Frank Darch (ex-More): We were a band

Among the hundreds of NWOBHM bands that never made it, More were the ones who should be on the top and enjoy a long and successful career. They had everything needed: an outstanding frontman, an excellent guitarist, great songs, powerful shows, a deal with a major label… Suddenly it started to fall apart like a house of cards. They lost the drummer Frank Darch during the recording of the first album, and by the time More went to record the second one, only Kenny Cox, the guitarist, remained from the previous line-up. Around Spring, 2022 I thought it would be cool to do a series of interviews with ex-members of More. I approached some of them via Facebook but with no luck (I steel keep the hope to interview them one day). I also tried to track down Kenny and asked Mac Backer from Mammoth for help. But after a while the news about Kenny’s passing hit the world. Finally I got in touch with Mr. Darch to talk about the early days of More and to pay a tribute to Kenny Cox. Here we go! 

Do you remember the moment when you decided; “This! I want to be a drummer in a band!” Who inspired you to start drumming?

Listening to John Bonham and Keith Moon were my inspiration to become a drummer. I got my first basic drum kit, an English Rogers kit when I left school at 16.

I guess that your way to professional level was kinda typical: school bands, dances, semi professional and cover bands. Could you tell me more about that? What stories stick to your mind about those days?

My first gig was at a school gig, what the other guys in the school band didn't know was that I'd never played my kit until then so I had a baptism of fire playing live for the first time. By the time we got to the last number “Caroline” by Quo I thought my arms were going to seize up. Still, they liked me enough to ask me to join them so I couldn't have been too bad.

Somewhere along the way you joined Flight 19. When was it, who was in the band and did you record anything?

I don't recall ever playing in Flight 19.

How did you get to know Kenny Cox and John Pettri?

I was in a previous band with a friend from work who introduced me to Gert in Dfender and through that I met John Pettri. I met Kenny quite a bit later when we were auditioning for guitarists after Gert left the band.

Was Dfender your first professional band? What kind of music did you play? Were there any songs which ended up on More’s albums or singles?

Dfender was a blues rock band, we didn't play any live gigs at that time, we played a few Dfender songs as More but as new songs were written they were all replaced as we became more rockier.

Dfender toured Germany. How did an unsigned band, like you were, get this opportunity? What are your best memories about those days? Did you like being in Germany?

We were More by this time. The mini tour in Germany was organised through a friend of John Pettri's in Germany, John had left the band by the time we went to Germany. It only consisted of a handful of gigs around Hamburg and a demo recording session in a studio. We loved playing the gigs in Germany.

Why did you decide to change the name of the band to More? Did you like it?

John smoked More cigarettes, we were looking to change the band name in line with the change in music direction so we used the name More. We were still a 3 piece band when we changed the name.

Why did John Pettri quit? Did he play in any other band after that? Do you have any idea where he is now?

John left because he could see the direction of the music getting a lot heavier and because he knew it was going to take a lot more time and commitment from him. I totally lost contact with John after he left the band, he was a great guy.

How did you find Paul Mario Day and Brian Day? Did you see Paul with Iron Maiden? And did Brian have any experience before he joined More?

Paul was recommended by a lady vocalist when we were auditioning for vocalists. She gave us Paul's phone number. She thought Paul would fit in with us well and that he had a great voice, she was right. Paul knew Brian from being in a band with him previously so when John left Paul contacted him about joining us. I never saw Paul when he was in Iron Maiden.

Could you tell me about Paul Todd? How did you find him? Would you say that he was a good addition to the band? Why did he quit eventually?

Kenny knew Paul Todd, he was a great addition to the band. Paul left because he knew More was going to take more commitment going forward.

Where and how did you meet Laurie Mansworth? What did he bring to the band?

We advertised for a new guitarist after Paul left, we held auditions over 2 weekends with a lot of applicants. Laurie was the best, he brought further energy to the bands music.

Paul Mario Day mentioned that the band recorded a couple of demos even before The Friday Rock Show session but no one was happy with them. What do you remember about those demos?

We did several demos before the Friday Rock Show but the band was still developing its music style and the delivery of the music. Record companies were critical of John's vocals on our early demos hence the need for a vocalist to join us and the reason why Paul joined. Paul Todd was still in the band up to the time of the Friday Rock Show and just after.

How did the opportunity with the Friday Rock Show come up?

One of our great friends, Jimmy Morcock put our name forward with a demo to Tommy Vance and he liked it.

I’m interested in what was going on behind the doors of BBC studio when you recorded the session for the show. How was it? The band arrived and… what? Were you told something like “Don’t do this, don’t touch that”? Did you chat with Tommy Vance? Actually, everything you can remember about the session is interesting!

Tommy & Tony were fantastic, they understood us and our music. Tommy took us to the BBC canteen after we set up and we had done a sound check. We relaxed with him in there and after a while he said "Ok, you're ready". I still recall the energy of that live recording, they captured us as we were then at that time. Tommy and Tony's personal plug for us at the end of the show was totally unexpected, they couldn't have done any more to help us on the show, it was greatly appreciated. The Friday Rock Show was the biggest rock show on the air then, to get on it was a very big deal, the radio audience for the show at that time was huge. We understood and respected how big it was for us to get on the show and its potential for us.

Your son uploaded 3 re-produced songs off this session but what about “Way of the World”? Why didn’t he include this particular track?

The cassette recording we had of the Friday Rock Show only had 3 numbers on it. We did the recording at our friend's house on the night it was broadcast live. It was recorded on an old cassette player, that's why you can hear the opening and closing to the show by Tommy and Tony. For whatever reason we never got the 4th song of the night on our cassette recording.

By 1979 London’s underground scene was boiling. What were your favourite places to hang out, have a pint or four and listen to live music?

Most of the places we hung out in were places we played in like Oscar's at Gants Hill, Crackers and The Marquee at Wardour Street.

Were you friends with the guys from Maiden, Urchin, Angel Witch, Samson, Praying Mantis and others? Or was there a rivalry among the bands? Could you share some stories when bands supported or pranked each other?

We were friends with the guys in Angel Witch, there was a friendly rivalry in who was going to support who. The fans won every time because whichever band supported would put maximum energy into their set.

Did the band play in cities like Newcastle or Stoke-on-Trent during these days? What was the biggest crowd you played for with More?

We played in lots of different towns and cities in the UK sometimes headlining sometimes supporting. Hard to say the biggest crowd at that time, probably the last night of the Girlschool tour we supported at St Albans City Hall was one of them, when Motorhead came on for the encore.

Do you remember your road crew and the bus you had back then?

We had a couple of guys who helped us out. At the end of the gigs there were always people who came forward to help us load up the gear, there was a lot of it with the size of our backline. The fans energy looking out from the stage was awesome with frequent stage invasions by the fans, so many times the stage would be crowded with people really going for it; great, great days.

Loopy Newhouse wrote in his book that More’s managers were a bit of a mess. Could you tell me more about these people? Would you say that they were to blame for the lack of success?

I think the managers only really took hold after I left so I can't comment.

I believe that Tommy Vance’s show helped you to secure the deal with Atlantic Records. Do you remember how it happened? Were you approached by the label or did you send them your tapes? Was there a showcase?
We had virtually no interest from record companies until the Friday Rock show was broadcast with Tommy and Tony's plug for us at the end. That's when it really took off. We had no show case because by then we were gigging really regularly so if anyone wanted to see us they just came along.

How can you describe your relationships with Atlantic Records? Did they support you or did they show little interest in the band?
They supported us because they could see the potential but they insisted on their own producer who in my opinion was wrong for our music.

The “Warhead” album was recorded with the Truck Mobile studio in Binfield. Was that one of those studios like the Rolling Stones mobile?
I think it was the Rolling Stones mobile, it was parked in the driveway of the Manor and the recording was done in the house.

 
Why did you quit during the recording of “Warhead”? Was it because of tensions with Kenny?
There were no tensions between me and Kenny, I had difficulties with a couple of the numbers during recording and I was subsequently sacked from the band, it came out of the blue.

Did you keep an eye on what More were doing after your departure? Have you ever regretted this decision?

I regretted it only in that I thought at the time of my departure that the band would probably fold.

What have you done musically since 1980? Were you asked to join some established bands? Did you record anything with some bands or musicians?

I still love playing the drums particularly to rock music. I completely gave up drumming from 1987 until around 2000 to have time to spend with our son and daughter when they were growing up. I've been really lucky over the years to be in bands with fantastically talented musicians. I was in a band in London called Speed Machine with Dan Leigh, Tony Spiers and Rob Laws and I'm currently playing in a covers band in West Sussex called GTSteel.

Various biographies of the band mention that Brian Day died due to “being in the wrong place at the wrong time”. Do you know what happened to him?

Brian is very much alive. I don't know where the information about Brian "being in the wrong place at the wrong time" came from but it's been on social media sites for some years now and it's wrong.

Have you ever been asked to rejoin the band? Maybe in 1985 when Kenny did a short comeback, or later, when the band was called ExMore and More 2012? Are you in touch with anyone from the band these days?

I've never been asked to rejoin. I'm in touch with Paul, Brian and Laurie, all 3 are good friends.

In different interviews I have read that the band split-up because of Kenny. Now, when Kenny is gone, it’s easy to blame him as he can’t defend himself. And I guess that after so many years it’s all water under the bridge. What comes first to your mind when you think about the man and More today? Would you say that it was worth to do?

I think of Kenny as how he was from the first moment I met him when he walked into our audition. The first words he said to me and John were "You'd be better off sending all the others home, I'm the one you want". He totally blew all the other guitarists away at the audition, he was a truly great guitarist and for a long while a great friend of mine. That's how I remember him, as the friend. It certainly was worth it, to be in a band with a different style of music and absolutely nothing to what we made it into in such a short time was incredible. More was a band, it was never about an individual or individuals, it's energy and music came from the creativity of all the band members together.

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