Chris Overland, founding member and guitarist of British AOR legends FM, has passed away. The band announced the news two days ago (August 25, 2023) on their official Facebook profile (you’ll find the original post below).
In the summer of 1984, ex-Wildlife members Chris Overland and his brother Steve (vocals, rhythm guitar), ex-Samson members Pete Jupp (drums) and Merv Goldsworthy (bass), and Phil Manchester a.k.a. Didge Digital (keyboards), who came over from The Invaders, formed FM in London.
By December 1984 they already had six original songs in their pocket, and that landed them a deal with CBS/Portrait. Chris was seen as the driving force when it came to songwriting, which mostly came out of his partnership with brother Steve. In September 1986 the band dropped their debut “Indiscreet”, and they kept building their reputation on the scene, especially with the first single Frozen Heart.
Around this time Chris made a name for himself not just as a talented composer, but also as one of the most meticulous and distinctive guitarists on the British AOR scene of the day. His co-writing stamp on the songs of the debut “Indiscreet”, like Face to Face, Love Lies Dying, Heart Of Matter, American Girls (the song FM aimed at the American market with in 1986), and the especially excellent I Belong To The Night, remains indelible to this day and evergreen on the global AOR scene. The guitarist kept that stance on the follow-up “Tough It Out” from 1989 too. That’s when he and Steve even flew across the pond, where Desmond Child joined them in the hunt for infectious hits. The collaboration produced the hit Bad Luck, and Child also put his name down as co-writer on Burning My Heart Down.
Soon after the UK tour promoting the album “Though It Out”, Chris decided in 1990 to leave FM. As his replacement, the band recruited Andy Barnett, who had been connected to the group in the past, since he’s credited as one of the writers of the opening “Indiscreet” track and the hit That Girl. Iron Maiden even covered that song and put it on the B-side of the single Stranger In A Strange Land, which came out toward the end of November 1986.
It’s worth adding that Chris also co-wrote Shot In The Dark, which he and his brother Steve penned back before FM, in 1983, when they were still working with Wildlife. Their old Wildlife buddy and bassist Phil Soussan later joined Ozzy Osbourne and played him the demo. Together they rearranged the song. Ozzy put it on the album “The Ultimate Sin”, and it was released as a single too. Later, copyright troubles kicked off, which is why the song actually can’t be found on any official Ozzy ‘best of’ compilation, while Ozzy has repeatedly said in public that he doesn’t like the album at all. Still, in 2012 FM finally recorded their own version of Shot In The Dark, working from the Wildfire demo, and included it on the EP “Only Foolin”.
