H is for Heart ‘Bad Animals’

Heart are a 5-piece 70s stadium rock group fronted by the sisters Ann (vocals) and Nancy Wilson (guitar). The band went three name changes before eventually settling on Heart in the early 70s; the final name change ties in with the sisters joining who, it seems to me, were the key to the band’s success.

Bad Animals was the band’s ninth studio album and, despite me not knowing Heart at all (not that I’m saying I have a huge knowledge of 70s/80s pop stadium rock, but I feel like I’d have least have heard of them), this album was their most successful record in the UK and in actual fact went platinum. The albums before this one were all very well received in the US and Canada and according to the band’s website they have sold over 35 million albums to date.

D is for Deep Purple ‘In Rock’

There aren’t many bands who can get away with kicking off an album with a manic guitar solo that proceeds with a church organ, but I love how Deep Purple shamelessly can.

‘Speed King’ is a classic hard rock tune that opens their fourth studio album ‘In Rock’. With Mount Rushmore-inspired artwork, ‘In Rock’ was Deep Purple‘s first album to obtain Gold status in the US and Silver in the UK and also the first album to feature lead singer Ian Gillan and Roger Glover on bass. It was the addition of these two that engraved the band firmly into one of rock’s greatest.