[1] Tokyo Blade is one of the many acts considered part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, which lasted from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
In fact, this was a compilation of four earlier recordings, dating from when the band were called Genghis Khan, plus four songs from the original Tokyo Blade album.
In that period, Tokyo Blade took part in tours and festival packages with the likes of Blue Öyster Cult, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne and Scorpions.
The band filmed a concert at London's Camden Palace, which was shown on TV in the UK on Channel 4 in 1985, and has since made its way onto multiple bootleg DVD releases.
Guitarist John Wiggins (Deep Machine, Slam) would go on to play in the first edition of Battlezone with ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno.
Vocalist Vick Wright formed the band Johnny Crash; this being the first project related to Tokyo Blade to appear on a major label in the United States, with the release of the album Neighbourhood Threat.
This new incarnation of Tokyo Blade released the album Ain't Misbehavin' in 1987 and toured on the festival circuit, playing on the same stages as bands such as Black Sabbath.
Following record company problems which caused Shogun to disband, Alan Marsh formed a group called Mr. Ice, which eventually included guitarist Andy Boulton.
As this group now featured two key members from Tokyo Blade, a move from the band's management to resurrect the old name for a European tour with Uriah Heep led to additional issues.
[4] Second vocalist Vick Wright wrote a number of screenplays and a novel called "South of the Pole",[5] worked on the production of a comedy show, and pursued a publishing deal.
After more than twelve years of inactivity, a new version of Tokyo Blade was rebuilt by guitarist Bryan Holland, including Andy Boulton alongside new members: singer Chris Gillen, drummer Lorenzo Gonzalez, and bassist Frank Sapardi.
[7] Nicolaj Ruhnow left Tokyo Blade abruptly in 2014, citing a fallout with Andy Boulton,[8] and Chris Gillen then returned to the band as lead vocalist.