Introduction

Tim	Owen	Tufty	Tony

In the mid 1980’s, Tony, Owen and Tim were part of a successful rock outfit called Phantom. They toured all over the country playing original material, with great success for 5 years.

When Phantom split up, they all went their separate ways to pursue different musical paths.

These included club and pop, punk, soul, R&B and even country!

In late 2004 they met up again in a rehearsal room for a nostalgic jam session. It was soon clear to see that the years apart had not affected their musical understanding. They had enjoyed playing the old songs so much that they decided to put together a short set, as much for fun as anything else. Friends had told them to go out and play it to an audience and that it was a shame that no bands were going out and playing real rock classics with any real drive or attitude, and so 51 stone was born. They rehearsed over the next 12 months, wading through lots of material (good and bad), until they were offered a support gig with their friends Dizzy Lizzy, the Thin Lizzy tribute band. The feedback from the audience was excellent so they have continued to mould a set around classic rock from the sixties through to the present day and are now ready.

51 Stone have a full PA and mixing system, and usually use lighting to create the full show.

So if you are interested in booking us then send us a mail with your number and we'll give you a call, details on the 'Contact us' page

Oh, and the name 51 Stone is not our combined weight! It was Tony’s idea and it just sounded good at the time….

Owen Davidson – Bass Guitar/ Lead vocals.

Previously with rock band Phantom, Avalon, and various other acts.

Paul 'Tufty' Handley

Drumming started for me at the age of twelve (a long time ago). I was always tapping as a child, so my father got me some drum sticks from the drummer of his band. My father played piano all of his life in bands so I think it was inevitable I started playing an instrument. After knocking hell out of the furniture, my parents decided to buy me my first kit which was premier.

I started to have drum lessons at the age of 15 and ended up playing in a sixteen piece orchestra at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester which was fantastic. I played in numerous bands over the years and helped form a tribute to Rush called YYZ, and played with them for about sixteen years. I have to say that this has been the highlight up until present day, trying to emulate Neil Peart and the music of Rush. We played all over the UK and abroad and at most Rush conventions.

I have had the privileged opportunity to meet the legendary Buddy Rich at one of his shows in Birmingham in the seventies. He shook my hand, spoke to me for a few moments and signed my album, of which I have in my drum studio at home.

Influences:- Buddy Rich; Neil Peart; John Bonham; Steve Smith; Dave Weckyl; Thomas Lang and my son Matt. In my opinion my son’s dedication, professionalism and attention to detail will take drumming to a newer level.

Tony ‘ Dicky’ Dickenson – Drums, and Hungarian nose flute.

Influences:- Neil Peart (Rush), Buddy Rich, Stewart Copeland, Simon Phillips Laurel and Hardy and The Marx brothers.

Tim Haddon – Lead Guitar/ Keyboard/Vocal. Previously with rock band Phantom, New Horizon, and Big River Country Band. Still appears with Dizzy Lizzy and New Horizon. I've been playing guitar for around 30 years (you'd think I'd be able to play properly by now wouldn't you!), I first started to learn songs from the Thin Lizzy albums 'Johnny the Fox'and then 'Live and Dangerous'. The first solo I nailed down was the Scott Gorham solo in 'Fools gold' it took me months to get it up to speed and its still one of my favourites. Back in the 80's I played with various incarnations of a rock band called Phantom, this is where I first met Tony. Owen (or 'Roger' as I know him), I've been mates with since we were kids. Eventually after local success with Phantom, we were picked up by a studio based in Stourport on Severn. They recorded us, gave us a frontman,'Baz', (who used to do a fire eating act during our finale!), and setup gigs doing supports with people like Eric Bell (ex Thin Lizzy) and Trapeze, before we started touring in our own right. We played all over the country, in all types of venues, but I guess the biggest one was the Civic hall in Wolverhampton. Check out the player for a couple of original Phantom songs In my spare time I had also been playing in a club band called 'New Horizon', doing everything from Bill Haley and the comets right through to Queen. After Phantom split up New Horizon became my main band we played in most of the clubs in the Midlands area and won 5 awards for best band. Eventually after various personnel changes we decided that we wanted to try something different, so we thought of trying modern Country and Western!. For me this was a totally different way of playing guitar and I learnt a lot from that time. After that I played with all sorts of different musical styles and learnt all sorts of bits and pieces.About 4 years ago I met up again with Owen and Tony and we started playing old rock covers occasionally for fun. We enjoyed it so much we made it a regular thing. And so 51 Stone was born.. My main Influences are Rush, Thin Lizzy, Be Bop Deluxe, Pat Travers, Van Halen.
	Gear Guitars Custom Red stratocaster with a Seymore Duncan humbucker, also fitted with a Roland GK2 midi pickup. Peavey Wolfgang. FX Boss GT10, Jim Dunlop cry baby wah. Boss RC2 looper pedal, Digitech vocal harmonizer Synths Roland keyboard and Roland GR55 guitar synth Amplification Guitar:- Marshall 100W combo plugged into a Marshall 2 X12 cabinet Synth:- Pacific 300W PA amp plugged into a 1X12 and Horn
Owen Davidson – Bass Guitar/ Lead vocals. Previously with rock band Phantom, Avalon, and various other acts.
	Gear Guitar: Fender Jazz basses Effects: zoom and Boss FX Amplification Trace Elliot

In the mid 1980’s, Tony, Owen and Tim were part of a successful rock outfit called Phantom. They toured all over the country playing original material, with great success for 5 years. When Phantom split up, they all went their separate ways to pursue different musical paths. These included club and pop, punk, soul, R&B and even country! In late 2004 they met up again in a rehearsal room for a nostalgic jam session. It was soon clear to see that the years apart had not affected their musical understanding. They had enjoyed playing the old songs so much that they decided to put together a short set, as much for fun as anything else. Friends had told them to go out and play it to an audience and that it was a shame that no bands were going out and playing real rock classics with any real drive or attitude, and so 51 stone was born. They rehearsed over the next 12 months, wading through lots of material (good and bad), until they were offered a support gig with their friends Dizzy Lizzy, the Thin Lizzy tribute band. The feedback from the audience was excellent so they have continued to mould a set around classic rock from the sixties through to the present day and are now ready. 51 Stone have a full PA and mixing system, and usually use lighting to create the full show. So if you are interested in booking us then send us a mail with your number and we'll give you a call, details on the 'Contact us' page Oh, and the name 51 Stone is not our combined weight! It was Tony’s idea and it just sounded good at the time….	Click the logo to visit the player where you'll find a couple of original Phantom songs