Derek Oliver
Derek’s lifelong love of metal goes back to the ’70s when he became a UK underground legend for sharing tapes of the most obscure American bands. After many years championing acts as a writer for Kerrang!, Derek moved to New York and worked in A&R at Atco Records, signing a number of great acts including the multi-platinum Pantera and Dream Theater. He moved back to the UK and in 2006 started Rock Candy Records, which specialises in reissues of rock and metal albums from the 1970s and 1980s.
Latest articles by Derek Oliver

Toto finally released a live DVD after two attempts had failed for Spinal Tap style reasons
By Derek Oliver published
A last-minute crew change, an exploding car and a contract battle all contributed to plans being abandoned, until the band delivered 35th Anniversary: Live In Poland in 2014

The epic story of Styx’s Pieces Of Eight, the pomp rock masterpiece that began to tear them apart
By Derek Oliver published
Styx’s 1978 album Pieces Of Eight was a watershed moment for the pomp rock stars – for good and for bad

How Journey found Steve Perry and made Infinity, the album that set them on the road to superstardom
By Derek Oliver published
Journey were a noodling jazz-rock band with a cult following – until they discovered Steve Perry and made 1978’s Infinity

Steve Perry's track-by-track guide to Journey's Infinity
By Derek Oliver published
Former Journey frontman Steve Perry gives us the lowdown on every song from his first album with the band, Infinity

The 40 best AOR vocalists of all time
By Derek Oliver published
Celebrating the finest, most velvet-throated singers to ever belt out a power ballad

8 totally obscure AOR albums that should have been huge
By Derek Oliver published
Not every hard rock band can be Journey or Bon Jovi – here are 8 lost AOR treasures that should have gone multi-platinum

“The audience threw lighters, bottles, ice cubes and coins. We managed four songs before being booed off”: the rollercoaster story of Loverboy, Canada’s greatest AOR band
By Derek Oliver published
Turn Me Loose, Working For The Weekend, Loving Every Minute Of It – Loverboy raised the maple leaf flag high in the 1980s

"You just can’t make it big enough, rude enough or loud enough": Producer Tom Allom on engineering Black Sabbath and helping create the sound of heavy metal
By Derek Oliver published
'Colonel' Tom Allom created the iconic tolling bell on Black Sabbath's debut album, although he admits to not liking their music very much

How Boston Flew So High And Fell So Far
By Derek Oliver last updated
How the biggest band of the 70s, created by reclusive genius Tom Scholz, were almost pulled apart by turmoil and tragedy

The stories behind Journey's Infinity album - by Steve Perry
By Derek Oliver last updated
Singer Steve Perry goes through his debut album with Journey, track by track.

Start believin': The story of Journey's Infinity album
By Derek Oliver published
By 1978, Journey had a loyal muso following but were still looking for their breakthrough. What they needed was a singer would could turn their improvisations into anthems. Cue one Steve Perry...
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