The EF Band, so named after founding members -- vocalist/bassist Par Ericson and guitarist Bengt Fischer -- became inextricably linked to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal when their song "Fighting Back for Rock and Roll" was featured in the legendary Metal for Muthas compilation. Only problem was, they were actually Swedish! The band's origins date back to the mid-'70s and its protagonists' participation in a Gothenburg jazz-rock group named Epizootic, which released a single album entitled Daybreak in 1978. The guitar-slinging duo made their break the following year, baptizing themselves the Ericson-Fischer Band, shifting into a hard rock direction, and eventually hooking up with U.K. indie label Rok to issue a single named "Another Day Gone" (a split with another band called Synchromesh). They then relocated to England permanently, secured a new drummer in scene veteran Dave Dufort (brother of Girlschool member Denise Dufort), and proceeded to record a couple more singles ("Self Made Suicide" and "The Devil's Eye") for Redball Records. These, combined with regular live showcases to help the now-shortened EF Band, infiltrated the fast rising New Wave of British Heavy Metal; it's doubtful EMI even realized two out of these three lads weren't British when they invited them to take part in the aforementioned Metal for Muthas release in 1980. In any case, the EF Band jumped at the chance, and got their just rewards later that year when Mercury Records offered them an album deal. Dufort suddenly decided to go join Angel Witch, however, so another Swede, drummer Dag Eliason, was brought in to replace him for the recording of 1981's full-length The Last Laugh Is on Us back in Gothenburg. The album was no bestseller and Mercury would eventually drop the EF Band, but the trio received a consolation prize when Rainbow hired them as support act for their 1982 European tour. Their next move was to hire a proper frontman, British-born vocalist John Ridge, prior to recording 1983's sophomore Deep Cut, but its uneven songwriting, poor promotion from the band's new independent label, and unexpected abandonment of metal for melodic AOR conspired to scare off most of the EF Band's fan base. The group persisted for a few more years, touring sporadically and eventually releasing a third and final album entitled One Night Stand (featuring new singer Roger Marsden and second guitarist Anders Allhage) in 1985 through Mausoleum Records. But this indeed proved to be the EF Band's parting shot, as their new glam metal image didn't do justice to what ironically qualified as their most N.W.O.B.H.M.-sounding record ever. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi
