesday May 17th.
We made a formidable songwriting team when I joined TANK in 1983 and recorded some great albums on the road and many shows with TANK and the Nicky Moore band I joined in 1990 with Algy .
For the last two years we have had to carry on without him but hope that one day we will have him back on stage.
A glass will be raised tonight in your honor…”
Before forming Tank, Ward got his start as a musician as the bassist for Australian punk act The Saints, performing on their acclaimed 1978 albums. Forever Yours and Prehistoric Sounds. He would soon leave The Saints to become the bassist for seminal UK punk act The Damned for their 1979 effort. Machine Gun Etiquette.
After the fall of The Damned drummer Rat Scabies, Ward left the group and was inspired by Lemmy and Motörhead to form Tank in 1980. Ward and company even enlisted Motörhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke to form their debut, the 1982’s. Filthy Dogs of Hades – an underground classic of the NWOBHM movement.
The Tank went through several lineup changes with Ward at the helm, with the band releasing a total of five full-length LPs during its early 1980s run. Tank would go on hiatus after 1987’s self-titled album due to a lack of commercial success and turmoil surrounding the group’s creative direction, although Ward would eventually release more music under the Tank name beginning to return. in 2002 In the War.
Much of Tank’s output has been preserved and reissued by the German imprint High Roller Recordswhere you can find band records on vinyl.
At one point, after legal disputes, there were two versions of Tank, one led by Ward and the other led by Tucker and fellow guitarist Cliff Evans.
Repeat the Tank’s Filthy Dogs of Hades down.