Ian Hamilton (Overdrive, Witchfynde)

Ian Hamilton is the bass player and vocals for Overdrive and the bass player for Witchfynde as well, he spoke to us about both bands.

Q. - Hello Ian, how did your interest in heavy metal music start? Tell us a bit about the beginning of Overdrive too, how did it all start?

Ian - Overdrive started in 1977. Before then Tracey Abbott and I played in a band called Upex. 1973. We loved Slade, the Shadows, John Fogarty and the Rolling Stones. In 1977 I had a motorcycle accident and was ill for 4 months. When I recovered we were listening to Black Sabbath and deep purple. Loved it. So started playing heavy rock. 

Q. - How was it the heavy metal scene in Grantham? Did you play regularly back then? Or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked in the area at that time?

Ian - Heavy rock had a small following in Grantham. We put on our own shows as pubs wouldn’t book us. We supported Def Leppard and Rocky Newton in the Next band.

Q. - Was there any special reason to choose the song "On the Run" for the single?

Ian - “On the run” written by Tracey has lots of great riffs. It went down well at gigs. So it was a natural choice. It had more going on than other straight forward songs eg. Nightmare. We also recorded Louis IX and Rules of the Inn during that session  

Q. - Did the song "On the Run" have air play at that time on radio stations? And how was received by Overdrive fans?

Ian - The single was played on BBC radio 1 by Tommy Vance and John Peel. We had 500 copies pressed all sold within weeks. 

Q. - After the edition of the single, did you get in touch with some labels to record an LP?

Ian - We needed a manger but never had one. After the single we drank too much and the band drifted apart after playing local gigs only.

Q. - During the heydays you shared the stage with bands like Bernie Torme’s Electric Gypsies, Lionheart, Raven, Sparta, what memories do you keep from those times?

Ian - The memories of supporting bigger bands are cloudy due to drink. Laughing in dressing rooms, stealing equipment from the Lionhearts road crew. Many friendly girls. And lots of travelling in the van. 

Q. - You did the vocals for the albums "Dishonest Words" and "Home Sweet Home (A Day in the Life)" why didn't you play the bass?

Ian - We had a break for a few years I joined as singer ... never played bass because there was some else (Roger McKown) doing it. He did a good job. I was happy to be back with Tracey. 

Q. - After 1994, Overdrive began 10 years of hiatus, did you feel the 90's were hard times for heavy metal bands?

Ian - In England heavy metal has a small underground following. Virtually no venues take metal as no money is made. Europe is completely different. Metal is big! 

Q. - The producer Chris Tsangarides (RIP), worked in your last album doing mixing, how do you feel about his passing?

Ian - Chris CT produced our last album. He was a true gentleman. Many funny stories. He made excellent Greek coffee. During our work with him he had health problems but was very dignified and professional. Very sad when someone passes. His talent and generosity is missed. 

Q. - I presume that was an honour for you to take part of a movement as important as the NWOBHM, tell us a bit about those days and the impact it had for Overdrive?

Ian - At the start of nwobhm no one knew what we were doing. All the band were standing in a line waiting for the starting pistol. Then the race started. Like an obstacle course. Some fell, some were tripped. Some crossed the finished line. We are doing a lap of honour for our supporters. We love rock music. Only retrospectively did we appreciate we are part of something bigger. 

Q. - What's your expectations for the future, related to Overdrive?

Ian - Now we want to keep playing for fans who come and see the shows. Without the fans we’ve got nothing.

Q. - Recently you joined Witchfynde, as bass player, how did that happen? Did you you like Witchfynde, back in the day? What is the current line up for Witchfynde?

Ian - Witchfynde were in the race from the early days. I was a fan from “give em hell” days. Tracey Abbott joined a few years back so when Pete retired I got the call. I appreciate the chance to play classic Witchfynde rock songs. These tunes help mould heavy metal via bands like Metallica, who covered Witchfynde. The fans love Witchfynde so the gigs are quite spiritual... the fans give Witchfynde energy. Gra and Montalo are the founder members. Luther Beltz delivers every show... an amazing range, great performer and lively gentleman. Tracey Abbott on guitar, I’ve know Tracey since we were 4 years old. I was a fan of his guitar playing before joining his band in 1973... I still am a fan.

Q. - Are Witchfynde preparing a new album?

Ian - Whilst people want to see Witchfynde we will keep going... new material is always around the corner. 

Left to right: Gra, Luther Beltz. Montano, Tracey Abbott, Ian Hamilton

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Ian - I recently met Peter Oakman , bass player with the legendary Lonnie Donegal. Great man. He told me to... “keep the bass rockin”. So that what I intend to do. 

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Michail Bakoulas (Sons of Iniquity, Convixion, Finger Of Scorn)

Michail Bakoulas, is the bass player for Convixion, Finger Of Scorn and also the lead singer for Sons of Iniquity, we had a chat with him to know a little bit more about his work on these bands. 

Q. - Hello Michalis! During the 90's you were in some bands like Air Winners or Zero Hour, tell us a bit about your background in heavy metal.

Michalis - Hi there! Well these two bands were actually the same band that I formed at 13 with my best mate Andreas Zografidis. The name in both cases was not my idea and wasn’t pleased but then again I had no ideas of my own for a name so we got stuck with those! Musically we started as a band with very typical and standard songs influenced by the things mostly Andreas was listening at the time but it was nothing too exciting. We were just 14 when we played our first gig! When the band evolved into Zero Hour the material became more Progressive metal than anything else and when I got back from my military service we got really good as a three piece but it wasn’t meant to be something… all these years I wasn’t part of the line up but got in and out at least three times as me and Andreas are like brothers and brothers fight each other too!

Q. - When did you join Convixion, was it around 2010? How did the invitation came up?

Michalis - No I was in the band since we became a band… the story behind the band is that originally there were Conviction, the band that Nick Papakostas had in the early 00s, than he moved into Strikelight and the band broke up. But he had ideas for what was to become our first EP and he formed a new band that he named Convixion. Well I happened to listen to the material and said I’ll play the bass! That was in 2006. Ever since things have changed, so have our lives but Convixion is still here!

Q. - "Days of Rage, Nights of Wrath" was edited two years ago, and had excellent reviews, are you planning a new album by now?

Michalis - At the time we’re not planning anything since personal matters have forced us to to be inactive but we will get back soon as we have ideas for our next album.

Q. - Is Sons of Iniquity (Iniquity) the first band where you do lead vocals? What made you feel like start singing?

Michalis - I have a band that is not very active but whenever we feel like it we start playing again. It’s a tribute band that plays NWOBHM covers. In this band the guitarist is the brother of John who is the man behind Iniquity. While we were rehearsing with Metal Muthas John who was living in Crete at the time, came to see us while he was visiting Athens. Our singer was not in the rehearsal so I sang a few tracks. John liked it and he said he wanted me to sing a couple of songs for a demo he was recording and I said OK. I always did backing vocals for Convixion but never thought of singing, thanks to John I started that too!

Q. - Why did you change the name from Iniquity to Sons of Iniquity? Any legal problem?

Michalis - There is a band from Denmark that had the name Iniquity and we received a message from them to stop using the name as they will be acting legally. So John decided to change into Sons of Iniquity, that was the original name after all, inspired from the Savage Grace track.  If it was my decision I would tell them to eat shit and die. In fact if by any chance someone from the Danish Iniquity is reading this: FUCK OFF!!!

Q. - Is Sons of Iniquity a side project, or is it a full time band?

Michalis - A little of both actually. More because of the fact that we are moving very slow… But be ready for a full album in 2019!

Q. - Was it hard to find this line up for Sons Of Iniquity? For how long have you been playing together?

Michalis - Not really as John is playing the guitar and his brother is playing with us so that was easy! Peter the bass player was already the guy who recorded the Demo and the so was Vangelis the drummer.

Q. - What's your expectations for the future, what plans do you have for Sons of Iniquity? Are you recording new tracks? Or trying to find a label?

Michalis - As I said earlier we are preparing our full length album. We have a 4track demo we recorded to test the songs that is not available neither online nor will be released. We already have a label waiting for the album, so we don’t have to worry about that!

Q. - It's not usual a tribute band to Cirith Ungol, how did the idea of forming Finger Of Scorn came up?

Michalis - We did a cover of I’m Alive with Convixion so that made us thinking about the idea of a tribute band for this great band! Manolis Karazeris actually suggested it to Nick as the main element into making such a tribute was to find a singer who would do justice to the vocals of Tim Baker. Once that was settled than the rest was history!

Q. - Is it hard for a Cirith Ungol tribute band to be booked?

Michalis - We arranged all our appearances our selves and it wasn’t to difficult as Manolis had various contacts and we managed to play a few shows abroad!

Q. - However, you played K.I.T. a few years ago, how would you describe the experience?

Michalis - It was great for us and hopefully for the people attending too! KIT is always a nice festival and to be part of it is an honour and privilege.

Q. - Was Cirith Ungol a huge influence on you? What other influences do you have?

Michalis - I’d say they were although I didn’t realised that until I started playing their songs! My main influences as a bassist are GEEZER BUTTLER and STEVE DAWSON. But musically I’d say there are tons of things I listen to and most probably influence me in one way or another but I couldn’t really say what or who influenced me more. I like NWOBHM, classic Metal of course but mostly 70s hard rock and progressive.

Q. - The heavy metal movement in Greece has been increasing, from year to year, why do you think this is happening?

Michalis - I think that in reality it’s the world that has started taking notice of Greek Heavy Metal and not an increase of good bands. I believe that Greece is the no.1 place for Heavy Metal in the world. From bands, to fans, to mentality, to everything.

Q. - And it looks like you all have a good relationship between the bands, there's good camaraderie among heavy metal bands in Greece?

Michalis - It surely is better than 30 years ago! I think nowadays all is better for Greek Metal

Q. - It's been hard for you to be active in three bands (Convixion, Finger Of Scorn and Sons of Iniquity) at the same time?

Michalis - Well not really as I wasn’t active with all three in the same time. But I have in the past when I was with Vice Human, Zero Hour and Convixion at the same time. Fortunately I had the time for all three then!

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Michalis - Well nothing much, just want to thank you for the interview. Be ready for Sons of Iniquity full length coming in 2019!!!

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Stormchild

Stormchild is back with a new album called "Lightning Never Strikes Twice", produced by legendary Chris Tsangarides (RIP), we talked to drummer Chris Mitchell, about the new album and the early days.

Q. - So, Stormchild is back together, was it hard to reunite the bands line-up? What is the current line-up?

Chris - It was difficult to track down the original members as two had moved to Los Angeles, I was living in Greece at the time and Geoff and Neil were at opposite ends of the UK. However Chris Tsangarides helped via Facebook to get the guys back together again.

The current line up is the same as in 1979, Ian bridge (Vocals), Chris Mitchell (Drums), Neil McCurley (Keyboards), Geoff Harwood (Guitars), and Joe Rodmell (Bass).

Q. - "Lightning Never Strikes Twice" is out now, what expectations do you have for it?

Chris - We really think it’s a great Rock album and it sounds unlike anything out there at the moment. After 35 years people are telling us that it sounds really fresh and unique. We are hoping it will attract interest from a label so it can be released on Vinyl and CD. Chris Tsangarides was going to be involved with its distribution by using his contacts in the industry, but unfortunately he is no longer with us, it is so sad he never got to see it published.

If we don’t get record company interest we will release the vinyl and CD’s ourselves, but I think if the right people get to hear it….who Knows?

Q. - I think this is the last work Chris Tsangarides did producing albums, how do you feel about it?

Chris - Yes, it is his last work and we have very mixed emotions. There is sadness at his passing, but we know how pleased he was to work with the band after 35 years and how much he loved the songs, and it was his efforts that brought the band together. We feel proud of the fact that we were the last band he produced. The fact that Chris wanted to be involved with promoting the band after the album was produced was very inspiring for us, kind of another Anvil situation but with better songs J

Q. - Will you go out on tour, or try to play some festivals?

Chris - Hopefully, yes. It is all down to logistics because two of us live in the states and the rest are spread around the UK, but gigging at a festival again would be great.

Q. - Back in 82, Stormchild released the single "Rockin' Steady", did the single have airplay on radio stations? How was it received by the heavy metal community?

Chris - Yes, it was played on the radio, but not on the mainstream. As ever, pop music dominated the airwaves, but we were featured on a number of independent stations and I know it was played a lot on the continent in countries such as Greece, but we never realised it at the time. We got good reviews in Kerrang and Melody maker also for the single which were the major rock publications at the time. Rockin’ Steady achieved a sort of cult status that we never realised until after the Millenium. There are copies selling for over £2,500 and one for sale at £4.6K!

It’s unbelievable, but Rockin Steady is officially the highest valued NWOBHM single of all time. We are really proud of that fact, but we thought it wasn’t one of our strongest songs. The record company liked its commercial sound and appeal, so that was the song they used to attract a producer.

Q. - Did you try to find a record deal after the single edition?

Chris - The single Rockin Steady was produced to try and find a record producer to work with us on an album.

50 copies were made and sent to the likes of Mutt Lange, Roy Thomas Baker and Chris Tsangarides. It was Chris who came back first with the desire to produce us. We had a deal with Kilo records who cut the single with us and released it under the serpent name so that the label would be anonymous to everyone. I designed the artwork and it was sent out as a white label recording. Over time song titles were added, but the original ones had nothing on the label.

Q. - Why did the band split up at that time? What do you think went wrong with Stormchild to achieve real success?

Chris - Our promotions company went bust and we were very disillusioned at the time. We had a flat paid for us in London to go to and we had all given up careers to pursue our musical dreams. The company went bust on the eve of us saying goodbye to family and friends before we went to London! The van was packed and we were ready to go when we got the phone call. To say we were gutted is an understatement.

We all had high expectations, but we were in our late teens and very hot headed at the time and from being at such a high point our world fell apart. We had internal squabbles over all sorts of trivia, we couldn’t agree on a manager that the record company wanted us to sign to, it was a messy time. We were booked to be launched to the UK press on a Thames river boat prior to going to the states to support Bob Seger, but we split up before we got to do any of it, crazy eh?

Q. - Did you stay in touch with the other former members over the years?

Chris - No, apart from Geoff who I sort of kept in touch with. It was so sad, we were all mates, but the situation we found ourselves in just meant we drifted apart. Ian and joe packed their bags and went to the states and we just lost touch with each other completely.

Q. - Were you happy with the edition of "Maiden Voyage" by HRR in 2012? Was it like a dream come true?

Chris - We were happy that something had been released and the packaging of the album was great, but it was just a collection of demo tapes that we had recorded for the record company, and also some other tracks that were recorded on an 8 track with a couple of different band members. It was good that there was an album released, but it wasn’t representative of how good we really were.

High Roller did a great job of cleaning up the sound as it was all taken from cassette tapes that were 25 years old!

I have some original 2inch tapes, but nobody has the equipment to play them anymore. The release of the album did prompt Chris to track down the band to make a proper first album, something he wanted to do in 1982 but never got the chance to. There’s probably a copy of the single somewhere in his house still?

Q. - I presume that was an honour for you to take part of a movement as important as the NWOBHM, tell us a bit about those days and the impact it had in general?

Chris - We really didn’t call it NWOBHM at the time. There was some exciting bands coming out of the scene such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard etc. and our influences were very mixed and varied from UFO, Scorpions, Sweet, City Boy, Genesis, etc. etc.. Everybody in the band brought a huge diversity of styles of music with them that it made for an eclectic mix in our music.

There was so many bands about at the time and you had to be good to get noticed. We also used a lot of pyrotechnics in our shows like smoke bombs and theatrical cannons, but fire regulations stopped us from using them at many venues. The band built up a reputation as a good live act and it was a really exciting time to be in a band.

Our music had a hard edge to it but the use of keyboards gave us a different element to many of our peers. We came out with the NWOBHM movement and are proud to be seen as pioneers of it, but we think our music had a different dimension to many bands with elements of Prog and melodic rock also. We think Lightning Never Strikes Twice is a great showcase for the Stormchild sound. Chris did a great job in capturing that.

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Chris - Yes, the band would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to listen to our music and held the torch for us. We never realised how much impact we had in such a short career, which is quite humbling.

Please enjoy the new album played LOUD, we have dedicated it to the Dark Lord (Chris Tsangarides) and we hope it is seen as a fitting tribute to a good friend of the band.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Chris - Many thanks Paulo, hope to see you at a gig some time!

Battleaxe

Formed around 79 (as Warrior), in Sunderland, England, Battleaxe made their debut in 82 with the single “Burn This Town” and made a stable career till 1987. Two albums, “Burn This Town”, from 83 and “Power From The Universe” from 84 and a live one “Live n Kickin” from 85 were their releases from back in the day that made them gained some fame in the Heavy Metal world. They have been reactive since 2005 with the ep “Nightmare Zone”, having maintained a stable career till present day, having recorded “Heavy Metal Sanctuary” in 2014 too. We had a chat with bass player Brian Smith, founding member of the band.

Q. - Hey Brian! Were you involved in some other bands before formed/join Battleaxe?

Brian Smith  - The original members of Battleaxe were in various local bands during the seventies in the UK. A band called Holocaust was formed in 1977 and later changed to Warrior, (these bands are no relation to the more well known ones with the same name!) this was the nucleus of Battleaxe which was formed in 1980. The only change was from singer Jeff Spence in Warrior to Dave King who was new singer.

Q. – Who do you cite as major influences at the time?

Brian Smith - Probably the major influences were Judas Priest, Motorhead and AC/DC although there were many other influences such as Black Sabbath Deep Purple etc. It was mainly British bands who we listened to at the time, the sound of fully cranked Marshall stacks. With Battleaxe we tried to blend a fast frantic riffy sound with a solid beat and give the fans something they could really bang their heads to.

Q. – Do you recall the songs you were playing at the beginning? Did you play any covers too?

Brian Smith - In Warrior we played some covers, even Ace of spades, but we were already writing our own songs and some of these made it onto the Burn this Town album such as Starmaker and Battleaxe. Dave rewrote the lyrics for these songs, but most of the Burn this Town album was written fresh. We still have a few rough demos containing songs which had never been released, but it is unlikely we will ever do anything with them.

Q. – You came up at the boom of the n.w.o.b.h.m., tell us a bit about those times and the impact it had for the bands?

Brian Smith - The NWOBHM badge is probably both a blessing and a curse. We always just regarded ourselves as a metal band but the press insisted on categorizing every band into some genre or other. This can prevent you reaching as wide an audience as you would have liked as many people will not listen to certain types of music if it is not within their comfort zone. Our new album for example has elements of Power, Symphonic,Epic, Speed and Thrash, but still sounds like us so we hope it will appeal to many people.

Q. – By 83, you were one of the first bands to sign a deal with Music For Nations, were you happy with that deal?

Brian Smith - Although we had been offered deals from smaller labels at the time we waited until we got the Roadrunner/Music for Nations deal as we thought this would give us better distribution throughout the world. We also appeared on several compilation albums at the time which also helped spread our name around. Smaller labels cannot get you into the record stores around the world as effectively. We did the same recently, as we were offered a few deals, and took the SPV/Steamhammer deal for the same reason.

Q. – At 84, with the edition of “Power From The Universe” came the tour with Saxon, tell us a bit about this tour, and how important it was for Battleaxe?

Brian Smith - It was very important at the time, this was one of Saxon's biggest ever tours so we got to play to a lot of people. We had our own tourbus so we could take a lot of our own gear as well as our own roadies. It covered all of the Uk since other territories were supported by other bands such as Motley Crue in the States.

Q. – Why “Mean Machine” didn’t see the light of the day back in 87? Does this lead to the end of the band?

Brian Smith - There was never a Mean Machine album, this is a general confusion that has been spread about for years. There was a track called Mean Machine which we recorded on our Radio 1 session in 1983, and since it has been issued on the remastered Burn this Town album. We never planned an album called this but we did record an unfinished album in 1990 at Fred Purser's Studio in Newcastle, but this was never released.

No vocals were ever recorded and it is mainly Drums, Bass and pilot guitar.

The musical climate in the mid-eighties was not suitable for classic metal bands like ourselves, American Hair metal and Thrash had mostly overtaken by then with the help of the press who systematically slagged off British bands and pushed American bands relentlessly.

Q. – After the split, did you stay in touch with each other over the years? Were you involved in some other musical projects?

Brian Smith - We didn't see each other for many years, We just got on with our lives outside of music, although Mick played in some club bands during this time and Dave did some singing also. As stated above the conditions were not very good for our style of music through the late eighties and the nineties.

Q. - What made you feel like reunite Battleaxe again? Some kind of unfinished business feeling?

Brian Smith - Sort of, but it was mainly the many request we had to reform and some festivals asking us to play. We were not sure at first but we were eventually persuaded to play Headbangers open Air festival in Germany in 2010, and this really went well. This led to us reforming the band and starting to record the Sanctuary album. After a lot of problems and band issues we got the SPV deal and it was released in 2014. The drummer left after many arguments and disagreements, but we still managed to complete other festivals such as Bloodstock that year.

Q. – Recently I’ve heard the demo song “Immortalized”, which is really notable, does this song show us the direction of the new album? How do you describe the new recordings?

Brian Smith - The song Immortalized is a demo from the new recordings we have made but it may not be featured on the new album. It is probably not representative of the new album although there are a lot of fast metal tracks on the new album. We have been writing songs for this album for the past couple of years on and off and it has developed into a concept album. Don't worry, this is probably our heaviest album ever but it contains a few surprises and more variety than we have had on previous Battleaxe albums. It has taken longer than we had hoped mainly because of health issues within the band but we are overcoming those problems now.

Q. – What are your projects for 2018, besides the new record? Do you intend to play in summer festivals or touring supporting the new album?

Brian Smith - We have not been able to do much live work in the past couple of years, partly because of health problems, and partly because we are busy with the new album.

There are a few gigs lined up, it depends on the availability of band members in general, sometimes we cannot get everyone available at once. A couple of gigs are already finalized, for example we are playing Amsterdam in September, and we are awaiting others to be finalized

Q. - At this moment, are you trying to find a label or do you already have one?

Brian Smith - We will probably be releasing this new album under the same label as the last one, although you can never be sure about these things.

Q. - Do you have plans to record a live album in the near future?

Brian Smith - No, we would like to do a live album at some time in the future, but we would have to be a road tight band to do this, and as this is a very part time activity for us, it would be unlikely in the near future. There are a couple of live bootlegs going around, but these are bad quality and not representative of the band.

Q. – In your opinion what are the main differences between the eighties and the reality of today? Do you keep an eye to the metal scene of today?

Brian Smith - The eighties had a much more commercial side to it and this has been bad for metal in the long run, the music is not really suited to commercialism, although many bands made a lot of money selling out in this direction. This killed a lot of metal bands in the 80s and drove metal underground. The metal scene has split into many sub genres and has become fragmented in this century and this has lessened the impact for many bands. Some of the fan bases are so insular that they do not regard other sub genres as true, so this has not helped. Metal fans need to unite as together it is a massive force of music. However there are many good bands around today and Europe seems to have a particularly good metal scene. And although there are not as many gigs around today as before, there are many more Festivals both indoors and outdoors.

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Brian Smith - We would like to thank yourselves, and all our fans around the world for their continued support and enthusiasm for the band and its music, and we hope you will all like our new forthcoming album when it is released.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Snatch Back

Interview by Z.J.  from the page Nwobhm/ Hard Rock- RARE

KEY: : SteB =Ste Byatt guitar, JC=John Cowley, vocals. SP= Steve Platt drums, IW = Ian Wood Bass

1    1. How did your adventure with music start? Which bands influenced you in your youth and did they inspire you to form a band?

We had lots of influences. Music was aloud and shared by all age groups in the early 60s, not in earphones like today.Radios at home and work and variety TV shows all showcased music. The transistor radio and portable “Dancette” record players had us playing everything from 78rpm Bing Crosby records to to Beatles singles.

No one from Snatch-Back came from trained musician families. We learned our instruments by constantly playing by ear to snippets of vinyl over and over again.It drove our parents crazy! No video or DVD courses then.

We didn't all meet until the 70s but individualy, we all wanted to join bands, escape factory work and travel. TV shows like”Ready Steady Go”,“New musical express awards”, “ Top of the Pops” and later “The Old Grey Whistle Test” showed another world  where the Kinks, Rolling Stones and later Black Sabbath, Led Zep, Hendrix...and even... the Monkeys promoted lifestyles, not just songs.

The “do it yourself” Skiffle craze had passed but the Beatles merseybeat phenomena still preached  anyone could make the big time with a cheap instrument. Hell, “Lally Stott”, the writer of the hit single “Chirpy chirpy cheep cheap” had lived in SteBs street and moved to Italy after selling millions.

By late 60s SteB joined school with SP. SteB had dabbled in groups and even got paid for a couple of country and Western gigs. SP was recruited to drum and we played gigs doing Status Quo, Rolling Stones & Faces covers. We met John at school. He was a local legend strumming guitar at parties. He did a gig with us but didn't stay. We hadn't met Ian then. He'd just moved nearby and had formed a band playing Beatles, Rory Galagher and Mott the Hoople. We all got a buzz out of learning and playing live.

Snatch-Back was born the night SP took SteB to the cinema to see "Hendrix plays Berkley". We immediately planned a four piece group writting original rock stuff...but we had never written a song?? John was ready with his Ozzy Black Sabbath Vol 4 tassled jacket and long hair.He introduced Ian who brought a  WEM Dominator amp, Hofner bass AND a couple of original songs. We had all seen live bands like Ten Years After, Genesis, Quo and Sabbath at Liverpool Stadium and wanted to be a part of that scene.

2. Have you treated the band seriously from the beginning or was it just fun?

We had next to no gear or songs; no rehearsal space and no local rock venues to aim for.  We determined to create our own style rock songs. Ian is very Ian Hunter /Ten Years After, SP Genesis and SteB Sabbath /Hendrix inspired. Common ground was certainly the band Free.This makes our songs a little different. From playing the first note Snatch-Back was exciting and way ahead of our other attempts. It felt a very natural  flowing experience playing tand writing together.  We always believed in ourselves and somehow made things work. We were always aiming to achieve something special... whatever that was.

3. The first period of the band's activity is 1974-1983. Tell us a bit about the band's first steps.

John borrowed a van and negotiated rehearsal space in a farm barn where he worked a milk round.In a few  weeks we had written 5 songs and  sold out tickets for a youth club hall on the promise of delivering a Rock show....but we had no PA or band name (apart from Ian & John's mates).  A swift trip to Liverpoool saw the shopkeeper announcing “This is the Snatch-Back P.A.” It was a bargain, repossesed hire purchase and our new band name too (we liked the cryptic “Snatch” bit). We blagged into a short notice school disco as a warm up gig starting with and we were ready for our first ticket gig!Having the barn to rehearse meant we put lots of weekend time in writing and rehearsing.

Very soon SP got us a cinema gig playing between Status Quo and Rory Gallagher films where we had watched “Hendrix in Birkley”!

4. How was the metal scene in St Helens in the late 1970s?

Our town was Social Clubs for “Cabaret” singers and bingo. No rock venues, not even pubs. The only local rock/prog band was “Gravy Train”. They had LPs and played a local theatre. Personal LP collections were more ecclectic and termed “progressive”.This included Hendrix, Iron Butterfly,Purple, Genesis, ELP, Free, Sabbath, Humble Pie. Everyone shared Vinyl and traveled to  live gigs at Liverpool Stadium or Empire and Manchester Free Trade Hall. We saw a fantastic mix of top live bands. The only rock in St Helens was the occasional cinema film or a rock disco on a Tuesday evening. We had to create our own live venues.

5. Has Snatch Back played enough concerts? Have you had the chance to share the stage with larger bands? Some unforgettable anecdotes that you would like to share?

We promoted a lot of local youth club “pay on the door” gigs and started a regular live rock night in a social club with another local band booking others as headline and support. We built a loyal local following that way. Soon we were playing around two paid gigs a week all around North West England in pubs and clubs doing a few covers but mainly original material. We now had a huge PA and enjoyed Liverpool and Wirral a lot. We nearly got a recording contract when an A&R guy checked out our Birkenhead Empress gig, but we were far too heavy for him and he signed “The Rubettes” (Do the juke box jive) instead.We were double booked at Tower Club, Oldham the night Def Leppard I'm told they got their offer. Our top venues at the time included The Cherry Tree, Runcorn, The Lion, Warrington, Stairways and The Empress in the Wirral and Casino and Mr Ms in Wigan. These booked venues great bands like Alex Harvey,Strife, Nutz, Quo Vadis, Diamond Head, NightWing, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. Eventually we came back to St Helens. With the help of great local bands we sold out the 600 seat Theatre TWICE! This is where we saw “Gravy Train”in the early days. They realy were a great inspiration for us. Strangley though we still  had no LP recorded.

6. Your only official release from the first period of activity was the single "Eastern Lady / Cryin" to the Night. "But only a few days ago, 100 hand-numbered collection tapes from the sessions at Amazon Studios, Liverpool, United Kingdom 1982 were released on sale. Can you say more about these releases (where, when and with whom they were recorded.) Does the band have more unpublished recordings and are there plans to release them?

We thought we would celebrate the popularity of Eastern Lady by issuing at the end of the “Back in the Game” CD.

While finishing the album we thought we would entertain our fans by releasing our 1982 Amazon Liverpool recordings on limited edition cassette.  The cassette is certainly not a low cost option to CD as few manufacturers left. We've been rewarded by fans from a wide range of countries ordering it.

The Amazon session was in a state of ther art analogue studio used for professional albums. No digital corrections in those days. It shows how we played.We were very tight and recorded the songs in one day and mixed in another. Ste Kay was on bass as Ian had moved for his career. SteB was heavily influenced by the sparse Van Halen sound so maybe we left it a little too open in the production. It waas always intended as a demo though-but we did put the fun “Boogie Shoes” on there for a laugh-that's about condoms.We have never released this material before now.

There are plenty of good live recordings of other material and a “lost” very early studio session.

6. Unfortunately, for many years Snatch-Back was a very mysterious band. The single has left very little information to enlighten us about who you are and where you come from. I think that was not your intention. The single also did not give the band the great breakthrough that could have been expected. Don't you think that this lack of information could have contributed to the circumstances that prevented this?

What we needed was good management and marketing. Our biggest (strenght and enemy) was that we wanted to play live more and improve material. We did see recording as a way to promote the band until somebody decent could produce a good recording of us.Our own efforts never seemed good enough to us. We had always written a better song or seen the rushed recording mix as poor, so had lost interest and wanted to move on.We didn't know how to get management or recording company interest. Pre internet there was little information exchange and pre digital recording and vinyl pressing expensive. We should really have been producing and selling material at gigs at least but all our funds went on improving our gear and transport.We niavely thought the best way to get noticed was writting and playing as often as possible.

7. In 1983, Snatch Back falls apart. After the band was dissolved, were you all musically active or did you choose a different path? Do you also know what the members of Snatch Back have been doing over the years: Dave Taylor, Ste Kay and Geoff Banks.

Frankly it was a dark time with all the small to medium size venues closing or turning into discos. We did a cabaret club work for a while and got too good at it. The rot set in and the band slowly dissolved. SteP had a few breaks before we reformed and JC had quit due to work commitments. We've all played in various club, cover, tribute and blues bands. Ian joined Wayne Fontana and the Mind Benders for a while and then  recorded an album with “The Bamford Blues Band” and with SteB Trubshaws, Live at Liverpool Cavern. SteB recoded a “Reginald Trowel Experience” Album and wrote a backing track with Dave Taylor for BBC Liverpool Photographic Club show. Dave is playing in a great covers band now. Ste Kay enjoys filling in for various bands but wont commit to regular shows. Ste is a big supporter of Snatch-Backs revival. Geoff Banks still loves music and manages his sons punk band. (Geoff played early with another band called Bangkok. Currently supported by the Fallingfree https://www.facebook.com/fallingfreeuk/?ref=br_rs

- .  reminder: Z.J.)

8. How do you see the NWOBHM from the perspective of many years? What do you think about today's metal scene?

We were amazed that 30 years after we split, we saw a NWOBHM fan letter in our local paper from Israel trying to track us down.We really thought that local fans were the only ones that recalled us.

It was always a dream to play or be heard in other countries. We are so grateful to Malc MacMillon : Encyclopedia of NWOBHM and NWOBHM sites for mentioning us and opening our eyes to support and opportunities we never knew were possible. Its quite a priviledge to know that someone will be interested in a new release and that we are enjoyed internationally as well as locally.

We've promoted a couple of gigs with NWOBHM favourites Troyen and Robespeirre. Unfortunately support for NWOBHM seems very localised in UK. A lot of bands popular in Europe dont get the support they deserve here as yet, so it is still hard to sell.

We were a little concerned that Snatch-Back may not fit the current genre as it seems to have moved on from Def Leppard pop rock to a Godflesh meets Iron Maiden. Then again we have a skull or two in our videos and our next recording will be rockier..

9. How did the band re-unite in 2016. Who was the initiator?

SteB had been approached by a local fan who amazingly still recalled the words to our unrecorded songs. Good timing, as he fancied a change from bashing away in his AC/DC tribute band.SteB and Ian had played in recent bands together so we tracked down the others. We all met to chat.The pub meeting photo on facebook immediately got us a headline offer at a local festival. A quick rehearsal went well so we took the gig and promised ourselves to put an EP out to be available at the festival celebrate.We hate, but thrive on deadlines.

10.  The band returned to playing with the release of the EP under a very significant title: "Back In The Game". What was the reaction of fans to your music after many years of absence?

The festival venue was a sell out and we got a a fantastic local newspaper write up. We are very moved by the support and it was a good start for CD sales. With our website/ facebook shop we received more sales after the event and from more international.out NWOBHM fans. Thanks to a European producer we made contact with some international distributors. We are overwhealmed that we receive orders from as far away as USA, Japan, Scandinavia as well as Europe. It has certainly spurred us on to do more.

11. The Internet has opened up many opportunities to reach fans and record sellers. Many bands put their songs online to download. What do you think about it ? Or maybe you plan to take advantage of these opportunities?

Technology opportunities now is amazing. When we reformed we promised to make a historical record of Snatch-Back for us and our fans. We had no idea of the global interest this would create. I hear so many musicians whining about either not selling or only getting a fraction of a penny per download. The deals are transparent enough and if you dont get fans interested you wont sell it.Magazines like yours and internet radio helps us immensely. We certainly need to make our downloads more easy to find-but we are selling and plan to expand this. We look at downloads as a shop window introduction and expect to pay towards this promotion. Its a lot to ask someone overseas to pay postage for CDs and Vinyl that they have never heard. Its also a priceless buzz knowing someone has found us and is listening in Mexico, Belgium, India, Japan, or whereever. Maybe this will also create interest so we can tour overseas?

More great fun was to make a couple of videos with Amy. We've never had a film record of our “characters” so this is another ambition fulfilled and allows intrnational, as well as local, fans to see us. It also got us votes enough to become finalists in the “Stonedeaf 2018 Festival” openning act poll so a few people out there must be entertained.

12.   I heard that you are working on a new album. Can you reveal some details to us?

We had extra drums and guide tracks recorded from the  “Back in the Game” sessions. Our festival deadline didn't permit these to be finished for that CD. Unfortunately, SP needed shoulder sugery this year. Before he went under the knife he managed to lay enough extra drum tracks for an album. Ian has worked tirelessly combining our new recordings with these while SP is recovering. Our goal was to launch this at, the now unfortunately cancelled,Mearfest South in November 2018. We've looked at vinyl as well as CD options for staged release in late 2018 / early 2019. We are aiming for a more driving, Classic Rock vibe. We think the final mix would benefit from a good rock producer so we've been researching people. The album is self funded again, without pledge funding either. This is partly helped by our EP sales. Any advice on broadening sales or record company involvement is always welcomed though.

13. Plans for the future?

We think we have recaptured our original enthusiasm to give a great live show and create Rock with a unique edge.

We want to write and record more material and play live to our both our loyal and new fans.

It would be great to partner with other NWOBHM bands to put on a touring show so would welcome any ideas.

We are convinced that internet sales and promotion possibilities reach new audiences. It would be great to get better at that.

We never signed to any management or record labels. We are not arrogant about this. We've frankly not had the business sense but found a way to overcome difficulties and carry on Rocking. I dont think we would have got this far though without support of our fans and NWOBHM sites.

Snatch-Back will be playing Mearfest North in South Shields, UK on 13th October and at St Helens, UK on 24th November. We are pushing to get our new CD out by then.

Thanks for the interview.Z.J.