With just two singles to their name – but a vast amount of talent and an almost legendary reputation – ARC were another of the many NWOBHM acts who burned brightly but briefly, never really having the chance to achieve their full potential. Based in Worcestershire, and founded on the core of the three Whitbread brothers – Mike (guitar), Geoff (drums) and John (vocals) – ARC built up a solid fan base and from the very beginning played sets consisting of their own material, with just the odd cover thrown in to keep the audience on their toes. With ten or so songs already under their belts they decided the time was right to release something, and the results of a session at The Old Smithy was the double A-side single ‘Tribute (To Mike Hailwood)’ c/w ‘For My Next Kick’, issued in 1980. The following year saw the release of a second single, ‘War Of The Ring’, backed by the oddly-titled ‘Ice Cream Theme’.
Aside from the two singles, the highlight of ‘Raiders Of The Lost ARC’ has to be a lengthy eleven-song set recorded at a rehearsal in December 1984 which shows just how good – and how truly original – ARC were.
The CD version of ‘Raiders Of The Lost ARC’ also includes the album recorded by the Whitbread brothers and bassist Dave Towers under the name Red Hunter in 2001, together with a live, three-track session performed the same year.
1. War of the Ring
2. Ice Cream Theme
3. Tribute (To Mike Hailwood)
4. For My Next Kick
5. Leviathan
6. War of the Ring (Original V.)
7. Arise
8. Hades
9. Turn On Your Love
10. Now is the Hour
11. Illegitamus
12. In the Corner of a Foreign Field
13. Firebrand
14. Cyborg (incl. Drum Solo)
15. Spirit Rider
16. Climbing the Chain
17. Atlantis
18. You Really Got Me
19. H-Bomb Rock
CD Bonus tracks: (Red Hunter 2001)
20. Blue Skies
21. The Eyes of a Woman
22. It's All Up to You
23. New Millennium
24. Never to Return
25. Shine On
26. Turn On Your Love
27. Obsession
28. Leviathan
29. Face to Face
30. Coming to You
31. Leviathan (LIVE)
32. Never to Return (LIVE)
33. Face to Face (LIVE)