Amethyst

Amethyst, were one of the most underrated heavy metal acts from the UK during the 80's. From Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, they were founded in 1981, having recorded 5 demo tapes, and a single in 1987. We had a chat with their former lead singer, Brad Richardson, about this great band.

Q. - Amethyst got together around 81, how did it all start? Tell us a bit about the beginning of the band.

Brad - Wayne Kay (guitarist) and I were at secondary school together, he'd already been playing for a few years. After leaving school, we met one night at a Rock Club in Stockport. I was singing along to the tunes being played and he asked if I liked singing as he was putting a band together and wondered if I'd consider joining him. I didn't accept at first but, after a few months, I contacted him and said I'd like to give it a go. That's how it all started! At first it was just Wayne, Dave Walker on bass, and myself. We eventually got Mark Maher on drums and, after a few auditions, John Sleigh on guitar. The rest is history!

Q. - What were your main influences back then?

Brad - My personal influences were David Coverdale, Klaus Meine and Ronnie James Dio. I was listening to bands such as Rainbow, Whitesnake, The Scorpions, Van Halen, Montrose, Rush and UFO among others. The band's influences were varied, Wayne was very much into AC/DC, Judas Priest and Saxon, Dave was a massive Rush fan, Mark was a very quiet guy and didn't really say much, but he seemed to be into the more Psychedelia type stuff, Gong, Stretch and such like. John was a huge Genesis and Yes fan. The mix of influences certainly showed on the first demo. I remember someone saying we sounded like a mix between King Crimson and Black Sabbath! 

Q. - How was the Manchester metal scene back in the day? Was it a united scene? What were you relations with other local bands? Did you help each other?

Brad - The music scene in and around Manchester was huge (and always has been), there were so many bands around at the time, it was buzzing. You were never short of bands to go and see, most of which were amazing. We would often go and check out the competition, but we always appreciated talent and musicianship from others and would take time to chat and complement them after there performances. One particular band that sticks in my memory were Saratoga, they were excellent! I became good friends with a band called Virtual Earth, they were very much in the vein of Journey and Magnum, a great band and a great bunch of guys.

Q. - Did you play regularly in the UK back then or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked at that time?

Brad - We did well getting gigs, the NWOBHM had started so Rock and Metal bands were very popular at the time. During the end of 1986 and the beginning of 1987 we played over 60 gigs, we were all completely exhausted afterwards and took a three month break before we started rehearsing again.

Q. - After the first demos, did you try to approach a label, to record an LP?

Brad - We sent some of the demo's off to various radio stations in the hope they would get played but they never did. I believe Wayne sent some to various labels but we never heard anything back, not to my knowledge anyway? Unfortunately, at the time, we didn't really know anything about recording demo's or how to approach it, so we were at the mercy of whoever was producing it at the time and some of the early demo's were very poor quality. It's a shame we never recorded a live demo as we always performed better in front of an audience rather than in a studio.

Q. - The single "Take me to the limit", shows a more radio friendly side of the band, why did this change happen?

Brad - Because of the poor response to our demo's in the past, Wayne decided we should try something more 'radio friendly' in an attempt to get some airplay and to promote the band. Unfortunately, it backfired on us and after a truly biting review in Kerrang magazine, and I quote... “Take me to the limit, take me to the sky... why don't you just f**k off and die!”... we went back to writing the type of music WE enjoyed, rather than trying to please everyone else, ha ha!

Q. - Did the song "Take me to the limit" have air play at that time on radio stations?

Brad - None at all, not even on any local stations.

Q. - How was the single received by the fans?

Brad - Surprisingly, it always went down well whenever we played it live, fans would often grab a copy after the gig and ask for it to be autographed. One pub we played regularly even had it on their jukebox!

Q. - Amethyst went through various line-up changes in the eighties, why did that happen?

Brad - Unfortunately, in many situations, there is always going to be the inevitable clash of personalities, conflict of musical differences and general 'band politics'. It's a shame in many ways as certain line-ups we had, over the years, were excellent! Very tight and some great songwriting.

Q. - Maybe the line-up instabilities prevented Amethyst to have a stable career?

Brad - I agree. Just when I thought we had a solid and productive line-up, something would happen and people would leave, and we'd be back to square one again. With this happening so often, it was hard to carry on.

Q. - With the great talent and potential you guys had, what do you think you failed to achieve a real success?

Brad - Unfortunately, Wayne never seemed to be happy with the musicians he had around him and, due to the amount of line-up changes, we never really got grounded as a solid unit.

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

Brad - I spoke to Wayne a few times but haven't been in touch for some years now. I got in touch with Sean Clark (one of the last guitarists to perform with the band), and Dave Walker (the original bassist), but it's rare we get together anymore, time moves on as they say. I have, however, remained great friends with John Sleigh. We still keep in touch and see each other often for a few beers and a chat, even after all these years.

Q. - After so many years without a record deal, during the eighties, you never gave up, what made you feel that you didn't want to be with Amethyst anymore?

Brad - The band was getting heavier and heavier and it just wasn't what I enjoyed to perform as a singer. I am not criticising the music, it was of a very high standard as always, but they needed a different style of vocalist than me to put it across properly. They did approach a singer from a band called Red Shift as I remember? He would have been perfect, but he had quit his band not long before that and had joined the police force. It's a shame really, as I DO believe Amethyst would have been around for many more years than they were.

Q. - Was it a big disappointment, having been close to sign a record deal but never ended up getting it?

Brad - Not sure where your information is from there my friend? As far as I'M aware, we were never offered a record deal, by anyone, ha ha! If we were, it's news to me!! The single was totally self produced and funded by Dave Lyne, the drummer.

Q. - Did you try to go on as singer in any other band, after Amethyst?

Brad - Indeed I did. I've been in six different bands over the years, sung in duo's and done the odd bit, here and there, as a solo perfomer too. I'm currently in a cover's band called Tumbling Dice, it's good to still be singing, it's something I enjoy greatly. I'm also in the process of putting together a Rock band, it'll mainly be covers but we'll also be doing some original material too... watch this space!!

Q. - Have you ever thought about doing a reunion show in the future?

Brad - That was something I always wanted to do but, alas, it will never happen. Due to ill health, Wayne can no longer play, plus the other members have all moved on with their lives. It would be extremely difficult to organise plus, without Wayne on guitar, it just wouldn't be Amethyst!

Q. - Did you try to do a proper edition of the demo compilation "The Demo's 1983 – 1989"?

Brad - I've been approached by various people about reissuing the demo's. If I was in possession of the master tapes then I would certainly consider it. Alas, I only have the demo cassettes, some of which are truly awful quality and over 30 years old! It would be pointless tying to get a decent enough sound from them in order to sell them, that's why I'm happy for people to have what I've put out there for nothing, I'm just glad and also flattered that it's still wanted!

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.

Brad - Yes, I'm still singing, as I a stated earlier, and loving it! I took a break a few years ago, but now I'm back at it and enjoying getting on stage and flexing my lungs again while I'm still able to do so. I'm 55 now, not 21, ha ha!

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

Brad - I just want to say a massive THANK YOU to you for asking me to do this interview and to ALL those people out there that still dig 80's metal and keep the flame alive for those like me, it's extremely flattering!

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