NWOBHM

LOST IN MUSIC – with North East musician Bernadette Mooney.

/ Alikivi

‘War Machine went on to play many gigs after the album was released in 1986 and I was asked to do a photo shoot in Kerrang called ladykillers. I really enjoyed the day as Bon Jovi was getting his photos taken the same day and for that month’s issue we both appeared in the Kerrang magazine.

We also appeared in Viz as the meanest band in the North East but I think Venom should of got that one!

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How did you get started in music ?

‘Bought my first guitar when I was 15 and had lots of song ideas but wasn’t sure how to write. There was lots of lyrics in my head so I wrote them down, taught myself to play guitar from a book and started to write my own songs.

A friend heard them and played them to a guy who was in a band. He liked my voice, so I ended up doing a few gigs with him.

Then I joined a band called Chapter 24. I played a while with them as a guitarist and vocalist but then moved on to a local band called She with Lee Robertson. I played a few gigs with them before forming War Machine with Steve White on guitar.

We were both from Wallsend and Les Fry was living in Jesmond he was on bass. We had a drummer called Steve Smith who still gigs in the North East.

My influences then were Pat Benatar, Steve was into Black Sabbath and Venom. I first met Steve White at college and we dated. Before he formed a band with me he was in Atomkraft with Tony Dolan who is now with Venom Inc.

Steve and myself would write the songs together just by jamming. I had lyrics and give them to Steve who would write the guitar bits and Les added bass. I think Les wrote some songs too’.

Where did War Machine rehearse and gig?

‘We used to rehearse in an old building. I think it was in Felling near Gateshead. It was horrible. The guys used to pee in Brown ale bottles as there were no toilets.

I used to stand in a cardboard box with newspaper in to keep my feet warm. But we were skint and it was cheap.

We did a few gigs around the North East and in Scotland. When we did a gig we went all out with the show. Pyrotechnics and explosions which always seemed to be going off near me!

One night at Chrystal’s Arena in Scotland we set a ceiling on fire and got sent a £300 bill. We never paid of course. Couldn’t do that now with health and safety I don’t know how we got away with it.

We even got offered a gig in what was then Yugoslavia. But they wouldn’t let us in because of our name. I remember we entered a Battle of the Bands held in Gateshead Brewery. We came second, or was it third ?

War Machine would rehearse a lot before a gig, getting really tight and after playing many venues in the North East we ended up with a good fan base’.

What was your experience of recording ?

‘We recorded a demo at Neat records and on it was a song I wrote called Storm Warning. Dave Woods who owned Neat records, liked it so much he offered to record our album.

The line up of the band that recorded was me, Steve and Les and we had Brian Waugh on drums. We didn’t get much time in the studio and we felt it was a bit rushed.

Our album did pretty well abroad, but we never received any royalties or from any other songs that were used on compilation albums. Dave Wood said all the money from the album paid for the distribution.

Nerd alert: War Machine released Unknown Soldier in 1986 on the Neat record label. An eight-track album including the tracks Power, On the Edge and No Place to Hide.

The same year the album was also released by Roadrunner records in the Netherlands. Tracks by War Machine appeared on at least four compilation albums released in the ’90s.

‘We were young and naive so never questioned it. We were like many bands in that respect. We were played on a lot of radio shows across the world even the USA.

I hosted the Alan Robson North East radio rock shows as he was a fan and played our music on his broadcasts’.

What happened next with the band ?

‘After a couple of years gigging, I decided to leave the band as I got offered a job as a costume designer in London. It felt like the band was just doing the same round of gigs and I needed a change.

Steve White the guitarist went on to play for Venom and Les went on to open Voodoo cafe. I worked in London for a few years where I did a lot of gigs with different bands’.

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What are you up to now, are you still in music ?

‘Being back home in the North East I have always played music and mainly my own. I write, record and produce my own songs. My style is very mellow now, a bit like me. Not like my wild days with War Machine which I really enjoyed’.

Listen: bernea on Reverbnation

Interview by Gary Alikivi March 2018.
Recommended:
SATAN/BLIND FURY: Lou Taylor Rock the Knight, 26th Feb & 5th March 2017.
WARRIOR: The Hunger 12th April 2017.
FIST: Turn the Hell On, 29th April 2017.
TYSONDOG: Back for Another Bite, 5th August 2017.
ATOMKRAFT: Running with the Pack, 14th August 2017.
VIIXEN: Fox on the Run, 19th March 2018.

FOX ON THE RUN – with new Thunderstick vocalist

/ Alikivi

Viixen 1_preview

Viixen is the new lead vocalist for Thunderstick. The line up is Rex Thunderbolt (bass, backing vox) Baz Roze (guitar) Dave ‘Kandy’ Kilford (guitar) and of course the masked man Thunderstick (drums).

I asked Viixen was there a defining moment when you said I want to do that…

‘I can’t remember a time when I didn’t sing. When I was little my mother would hear me singing and say ‘it sounds lovely but why do you have to change it’.

I was always changing the words and the melodies. I sang in the choir at school, and I used to enter school music competitions. Always coming second to a girl who sang opera.

I grew up in a small Shropshire town and had a religious upbringing so I didn’t have the exposure to bands that I could join. Then I got married and had children very young so it wasn’t until I hit 31 that I finally formed a band.

I had recently got divorced and moved in with a girl who could play guitar. One evening she was playing the song Zombie by The Cranberries and I joined in with the vocals. It sounded pretty good so we decided to form a girlband’.

Who were your influences in music ? 

‘I’ve always been a rock chick at heart. Listening to rock and metal makes me feel free and rebellious. Some of my favourites are Deep Purple, Kate Bush, Skid Row, Marilyn Manson and Evanescence. If the music makes me feel something… I’ll love it’.

When did you start playing gigs and what venues did you play ?

‘I have been in two bands before joining Thunderstick. We gigged mostly in London and Kent. I started gigging in 2010 and played in pubs and clubs. Then we started playing festivals which were amazing.

I loved the big stage and having plenty of space to bounce around. We had a large biker following so we played various biker rallies and festivals.

I did a big gig for Gibson guitars during the London Olympics in 2012. The venue looked over the Olympic stadium and was pretty cool. I played at the London Hard Rock Café in October last year, which was a great venue’.

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Viixen has brought both her vocal strength and stagecraft experience to her new challenge; Thunderstick. The ex-Iron Maiden/Samson drummer is known for having strong female vocalists fronting his band and Viixen fits that role.

He recently commented “I had been after Viixen for a while but the timing was never right, now in 2018 it will happen. The band is perfect for her, theatrics, energy and outrage allow her to express all of her personality’. 

Where do the ideas come for your songs ?

‘Like most artists I tend to write lyrics based on personal experiences. However, if the band has already written the music, I search for how the music makes me feel and write from that perspective. It helps that I’m incredibly empathic.

I feel other people’s pain deeply even if I’ve not experienced the emotion myself. To me music is what feelings sound like and it’s a fantastic form of self-expression’.

What is your experience of studio work ? 

‘I’ve done some recording work in the studio with the band and I love it! Especially when you’re recording your own material and you get to hear all your ideas coming together. It’s a magical experience!

Have you recorded any TV appearances or filmed any music videos ?

‘I have recently recorded a music video with my other band Black Roze. The song is called In the Darkness and it’s an autobiographical tale about the darkness of depression and coming out of the other side.

The guitarist and I wrote the storyline and how we were going to capture the concept of the song. It did involve running through a graveyard in a wedding dress during mid winter but it was well worth it!

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Have you any stories from playing gigs ? 

‘Haha yes I have a few…On two occasions we have set up all the equipment, started playing and the electrics blew in the venue! One of them was my sisters wedding which didn’t go down too well!

Due to my head banging and stomping around on stage I’ve had some wardrobe malfunctions. I did a biker festival last year and wore a tight cropped top. At the end of the gig the guitarists mum ran on stage and told me my bra was showing.

Looking back at the pictures I saw that I’d basically played the whole gig in my bra!

Recently I bought a new pair of goth platform boots from a charity shop, they were beautiful. I wore them to the gig and I was 6ft tall in them and I was boasting that I was taller than the other band members.

Just before the second half one of the shoes gave way, the heel snapped, and I fell over. A guy in the crowd fixed it with duct tape and I carried on.

Next thing I know mid song the other shoe did the same thing. Leaving me feeling very small in my socks for the rest of the gig! At least the socks matched!’

For further information contact Viixen and Thunderstick on their facebook pages.

Interview by Gary Alikivi March 2018.

Recommended:

PAUL DI’ANNO, True Faith  22nd April 2017.

THUNDERSTICK, Return of the Mask  19th July 2017.

METAL ON THE MENU – The Making of Cult NWOBHM album Roksnax in Guardian Studio

/ Alikivi

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South Shields is a small town on the North East coast of England. During the 1970’s the main employment was heavy industry. Shipbuilding and coal kept the workers thirsty.

Pubs and clubs were doing a roaring trade with entertainment from local rock bands. Heavy riffs and pounding drums were echoes from the pits and shipyards.

By 1980 the New Wave of British Heavy Metal had rolled in. The sound waves crossed the Atlantic and landed in a garage in San Francisco. Metallica were born and went on to become one of the biggest bands on the planet.

Not far from that garage lived a young Nick Vrankovich. Nick is now at Buried by Time and Dust Records who have re-released Roksnax, one of the albums that helped kick start the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Originally released in 1980 by Guardian Records, the compilation album was produced by Terry Gavaghan.

He recorded three North East bands at his studio in Durham. Teesside based Samurai, and from my hometown South Shields, Hollow Ground and Saracen. The main players behind the re-release take up the story…

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Nick Vrankovich

Nick Vrankovich (Buried By Time and Dust Records): ‘One night not long ago, I was sitting drinking some Newcastle Brown and spinning some of the compilation albums I had from the NWOBHM time, Lead Weight, HM Heroes, Metal for Muthas, all packed with songs that meant so much to us.

Then I played Roksnax and I was quickly reminded of two things. One was that all twelve songs are incredible. When you talk of the magic of heavy metal or the mysticism of the NWOBHM surely, they must be referring to releases like this.

The second was how obscure this one was compared to the others. I made a clear decision that night to contact the bands to see if we could make this masterpiece available again.

When I got in touch with the guy’s I found the willingness, generosity and honesty incredible. Even though I’m now over 50, these tracks mean as much to me as the day I first held the album all those years ago’.

‘By the end of 1980 I was 13-year-old and not yet aware of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I was into Kiss, Van Halen and shortly after Black Sabbath would change things for me in a big way.

By the end of 1981 I discovered the Record Exchange in Walnut Creek, California which is about thirty minutes outside San Francisco.

The second I entered the record store an obsession would be born. The store was heavily stocked with all the latest imports and cutting-edge heavy metal from the UK and Europe.

The extreme appearance and imagery of bands like Venom, Mercyful Fate, Angel Witch and countless others was something that fired my imagination and created an obsession that continues to this day.

The fact that the music was so fantastic and really heavy only added fuel to the fire’.

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‘The Record Exchange is where I first remember seeing the album Roksnax. It was an import which meant the price was $9.99 which was a huge sum of money for me.

I remember looking at the photos on the back, it all looked so old and obscure. I was unsure what it would sound like. I had not heard of any of the bands on the record and of course it was next to impossible to find out about them unless they had a record deal. Sadly, this time I never bought the lp’.

‘The release disappeared into obscurity and was forgotten about until one day my brother scored a copy of the single Warlord by Hollow Ground.

Needless to say we were overwhelmed with how great it was and amongst other NWOBHM singles, it was right up there with Mythra and Witchfinder General.

We knew there were extra tracks from Hollow Ground on the Roksnax album, so we hunted down a copy. We eventually found one and heard the instant magic from the Hollow Ground tracks.

We were equally crushed by the Saracen and Samurai tracks. The speed of Saracen with the killer Dawson guitar riffs and soaring vocals from Lou Taylor was not only trailblazing but still raises the hair on my arms to this day.

Samurai was undoubtedly the most obscure band of the three, but their heroic sound was also incredible’.

Martin Metcalf (Hollow Ground): ‘I remember the buzz of being involved in Roksnax. The whole experience of being in Guardian Studio’s during November 1980 was magical.

We met up with producer Terrry Gavaghan and talked through the idea of a compilation LP with a couple of other bands from the North East. Our mates from Shields, Saracen were also on the record.

We were in the studios for two days and slept overnight there. The studio was basically two terraced houses knocked into one. I still remember the brown cork tiles in the studio and having to Sellotape the headphones on my head when recording.

The great memories of honing the songs and bringing them together with my friends, still burns brightly. The fine tuning and adjustments as we worked on them was a great feeling of coming together as a band, a unit.

We used two of the songs from our EP Flying High and Rock On and added Fight with the Devil and The Holy One to make our four tracks for the Roksnax album’.

Steve Dawson (Saracen): ’Right from the start of the band the other members wanted to get in the studio, but I thought we should of developed our sound a bit more, let it breathe a bit, walk before we run so to speak.

But we booked some time in Guardian Studios where Mythra had recorded their Death and Destiny single. The owner Terry Gavaghan proposed the Roksnax album to us where he would put us on a compilation album.

It was basically a live album with some overdubs’.

Geoff Nixon (Samurai): ‘I have very fond memories of that time. We were convinced that we had an excellent line up, we felt as though we had something special.

We were made so many promises by Terry Gavaghan at Guardian, we believed everything he said. He signed us to a five-year publishing deal, as young lads we were flattered about the whole project’.

Martin Metcalf (Hollow Ground): ’Its real music made by real musicians. You can’t replicate it with machines. Sparking off each other while recording the tracks will stay with us forever. It’s what being in a band is all about…and we loved it.

We were so proud of the music that we produced, and still are! It stands the test of time and the whole album is a perfect snapshot of the vitality of the NWOBHM movement’,

Lou Taylor (Saracen): ’Now it’s not the world’s number one album but everyone involved in this album agreed that it is a wonderful feeling and something special about getting your name on a piece of vinyl.

Terry was true to his word and got the album in the shops. I bought six of them straight away ha ha’.

Geoff Nixon (Samurai): ‘But we actually split just after the album, sometimes you get one shot at fulfilling a dream don’t you. Many years later I found that the album had been on sale around the world, but I don’t think it ever sold in Britain.

Looking back, we had a lot of fun and of course we always have the album’.

Lou Taylor (Saracen): ‘Just being prominent enough to be invited to be part of something which we had no concept of how much impact on the British music scene the emerging talent in this genre actually had ! NWOBHM say what ??

Guardian Studios were in -famous enough already due to releases from acts in the region so this opportunity seemed too good to pass up!

Martin Metcalf (Hollow Ground): ’Lars Ulrich from Metallica bought a copy of the Roksnax LP in Los Angeles and that lead to our track Fight with the Devil being played in a Metallica documentary. This was the documentary about the making of their Black Album.

The scene is Lars Ulrich driving to the studio in his Porsche listening to Fight with the Devil. The film was released in 1992 and if I remember correctly, we’re on the credits between Black Sabbath and Madonna!

It led to me and Glenn our vocalist being invited to gigs on the Black Album tour. We had access all areas and were in the famous Snake Pit. It was brilliant’.

Lou Taylor (Saracen): ’Over a series of trips to a sleepy country village including one session which soaked up guitarist Steve’s 21st Birthday – a sacrifice of serious proportions ha!

The long days and nights, the scary stories, the ghostly appearances, the owner eating sandwiches… Roksnax? The narrow deadlines, the even narrower drum booth, the raw uncertainty of the mixes – still.

But all tempered with the undeniable thrill of the coming eventuality: four guys making their dreams come true, putting their music on vinyl for the very first time and still to be heard worldwide today…priceless !

Interviews Alikivi 2017.

Recommended:

Pyromaniax – Bombs, Flashes and Burnt Eyebrows 12th December 2017.

Have You Heard This One ? -10 best stories from this years interviews 18th December 2017.

1980 – The Year Metal was Forged on Tyneside, 11th February 2018.

1980 – THE YEAR METAL FORGED ON TYNESIDE

/ Alikivi

It’s one year on from the start of this blog, with over 18,000 readers, 150,000 words, 115 posts and more to come. But enough of the stats – this post rewinds the clock back to 1980.

Today skipping through Spotify or You Tube people have the choice to listen to different styles of music. Billions of songs at your fingertips. But there was a time when music lovers more than likely listened to only one genre – creating different tribes.

The ’70s brought in hard rock bands Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motorhead and the hairy rock tribe followed. Disco filled dancefloors with Donna Summer, ‘Le Freak’ by Chic, a real Saturday Night Fever.

But the dancefloor was ripped up by the Disco Sucks movement in America.

One night in ’79 at a baseball game in Chicago, rock radio DJ Steve Dahl took to the field with his anti-disco army and blew up thousands of disco records. A publicity stunt he thought would bring in an extra 5,000 people to the game – it brought 70,000.

Where they a tribe of fire starters, or was it the 98cents entry fee if you had a disco record under your arm ready to burn? The disco tribe never recovered.

By ’78 the Sex Pistols had played their last gig in San Francisco and at the start of ’79 Sid Vicious died in New York. By the end of the year The Clash had called out to London. Was the punk tribe dying out ? What did 1980 hold for the tribes ?

Post punk, Ska and Two Tone were heard around the country – they were all three-minute heroes. But a new tribe were gathering pace – one that followed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The movement started in the late ’70s in the UK and reached international attention by the early ’80s.

The DIY attitude led to self-produced recordings and new independent labels setting up. The movement spawned many bands with Iron Maiden and Def Leppard becoming international stars. Bands from the North East were also delivering the goods.

Newcastle had chief headbangers Raven, on the coast in Whitley Bay were Tygers of Pan Tang, and across the river Tyne in my hometown South Shields – Fist, Mythra, Hellanbach, Hollow Ground and Saracen were all recorded on vinyl by the early ’80s.

Neat records were based in Wallsend and close by in Durham, was Guardian Records. Venues like Sunderland Mecca, Newcastle Mayfair and the City Hall had regular visits from rock/metal bands and the tribe followed. 1980 was the year metal was forged on Tyneside.

January
Canadian rock band Rush released their 5th album Permanent Waves and UFO released their 8th album No Place To Run.

On 17th & 18th Newcastle City Hall saw a concert by UFO with support from Girl. Over at the Mayfair AC/DC had Diamond Head opening on the 25th, and at Newcastle University Def Leppard were on the 26th supported by Witchfynde.

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February
This month will be remembered for the passing of Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC. He was only 33 when he died on the 19th. On the same night Rainbow played Newcastle City Hall. They also played on the 20th with support on both nights fom Samson.

The City Hall also had a visit from Uriah Heep with support from Girlschool on the 6th.

Newcastle Mayfair promoted Heavy Metal Fridays with Tygers of Pan Tang plus Southbound and Axe on the 15th with Saxon plus Crypt and Mythra on the 22nd. Def Leppard played on the 29th with support from Witchfynde.

March
Three rock/metal albums were in the shop’s this month – On Through the Night the debut from Def Leppard. Van Halen’s 3rd Woman and Children First and Scorpions release their 7th album Animal Magnetism.

Newcastle City Hall saw Gillan on the 6th. April Wine with support from Angelwitch on the 10th and Judas Priest with openers Iron Maiden on the 20th. On the 21st both bands play the Mayfair which has an 18+ entry.

The City Hall also saw Pat Travers supported by Diamond Head on the 30th. Over at The Castle Leazes Havelock Hall were Tygers of Pan Tang with openers Magnum on the 4th.

April
AC/DC found a replacement for the recently deceased Bon Scott, bringing in Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson. This month they enter the recording studio to work on the new album.

In this month 3 albums of note were released. The debut from Iron Maiden, Judas Priest 6th album British Steel, and Heaven and Hell from Black Sabbath. Their first with vocalist Ronnie James Dio.

Sammy Hagar with openers Riot played at Newcastle City Hall on the 12th. Def Leppard plus Magnum and Tygers of Pan Tang on the 20th then Saxon on the 21st.

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May
Saxon released Wheels of Steel their 2nd album. Whitesnake release their 3rd album, Ready n Willing and Kiss release their 8th, Unmasked.

Newcastle City Hall saw visits from Thin Lizzy on the 1st & 2nd. Scorpions with openers Tygers of Pan Tang on the 13th, Black Sabbath with support from Shakin’ Street on the 18th & 19th. Over at Newcastle Mayfair were Iron Maiden and openers Praying Mantis on the 16th. Also on the 23rd were Fist, White Spirit and Raven.

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Mythra, Fist and Tygers of Pan Tang in the Sounds charts in May 1980.

June
This month’s studio albums you could choose from I’m a Rebel – Accept, Danger Zone – Sammy Hagar, Demolition – Girlschool, Metal Rendez-vous – Krokus, Head On – Samson, Scream Dream – Ted Nugent or Tomcattin – Blackfoot.

Newcastle City Hall saw visits from Rush supported by Quartz on the 12th. Whitesnake with support from GForce on the 13th & 14th. Van Halen with openers Lucifers Friend on the 17th. Sunderland Mayfair had Iron Maiden and Praying Mantis on the 11th. Then Fist on the 20th.

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July
AC/DC release Back in Black the new album with Brian Johnson.

At Newcastle Mayfair was Trespass on the 18th and an all dayer at Bingley Hall in Stafford on the 26th – The Heavy Metal Barndance. Headliners Motorhead were joined by Girlschool, Angelwitch, Saxon, Vardis, Mythra and White Spirit.

August
This month saw the debut album Wild Cat released by Tygers of Pan Tang. Also records by the Michael Schenker Group and Stand Up and Fight from Quartz.

Newcastle Mayfair saw Ted Nugent supported by Wild Horses on the 7th. Fist plus Raven on the 15th with Diamond Head and openers Quartz on the 29th.
South Shields Legion welcomed hometown band Fist on the 14th.

16th of the month saw the first Monsters of Rock festival held at Donnington Raceway in Derbyshire with Rainbow, Judas Priest, Scorpions, April Wine, Saxon, Riot and Touch.

Reading festival on the 22nd-24th had headliners Rory Gallagher, UFO and Whitesnake with Gillan, Iron Maiden, Samson, Def Leppard, Ozzy Ozbourne, Angelwitch, Budgie, Samson and Tygers of Pan Tang.

September
Sadly, the Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham dies aged only 32.

The debut from Ozzy Osbourne was released this month while Strong Arm of the Law, the 3rd studio album by Saxon and their 2nd this year was released.

Newcastle Mayfair had Angelwitch on the 5th, Tygers of Pan Tang with support from Taurus and radio DJ Alan Robson on the 12th and over at Newcastle City Hall were Ozzy Osbourne plus support band Budgie on the 17th.

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October
Released this month were the 3rd album by Gillan – Glory Road and Chinatown the 10th album from Thin Lizzy.

A full month of gigs at Newcastle Mayfair. Gillan with openers White Spirit and Quartz on the 1st. Scorpions supported by Blackfoot on the 10th for over 18 fans. UFO supported by Fist 15th & 16th. Ozzy Osbourne 17th with Budgie and Raven. Motorhead with support from Weapon on the 29th & 30th. AC/DC plus Starfighters on the 31st.

At Newcastle City Hall were Michael Schenker Group supported by Dedringer on the 2nd. Scorpions plus Blackfoot 7th & 8th. Over at Sunderland Mayfair UFO and Fist on the 21st and Ozzy Osbourne the 28th.

November
This month saw the release of Ace of Spades the 4th album from Motorhead, a double from Whitesnake – Live…In the Heart of the City and the debut from Fist, Turn the Hell On. There was also Roksnax on Guardian Records.

A compilation album produced at Guardian Studios in Durham, UK. The album features 4 songs each from South Shields bands Hollow Ground and Saracen and Teesside based Samurai.

Newcastle City Hall had visits from AC/DC supported by Starfighters on the 4th & 5th. Triumph with openers Praying Mantis the 12th and Iron Maiden on the 25th with support from A11Z.

December
Concerts at the Newcastle City Hall this month by Girlschool on the 5th with support from Angelwitch, also on the 16th Saxon with support from Limelight.

Led Zeppelin release a press release about the break-up of the band due to the death of drummer John Bonham.

Unfortunately, a sad end to a frantic year, but what did the 80’s have in store for the tribe ? Again from the North East there was a little band forming.

They had kept an eye on what was happening and now it was their time to strike. Venom were gathering their own tribe, but that’s a story for another day.

Gary Alikivi  2017.

Information from discogs and various websites. Thanks to everyone who supplied information, ticket stubs etc.

Recommended:

MYTHRA Still Burning 13th February 2017.

Lou Taylor SATAN/BLIND FURY: Rock the Knight, 26th February & 5th March 2017.

Steve Dawson SARACEN/THE ANIMALS: Long Live Rock n Roll, 2nd April 2017.

Harry Hill, FIST: Turn the Hell On, 29th April 2017.

When Heavy Metal Hit the Accelerator 6th May 2017.

Martin Metcalfe HOLLOW GROUND: Hungry for Rock, 18th June 2017.

Kev Charlton, HELLANBACH/BESSIE & THE ZINC BUCKETS: The Entertainer, 23rd June 2017.

Steve Thompson,( NEAT Producer) Godfather of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, 27th June 2017.

THE GRANTHAM FOUR – 5 minutes with NWOBHM band Overdrive

/ Alikivi

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Overdrive formed in 1978 in Grantham, UK. The current line up is Luther Beltz (vocals) Stuart Meadows (drums) original members Tracey Abbott (guitar) and Ian Hamilton (bass) who takes up the story…

‘Our influences were watching UK music programme Top of the Pops and listening to Elvis, Slade, T.Rex, Deep Purple and Sabbath.

That spurred us on to start a band at school in 1974 – and we just kept going! Tracey’s dad played in a brass band and our parents funded the band and encouraged us. They also got us gigs’.

When did you start playing gigs and what venues did you play ?

‘Our first gigs were in the Workingmen’s Social Clubs in Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester. Then we went on the same circuit as other NWOBHM bands – places like the Penguin Club, Lead Mill, Monsal Head and other’s.

We supported many bands including Def Leppard, Bernie Torme, Raven, Lionheart even Freddie and the Dreamers.

We had a gig once at Rotherham Arts Centre and due to homemade pyrotechnics, the show was stopped by the fire brigade. Recently the best gigs we have played have been in Europe, the fans really know how to rock!

Overdrive self-released music under their own label Boring Grantham Records. First was a demo tape in 1978 with the tracks All Day, Overdrive and Once in a Dream Piebald Pinto. This was limited to 50 copies.

Next release was a 7” single in 1981 including On the Run, Nightmare and Stonehenge. More releases followed.

What were your experiences of recording, and did you record any TV appearances or film any music videos? 

‘Now with modern technology it’s all done on a laptop in our kitchen, but recording was strange in the early 1970’s. The engineer wore a lab coat and treated it like a serious school project. Recording was a mystery to us.

Our first recording was in a place called Drumbeat Studios in Leicester in 1976. Funnily enough the same studio Showadywady did their first album.

We have never worked with a proper producer until our last album, which was mixed by the Dark Lord himself, Chris Tsangerides (RIP). We’ve never been on TV or done a video. Just too damn ugly!
(Chris Tsangarides was best known for producing heavy metal albums by Tygers of Pan Tang, Judas Priest, Anvil, Thin Lizzy and more. He has also worked with pop and alternative artists Depeche Mode, Blondie and Lords of the New Church).

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What are the future plans for Overdrive ?

‘We are now recording our sixth album, with the title Resurrection. Also planning gigs for 2018, with Greece Germany and Italy on the itinerary’.

Interview by Gary Alikivi November 2017. 

Recommended:

WARRIOR: The Hunter, 12th April 2017.

WEAPON UK: All Fired Up, 6th May 2017.

SAVAGE: The Mansfield Four, 8th May 2017.

TOKYO BLADE: Under the Blade, 26th May 2017.

SALEM: Increase the Pressure, 20th September 2017.

SATAN’S EMPIRE: The Devil Rides Out, 4th October 2017.

SNATCH BACK: Back in the Game, 21st October 2017.

JAGUAR: The Fast and The Fury, 24th October 2017.

JUST THE WAY IT WAS – Recording in Guardian Studio with Nev Larkin

/ Alikivi / 2 Comments

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Nev Larkin was a member of Marauder who recorded two tracks for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal compilation album Roxcalibur, released on Guardian Records in January 1982.

The album had followed on the back of another compilation released out of Guardian Studio’s called Roksnax released in 1980.

Roxcalibur featured seven bands who contributed two tracks each they included North East UK metallers Black Rose, Battleaxe and Satan. Nev takes up the story…

‘I got cracking on with some lads from Ashington who were in a band called Marauder they needed a second guitar, so I joined them. We played the pubs around North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Then we went into Guardian Studio in Durham around late ’81 and recorded two songs, Woman of the Night and Battlefield.

We were in for about 20 hours on the Saturday and went back on Sunday night and finished about 6.00 in the morning. Half hours sleep then straight to work at the Department of Social Security’

Did each band share the production costs ?

‘As a band we had to pay £400 for costs, that’s £80 each. The recording studio was in a terraced house next door to where the owner and producer Terry Gavaghan used to live.

The recording area was in effect, a front living room with a booth for the drums. The singer’s girlfriend had made some pies in trays for the length of our time in the studio.

So, when recording Battlefield it was suggested that we take the tray of pies through to the recording area, smash them about and re-create a ‘battle’. Which we did to a great deal of hilarity’.

‘The other song which is on You Tube is Woman of the Night which was going to be a single but didn’t happen. The singer Steven Ireland is still singing for a band called F.M.

Strangely enough I guested for one gig only, when they were called Lone Wolf. In the end we got twenty albums each to sell. The producer said that if we sold them for £4 each, we would get our money back – he should have been a mathematician !

I ended up giving them away, not long ago someone told me they were going for a fortune on E Bay!

There is a story of a resident ghost at Guardian studio, did the owner Terry Gavaghan tell you about it ?

‘He did the trick with the moving microphone that was on a stand after he had fed us the ghost story. He had sneaked in through a different entrance and pulled the cable along the floor.

I got my own back by having a blast of the fire extinguisher while he wasn’t there’.

Did you know if the album sold many copies ?

‘As far as I know, none of the bands got any royalties from the songs.  I think that he must have copped the lot.  Dave King from Battleaxe who were also on the album was going to chase this up years ago. I don’t know if he got anywhere with it.

I spoke to Malcolm Midwood a couple of month ago, who now performs under Wytchcraft, he never got anything’.

Scharnhorst.
Scharnhorst with John Gallagher, Raven.

Where did it all start for you ?

’Seeing Status Quo as a teenager at the Newcastle City Hall made me want to learn guitar. My first band was called Redrock and our only gig was at Killingworth High School just a few miles from Newcastle.

Then I joined up with some lads from Longbenton, the band was called Loser (appropriately enough) and we played only one gig at the Newbridge Dance Studio which is now demolished.

There were more guitars in that band than Blue Oyster Cult !

Next was with some lads from Bedlington and we played around North Tyneside and Northumberland under the name of Scharnhorst. Steve Bird (guitar) Dean Heward (bass) Gary Young (drums) and me (vocals/guitar). Later we shortened the name to just The Horst.

I can’t remember much about that band apart from one event at a gig in The Newton Park Hotel where we blew the mains circuit, leaving the pub in total darkness due to the amount of gear we had plus all the pyro effects, dry ice, medium maroon big bang cartridges the lot. Not long after that the band ended’.

What happened after Marauder ?

‘I got together with some friends and did three self-penned songs and video in one of our flats in Heaton, Newcastle. We called this The Bedroom Sessions.

Needless to say the neighbours did not see the funny side or, the video for that matter. We did a tour of friends’ houses on our motorbikes to promote this.

We did one gig at Darsley Park, Benton. It was at this stage I effectively called it a day. I just seemed to be constantly chasing my tail trying to make things happen.

Still play guitar now but in the house only. I did try my hand at Stand-Up Comedy (2001) but it got too tiring trying to do a day job then running all over to do gigs for ‘diddly’ (nothing).

I appeared on regional TV on a Friday night feature called Stand Up Britain. I think it was one of the fellas from Phoenix Nights who produced it.

It was a ‘dial up’ viewer vote where the winner went through to a National final in Manchester for a £7k prize. It wasn’t me’.

Interview by Gary Alikivi November 2017.

IT’LL BE ALRIGHT IN THE MIX with Tyneside rock drummer Mark Woodhouse

/ Alikivi

After nearly 40 years hard work and dedication Mark Woodhouse is still drumming in a pub near you.

But in the 1980’s he was drummer with South Shields based Heavy Metal band White Vice…

‘We once got called White Mice by a free newspaper in Durham despite spelling it phonetically over the phone. Several times. Hardly a name to fetch the leather clad Metal hordes out to see us!’

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Heavy Rock had a big following on Tyneside, and South Shields was no exception did this genre of music have a big influence on you ?

‘It was early ’80s I was heavily into AC/DC and listening to the Friday Rock Show which got me into Metal. By the time we got a band together I was on drums almost by default because everyone else either played guitar or wanted to sing!

I’ve never been a special fan of any particular drummer, it’s always been the music they were playing that I enjoyed and took influences from.

Which is why one drum fill I often pull out of the bag is a close variation on what the guy on the first Go West album used to do ! Admittedly not very Metal but it works a treat’.

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What are your earliest memories of drumming ?

‘First drum kit was a Frankenstein drum kit from the West Park Community Centre in South Shields. It didn’t have any stands to speak of, the bass pedal broke after a couple of weeks, so for a year I played drums without a bass pedal.

From an influence standpoint, I ripped fills wholesale from Accept”s Restless & Wild album, and I spent many hours playing along to tapes of Judas Priest albums.

We eventually got a band together and the nucleus was me and Steve McGinley. We went through a few names, at that time we called ourselves Trias, and there was a revolving door of members before the next permanent member Dave Johnston came in on bass.

Barry Marshall joined on guitar and the final piece in the jigsaw was Tess Mulligan who took up frontman duties. This became the classic White Vice line up’.

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Where did White Vice rehearse and what can you remember from then?

‘In terms of rehearsal rooms White Vice used the Martec club, Baker Street and The North Eastern pub in Jarrow. That pub was brilliant. It was always freezing cold in the room we were in and over the top of the door there was an extension cable running from the bar.

We’d be pounding drums, screeching guitars, laying out some serious slabs of prime Heavy Metal at full volume. Then nip into the bar for refreshment only to find a smokey room full of old Jarrovians in flat caps playing dominoes, supping pints and smoking rollies.

Totally detached from what was happening next door. Even though it sounded like armageddon through a couple of 100watt Marshall amps.

I often wonder how we found these places and organised rehearsals given that it was before the Internet, social media, mobile phones etc. The organisation around the band must have all been done word of mouth, and the same for every other band around that time’.

What were your experiences of recording ?

‘I did a couple of recordings with White Vice and punk band The Fiend. We recorded the first White Vice demo Thrash On Delivery on Easter Sunday 1986 at Desert Sounds in Pelaw.

It included the songs Hard Rocker, Sacred Armageddon, Breaking Ice and Death From Above.

Then we went into Baker Street Studios on the Bede Estate in Jarrow and did the Hot Day In July demo on Sunday 5th July 1987.

We recorded five songs in that session The Death Mosh, The Beast, The Time To Panic (Infectious Terror), and Search & Destroy.

Both White Vice demos were done from scratch in one day from probably mid morning until about 9pm. The Fiend ones I did took a little longer, probably a day and a half.

But for the first Fiend demo I did my drum tracks and had to leave the studio to go back to work for 1pm. So I had no further input and the next I knew of it was when the tape was put in my hands!

‘The second session might actually have taken longer as the band had to go back for guitar overdubs as there was a distortion problem on the mic.

Baker Street was a very high tech studio, in a local sense anyway and as for the recording, we were told it would be alright in the mix !’

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Have you any stories from playing gigs ?

‘Around 1986 we did most of our socialising in Durham and Chester Le Street especially at the legendary Greenbanks Rock Night on Mondays.

We had tracks from our demo played there regularly and this led to gigs in Annfield Plain, Willington, Washington Arts Centre and Fowlers Yard in Durham.

Some of our most notable gigs were self promoted, especially at The Bullion Hall in Chester Le Street where we employed DJs, a bar manager, door staff, PA and lights.

Some of the bands that supported us there were Acid Reign and Battleaxe, who were New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends and local to Chester Le Street.

We headlined what turned into A Battle at the Bullion in Chester Le Street November ’86 where Battleaxe were squashed on the bill in between our band and Pulse, also from South Shields.

Let’s put it this way I don’t think Battleaxe took too kindly to being turned over on their home turf. Also at that gig was Karen McInulty she came as a guest of our singer Tess.

Karen was vocalist for She, who recorded at NEAT records. Tess told me that he met Karen in Trillians Bar, Newcastle, he was putting studs in his jacket, sang a few lyrics to her bought a few drinks and she fancied the gig’.

‘While we played she sat at the desk with the soundman Howard Baker. Karen told us later on, that our set was tight and intense, like seeing Metallica walk onstage. She was surprised this was only our sixth gig, I’m pretty sure it was meant as a compliment.

A mad song title we had was Metal Minstrel ! It started with a clean guitar playing like a 16th Century lute, then the distortion pedal was pressed, then I simply had to play as fast as I possibly could. We used the same “wear Mark out after a slow start” technique for a few songs’.

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How did Howard Baker help the band ? (see interview Howards Way August 17th 2017)

‘Howard did live sound for us a few times, he had an old ambulance van that he ferried us around in, we were packed in the back with the gear.

Don’t forget that he had Baker Street Rehearsal Studios where we practically lived as a band for about two to three years. Then around ’87 he added the recording studio plus he opened Baker Street Audios in South Shields’.

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How long did White Vice last ?

‘Around this time our bassist Dave Johnston left so we enlisted a Chester Le Street musician known only to us as Space Debris. Yep really.

But very few gigs followed and the loss of Tess on vocals pretty much put paid to things. His swan song was the Hot Day In July demo. Once Tess left the feel had gone so by 1988 the band had run its course’.

What are you up to now and are you still involved in music ?

‘Me and Barry Marshall have played together for the last two and a half years in Classic Rock Covers band Andromeda. I also play in a band called The Spacehoppers with bass player Ed Thomas who was in Shields bands The Cups and most notably Gunslinger, which is a whole other story!’  (See next post for an interview with Ed Thomas.)

Interview by Gary Alikivi 2017.

METAL HEALTH with North East UK musician Glenn S.Howes

/ Alikivi

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Can you remember your first band ?

‘I was 16 years old, I was gorgeous, and had hair! My first band was called Axizz and we played metal. We were all friends of the same age and were from a little town called South Shields, North East UK.

The line-up changed a few times, we knew we were young and inexperienced but that didn’t stop us from trying.

There were other bands I knocked about with over the years and some were short lived, but these were bands that I loved being in and they were great lads.

It was a great learning curve for us all. South Shields in those days in regard to employment was very grim, but for some reason the music scene was excellent. There were a lot of bands and musicians around. So, it was an exciting place to be musically.

Strangely my parents thought the band thing was a reasonable idea, which shocked me because I wanted them to hate it.

I’m trying my best not to name drop but there is the obvious connection to a name band that made it big (ish) in the 90’s and we all knew each other.

This was the very early ’80s at the same time as NWOBHM and as fans of that genre know, North East bands were a leading light in that movement’.

Who were your influences in music ?

‘To be honest I have a lot of different influences but if I was pushed to name some, I would say my main influences over the years have been Rainbow, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Queensryche, Gary Moore, Fist, Saracen, Beatles, Roy Orbison, Queen, UFO, Van Halen, Scorpions, Motorhead and NWOBHM.

I do have a lot of other favourites and got into some of the heavier stuff like Annihilator and Testament from the late ’80s onwards’.

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Ritchie Blackmore

How did you get involved in playing music ?

‘Growing up in the UK through the early ’70s I used to get excited every time I heard a guitar song on the radio or tv. I didn’t understand what it was at the time but knew I was feeling it somewhere deep inside.

Then watching Top of the Pops I knew the name of the bands. It was Sweet, Slade and Marc Bolan, the distorted guitar was doing it for me but I was still too young to understand that it was an electric guitar with a distorted amp or fuzz pedal.

The big revelation came when I heard my first proper heavy rock song. You guessed it. Smoke on the Water. I was still wet behind the ears at the time so still didn’t take it all in.

I was a listener at this point and had no desire to become a musician, but I did fantasise of being Ritchie Blackmore or Angus Young on stage. As you do.

The love for music especially Rock and Metal grew as I entered my teens getting to the point where I became obsessed, which I still am. My parents bought me a flying V copy from a shop on the Haymarket, Newcastle when I was 15.

It was black but I really wanted to look like KK Downing or Michael Schenker, even though I wasn’t blonde. So I had it sprayed white.

Ironically because I was just starting to learn I was pretty crap and my friends were away ahead of me, so I got roped into singing. So I was originally a singer not a guitar player’.

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Saracen

Was there a defining moment when you said ‘I want to do that’ was it watching a band or hearing a particular song ?

‘What really did it for me was that we used to go and watch Saracen rehearse at this prefab in West Park, South Shields. There were also other bands rehearsing there like Hollow Ground we used to watch.

I remember the first time I saw Saracen rehearse they blew me away. They were older than us and much more experienced. The singer was Louie Taylor, the guitar player was Steve Dawson, bass Les Wilson and drummer Dave Johnson.

They had all the top gear. Louie sang like Ian Gillan and Steve played and even looked like Blackmore a bit. These guys were pro’.
(Interviews on this blog with Lou Taylor, Rock the Knight February 2017 and Steve Dawson, Long Live Rock n Roll April 2017). 

‘I remember thinking to myself, it can be done, and it is possible you can achieve something by playing rock music.

What they taught me apart from professionalism was that anything is possible, and you could create a truly great rock band which I considered Saracen to be. I still consider the Saracen lads Louie and Steve in particular to be mentors’.

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Satan at St Hilda’s Youth Club 1982.

When did you start playing gigs and what venues did you play ?

‘There were a few venues knocking about in my hometown however my favourite and most visited was The British Legion.

I used to go and watch bands there all the time. I don’t know how I got in as I was clearly underage.

Not only bands that my peers where in but I suppose what you would call name bands as well. I have some great memories of seeing Saracen, Polaris, Zig-Zag, Phasslayne, Fist, Cups, Avenger and many others’.

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Glenn second from left in the early days of ‘Chase.’

‘Another place I used to frequent was St Hildas Youth Club. This is where Axizz played their first ever gig supporting the mighty Fist. 1981 if I remember correctly.

It’s weird that many years later I ended up being the frontman for Fist. I also remember Juggling Monkeys, Hellenbach, Emerson and Satan at St Hildas. Those were the days.

I used to roadie a lot as well. Did some gigs for Fist and Satan as well as Saracen. Other regular haunts were the Sunderland and Newcastle Mayfair’s.

Saw many a big-name band there and got to play the Newcastle Mayfair once with a band I was in called Chase’.

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Glenn taking a break lying down in Chase.

‘Post 1987 I moved on to playing the international circuit with Blitzkrieg, Avenger, Tygers of Pan Tang, Fist and other named bands.

Playing at festival shows such as Wacken Gemany, Metal Melt Down USA, Headbangers Open Air Germany, Heavy Metal Night 9 Italy, Keep It True Germany, all over Europe. Also tours supporting the likes of Y&T.

I remember playing with Blitzkrieg around 1990 we played the Newcastle University and instead of receiving payment in money we got 11 crates of Brown Ale. Our drummer Gary Young was so happy!

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‘We also used to rehearse and record in Baker Street, Jarrow just up the road from South Shields. We went in there a lot towards the end of the ’80s.

I remember one day arriving for a Blitzkrieg rehearsal and we had Venom in one room and Satan in the other. It was loud!

Venom were rehearsing their live show for a USA tour I think. That was kind of normal in those days’.

‘The biggest gig I did was with the Tygers of Pan Tang at the famous Wacken Festival in Germany ’99. I remember we started the gig after the intro so ran on stage to start rocking in front of approximately 15 to 20,000 metal fans when we noticed that we had no lights.

Guitarist Robb Weir looked at the side of the stage to see the lighting guy fast asleep. He must have been really excited to be doing the lights.

A swift kick to the shins and he soon woke up. Actually, that show was recorded and Live at Wacken ‘99 was the last album I did at Neat records’.

What were your experiences of recording ?

‘I did a few demos in those early years after Axizz with bands such as Chase, Ladykillers, Kickout and a more metal version of punk band The Fiend.

We used Desert Sounds in Felling quite a lot. Nothing ever came of those demos but it was fun anyway.

I recorded with Blitzkrieg (twice) and Tygers of Pan Tang at the famous Impulse Studios in Wallsend, home of Neat Records. I have some great memories of doing those albums and the times spent in the studio’.

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‘Things had changed for me by late summer ’87, I had joined Blitzkrieg as guitarist. Initially there were a few line ups shuffles then we signed to Neat records.

Recording Ten years of Blitzkrieg was a blast and always interesting. The drummer Gary Young from Avenger /Repulsive Vision fame was in the band at the time and was always a hoot. We had Keith Nichol doing the engineering who did a great job.

I also remember Tribe of Toffs coming into the studio to do an interview with a local radio station guy. They were famous at the time for doing a novelty hit record John Kettley is a Weatherman.

God knows who had the bright idea to let them in the studio where we were recording. They came in and told us to be quiet! You can imagine our response.

Ten years of Blitzkrieg took only about three weeks to record although it was a mini album anyway. It’s now considered an underground classic and highly sort after by NWOBHM enthusiasts and collectors.

I don’t think there were a lot pressed initially maybe a thousand or so if that. Ten years of Blitzkrieg was licensed out from Neat records to the Roadrunner label for Europe 1991 – and we didn’t receive a penny’.

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‘Blitzkrieg’s album Mists of Avalon was a different affair. It was hard work, and we were committed to making a great album, so it was more serious, and I suppose more professional.

The great thing about that time was although it was much harder due to the volume of material we were recording, it was also much smoother.

Mainly due to the drummer Mark Hancock getting his drum tracks down in in one to two takes each time. What a star.

I had a lot of the stuff written even before I re-joined Blitzkrieg in 1997. In fact I had so much material that we could of ended up with a double album, which actually we nearly did.

Myself and vocalist Brian Ross had and still have a good relationship. We bounced vocal ideas off each other. I think we came up with some pretty interesting stuff. The album did take a while.

I remember working six weeks straight every day apart from Sunday’s as I was pretty much overseeing the whole project and was doing some pre-production.

After six weeks I was burned out, so I had to take a break. I think we got back together after a couple of weeks after that and finished the album. Not as long as a Def Leppard album I suppose’.

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‘Unfortunately, in the background there was some political stuff going on which made that album suffer in the long term. Keith Nichol who was the long standing Neat engineer, started the album with us but he had a dispute with the label.

He left their employment shortly after. I have nothing against Keith personally I respect him however being honest the recording that he had done with us was not good. I can only assume by this point he just didn’t care much.

He indulged himself in recording techniques that weren’t suited to our material. This caused us some problems later when mixing as it couldn’t be undone unless we re-recorded and we simply didn’t have the time or funds. At least that is what we were told.

If you listen to the album you can hear the mix getting a bit better later on when it was kind of salvaged to a certain degree by the new engineer Pete Carr. He came on board to help us out.

Then the mastering didn’t help the situation either. It sounded lifeless and it also ended up with a truly terrible album cover. Possibly one of the worst album/cd covers ever.

We did some covers as well as the original material. They have never been released or re-mixed.

There is a cover of Enter Sandman, an Alice Cooper song and there is a cover of Ace of Spades with myself on lead vocals. They sounded great.

It’s a shame nothing was done with those extra tracks. I really wish I could have the master tapes and re-mix and re-record stuff on that album’.

‘Finally, Mists was released in 1998 on Neat Metal records which was an updated version of Neat, and ran by original Tygers of Pan Tang vocalist Jess Cox.

Just as it was about to be released Jess lost his distribution in Japan which would have made up a large part of our sales at the time. It seemed like a disaster. It wasn’t well received at the time by the fans however strangely a lot of critics seemed to like it.

On the positive side it did give off an old school vibe which had a charm about it. People have picked up on that and seem to enjoy the album. These days all I get is compliments about that album. It’s funny how time can change perspectives’.

‘I also had a side project called Earthrod which I formed with ex Blitzkrieg drummer Mark Hancock. I did all the vocals and guitars Mark did all the drums, keyboards and recording.

We knocked out two albums in the noughties. Screaming in Digital and the second was called Acts of God. It was an experimental project and was recorded in Marks kitchen.

To be honest it wasn’t actually meant to be done full time. We had some interest but we couldn’t manage to keep a line up mainly as the stuff was too hard to play. It was a great experience though’.

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Saracen in the fog.

Have you any stories from playing gigs ? ‘Working for Saracen at the Legion Club in South Shields in the early 80’s I was put on smoke machine duty.

Saracen are on stage rocking away. I pushed the button to put a little smoke on stage however Les the bass player kept shouting more, more ! I was only a bairn at the time so I did as I was told.

Before you knew it the whole concert room was full of stage smoke. You couldn’t see the band at all. We had to open all the doors and windows to get rid of it.

I got a right royal telling off from the vocalist Louie Taylor. Les never told him it was his fault ha ha’.

‘It was around 1983 I was with some friends and my girlfriend and we were waiting at the bus stop to take us down town to see Saracen at Bolingbroke Hall, South Shields.

I saw the bus and started going towards it somehow, I managed to get a nail stuck in my little finger that was sticking out of a fence close by. It had gone right into my finger down to the bone.

My friends called my dad who came and when he saw the situation he had no choice but to saw the fence. I eventually got free and went to hospital.

The Nurses and Doctors were pissing themselves laughing when they saw me coming in holding a fence. After laughing his knackers off the doctor removed the nail and fence that came with it and bandaged me up. I still have the scar to prove it.

We still got to Bolingbroke Hall to see Saracen and rushed up to the stage. Soon as I raised my right fist in the air complete with bandage, the bass player Les Wilson fell over and split his jeans. Tackle out and everything ha ha. You couldn’t make it up’.

Fist April

Fist

What are you doing now and are you still involved with music ?

‘My last gig with Fist was in April 2017 at the Unionist Club in my home town supporting the wonderful Bernie Torme. I’m happy to say it was a great gig and meeting Mr Torme was the icing on the cake. What a musician and what gent!

I was with Fist for four years as their frontman. Being with Fist was great experience’.

‘I haven’t got involved with another original band since then but it is early days. There have been a few interesting offers however nothing that was suitable for me.

I’m not ruling out doing more original material and have written some stuff which was originally meant for Fist however at this time I have three none original bands on the go which I’m busy with and really enjoying.

Bone Idol which is a classic pub rock band, G Force which is a tribute to Gary Moore’s classic rock/metal years and a Judas Priest tribute band called Metal Gods UK.

Bone Idol doubles up as G Force. I’m on vocals/guitars, Ian Rogers vocals/bass, Stu Johnson keyboards and my old mate Matty on drums.

Metal Gods UK is myself lead vocals, Dan Rochester guitars, Andrew McCann guitars, Ian Rogers bass and James Charlton on drums. We are arranging live dates for these bands soon’.

Interview by Gary Alikivi   September 2017.

Recommended:

Brian Ross SATAN/BLITZKREIG: Life Sentence, 20th February 2017.

Lou Taylor SATAN/BLIND FURY: Rock the Knight, 26th February & 5th March 2017.

Steve Dawson SARACEN/THE ANIMALS: Long Live Rock n Roll, 2nd April 2017.

Martin Metcalfe HOLLOW GROUND: Hungry for Rock, 18th June 2017.

ALIVE AND KICKING with Desolation Angels guitarist Robin Brancher

/ Alikivi

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Checking out some books in a charity shop I came across two which I’d read in the 1990’s – Trainspotting and The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail.

Flicking through the pages I remembered the storylines. It’s similar to picking up a Heavy Metal album from the 1980’s – Judas Priest, Scorpions, Accept. I’d remember the tracks.

Listening to the new album by Desolation Angels recall’s that sound. The thwack of drums, twin guitar attack, powerful vocals, relentless energy. Slower tracks crunch and crackle. Yep, just like that.

A quick check on who produced the album and Chris Tsangarides was the man behind the desk. It figures.

CT produced some of the classic heavy rock and metal albums during the 1980’s. Thin Lizzy’s Thunder & Lightning, Forged in Fire by Anvil and Spellbound from Tygers of Pan Tang. I asked Robin how did working with CT come about ?

‘The situation with Chris T came about through John Wiggins of Tokyo Blade. John and I talk quite regularly about what our bands are are up to, and the state of music industry in general.

And it was through one of these conversations that the idea of Chris coming together with Desolation Angels for our next album. Cheers for that John’.

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‘CT has his studio out near Kingsdown in Kent which is situated on a lovely part of the English coastline. His studio occupies a set of buildings on a large camping site which overlook the English Channel.

Bands also get the use of a discounted crew lodge on the site to stay in. That really does help, as it’s fully kitted out and just a stones throw away from the studio itself.

A short walking distance away are two pub’s, Zetland Arms, and The Rising Sun. Without these two highly essential recuperating dwellings the recording process would fail.

How long did you record for, and did he tell you any stories?

‘We recorded for about a month. This was done in weekly stints. I think the first one was a ten-day shift, just to get settled in, and move the recording on. Then back for the vocals, overdubbing and mixing.

Did Chris tell any stories? If there’s one fella on this planet that can tell you a story, it is without any doubt our man Chris Tsangarides!

I’m surprised he hasn’t been inducted into The Guinness Book of World Records for story telling! Yes, indeed he told many a wild and wonderful story.

To hear about Phil Lynott and his rampaging, to hear how the intro to Judas Priest’s Painkiller came about. To hear about the many laughs CT had with Gary Moore and to hear about the dealings with record companies, good and bad.

Just to hear him talk about his own personal life journey – the man is held in very high regard in the rock world, and now in Desolation Angels too.

The man is a legend, and rightfully so. I would think it would be safe to say that Desolation Angels will be back to work on the next set of songs with Chris. Now that we know him, and how he works, I can only see an even better album being produced’.

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When did you start playing gigs, what venues did you play and did you support name touring bands ?

‘We started a band straight away. In rehearsals we would play mostly Quo, Queen, Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash. We were very quick off the mark when writing our own songs and put them in the set straight away.

However this first line-up never gigged so we had to make a few changes’.

The line-up for Desolation Angels during the 1980’s was Dave Wall (voice) Robin Brancher (guitars) Keith Sharp (guitars) Joe Larner (bass) and Brett Robertson (drums).

’There were plenty of rock pubs and clubs in London and all over the UK in those days and it was either 1979 or ’80 when we went downstairs at The Rock Garden in Covent Garden, London to play our first gig.

Then we entered a talent competition in a rock pub in Wembley. I remember we played three songs. One of our own called Just Fantasy and two covers, Jumping Jack Flash done in the style of Johnny Winter and Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac. Of which the latter won us the competition. Our prize being a crate of warm beer.

I’ll always remember the crowd appreciation as we came to the finale of the song. Hands in the air clapping, whistling and shouting for more…man adulation tasted sweet – certainly better than the warm beer!’

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‘Desolation Angels went on to support Diamond Head at The Electric Stadium in Chadwell Heath in 1981. And in the same year at the same venue we supported Samson.

That was when Bruce Dickinson was in the line-up. Back then he was very helpful, supportive and encouraging.

We also supported Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts and then a whole host of acts once we got into the Marquee in Wardour Street, London. That was a great time.

To be honest, Desolation Angels was, and still is, focussed on doing our own shows. We put a lot of effort into them.

Not only musically, but also the theatrics too, plenty of pyrotechnics, smoke, lights, the whole show, and as big a PA as we could afford. Which was pretty substantial back then!

1980S RUSKIN ARMS

‘Talking about Bruce Dickinson though, shortly after the Electric Stadium gig Desolation Angels went on to play a gig at The White Heart in Acton. Bruce said he would come along but he didn’t show up. That is, not until after our set.

When we met him at the bar, he made his apologies for being late. But went on to tell us in the strictest of confidence, that he had got an unexpected call from the Iron Maiden management, asking him to go along for another audition with the Iron Maiden guys.

The thing was while we were talking with Bruce you could see that he had a twinkle in his eyes, and he seemed extra excited.

The news hadn’t been announced in any of the music press yet, but he was sure he had got the job as the replacement for Paul Di’Anno. As everybody knows, he certainly did get the gig with Iron Maiden.

But it was still very noble and cool of him to turn up at our little gig in Acton and confide in us. I expect that after such an event he had just experienced, he really did need that beer!’

‘Also, and this is for the guitar aficionados. While I was backstage at the Electric Stadium, Paul Samson was there warming up on his trademark Gibson SG. By the side of him, he had two other guitars, both in fitted cases.

He opened them up and inside were these Half Moon custom made guitars, really unusual shape. One was a yellow kinda sunburst colour, the other I can’t remember. He used one of them mid set in their gig, the yellow one I think.

I was itching to pick one up and have a go, but man, I just daren’t. Paul was rock royalty, and I didn’t wanna overstep the mark. It would be nice to know where those guitars are today?’

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What were your early experiences of recording ?

‘Around 1981 Desolation Angels first recorded a demo at Legend Studios in Sidcup, Kent – we think it was there. It may of been two demo’s at separate times, we can’t really remember it was well over 30 years ago.

The tracks recorded at that time where, Satan’s Child, Death Machine, Unsung Hero and All Hallows Eve. They are on our box set, Feels Like Thunder’.

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When did Desolation Angels make the move to LA ?

‘We moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and lived there for seven years. We had been gigging regular at a club in Shepherds Bush in London. It was the guy who managed the club, John Feely, who suggested that LA might be a good move for us.

He had contacts out there and a band already playing at clubs along the ‘Strip. It must have taken about a second to confirm that we would go!’

‘We played many cities across the states. There was one gig in Las Vegas, now that was a night to remember, or maybe to forget ! After playing the gig we had an extremely boozy night and the whole band and it’s entourage were rounded up and thrown out of the hotel.

Then our vans and trucks were surrounded by a convoy of police cars and escorted by state troopers out of Las Vagas to the Nevada state line.

We eventually got to a casino on the border and ended up in the restaurant having a breakfast of steak ‘n’ eggs and more beers. We looked out on to the foyer and on display was the bullet ridden car of Bonnie and Clyde ! Hmmm, that kinda made you think !’

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Have you any stories from playing gigs ?

‘The whole thing of being in a rock band is basically funny all the time, and strenuous too, every day. There’s always something going on that you can look back and laugh at! Spinal Tap and Bad News spring to mind!

I have a few stories from back in the day. I remember playing a small pub somewhere and after finishing one of our numbers, our bassist Joe Larner ordered a pint of Guinness from a tiny hole/bar in the wall at his side of the stage.

The pint took ages to settle and we were all there waiting and watching, including the audience. Joe finally got his pint, paid for it right there on stage and held it up high as a salute to the audience.

Then took a great glug of the grog and we carried on. It was a rapturous night!’

‘There was the time when we were driving down the A12 going to Norfolk for a gig. Another motorist was flashing our van. When we stopped, the guy said something was not quite right with our back axle.

What happened was the pin in the back axle had snapped, and the vans back wheels were way out of alignment with the front wheels. We were basically going along the road side wards. We had been driving along like a crab for miles haha’.

At the time where you aware the impact that Heavy Metal & NWOBHM was having and has had since ?

‘Rock music, rock clubs, rock venues were everywhere. Great Heavy Metal and NWOBHM bands just seemed to be on all the time.

Back then every second pub had a Rock night. Keith Sharp and I quickly got into heavier sounding music at an early age. Once into that scene, you could find Rock/Metal music everywhere.

We would watch bands at the Marquee who would later go on to headline at the Hammersmith Odeon. Or bands at the Ruskin Arms and other London clubs where Iron Maiden, and others including us would regularly play.

We weren’t really aware that we were going through a moment in rock music history that was going to be so well documented as it is these days. The impact for me was all the great bands that I got to see and learn from.

You could never imagine it coming to an end.

I’m obviously very glad that these days there is such a vast interest in NWOBHM, and Rock/Metal music as a whole. It seems that there is no stopping its popularity. And that my friend is a darn good thing!’

What has music given you ? ‘Life! No seriously, it has given me life. Here I am at this grand age, haha. I’m still slim, fit and healthy.

Alright, I admit my hearing might have suffered a tad over the years, my hair is a mess, and I’m mighty damned cynical too. But otherwise, I’m still very much right there in the thick of it, at the front for the fight for Rock ’N’ Roll music.

It ain’t ever gonna die, that’s for sure, it’s just to cool !’

NOW10

The present line-up for Desolation Angels is Paul Taylor (voice) Robin Brancher (guitars) Keith Sharp (guitars) Clive Chief’O’ Pearson (bass) and Chris Takka (drums).

‘Desolation Angels are very much alive and kicking. I have a great band and team around us to keep me motivated and sure-footed. I’m driven by the thirst for more Heavy Metal. I still believe.

I can still dream too. Dreaming’s good. I still have goals. There always seems to be one more riff lurking on the fretboard. It’s my job to chase the bloody thing down then ram it out through amplification as LOUD as possible!

As you can imagine being in a band you get subjected to a hell of a lot more bonkers situations along life’s whirlwind ride than you might do in the average nine to five world.

And when you have music as good as what we have produced right there on the recent KING album, believe me – it’s very hard to put something like that down.

To walk away from it. To say that’s the end. To say, you know what, I’ve had enough. No, I don’t think so. I’m in it for good. That’s what the music has given me! ‘

What are the future plans for Desolation Angels ? ‘Recently there has been some very significant news released about Desolation Angels signing a new deal with UK record company Dissonance Productions.

This signing will drastically lift our profile and see the band gigging a hell of a lot more. Plus, some new songs are already in place as there is plans to record a new album in the near future. So, yes, really exciting times ahead. We cant wait!’

king

Desolation Angels next gig is Sunday December 3rd 2017 at the Hard Rock Hell (NWOBHM) Xmas Rocka 2 held at the O2 Academy in Sheffield, UK.

On the bill are headliners Raven plus Diamond Head, Satan, Seventh Son and more. Tickets on sale now.

You can find the latest info, gigs, photo’s, history and new album KING can be bought from the official website http://www.desolationangels.co.uk.

Interview by Gary Alikivi   September 2017.

STILL HUNGRY – Dave Allison, original rhythm guitarist & vocalist from Canadian metallers Anvil

/ Alikivi

ROSS HALFIN ?

Dave Allison was a member of Anvil for 10 years and recorded 7 albums, his last was ‘Past and Present’ live album. I got in touch with Dave and asked what are you up to now ?

‘I pretty much quit playing when I left Anvil. I went to see them for the first time last year and I got totally inspired to start playing again.

I’m currently working with a network of all pro musicians from back in the day. Guys who are still in the game. We are writing songs and recording mostly over the internet.

If I told you some mischievous stories and funny anecdotes from back in the day it would be a whole different interview and very X-rated haha’.

Back then Anvil were Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Allison (guitar, vocals) Ian Dickson (bass, backing vocals) and Robb Reiner (drums).

The band were originally called Lips and released their first album independently. They changed to Anvil and signed to Attic Records who re-released their debut album ‘Hard ’n’ Heavy’ in 1981.

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Let’s go back to the start, when did you first get into playing music and who were your influences ?

’First band I played in I was maybe 13! Mike Poitras on drums, Dave McLean lead guitar and myself on rhythm guitar! We sucked but we had fun!

Influences ? Too many to mention but a short list would be Deep Purple, Cream, Hendrix, Sabbath, Boston, Styx and Aerosmith previous to meeting the boys! Oh and Rush of course!

After that anybody and everybody. I should probably include The Who, The Beatles and believe it or not The Monkeys in that first list!

Was there a defining moment when you said ‘I want to do that ?

‘When I first heard all of those previous bands. I started playing Monkeys songs when I was 8 years old when I got my first electric guitar and amplifier from money that I made from my paper route!

The early days of Anvil were a hard struggle in Canada…

‘First gig was with Anvil was after 10 months of rehearsal. We done seven days a week, 8 hours a day. Most of that was just Rob, Lips and myself. Ian didn’t join the band till very late.

We already had the first album written long before the first gig. During this time we self-recorded and self-produced the Lips album which eventually became the first Anvil album Hard ’n’ Heavy’.

Back then what venues were you playing ?

‘We played every s******** in Ontario and Quebec. Anywhere that would have us. It wasn’t easy back in the day being an original band. And we were loud as f***.

We were a band who played mostly original music and all the clubs wanted tribute bands, so we bullshitted our set list and said we played all the current Hard Rock band stuff. But of course, we didn’t.

We did do a lot of Ted Nugent though. And we would play a club for an entire week. Back in the day that’s how it was. We used to play the same clubs over and over again every two months. The word spread about us and eventually so did our territory’.

MOR ANVIL copy

By 1982 Anvil had released their second album ’Metal on Metal’. That year they got a call to play a festival which was fast becoming a regular on the rock circuit.

Can you recall playing the UK Monsters of Rock ?

‘Monsters of Rock gig ! Ho Lee fuk ! What an experience. It was surreal! Couldn’t believe we were actually there.

Although by that time we really were a well-oiled, road hardened and very confident bunch of guys. But it was still the biggest thing we had ever done. I think we were a little heavy given the rest of the line-up’.

On the bill were Uriah Heep, Hawkwind, Gillan, Saxon and headliners Status Quo.

By 1983 Anvil had released their third album ‘Forged in Fire’ produced by Chris Tsangarides…

‘We always took recording very seriously and worked very much as a team to achieve the end result. This would often create a bit of tension between us but that’s just the nature of the beast and the end result speaks for itself !

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To promote the album they went out on the ‘Another Perfect Day’ UK tour supporting Motorhead. I saw them at Newcastle City Hall, plus before that, at Leeds Queens Hall on a bill with Girlschool, Twisted Sister and Saxon.

What are your memories from that day ?

‘With those bands the Leeds gig was a little more in keeping with who we were and was much more comfortable. That was an excellent show on the day, and we had a lot of fun doing it and playing with those bands’.

Did you film any tv appearances or music video’s?

‘Not as many as I would have liked to but yes there are number of them. My personal favourite are the Tokyo Tapes live at Sun Plaza.

One guy filming on the balcony with what must have been a huge camera and the footage is as raw as it gets, but totally captures what Anvil was all about.

There is another really good one back in the Hard and Heavy days which was a guy’s college project that I also think is pretty good although again very raw!

Slickest one was Super Rock ’84 but it is short and only includes the tracks School Love and Metal on Metal with just short pieces of both those songs. I would love to see the rest of the footage but I don’t know if it exists’.

What’s your future plans ?

‘I have a home studio and do all of that on computer, so with the musicians I’m working with it makes it kind of easy to trade ideas without travelling great distances to play together.

I’m also very interested in taking older songs and remaking them much like we did in Anvil. Eventually the plan is to put out a recording. With the whole new spin of course and much more attitude! I tend to like attitude !

Interview by Gary Alikivi September 2017.