# List of Tygers of Pan Tang members

Tygers of Pan Tang (TOPT) are an English heavy metal band from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside. Formed in 1978, the group originally featured lead vocalist Mark Butcher who was replaced by Jess Cox, guitarist and backing vocalist Robb Weir, bassist and backing vocalist Richard "Rocky" Laws, and drummer Brian "Big" Dick. The group's current lineup includes Weir, drummer Craig Ellis (since 2000), vocalist Jacopo "Jack" Meille (since 2004), bassist Gavin Gray (since 2011). Jess Cox formed "Jess Cox's Tygers of Pan Tang" in 2015 and has featured members of Blitzkrieg.

## History
### 1978–1987

TOPT were formed in 1978 by Robb Weir, Rocky Laws and Brian Dick, who added Mark Butcher after Weir briefly considered performing lead vocals. He was replaced before the end of the month by Jess Cox. During the recording of their debut album Wild Cat, the band decided to add a second guitarist, and after several auditions brought in John Sykes. After the album's promotional tour ended in October 1980, Cox suddenly left. He was replaced the following month by Jon Deverill. The new lineup released Spellbound and Crazy Nights in 1981, before Sykes left to join Thin Lizzy and was replaced by former Penetration guitarist Fred Purser. Shortly after issuing The Cage in 1982, TOPT were dropped by MCA Records, and before the end of the year the group had disbanded.
In 1985, Deverill and Dick reformed TOPT with new members Steve Lamb, Neil Sheperd (both guitars) and Colin Irwin (bass), the latter of whom was soon replaced by Dave Donaldson in time for the recording of comeback album The Wreck-Age. Lamb had recently been a member of Robb Weir's band Sergeant, while both Sheperd and Donaldson had worked with former TOPT frontman Jess Cox in recent years. For the 1987 follow-up Burning in the Shade, Deverill, Lamb and Dick worked with songwriter Steve Thompson as a guest contributor, before breaking up for a second time.

### 1999 onwards

Jess Cox and Robb Weir reunited at Wacken Open Air festival in August 1999 to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of TOPT's first single "Don't Touch Me There", adding Blitzkrieg members Glenn S. Howes on guitar, Gavin Gray on bass and Chris Percy on drums. This led to a full reformation of the band the following year, with sole original member Weir joined by new vocalist Tony Liddell, guitarist Dean Robertson, bassist Brian West and drummer Craig Ellis. Shortly after the release of Mystical, the band's first studio album since 1987, Liddell was replaced by Angel Witch bassist Richie Wicks. The new vocalist remained until October 2004, recording Noises from the Cathouse before leaving due to "ongoing work commitments". Italian singer Jacopo Meille took over in December.
After releasing Animal Instinct in 2008, followed by a series of re-recordings of earlier material, West officially departed in November 2011 to focus on his duties as bass technician for Uriah Heep, with Gavin Gray returning to take his place. Ambush followed in 2012, before Robertson left at the beginning of 2013 to focus on other projects. He was replaced by Micky Crystal. In 2015 Jess Cox formed “Jess Cox’s Tygers of Pan Tang” and made festival appearances across Europe as well as a tour of South America.
Micky Crystal departed in March 2020, followed by Gavin Gray in July 2021. Their replacements have been Francesco Marras and Huw Howlding (also ex-Blitzkrieg) respectively.

## Members
### Current

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Robb Weir | 1978–19821999–present | guitarbacking vocals | all releases, except The Wreck-Age (1985) and Burning in the Shade (1987) |
| Craig Ellis | 2000–present | drumspercussionbacking vocals | all releases from Mystical (2001) onwards except A New Heartbeat (2022) |
| Jacopo "Jack" Meille | 2004–present | lead vocals | all releases from Animal Instinct (2008) onwards |
| Francesco Marras | 2020–present | guitarbacking vocals | all releases from Bloodlines (2023) onwards |
| Huw Holding | 2021–present | bass | all releases from Bloodlines (2023) onwards |

### Former

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Brian "Big" Dick | 1978–19821985–1987 | drumspercussion | all releases from Wild Cat (1980) to First Kill (1992)Live at Nottingham Rock City (2001) |
| Richard "Rocky" Laws | 1978–1982 | bassbacking vocals | all releases from Wild Cat (1980) to The Cage (1982)First Kill (1992)Live at Nottingham Rock City (2001) |
| Mark Butcher | 1978 | lead vocals | none – live performances only |
| Jess Cox | 1978–19801999 | lead vocals | Wild Cat (1980)"Rock n' Roll Man" (1980)First Kill (1992)Live at Wacken (2001) |
| John Sykes | 1980–1982 (died 2025) | guitarbacking vocals | Spellbound (1981)"Don't Take Nothing" (1981)Crazy Nights (1981)The Cage (1982) – two tracks onlyLive at Nottingham Rock City (2001) |
| Jon Deverill | 1980–19821985–1987 | lead vocals | all releases from Spellbound (1981) to Burning in the Shade (1987)Live at Nottingham Rock City (2001) |
| Fred Purser | 1982 | guitarkeyboardsbacking vocals | The Cage (1982) |
| Steve Lamb | 1985–1987 | guitarbacking vocals | The Wreck-Age (1985)Burning in the Shade (1987) |
| Neil Sheperd | 1985–1987 | guitar | The Wreck-Age (1985) |
| Colin Irwin | 1985 | bass | none – rehearsals only |
| Dave Donaldson | 1985–1987 | bassbacking vocals | The Wreck-Age (1985) |
| Gavin Gray | 1999 (one-off)2011–2021 | bassbacking vocals | Live at Wacken (2001)all TOPT releases from Ambush (2012) to Ritual (2019) |
| Chris Percy | 1999 (one-off) | drums | Live at Wacken (2001) |
| Glenn S. Howes | 1999 (one-off) | guitar | Live at Wacken (2001) |
| Dean Robertson | 2000–2013 | guitar | all releases from Mystical (2001) to Ambush (2012) |
| Brian West | 2000–2011 | bass | all releases from Mystical (2001) to The Spellbound Sessions (2011) |
| Tony Liddell | 2000–2001 | lead vocals | Mystical (2001) |
| Richie Wicks | 2001–2004 | lead vocals | Live in the Roar (2003)Noises from the Cathouse (2004)Live in Holland (2005) |
| Michael "Micky" Crystal | 2013–2020 | guitarbacking vocals | The Crazy Nights Sessions (2014)Tygers of Pan Tang (2016)Ritual (2019) |

## Lineups

| Period | Members | Releases |
| Early – August 1978 | Mark Butcher – lead vocals Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Rocky Laws – bass, backing vocals Brian Dick – drums, percussion | none – live performances only |
| August 1978 – July 1980 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Rocky Laws – bass, backing vocals Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jess Cox – lead vocals | Wild Cat (1980) "Rock n' Roll Man" (1980) First Kill (1992) |
| July – October 1980 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Rocky Laws – bass, backing vocals Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jess Cox – lead vocals John Sykes – guitar, backing vocals | none – live performances only |
| November 1980 – April 1982 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Rocky Laws – bass, backing vocals Brian Dick – drums, percussion John Sykes – guitar, backing vocals Jon Deverill – lead vocals | Spellbound (1981) "Don't Take Nothing" (1981) Crazy Nights (1981) The Cage (1982) – two tracks only |
| April – November 1982 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Rocky Laws – bass, backing vocals Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jon Deverill – lead vocals Fred Purser – guitar, backing vocals | The Cage (1982) – remaining tracks |
| Band inactive November 1982 – early 1985 |||
| Early 1985 | Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jon Deverill – lead vocals Steve Lamb – guitar, backing vocals Neil Sheperd – guitar Colin Irwin – bass | none – rehearsals only |
| 1985–1987 | Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jon Deverill – lead vocals Steve Lamb – guitar, backing vocals Neil Sheperd – guitar Dave Donaldson – bass, backing vocals | The Wreck-Age (1985) |
| 1987 | Brian Dick – drums, percussion Jon Deverill – lead vocals Steve Lamb – guitar, backing vocals | Burning in the Shade (1987) |
| Band inactive 1987–1999 |||
| August 1999 (Wacken Open Air) | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Jess Cox – lead vocals Glenn S. Howes – guitar Gavin Gray – bass, backing vocals Chris Percy – drums | Live at Wacken (2001) |
| 2000 – November 2001 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Tony Liddell – vocals Dean Robertson – guitar Brian West – bass Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals | Mystical (2001) |
| November 2001 – October 2004 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Dean Robertson – guitar Brian West – bass Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Richie Wicks – vocals | Live in the Roar (2003) Noises from the Cathouse (2004) Live in Holland (2005) |
| December 2004 – November 2011 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Dean Robertson – guitar Brian West – bass Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jacopo Meille – vocals | Animal Instinct (2008) Animal Instinct x2 (2009) The Wildcat Sessions (2010) The Spellbound Sessions (2011) |
| November 2011 – January 2013 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Dean Robertson – guitar Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jacopo Meille – lead vocals Gavin Gray – bass, backing vocals | Ambush (2012) |
| February 2013 – March 2020 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Gavin Gray – bass, backing vocals Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jacopo Meille – lead vocals Micky Crystal – guitar, backing vocals | The Crazy Nights Sessions (2014) Tygers of Pan Tang (2016) Ritual (2019) |
| October 2020 – July 2021 | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Gavin Gray – bass, backing vocals Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jacopo Meille – lead vocals Francesco Marras – guitar, backing vocals | none – rehearsals only |
| August 2021 – present | Robb Weir – guitar, backing vocals Craig Ellis – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jacopo Meille – lead vocals Francesco Marras – guitar, backing vocals Huw Howlding – bass | Bloodlines (2023) Live Blood (2024) |