Weekend Warriors

There's every chance you've never heard of Dragon. The odds that you haven't heard their music are quite different. With a career that regularly ping-ponged between tragedy and triumph, Australia-via-New Zealand classic rock ensemble Dragon delivered a series of hits and live performances between 1972 and 1998 that permanently established them within the global popular consciousness.

If you've ever heard a reference to the April Sun In Cuba, you've run into Dragon. They enjoyed a remarkable run of success in the late-'70s and, after a brief split, launched an equally successful comeback in the 1980s. Unfortunately, they also had a violently chaotic tradition of tragedy. “Oh, there were great opportunities that were missed in this band. Great opportunities. This band in their heyday could have been world class,” current lead singer Mark Williams says of the band's history. “Look, I think it's a great story. I think the Dragon story is a great story and it had to have tragedy in it.”

The band's membership was perpetually shattered by drug addiction. Drummer Neil Storey died of an overdose in 1976. Original lead singer Marc Hunter was kicked out of the band for drug problems in 1978 (though later rejoined). Their manager was arrested for dealing drugs before they moved to Australia. In total, Dragon have had roughly 40 musicians pass through their ranks.

“It could have gone further. It didn't. Fortunately, it will. It's still alive today, fortunately. We're carrying on,” Williams smiles and laughs. “All of the fuck-ups are still carrying on too, though.”

The band seemed to meet their final end with the death of Marc Hunter in 1998 (from throat cancer). However, bassist (and Marc's brother) Todd Hunter resurrected the band in 2006 with a more stripped-down membership and they've been continuing ever since. A solo singer back in the '70s, Williams shirked retirement to rejoin the road and rediscover songwriting.

“There's things we have to get out of the way, gigs we have to do and commitments we have to meet – but I think it's always in the back of our minds to ensure the band is still exploring something new,” Williams explains. “The first album we did together as this line-up, Todd had this back catalogue of songs he'd written and songs Dragon hadn't finished.

“The next time we went into the studio, he said 'Right, I'm not writing a thing' and left us to our own devices. So, obviously, we floundered for like 18 months but it's eventually coming together. I thought that was a really smart move he made – forcing us to kind of step up to the plate,” the frontman laughs. “We could have sat back and traded on him but we want more than that.”

Williams doesn't consider Dragon a nostalgia act. In addition to their old material continuing to garner younger fans, they've been working on and releasing new material since their return. They released the album Happy I Am in 2009 (as well as a covers record Remembers in the same year). Since then, they've also released their Chase The Sun EP.

“I don't know whether it's nostalgia. We just love doing shows,” Williams says candidly. “You know, we're all so busy we hardly ever see each other. We meet up on weekends at airports, do some shows and have a great time. That's all, really.”