Four Horsemen
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Englishman Haggis (born Stephen Harris) first tasted fame in the mid-80s when he was going by the handle of Kid Chaos, the bassist for flash-in-the-pan glam rockers Zodiac Mindwarps Love Reaction. A brief stint as rhythm guitarist in the Cult followed, after which he moved to L.A. in 1988 and teamed up with singer Frank Starr, lead guitarist Dave Lizmi, bassist Ben Pape, and drummer Ken Dimwit Montgomery (ex of Canadian hardcore pioneers D.O.A.) to form the Four Horsemen. The quintet may not have been able to count, but they sure knew how to rock, and their eponymous debut EP displayed a raunchy, no-nonsense AC/DC-like approach, spiced with twangs of Southern rock.
Constant touring followed and did much to streamline the groups live chops, but Starr was arrested on drug possession charges shortly after their return to L.A., eventually spending more than six months in the slammer. Upon his release in the spring of 1991, the Four Horsemen immediately set to work on their full-length debut, Nobody Said It Was Easy, with producer Rick Rubin. Released by Rubins Def American label, the record garnered good reviews, but despite opening for the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Black Crowes, the band seemed cursed by bad luck and trouble. Internal strife was a daily headache on the road, and Starrs continuous clashes with authority (including repeated parole violations) threatened to sideline the Horsemen at every turn. He finally succeeded in late 1992, earning another extended vacation as a guest of the California penal system, and leaving the band in limbo for over a year.
Then, just as the Four Horsemen were discussing the possibility of making a comeback, tragedy struck when drummer Dimwit suffered a lethal heroin overdose on September 27, 1994. This proved too much to bear and a dismayed Haggis quit for good, soon to be followed by bassist Pape. Still, the Four Horsemen would ride again, and now, ironically enough, they would actually be a foursome. A new album entitled Gettin Pretty Good at Barely Gettin By was completed in 1996 by Starr, Lizmi, new bass player Pharoah (sic), and Dimwits baby brother, ex-Black Flag and Danzig drummer Chuck Biscuits (though drummer Randy Cooke was credited on the album sleeve for contractual reasons). Yet cruel fate would intervene one final time, when Starr was hit by a drunk driver before the albums release and lapsed into a coma from which he would never recover, eventually expiring on June 18, 1999. Meanwhile, the Four Horsemen had brought in former Little Caesar vocalist Ron Young to tour behind the album while waiting for Starrs recovery, eventually breaking up in 1998.
