In the early 80s Tyneside based Avenger released two albums on the Neat record label – ‘Blood Sports’ and ‘Killer Elite’ both firmly planted the band on the NWOBHM map.
Fast forward to 2023 and their last show was three months ago in Spain at the Galia Metal Fest near Madrid…
“It was a cracking festival just in its first edition”said drummer Gary Young.
Next up is an explosive triple bill of classic NWOBHM on Friday 1st September. Joining Avenger are Spartan Warrior plannng an old school 80s set and an exclusive Venom set from Abaddon.
“I think we’ve played more shows with Spartan Warrior than any other band we know. We have a smooth working relationship with them and that makes touring alongside them very easy”.
“We’ve played with Abaddon too, and been friends with him for nearly 40 years! It’s always an honour to share the stage with him and the lads”.
The three bands will be playing on home turf at Trillians Rock Bar in Newcastle…
“We love Trillians….so much history, so many memorable shows there in the past – both as punters and playing. The place is essential to the music scene’s health”.
How influential has NWOBHM been?
“I think New Wave of British Heavy Metal has been a keystone to how current metal music has developed and that’s recognised by people especially when discovering metal for the first time.”
“When researching a bands history they can identify the whole legacy, for example Metallica were influenced by NWOBHM”.
After 40 plus years the NWOBHM North East Division of Satan, Raven and Tygers of Pan Tang are still breathing fire wherever they turn up.
“How has NWOBHM endured 40 odd years? Simple, the sheer quality of the bands”.
Free night of classic NWOBHM at Trillians Rock Bar, Newcastle, Friday 1st September 2023.
Flag bearers of the NWOBHM scene since the late 1970s and still delivering the goods now include Kev Riddles (Angel Witch/Tytan), John Gallagher (Raven), Rob Weir (Tygers of Pan Tang) and Barry Graham Purkis (aka Thunderstick). Purkis is best known for his time drumming with Samson and an early Iron Maiden line up.
“Samson were one of the first bands to release an album that was considered to be New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. And that was the ‘Survivors’ album” explained Purkis.
“We were looking for support acts to come out with us and guitarist Paul Samson knew a band from south London that he was good friends with, he recommended Angel Witch, so they were put on the bill”.
“We were thinking about a third band, I said ‘Well the band I played with prior to joining Samson was a band called Iron Maiden. Would you be interested in them?’And Paul said, ‘Yeah, sure.’
Fast forward to August 2023 and Thunderstick, fronted by lead vocalist Raven Blackwing, are releasing a new single ‘Go Sleep With the Enemy (I Dare Ya)’.
Raven Blackwing explained“We wanted to show that the material on the new album follows an altogether weightier vein. Releasing a single from the album that people already know and love when we play it live seemed a perfect way of introducing everyone to our new direction.”
(Single taken from the 2017 album ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’).
Purkis adds “The new single is a tale of infidelity and the wrath of a woman spurned. I wanted to re-visit this particular track by way of demonstrating the heavier aspects of the new band that make up the forthcoming album. I felt this track was the ideal vehicle to do that.”
“With the new album now completed and ready for an October release, the collection of songs on it are the strongest Thunderstick have ever recorded.”
“I’m so lucky to have found the musicians that I now work with especially Raven, of whom I consider to be one of the finest rock singers around. She is the ‘real deal’ both in terms of voice and stagecraft.”
Upcoming live dates:
British Steel Festival Fismes, France, 7th October.
Legends of Rock, Ilfracombe, 10th November.
Thunderstick 2023 line-up:
Raven Blackwing(vocals), Pete Pinto and Dave Butters (guitars), Rex Thunderbolt (bass) and Thunderstick/Barry Graham Purkis (drums).
Earlier this month the site featured Tytan main man Kev Riddles talking up a night of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal on Friday 13th October when Tytan, Trespass, Tailgunner and Kev Riddles’ Baphomet are booked to play at Leo’s Red Lion in Gravesend.
Sharing the bill is Suffolk based Trespass, I got in touch with guitarist Mark Sutcliffe and asked why do you think NWOBHM is still alive over 40 years later?
“The early eighties was an interesting time. Full of change and quite tough at times. It was a time for self-expression and freedom. The NWOBHM was part of that”.
“The new bands of that era had great influences. I never thought it would endure this long but I am proud and honoured to be a part of it”.
Mark added “Back then we played the Marquee in London. First time was opening for Girl with Phil Collen who went on to join Def Leppard. We headlined later and actually broke their Monday night attendance record”.
“Did we use pyro? Sadly it was a double edged sword when we used pyro. We had a roadie injured at Leeds Forde Green and at a gig in Gravesend Red Lion we blew a trip switch. This meant an early drum solo as it was on the opening chord!”
The band featured on NWOBHM ten track compilation albums ‘Metal for Muthas’. Vol 1 included Iron Maiden, Samson, Praying Mantis and Angel Witch, Vol 2 had Dark Star, White Spirit and Trespass.
“That was an interesting but perhaps disappointing time for us. EMI had been showing real interest in the band and suggested we had two tracks on Vol 2” explained Mark.
“We recorded One of these Days and Stormchild in Spaceward studios in Cambridge – also used by Maiden. This echoed Maidens two tracks on Vol 1 and we got excited and assumed as much”.
Major labels were in the process of hoovering up NWOBHM bands – MCA collared Fist and Tygers of Pan Tang, Raven signed with Atlantic and Phonogram pulled in Def Leppard. What could go wrong?
“EMI asked us to their studio in London to record a session. Despite a good performance we didn’t succeed in getting signed. I guess they wanted the path clear for Maiden”.
“The independent label we were on at the time may have put them off, also EMI were going through a take-over at the time so it may have been that. We’ll never know”.
This year Trespass released a new album ‘Wolf at the Door’ to a number of hot reviews.
“We are very proud of this set of songs. It’s been interesting reading the reviews. One of the things that struck me was, that people can hear the NWOBHM in there”.
“Not something we did deliberately or even thought about. We just did what we do, as it were. Songs from the album have been going down well live, even on first listen, so that’s great.”
“Our last live show was at Head Bangers Open Air in Germany. It was awesome and great fun. These festivals are like family events. It’s like coming home.”
“And with four bands on the NWOBHM bill on October 13th, Leo’s Red Lion can expect classic tracks from across the Trespass years when the Wolf meets the Lion!”
Promo video clip ‘Wolf at the Door’.
Trespass 2023 line up: Wil Wilmot bass, backing vox, Mark Sutcliffe lead vox guitar, Joe Fawcett guitar, backing vox, Jason Roberts drums.
Being at the outset of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in ’79, zillions of UK & European gigs with Angel Witch, Paul Samsons Empire, Baphomet and Tytan – plus recording a few albums along the way – Kev Riddles has been a flag bearer for NWOBHM the past 40 plus years.
“In the halcyon days of Angel Witch we toured constantly, either in our own right or opening for Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Girlschool, Saxon or April Wine”.
left to right, Kev Riddles – bass/backing vocals, Andy Thompson – keyboards, Tony Coldham – vocals, Chris Borsberry – guitar, Garry Bowler – drums
Here we are in July 2023 and Tytan are sitting in the port waiting for the Calais ferry after playing at the Headbangers Open Air Festival in Germany. Kev reflects on the weekend…
“We had a blast. A superb crowd. Butthe ferry’s been cancelled….there’s a four hour wait!”
“I just drove for 11 hours, played to 2,000 people in Germany, ate too much, then drove back again. Is it worth it? Hell yeah! We do this because we can and we love it!”
On Friday 13th October Tytan are lined up to play a NWOBHM night with Kev Riddles’ Baphomet – yes second show of the night for Kev – Tailgunner and Trespass at Leo’s Red Lion in Gravesend. (Interview with Trespass coming soon).
Then on 3rd November a pre-Bonty Night triple bill with fellow NWOBHM bands Millennium and Spartan Warrior at Trillians Rock bar, Newcastle.
Are you looking forward to playing in the North East who spawned the big four – Raven, Venom, Fist, Tygers of Pan Tang ?
“I always feel a little pressure when playing the North East precisely because of the incredible talent coming out of the place” said Kev.
“I’ve had, and continue to have, the good fortune to witness and share a stage with all the bands you mention and this year we’ll be lucky enough to play alongside Spartan Warrior at Trillians again”.
What can the crowd at Trillians expect?
“Trust me we will have some fun on the night because that is what we do”.
Is there a wind up merchant in the band?
“All of us are wind up merchants, it goes with the territory – Fun is for life, death is forever”.
Lyin Rampant originally formed in 1983 when Stewartie teamed up with former Heavy Pettin’ guitarist Eddie Trainer.
They released an album Up and Cumin’ in 1987 on Prism records. Last year the album was re-released by Renaissance Records, USA.
(Further info in interviews with Stewartie 10 & 19 March 2022, links below. Lyin Rampant 2023 are Stewartie, Eddie Trainer, Davey Harkness, Doug Jagger).
Video clip of new track ‘All But Gone’ (Trainer/Adams).
“We are currently working in conjunction with Shock City Promotions/Glasgow. We would like to give a huge thank you to them for adding us to these upcoming shows”.
Stewartie explained“Starting in September we are looking forward to working with our old friends Heavy Pettin’ on their 40th anniversary tour. On the 28th we’re at Edinburgh Bannermans and the Classic Grand, Glasgow on 30th”.
“Then we are on the bill at the Winterstorm Rock Fest in Troon in November. The festival runs from 23rd -25th.
We haven’t played there before so we are excited about being on stage with all the other great talent performing this year, including headliners MSG, Graham Bonnet, Uli Jon Roth then there is our old pal Doogie White, to name just a few”.
This past year you’ve had some personal problems, how are you holding up ?
“We are currently working away in the rehearsal studio for these shows. This will be my first time working again with Lyin Rampant after all these years due to the personal commitments so this will be a big challenge for me”.
“I would like to thank my great friend Eddie Trainer (guitar) and the others in the band for all their support and encouragement getting me back into it again.
This should be a lot of fun as Eddie and myself have not been on stage together for about 33yrs … the Lyin will roar once more!”
The starting gun fires on Friday 4th August on old school NWOBHM at Trillians. They won’t be nights full of half arsed tunes. Expect red hot, heavy, driving sounds topped with power vocals – just the way you like it.
First up is Kev Riddles’ Baphomet, Kev was an original member of NWOBHM band Angel Witch who released their first album in 1980.
The record, along with the track Baphomet, always feature on any ‘Best of NWOBHM’ lists. On their last visit to Newcastle, Kev Riddles’ Baphomet played original Angel Witch classics to a packed house. Expect the same on a loud start to your weekend.
Another night of old school metal is a triple bill on Friday 1st September with Avenger, Abaddon and Spartan Warrior.
Spartan vocalist David Wilkinson explained“2023 has been a milestone year for Spartan Warrior as we celebrate 40 years since the release of our debut album, ‘Steel n Chains’, on the Guardian label”.
“We’ve played some well received anniversary shows where we’ve played our debut album live in its entirety”.
“As we have two shows at the same venue quite close together we want to give people something different each time. The 1st September set will be exclusively from the ‘Steel n Chains’ album and the second album only. November’s set will draw material from all four albums”.
That November date is set for Friday 3rd, a pre-Bonfire night with Kev Riddle’s other band Tytan. What to expect from Tytan? Chunks of melodic, epic rock with screaming riffs and Tony Coldham’s soaring voice. At the time of posting the band are on the road back from Germany after playing the Headbangers Open Air Festival.
Joining the bill are Millennium, frontman Mark Duffy explained“The first time Millennium played in Newcastle was when we were asked to do a reunion show for the Brofest festival in 2016 and we’ve played Newcastle a number of times since”.
“We know Spartan Warrior as they were on the Guardian records compilation ‘Pure Overkill’ along with Millennium. Although we didn’t get to meet them till around five years ago, we’ve since played gigs on the same events. Wehaven’t played any gigs with Tytan before so we’re looking forward to that”.
Spartan Warrior’s Wilkinson added“We’re very excited to be co headlining the November show with our dear friends Tytan. We’ve shared stages before and it’s going to be a great night for sure. We also have a long history with Millennium who were our Guardian label mates, so in our 40th Anniversary year that’s a bit special too”.
Millennium’s Duffy added “I think the NWOBHM scene has lasted so long because it has produced so many good bands who recorded some great records. There’s also a younger generation who are now listening and discovering these bands for the first time and appreciating their music”.
“We’re looking to do some gigs with other NWOBHM bands and hoping to play festivals in Europe having played in Athens this year. But it’s always good to play home shows at Trillians – really looking forward to it”.
If that isn’t enough for ya’ on Thursday 23rd November at Trillians is a hometown visit from the Tygers of Pan Tang. After trekking around mainland Europe during summer they have arranged extra dates to support new album Bloodlines.
Launched in Holland in 1981 and focused on releasing Heavy Metal records, the label then expanded and opened offices around the world including UK, USA, Germany, Japan and Australia.
A documentary about the company is currently in production, the idea for the project started during lockdown when 34 year old Bill and his friend from Leeds started a podcast called Temple of Bleh.
The idea for the podcast was for the pair of us to reconnect with heavy music in a more meaningful way explained Bill.
This would be done through projects such as The Hunt for the Secret Channel 4 Metalhead, then we finally arrived at looking at The History of Roadrunner Records.
Being a metal guy of my age, I noticed a thread that connected my favourite bands – Trivium, Killswitch Engage, Sepultura, then the likes of Mercyful Fate and Type O Negative. So I toyed with the idea of a book on the subject.
After writing a brief report on the topic for the podcast, by complete chance, I crossed paths with former PR for Roadrunner UK, Michelle Kerr. She told me she’d like to see the finished product.
This was a sign to take this project to an academically accurate standard – so as not to look a complete twat in front of Michelle, who had kindly taken an interest.
I spent about a month creating a monster spreadsheet, detailing every original Roadrunner release since its formation in 1981 – conventional wisdom says Roadrunner formed in 1980, this is a lie.
After finishing this, I set about contacting every band, with mixed success, for a Zoom interview – which would be put up on the Temple of Bleh podcast and You Tube channel.
Then the idea was to roll them up into three documentaries of 60-75 mins each and detailing the three core ‘eras’ of the record label – 1981-1986, 1987-2001 and 2002-2012 explained Bill.
Andreas Kisser of Sepultura, pic BillSaxton, 4th November 2022, at KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton.
Research can always bring up a number of unusual stories, and Bill found a few about Roadrunner.
A good story I found is that Roadrunner’s first Gold single wasn’t metal at all – it was a 1995 gabba song called I Wanna Be a Hippie by Technohead.
Also, in this period Roadrunner was trying to edge away from heavy metal, and in the UK specifically were trying its hand at Britpop.
If you were to ask Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos who first signed him, he’d say Roadrunner, with his early outfit The Karelia.
Another story is the range of artists Roadrunner licensed to Europe from the rest of the world. There are albums from Sinead O’Connor and Cliff Richard bearing the Roadrunner label.
Bill emphasised that the main point of the documentary is to illustrate that once upon a time, death metal hit the top of the Billboard charts, and had a seat at the table with the perceived top industry ‘players’.
It’s important to my generation to understand exactly how that came about. Who better to ask than those responsible at Roadrunner Records.
It’s also insanely convenient that you can’t answer the ‘how’ question without showcasing the stories and legacies of the key artists on the label such as Mercyful Fate, Type O Negative, and Slipknot – as well as the less mainstream bands like Deicide, Gruntruck and Blue Mountain.
Madball being interviewed, pic by TheFinalCut, 7th February 2023, at Manchester Club Academy.
After six months, 150 hours of interviews, one mini and one full documentary complete, Bill was contacted by Mrs X – who would prefer to remain anonymous.
She favoured the project so much she came up with the finance to form a production company and elevate the quality to broadcast standard.
Big thanks to our Mrs X where would I be without her! said Bill. So far I’ve filmed 32 interviews for the project, across six countries, both artist and Roadrunner personnel alike. I’ve still got a lot to go before I can call this thing even close to complete.
Bands from North East UK are represented by stories from Battleaxe and Dark Heart. It’s a dense mix of music business learnings, interwoven with rock n roll regalia.
As it stands at this moment, ‘The History of Roadrunner Records’ has no distributor or broadcaster interest as yet– so this will likely be hitting YouTube.
The documentary is being exclusively filmed in the UK and I’m managing the time with my day job, so I can’t put a final deadline on the production. I’m considering crowdfunding to quicken it up.
For more info or if you dealt with the Roadrunner label contact Bill at templeofbleh@gmail.com or @HistoryOfRoadrunnerRecords on Instagram.
Don’t know if you’ve noticed but lately Tyneside’s metal bands are warming up ready to hoy the whole kit and caboodle into the pot, taking everything with them and leaving nowt and no one behind. Are you ready for the Great North East Metal Raid?
They first plugged in around the 1970s and never in a million years did they think they would still be dancing with the devil 50 years later. So a quick update on where they are now and what they are doing is in order.
Firing off instant messages and communicating directly to followers on social media is used to full effect by the Tyneside Metal Raiders with a message from Raven loud and clear…‘The album has to be all killer no filler, no messin’ around with 19 minute epics, its smash yer face in with an ice pick. The title sums up everything we do. We wanted to tear it up, which is what Raven are all about’.
The forthcoming album from the Godfathers of Thrash, ‘All Hell’s Breaking Loose’ is released on 30th June 2023.Contact for sales, tours, photos & info:Raven | Official Raven Lunatics Website
After releasing three singles ‘Back for Good, Fire on the Horizon’ and the epic, ‘Edge of the World’, Tygers of Pan Tang officially release their ten track album ‘Bloodlines’ on 5th May 2023.
‘A week after its release we’ll be celebrating Bloodlines at the Nordic Noise Festival on 12th May in Copenhagen with our record company who are of course, based in … Copenhagen. They have promised us that the drinks are on them’.
After six albums and countless UK & European tours, battle hardened Satan reached out to the United States again this year.
‘After kicking off the Hell’s Decibels tour at the legendary Whiskey a Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in April, Satan had a blast touring the USA with Night Demon and Haunt. You guys were a pleasure to work with, brothers forever and a piece of my heart will be with you until the end of time’.
Mythra are one of the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. They recorded their legendary ‘Death & Destiny EP’ in 1979.
‘The new album ‘Temples of Madness’ is out now and has been available in Brazil and USA for a week or so. We’ve started to sell them through our on line shop and business is pretty brisk’.
Gateshead born Mal has been working the entertainment biz for nearly six decades and still has a great passion and enthusiasm for music.
From being a teenager watching bands in the famous Newcastle venue Club a’Gogo, to becoming a seasoned performer on the North East working men’s club circuit, and today, promoting bands and events in Skegness.
I thought he’d have a few stories to tell – he did – so we spent a couple of hours chewing the fat in The Centurion bar in Newcastle Central Station.
First time I heard loud music was in the YMCA in Gateshead, bands like The Sect were playing. It was the ‘60s with the mods and rockers, that was the sounds that influenced me. We were brought up on the best music, we were privileged to be born then.
Club a’Gogo pics courtesy Evening Chronicle.
Going to the Club a’Gogo was the best time of yer life. I saw everybody there – Long John Baldry, the Stones, Eric Burdon, and I was there when Hendrix played.
I’d seen loads of guitar players by then but you knew you were watching someone special. Nobody knew he was gonna be a world legend when he walked on stage.
The Gogo was fantastic, the DJ was Bryan Ferry who went onto Roxy Music fame. Zoot Money was massive when he played, but the biggest pull was Geno Washington & the Ram Jam band, never sold records but always rammed.
I remember when The Animals went to number one with House of the Rising Sun in 1964. They came back from London to the Central Station, got off the train and came to the Gogo. I remember like it was yesterday.
Jacko
I’ve been involved in music since I was 15. I joined a band called Jacko and got to know all the North East groups working the clubs, the Brass Alleys, the Becketts, John Miles, and my pal Brian Johnson in Geordie.
When I finished with Jacko, I went with a band called Chevy who had Andy Taylor on guitar – later he joined Duran Duran. There was Davey Black from Goldie he lived just over the road.
In fact, Andy had just come back from playing in Germany when he asked me to join on vocals ‘Do ya fancy going on the road with us?’
Andy was a great player, a rock player, so Duran Duran weren’t exactly his style but he told me ‘It’s £50 a week and they have a recording contract’. ‘Good on yer lad’ I said.
Andy rang me up one night ‘We’re playing Newcastle City Hall tonight supporting Hazel O’Connor on the Broken Glass tour do ya fancy comin’ along?’… ‘Wey aye!’
Through the Geordie days I kept in touch with Brian and when he got the gig with AC/DC I went on the Black in Back tour with him.
How it all started was one night when I was singing in Chevy and playing Peterlee Social Club, guitarist Andy Taylor said ‘we’re going to Newcastle Mayfair to see AC/DC tonight’.
This line up was with Bon Scott on the Highway to Hell tour. Well I was blown away by them and told Brian Johnson ‘Ya gotta see this band’.
He was in Geordie Mark 2 at the time who were doing the clubs and using the same PA as us. One night Chevy were doing Lobley Hill Social Club when Brian came to see us and he got up on stage and done Whole Lotta Rosie – next week he was in AC/DC!
He went off to the Bahamas, recorded the album then straight onto the Back in Black tour where I travelled with the band on the UK leg. I remember being in Birmingham and Robert Plant came backstage, it was great, a real honour to meet your hero.
I remember going to Donnington festival, then the States as the band went into Jimi Hendrix’ studio in New York to record vocals for the album For Those About to Rock.
The lads in the band were great, no big stars, they were playing 60,000 stadiums, absolutely massive over there. I was in a bar with Malcolm Young in New York, he told me ‘We knew when Brian walked in, he was the man for the job, we knew he was the kid we wanted’.
Brian didn’t think he was in the band after the audition. But Malcolm phoned ‘You need to come back we’re doing an album’. Brian replied ‘Am I in the band then’! Brian was tailor made for that job.
Sergeant: left to right – Robb Weir (later replaced by Steve Lamb) Anthony Curran, Tony Liddle & Brian Dick.
I managed a rock band called Sergeant and got them on a national tour supporting Accept. What happened was I knew Colin Rowell from music TV show The Tube filmed in Newcastle. He had singer Tony Liddle on one week ‘Can you do anything with these Mal?’
So, I went with Brian Johnson to see the band play at the Gosforth Assembly Rooms. I liked what I saw so rang John Jackson, an agent I knew in London, and he gave them that UK support tour.
We also put them in Linx Studio in Newcastle, another Brian Johnson connection as he owned the studio. We recorded them and I thought they were tremendous. Tony Liddle was great I thought boy can this kid sing.
Tony was the new breed of rock singer in the North East, you had great frontmen Davey Ditchburn, Terry Slesser, John Miles, all them that had come through, but Tony was a bit younger.
He was also a good songwriter, obviously there is Lindisfarne as your big songwriters from the North East. I remember seeing them and they were new, fresh a different style, Alan Hull was an amazing talent.
Anyway, we took the demo tape to London and the first person to listen to it was Peter Mensch, Def Leppard manager.
We were in his house and asked him ‘What do ya think of these’? Bearing in mind he had just signed Metallica. ‘They’re alright Mal, hang on to the singer’. In the end RCA were looking at giving them a singles deal.
But one day Tony walked in and told us he’s leaving the band. ‘I’m joining The Strangeways’. A Scottish band who already had a deal with plenty money behind them. That broke Sergeant up.
We gave it our best shot, they had supported Nazareth in Scotland, been on a UK tour with Accept including a sold-out show at Hammersmith Odeon and we put them in front of record companies.
When I came back from America with AC/DC, video jukebox’s had just kicked off so I went into that business. I got the franchise for a company selling a video jukebox to pubs.
I worked with a guy for years called Percy Sheeran, whose family have the fairground in South Shields, he was doing the fruit machines and I was doing the music. A great team.
Then we started Arcadia Leisure selling PA’s and sound equipment from the Team Valley in Gateshead. After that closed down Percy’s brother Walter opened bars, leisure centres and arcades in Skegness, he asked me to come down, ‘Nah I like the Toon too much’ I said. But I’m still with him to this day!
The music scene is good down there, I’m booking bands all the time, I’m putting on festivals in the summer. We’ve got some local bands from Lincoln playing, Butlins is next door with rock festivals and alternative nights – always rammed.
I’ve got four or five bands from the North travelling down this year, so I still keep in touch with North East musicians. Lorraine Crosby has been down a few times. We’ve been friends around 30 years since she was in Foxy, Lorraine’s a great kid, she done the Meatloaf single as well.
Soon I’ve got an event lined up for the scooter boys – a mod rally at the end of April. There are loads happening.
I enjoy reading your blogs but a guy who doesn’t get a mention is Greg Burman. During the ‘60s the Greg Burman Soul band played at the Gogo, he also built amps for all the bands coming through like Lindisfarne, and made stuff for Thin Lizzy and Status Quo.
He was based in Newcastle’s Handyside Arcade which sadly isn’t there now. I dealt with him in the ‘70s, a lovely fella, what a gentleman. It’ll be a great story if you can talk to him.
One of the most influential New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands are heading out on a UK tour this March, but first, earlier this year there was the small matter of Raven being inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame alongside Twisted Sister and Foreigner vocalist and solo artist Lou Gramm.
Held at The Canyon Club in California on 26 January, this was the sixth annual gala, previous inductees include Dio, Lemmy and Judas Priest.
The award is for musicians and bands who have made an invaluable contribution to rock and metal and to keep inspiring fans throughout the world. I asked bassist and Chief Raven John Gallagher, how did it come about?
Bribery and corruption (laughs). It was nice to be recognized and was a really great event where we played a three song set – almost broke a sweat!
Did you ever think you would be in this position, a tour celebrating 40 years of an album ?
Of course not! That kind of long view, you just don’t have that when you start. It just kinda crept up on us over the years. It’s quite a milestone and we are very proud of it. That and good old Geordie stubbornness!
In the set are you playing the full track listing on All for One and have you played all the songs live before?
Yes indeed! There’s actually two songs from the album we’ve never played live before, so that’s going to be fun for sure and another two that Mikes never played.
Have you noticed any new faces at your concerts?
Oh definitely, there’s quite often three generations of fans at our shows – which is really great.
For a full list of tour dates & tickets, album releases, video, merch & more check the official website :
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 