Hero was a hard rock band from Denmark. Formed in 1984, the six-piece released one critically acclaimed studio album on Vertigo in 1986 and split up in 1988. Hero was part of the first wave of Danish heavy rock bands that attracted international attention in the early 80’s, spearheaded by Mercyful Fate and Pretty Maids. Centered on the aggressive riffs and harmony guitars of Johnny Thomas and Peter Fernando, Hero blended in keyboards, extended chords and soulful vocal harmonies to create a distinctive melodic hard rock sound. The group performed live around Denmark eventually doing shows in Copenhagen with Nazareth, Cinderella and Pretty Maids. Hero was offered recording deals from international labels such as Neat Records and Roadrunner Records and was also approached by Danish major labels Medley Records and Replay Records who introduced the band to producer Nils Henriksen. It was Henriksen who convinced PolyGram to finally sign Hero. In January 1986 Hero entered Werner Studios to record songs for their eponymous debut album, released on May 28, in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The album got favourable reviews but right after the release, singer Steen Larsen decided to quit the band for undisclosed reasons and sadly died by his own hand just a year after. Hero carried on with singer Kenny Lübcke for a short while but disbanded in 1988. Keyboard player Bo Brinck joined Savage Affair and drummer Michael Fast later went on to play with Pretty Maids. In 2021, 35 years after its release, Universal made the original Hero album available worldwide on the streaming services.