Marc Storace facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marc Storace
Storace with Krokus in 2019
Background information
Born	(1951-10-07) 7 October 1951 (age 73) Sliema, Malta
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal
Instruments	Vocals percussion blues harp tambourine
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	Krokus TEA

Marc Storace (born 7 October 1951) is a musician from Malta and Switzerland. He started his music career in the 1960s. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. He joined Krokus in 1980. Before that, he sang with a Swiss progressive rock band called TEA. Marc Storace has also worked on solo projects, sung duets, and performed with other bands. He has even worked on projects that mix classical music with rock.

Marc Storace has a powerful, high-pitched voice. People have compared his voice to famous singers like Bon Scott from AC/DC and Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. His singing style has stayed mostly the same since the 1970s. However, it has become even better with more experience from live shows and studio recordings.

He also acted in two Swiss-German films, Anuk and Handyman. He helped write and sing songs for the soundtracks of both movies. As of 2019, Storace was still active in rock music. He also continued his semi-acoustic music projects. Krokus started their "Farewell Tour" in April of that year.

Marc Storace's Early Life and Music Beginnings

Marc Storace was born Mark Anthony Storace Crockford in Malta. He was one of six children. He taught himself to sing when he was quite young. His journey in bands started at age fourteen in 1965. He first performed live with two local bands: Stonehenge Union and The Boys. They played songs by popular groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks.

Inspired by the huge WOODSTOCK Festival, Storace renamed The Boys to Cinnamon Hades. This band began playing songs by harder rock acts like Iron Butterfly, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. To follow his dream of becoming a rock musician, Storace moved to London in 1970.

Later in his career, after joining Krokus, many people said he sounded like Bon Scott from AC/DC. Storace did not see this as a compliment at first. He felt he had his own unique singing style. He was even asked to try out for AC/DC after Bon Scott passed away. But Krokus was becoming very successful at that time, and AC/DC was not as big yet. So, Storace chose to stay with his bandmates in Krokus.

Marc Storace's Early Career in Music

In late 1971, Storace joined TEA, a Swiss progressive hard rock band. He toured Europe with them, opening for big bands like Queen and Nazareth. TEA released three studio albums: TEA, The Ship, and Tax Exiles. All these albums were produced by Dieter Dierks, who also worked with the Scorpions. For a while, TEA was Switzerland's most famous international rock band. They performed in many cities across Europe.

In 1976, TEA went on their last tour. Krokus was their opening act on this tour. This meeting planted the seed for what would happen later. After TEA, Marc Storace moved back to London. There, he formed a band called Eazy Money. One of their songs, "Telephone Man," was featured on a metal music album called Metal for Muthas Vol.2.

In 1979, Krokus founder Chris Von Rohr called Storace. He told him they needed a new singer and invited Storace to Switzerland for a "weekend jam." After an exciting weekend of playing music together, Storace decided to join Krokus.

Marc Storace and Krokus

Krokus: The Early Years (1980–1988)

In 1980, Marc Storace recorded his first album with Krokus, called Metal Rendez-vous. This album became Krokus's first big international hit. It was also their first album to reach Gold and Platinum status, eventually becoming 4x Platinum. With Storace as their singer, Krokus became much more popular.

From 1980 to 1988, they toured a lot, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their tours sometimes lasted up to nine months. During this time, they released six more studio albums and one live album. It was a very busy period of constant writing, recording, and touring. Krokus stopped playing together in the summer of 1988.

Krokus: Reunions and New Music (1994–2016)

In 1994, Marc Storace and Fernando Von Arb brought Krokus back together. They started a reunion tour. In 1995, Krokus released another studio album, To Rock or Not to Be, which went Gold.

In 2002, Krokus released "Rock The Block" with a slightly different band lineup. They then went on one of their biggest tours in Europe. They played at the Swedenrock Festival and the famous "Montreux Jazz Festival." A special DVD of their Montreux show was included with their next release, a double album called "Fire & Gasoline." This album had amazing live recordings from their "Rock The Block" European tour.

Krokus returned to the USA in September 2005. They played 22 shows in 30 days. This tour helped the band members work well together before they started writing songs for their next album, "Hellraiser." The "Hellraiser" lineup then toured Europe with the Swedish metal band Hammerfall. They played in new places like Greece and Malta.

In 2007, four original members from the "Metal Rendez-vous" album lineup (Marc, Fern, Chris, and Fred) reunited for a short TV appearance. Their performance received a standing ovation. This brought back the band's spirit from the early 1980s. They then played a comeback concert in Bern, Switzerland. Since then, Krokus has released two more studio albums: "Hoodoo" and "Dirty Dynamite." Marc Storace's vocals for "Dirty Dynamite" were recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. They also released a third live album, Longstick Goes Boom, recorded in their hometown of Solothurn, Switzerland.

In 2015, Krokus traveled to Miami for a tour to promote their new live album. They played on the "Monsters Of Rock Cruise" in the Caribbean and then had several shows in the US. They finished their Longstick Goes Boom tour with two concerts at Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles.

In 2016, Marc Storace's name appeared on lists of singers considered to replace Brian Johnson as the lead vocalist for AC/DC. At that time, Krokus was working on a new album.

Krokus released BIG ROCKS in January 2017. This album was a collection of cover songs by artists who had influenced the band members. It reached No.1 on the Swiss music charts. Marc Storace has been the main singer for Krokus since October 1979. He has sung on almost all of the band's studio albums.

Other Music Projects

Solo Work

In 1989, after Krokus split up for a while, Marc Storace took a break in Malta. He then returned to Switzerland and started writing songs for his first solo project. He worked with guitarist Vic Vergeat, a long-time friend from his TEA band days. The album, called The Blue Album, was released in 1991. It featured melodic rock songs with a soulful sound. The album was re-released in 1998 under the name Vergeat-Storace - When A Man - !

Guest Vocals and Other Bands

In 1993, Storace joined the Swiss rock band China as a guest singer. A live album of their tour together, called "Alive!", was released in 2000.

That same year, Storace formed Acoustical Mountain with China's guitarists Freddie Lawrence and Claudio Matteo. This unplugged trio played classic rock and roll songs around Switzerland. They never released any albums, performing only live. They later reformed with a new bassist. Storace and Matteo still perform as a duo for private events.

In 1994, during a break from Krokus, Storace joined Manfred Ehlert's Amen. They released an album that year, which also featured Glenn Hughes on some songs. Storace sang on almost all tracks of Amen's second album, Aguilar, released in 1996.

In 2003, during another break from Krokus, Storace worked with the Los Angeles metal band Warrior. They released the album The Wars of Gods and Men in 2004. This was Storace's first time working with an American band.

In 2004, German producer Michael Voss invited Storace to sing on the new album by the band BISS, called "Face-off." This melodic rock album was released in 2005. Storace also appeared on BISS's album X-Tension in 2006.

In February 2016, Storace starred in the rock-opera "TEST" as the character Luke. In the same year, he recorded the album Muscle & Blood with Billy Stokes and friends in Arizona. This album also featured famous guitarists like Pat Travers and Frank Marino.

Marc Storace in Film: Anuk

In 2006, Marc Storace acted in the Swiss-German film Anuk. He played the role of Geisterzunge, a tribal medicine-man or Shaman. The film tells the story of a Bronze Age tribe trying to survive against fierce horsemen in the Swiss Alps. Storace helped write the film's soundtrack with Luke Gasser, who also played the main role. Storace sings on the song "On My Own" with Gasser and Doro Pesch. You can also hear his Shaman chanting throughout the movie's soundtrack.

Discography

Krokus Albums

Other Albums Featuring Marc Storace

See also

In Spanish: Marc Storace para niños