Q5 is an American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
/
heavy metal band from
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, which was formed in 1983.
Their first studio album, titled ''Steel the Light'', came out in 1984. Picking up some critical praise, the outfit toured with the likes of
Lita Ford
Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...
and
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...
. However, the group faced internal divisions that ultimately ended the project before the 1980s came to a close. In 2014, Q5 re-formed to perform at the Sweden Rock Festival, and the band members involved found that the one-off event was not enough, deciding to continue on with the revamped version of the group.
Biography
Q5 started in 1983.
It functioned as a
supergroup by mixing together members of two popular
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
bands of the time. Frontman Jonathan K and guitarist
Floyd D. Rose from "C.O.R.E." (or "The C.O.R.E.") joined up with guitarist Rick Pierce, bassist Evan Sheeley, and drummer Gary Thompson from "TKO".
Their first studio album, 1984's ''Steel the Light'', earned praise from several critics.
Q5 signed on with
Polygram for their 1986 sophomore release, ''When the Mirror Cracks'', but the writing was already on the wall. Personal differences ripped the group apart not long after said release.
They later regrouped as
Nightshade
Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
and released another album called ''Dead of Night'' in 1991.
After that the band went quiet for ten years.
They recorded two more albums as Nighshade, ''Men of Iron'' in 2001, and ''Stand And Be True'' in 2008.
The band has featured a melodic
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
sound incorporating
heavy metal influences, with its songs being covered by the likes of
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band is named after both the shark with the same name, and guitarist Mark Kendall's former stage nickname. In August 2008, Great White estimated they had sold aroun ...
and
Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
. Ex-member
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking Vibrato systems for guitar, vibrato arm for a guitar. Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1976, the first of its kind, and it is now manufactured by a company ...
is also better known as the inventor of the guitar locking tremolo system.
Members

Current line-up
*Jonathan Scott K. – lead vocals
*Duffy Delgado – guitar
*Michael David – guitar
*Chad Thomas – bass
*Jarratt VanDyke – drums
Founding members
*Jonathan Scott K. – lead vocals
*
Floyd D. Rose – guitar
*Rick Pierce – guitar
*Gary Thompson – drums
*Evan Sheeley – bass/keyboard
Reunion tour line-up 2014–2019
*Jonathan Scott K. – lead vocals
*Rick Pierce – guitar
*Evan Sheeley – bass (1984-1989) (2003-2019)
*Dennis Turner – guitar
*James Nelson – guitar
*Jeffrey A. McCormack – drums
Discography
Albums
*1984 – ''Steel the Light'' (Music For Nations)
[MFN 39]
*1986 – ''When the Mirror Cracks'' (
Polygram)
*2016 – ''New World Order'' (
Frontiers Records
Frontiers Music (formerly Frontiers Records) is an Italian record label that primarily focuses on hard rock. The label was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is headquartered in Naples.
History
In 1996, Serafino Perugino began his care ...
)
Demos
*1983 – ''Demo''
*1984 – ''Demo 1984''
Singles
*1985 – "Steel the Light"
*1986 – "Living on the Borderline"
*2016 – "The Right Way"
References
{{Authority control
Hard rock musical groups from Washington (state)
Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state)
Musical groups established in 1983
Music for Nations artists
Frontiers Records artists
PolyGram artists