Kings of Lovia was a British-Lovian rock band formed in Blackburn University, Newhaven in 1982, and lasted until 1998. The main line-up consisted of George Plymouth (lead vocals, guitar), his twin brother Edgar Plymouth (guitar, back-up vocals), Elliot Gourdmann (drums, back-up vocals), and Matthew Patil (keyboard, back-up vocals). The band was primarily influenced by early progressive rock and psychedelic rock pioneers like The Beatles and Pink Floyd, but in their later years, leaned towards more hardcore forms of rock, such as metal.
The band was founded in one of the many fraternities at Blackburn in 1982, and quickly moved onto the scene of early 1980's Lovian music, with album hits like Into the Rainbow ( 1986 ) and My Dear Caroline ( 1988 ). By the 90's, the group had become the largest influence of modern and progressive rock in Lovia, and had kick-started what many have called the Rock Epidemic ( late 80's - late 90's ), which kickstarted thousands of bands across Lovia and "leaving a permanent footprint into the history of music in Lovia", as many music enthusiasts in Lovia have proclaimed.
History[]
Origins (1982 - 1985)[]
In early 1982, 18-year-old British-Lovian college freshmen and twin brothers George and Edgar Plymouth decided to form a band, since they already decided to attend college to earn degrees in music, and also due to the heavy amounts of rock such as Queen, Iron Maiden, and The Beatles that the twins had been persistently listening to for quite a while. The twins posted advertisements for drummers and keyboarders to be in their up and coming band all across their campus at Blackburn. Due to the twins' general timidness and social awkwardness on campus, only one person for each position auditioned for the role. Those two people were Anglo-German medicine student Elliot Gourdmann, and Anglo-Indian geography student Matthew Patil. Both freshmen were relatively suitable at their positions, so they got the job. The band decided to call themselves Kings of Lovia, as "they wanted to show the world they had respect and power," as Gourdmann put it. The band began playing at sponsored events at their campus and various clubs and public areas near the school, playing iconic rock anthems such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The group had gained decent popularity at the school, and was even offered a record deal by a Label Records recruiter at one of their shows in 1984, but all of the members didn't want to join the label yet, as "they needed to graduate first so they could finish what they started," as K.o.L. enthusiast Paul Epich says. In March 1985, all band members graduated from Blackburn with seperate Bachelor's degrees. As soon as they graduated, the group joined Label Records in May 1985.
First years with Label Records, Lovian Might and Into the Rainbow (1985 - 1986)[]
After around four months of recording and polishing, the band's first official single and EP, Lovian Might, was released under Label Records on August 8, 1985. The EP gained very positive responses by critics; Baldwin William of The National Post called the EP "A great debut from the band, and and a very decent EP in general." The EP sold rather mediocre despite its praise by critics, and the EP's main single, Post-Mortem Delirium, only sold around 20,000 copies, and didn't even make it on the Top 100. But, the EP is still considered a gem today, as Epich agrees that "the EP is a nostalgic trip for most, and shows when the band was still in its infancy stages." After their debut, the band then almost immediately went to work on their first album, Into the Rainbow, which was released on March 23, 1986. The album quickly gained critical acclaim and praise by many critics throughout Lovia, with Harry Oliver of The National Post calling the album "a critical masterpiece, with clear influences from bands like Queen and Pink Floyd." The album almost topped the charts upon release, being at number 2 on the charts just a week after release, and later completely topping the charts for 9 straight months. The three main singles of the album, Flatulence, Simplistic Reality, and the eponymous single Into the Rainbow also topped the single charts, with Into the Rainbow staying for almost a whole half-year. The album had completely kick-started the band's fame and fortune throughout their career.
Death to the King, Odd Occurrences, and My Dear Caroline (1986 - 1989)[]
On December 2, 1986, the band's second EP, Death to the King, was released and was also accompanied by the band's almost 4-hour performance at the Olympia Hotel and Theater in the same year, which helped push sales of the EP, which also gained critical praise as well. Just 2 months later, on February 30, 1987, the band released another EP named Odd Occurrences, which didn't do as well as Death to the King, but still helped the band gain popularity throughout Lovia. Then, on September 17, 1987, the band's second album, My Dear Caroline was released. The album gained lots of praise and acclaim from multiple critics, and had completely catapulted to the top of the charts, staying on for 2 whole years. The two singles from the album, True Business and My Dear Caroline had stayed on the charts for almost a whole year.
Disagreements with Label Records, Necessities, and Cloud 999 (1989 - 1994)[]
In late 1989, the tensions between the band and Label Records were at an all-time high. For pretty much all of the time Kings of Lovia was signed with Label, there was some sort of conflict between the two. The president of the company, Thomas Sanskratt, tried to "fully manipulate the band and control them" by restricting their free will and ability to do anything besides make music, and was only paid 10% of the revenue from their music. The band completely hated Label for this, and constantly issued complaints against the President, but nothing came of it. So, after all the tension and stress due to Label Records's "chains strangling their creativity", on October 15, 1989, the band sued Label Records in court for "cruelty and unreliability." During the court sessions, the band's fourth EP, Necessities, was released on December 20, 1989 to critical praise, as was usual for the band at the time. The sessions finally ended in early 1990, and found Label Records completely guilty of all accounts, paid the band $5,000,000 in money, and the President was forced to resign, naming Randall Smith the new President of the Company. To celebrate this revelation, Cloud 999, the band's third album was released on September 3, 1991. The album was seen as "a more happy-toned album, with many joyous singles."
The Liberty, 1999 Live!, and The Stars at the End of the Moon (1994 - 1997)[]
During this period of Kings of Lovia's time, they were publishing album after album, gaining extreme amounts of critical praise, and always going on number 1. The first one was The Liberty, released on May 7, 1992. Then, there was 1999 Live!, a compilation of songs from the band's second live performance at the Olympia Hotel and Theater on Christmas Day, 1993.