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CNN) -- Having endured pitfalls and successes in more than two decades as a band, Great White now plays with purpose two years after a blaze killed 99 of their fans and one of their own.

A chart-topping band in the late 1980s, Great White played at a West Warwick, Rhode Island, nightclub on February 20, 2003.

Pyrotechnics sparked a fire onstage that quickly engulfed The Station. Many spectators suffered serious burns and others died trying to escape -- including the band's guitarist Ty Longley.

The tragedy thrust the band into the national limelight some 15 years after they landed on the rock music charts.

Lead singer Jack Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall formed Great White in the late '80s during heavy metal's resurgence.

Unlike some of its counterparts, such as Poison and Warrant, Great White favored a sound influenced by Led Zeppelin and other early '70s hard rock heroes.

According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Great White was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. They recorded their album "Great White" for EMI Records in the early 1980s.

The record was not a commercial success, and EMI dropped the group. Great White then signed with smaller, idiosyncratic Los Angeles label, Enigma Records.

The band's 1986 record "Shot in the Dark," hit the Top 100 and Enigma Records' parent, Capitol picked up the band.

In 1987, Great White recorded the album "Once Bitten," laying the groundwork for 1989's "Twice Shy." This album featured the single "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" by Ian Hunter, which, according to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, went double platinum.

The band produced a Led Zeppelin tribute album in 1999 and re-recorded a number of its best-known songs in 2000.

Great White toured constantly in the 1990s, dropping some members and picking up others. But Kendall and Russell were the mainstays -- until 2000.

Band splits, reunites
Kendall was the first founding member to leave the group. In a statement on MarkKendall.com and reprinted on the band's official Web site posted on January 20, 2000, he pledged to continue making music.

"Believe me when I say, we will continue to rock together for many years to come. I promise to make the best music I can for your listening pleasure."

More recently, Kendall released a solo album titled "2.0."

Russell left in 2001, effectively dismantling the band and putting out his solo CD, "For You," in August 2002.

On New Year's Eve 2001, the group reunited one last time to say goodbye to fans. The concert's songs were compiled in a CD titled "Thank you ... Goodnight."

Then in 2003, Kendall and Russell performed together as Great White and set off on a national tour -- one that would end in tragedy.

Concert ends in tragedy
At the fateful concert, pyrotechnics ignited foam insulation that had been used as soundproofing.

Band members have insisted they had permission from the club's owners to use special effect, but the owners have said otherwise.

A day after the fire, Russell remorsefully recounted the tragedy:

"I'd love to say I'm sorry," Russell told WCVB, a CNN affiliate. "It is obviously a very tragic and unfortunate incident. This is not what music is supposed to be about. After 25 years of being in show business, nothing like this has ever happened. What do you say? Gee, I'm sorry. That doesn't cut it. There are no words that can possibly express the way I feel right now. I'm devastated."

Russell and Kendall set out to raise money for the Station Family Fund -- a nonprofit organization founded to help victims affected by the Rhode Island fire. And on July 22, 2003, the "Help Us, Help Them" tour began.

According to the Station Family Fund Web site, the tour raised more than $85,0000

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lotsajizz wrote:
Jack Russel better be thankful he was not criminally charged---my fellow Rhode Islanders are/were looking for solace--even in the form of vengeance.

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prodigalson1965 wrote:
I'm really shocked that he, the club owners, ect. weren't charged, but I doubt that any litigation has wound up at this point... Maybe they're still trying to figure out who to sue... I remember watching it on TV... People trying to get the hell out, running over each other... People stacked in the doors like wood, still alive, and others trying to get them out... Man, what a terrible way to go...

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