Andro Coulton (Witchfynde, Malleus)

Andro Coulton played the bass in Witchfynde in the late 70's, having recorded the album Give'em Hell, in 1980, he is back with Malleus and ready to hit the stage.

Q. - Hey Andro! First of all, how's your health been lately? Do you still need to go to treatments or are you going well now?

Andro - Hi Paulo my health generally is better that it has been for probably 3 years I still have at least one broken vertebrae at the bottom of my spine, a very painful neck and pain in several joints as a result of the treatment. I do not let it stop me playing, I live this way, if I have pain I know I am alive!!! I am not having any further cancer treatment as I am in remission but I take curcumin and vitamin D capsules as a ‘preventative’. I have a blood test every 3 months and a hospital appointment the following week to keep a check on my cancer.

Q. - Andro when did you join Witchfynde, was it around 1975? How did that happen? Tell us a bit about those early days of the band.

Andro - I was a roadie/lightman for Witchfynde in 1974 before I joined on bass. Their bass player quit the day before a gig in April 1975, so I learnt the set that night with Gra and played the next night. We were doing covers then and soon after the singer at the time Neil Harvey was sacked and Steve Bridges joined, Steve was a friend of mine and had been in a band with me and Gra when Witchfynde were having a break. We did a summer of covers then started to write our own songs, the first of which became the Lost Tapes when we recorded them in December1975. We first off played just in the East Midlands, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire etc., soon we were playing all over England and Wales. We were going down great everywhere soon we had a full set of original songs and a fan club called The Coven.

Q. - What were your main influences back then?

Andro - My influences were Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, Rush, Frank Zappa, and definitely Hawkwind up to 1975. Bass influences, Jack Bruce, Lemmy (Hawkwind years) Geddy Lee and Mel Schacher. As a band definitely Rush Sabbath even Ted Nugent to name a few. We had many.

Q. - What about shows? Did you play regularly supporting "Give 'Em Hell" back then?

Andro - The songs on Give ‘Em Hell were written over a long period, Unto The Ages was written in 1976 and Give ‘Em Hell 1978/9 so we had played these songs every week all over the UK for years, That’s why the Give ‘Em Hell album sold over a thousand copies in the UK in the first week of release. Obviously the support slot with Def Leppard helped too, but we had already got a large fan base.

Q. - Why did you leave Witchfynde in 1980, in the recordings of "Stagefright"? How did you feel after so many years of dedication to Witchfynde?

Andro - Well, things for me had been bubbling over for over a year and I quit in 1979 but was asked to stay and everything settled down. We recorded the first songs that became the Give ‘Em Hell album in the summer of 1979 and then Montalo and Gra went to Rondelet Records with these demos and it became clear that it was a ‘done deal’ so to speak. So without consulting lawyers we signed a deal for recording, publishing and management which haunted Witchfynde for over 20 years. We did the tour with Def Leppard and after the 3rd gig in Glasgow it was announced that EMI wanted to sign us but Rondelet wanted so much money to buy us out of a one year contract that they walked away. By the end of the tour so had all the major labels, our big chance had gone. After the tour it was decided that we had to start writing for a second album, BUT all the writing music and lyrics were to be done by Montalo and Gra. First off were In the Stars and Wouldn’t Be Seen Dead In Heaven, I hated both the second one I was told what to play note for note. We went to Fairview Studios in May or June 1980 to record those two songs plus a new version of Wake Up Screaming. Also in May I had a car crash on the way home from a rehearsal in which I took a left hand bend at 40 mph there was mud on the road and I ended up sideways. I had a choice of hitting the car coming the other way or, hitting the bank at the side of the road. I chose the bank and rolled over three and a quarter times into a field coming to a stop on the driver’s side. I ended up with a broken elbow a ripped thigh muscle (from pushing myself into my seat as I had not got a seat belt on, not law then) plus glass cuts. I was lucky as the car was completely trashed. I had to cancel on gig as I couldn’t walk never mind play! I played the next gig on a stool and threw up afterwards. I was in Steve’s car coming back from a band meeting and he told me they were rehearsing with another bass player. I told him good I’d had enough. I wasn’t quitting though I was under contract. In July 1980 after a gig in Wolverhampton, I was alone in the dressing room with Alan Campion from Rondelet Records and he told me it wasn’t working, I told him that was an understatement. I left that night with my equipment. Montalo said in an interview that I was drained by my girlfriend, nope drained by crappy music that I really hated plus much, much more.

Q. - Steve Bridges leaved too, do you remember why? Do you keep in touch with him? What happened to him?

Andro - Steve left in October 1980 mainly I believe, because Witchfynde was making no money at all and he could not live any longer cashless. I do keep in touch with Steve, we married 2 sisters and so is my Brother in Law!! He worked in the building trade since leaving Witchfynde, but has recently retired to look after his autistic son. He is also a lay preacher with the Church of England.

Q. - When did you form Malleus, right after you leave Witchfynde? Teaming up with Shaz?

Andro - Yes Shaz was then my girlfriend and we started Malleus 3 days after leaving Witchfynde. I had loads of riffs and song ideas that had never been used in Witchfynde plus Shaz was and still is a prolific lyric writer. I had lyrics going back to 1975 myself so we had more than enough original material.

Q. - Was it hard to stabilize a line-up for Malleus, in the early days?

Andro - We had 3 different line ups in1980/81, then for a while we gigged a stable line up (as in the B/W photos) before the drummer and guitarist quit to do covers.

Q. - But the Malleus adventure didn't last too much, having call it a day around 83, why did that happen?

Andro - True, we were getting frustrated, constant line up changes, leading to having to rehearse and rehearse to get tight over and over again, so we decided to stop.

Q. - The early recordings of Malleus were done after the band split up, did you try to reactivate Malleus in 84?

Andro - We saw all these NWOBHM bands recording singles and we had the opportunity to record locally so we did it before realising that neither of us wanted to go through the hassle of starting up again. So the recordings went into a drawer and were forgotten.

Q. - What do you feel when you look back to the 90's when the survival of heavy metal bands was very difficult?

Andro - Well I was completely out of music then, so I cannot comment if it was I feel sorry for them.

Q. - Then you formed ZXY, what can you tell us about this project? Was it a covers band or did you play originals?

Andro - ZXY started in 2009 and was plagued with line up problems again, seven drummers from then until 2016, we played a mix of Witchfynde, Malleus and new songs.

Q. - Around 2006 comes your solo album "Dragonhead", how did it go? Do you keep this project active?

Andro - Dragonhead was really just demos written by Shaz and I that I recorded at home and was persuaded to release, been deleted now for a long time. Hit this Town Tonight and Hells Fire from that album have been re-recorded and will be on the new Malleus album.

Q. - What made you feel like reunite Malleus again?

Andro - We decided that ZXY was over and also people were getting confused with us and SYZ, so we decided to resurrect the name Malleus in April 2016 but our drummer quit in June that year and afterwards I was diagnosed with cancer so it was not until October last year that we restarted Malleus but we had to change the line up as part of my cancer has made it so I cannot sing any more. So as of then we had to get a lead singer. I asked my good friend Gram Swan to do the honours. We played Mearfest in December with Brian Mear on the drums, unfortunately due to family and work commitments he couldn’t continue and a friend of Gram’s Jake Weekes took over the drum stool. So Malleus is now Shaz Coulton Rhythm Guitar, Gram Swan Lead Vocals, Jake Weekes Drums and myself 3 octave Lead Bass. I finally have managed to get the sound I wanted in 1980. Yes I play bass in 3 octaves at the same time, bass, guitar and same as the higher strings of a twelve string guitar from one bass guitar.

Q. - The new single "Hellhound" is out now, what reactions does it have so far?

Andro - It has had great reactions so far and has had lots of UK and USA radio play. Everyone seems to love it and when we played it live the crowd went crazy so yes good!!!

Q. - Are you preparing some new songs, in order to record a new album?

Andro - Actually we have recorded an album this summer to be released in November, with some of the old songs from the 80’s and some new ones.

Q. - Some years ago came the edition of "Royal William Live Sacrifice" and "The Lost Tapes of 1975", by Witchfynde, how do you feel about that?

Andro - The live album sound is not great like a 1970’s bootleg but a typical Witchfynde show and the Lost Tapes I released on my record label Vyper Records and then it was released on vinyl by Bad Omen Records. I love Grimoire and Halfway.

Q. - Was there any conversation to bring the Give'Em Hell line up back, in recent years?

Andro - We all met up in December 2010 to sort out royalties etc. and made our peace. It was mentioned for Steve and me to do a guest appearance with them but Steve categorically said no, we presume because of his beliefs. So it will never happen I’m afraid.

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

Andro - Well I am so proud of my time in Witchfynde and Give ‘’Em Hell plus lots of other great songs, we had and still have the most fantastic fans. It was a pity it ended like it did with a massive clash of personalities that was a ticking time bomb. Since then until now a lot of frustration, but now we have a great line up great music, different to Witchfynde but all Shaz and I and our influences. We have enough material for about 4 albums so we have a lot more to give yet. The new Malleus album is called Your Nightmare Calls.

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