Badger (From Rossendale)

The band Badger is active since 1980, one of the elders bands of the NWOBHM still in action without a break, we had a chat with main man Gian Rothwell.

Q. - Hello Gian, tell us a bit about the origins of Badger, how and when did it all start? Who were the first members of the band?

Gian - The band came together between 1979 and 1980 – we were a loose collection of friends and fledgling musicians who been in and out of each other’s “embryo” bands but none of them had really amounted to anything – we were all still learning our instruments at that stage.

One band stood out more – Mad Dog with Paul Hannah on vocals, Paul Morton on lead guitar, Nigel Clawson rhythm guitar, John Baillie on drums and Roger Dawson on bass. (Roger was actually a big influence on me starting to play bass) They had done a few youth club gigs. I’m not sure why but Roger (bass) and Paul (singer) left the band and were replaced by Steven Killingbeck on vocals and Anthony Saunders on bass. They did a couple of pub gigs, but around Nov 1980 they asked me to join on bass and that’s when Badger started properly.

Q. - Who would you cite as your major influences at that time?

Gian - Punk was still very strong when we were getting going – it was a bit “them and us” but we were die hard rock fans We were listening to all the classic 70’s mega rock bands – Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Sabbath, AC/DC and even bands like Status Quo (since they were easy to cover!) but also some of the NWOBHM bands such as Saxon and Iron Maiden.

Q. - Did you start writing your own songs since the beginning or were you most concentrated on covers?

Gian - For the first 12 months or so we just concentrated on covers, but then we had another line up change – the two guitarists left and we went to a four piece with a new guitarist – Daryl Flagg. He was a huge Ritchie Blackmore fan, and had been playing for a few years longer than most of us, so was quite accomplished. Daryl had quite a few ideas for riffs and that’s when we started writing our own material.

Q. - In 1983 comes the compilation "Metal Plated", with the song "The Traveller", how did that happen?

Gian - We’d written The Traveller about 12 months earlier – Daryl started playing the riff one day and I added the bass line – it came together quite quickly I seem to recall. We’d built up quite a faithful local following by that time and it was a particular crowd favourite (along with Demon Rider).

Somebody saw an advert in one of the music papers that a one man record company – Daryl Johnstone (Ebony Records) based in Hull, UK was looking for unsigned bands to go on a compilation album. He picked 8 bands and we all paid a proportion of the recording and pressing costs, then he promoted the album, and if one band in particular stood out he’d give them a deal. We’d done a demo tape with The Traveller, Demon Rider and a couple of others and he liked The Traveller the best.

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

Gian - We did send off to quite a few of the independent rock labels at the time, but were politely refused! I think I’ve still got some of the rejection letters in an old scrap book!

Q. - Did the song "The Traveller" have airplay on radio stations at that time?

Gian - Part of the deal with Ebony was as he was based in Hull he had quite a few contacts in Europe and he did a lot of promotion over there. We were reviewed in a French music mag and an Italian one – he sent us copies of the reviews (again in the old scrapbook) – my French and Italian isn’t great but it seemed to be well received. I never found out if we git airplay in the UK.

Q. - Did you keep in touch with the former members all over the years?

Gian - Yes I’m still in touch with most of the members. We have been through quite a few line up changes over the years – I’m the only one who has been in the band from 1980 and took over on vocals about 1986. Unfortunately Daryl Flagg died a few years ago, but John Baillie (the original drummer) lives close by and we do a monthly jam night. The original singer Steven Killingbeck lives in Ireland now, but we try to meet up every few years and do a reunion gig. One of our more recent guitarists (Warren Taylor) moved to Canada, so we replaced him with his nephew – Oliver Jones who’s been with us since 2007. And at the start of the year we got our 7th drummer – Alex Entwistle.

Q. - Do you still play the old Badger songs live? Like "Demon Rider" or "The Traveller"?

Gian - We only tend to play them at the reunion gigs.

Q. - And what other songs do you play live nowadays?

Gian - We still a bit rooted in the past – we’re still playing some songs we were playing at the beginning! But they tend to be the songs that people want to hear. We have people who used to come and see us in the 80’s are now bringing their kids with them. I often joke that we’re like one of those “Best Rock Album in the World Ever”. Any decent rock compilation will have a lot of our covers on it – Whole Lotta Rosie, Highway Star, Warpigs (always goes down great), Ace of Spades, The Trooper, Hallowed Be Thy Name. I think the most modern cover we do might be the Foo Fighter’s All My Life and that’s probably ten years old or more!

Q. - And do you play live on a regular basis, or it's hard for a heavy metal band to be booked nowadays?

Gian - Gigs are becoming harder to find – a lot of pub venues are closing down, so consequently there’s a lot of competition between bands. And I think unless you are playing a rock specific pub or club a lot of punters seem to want more mainstream “popular” tunes. And because we don’t really play our own material these days that means we can’t play the bigger rock clubs who are looking for originals bands.

Q. - How did the idea of recording "Live Mistakes An’ All!" came up?

Gian - The venue had it’s own in house PA – we used to play it quite regularly and the guy working the desk always got us a great sound. One time we played and at the end of the night he said he’d recorded us! We hadn’t planned it but the sound quality was so good we thought we burn a few CD’s for friends and family. And there was no editing or overdubs – it just came straight off the mixer. What you hear is what you get – including mistakes!

Q. - What gives you more strength to keep Badger alive after all these years? Have you ever thought about giving up?

Gian - As I’m getting a bit older I must admit gigs are getting physically harder. In our prime we were doing 70 or 80 gigs a year (and there’s only 52 weeks!!) but these days we’re probably only doing two a month so that’s fine. But it’s something I’ve always done – I retired from my job after 32 years, my first marriage only lasted 13 years so playing in the band is a huge part of my life – it’s the longest thing I’ve ever done. And fortunately whenever we’ve had to have a line up change we’ve been lucky that we’ve always found the right people to carry on. I did think about packing in when Warren left in 2007 – he was an amazing guitarist and a great friend and I didn’t think anyone could replace him, but his nephew Oliver stepped in and gave us a new lease of life. Also I’m a bit OCD so I’d like to try and reach 40 years and then I might think about stopping!

Q. - What do you think of this recent revival of the N.W.O.B.H.M., and all these bands reforming?

Gian - I think it’s great. And you can see how talented they were originally to still be able to play such great tunes (although perhaps a few of the singers are struggling a little!) It’s good as well that there are plenty of new bands coming through playing rock and metal, but I can’t really see any of them having a reputation like the megastars of yesterday. I don’t think we’ll be seeing another Deep Purple or Black Sabbath any time soon.

Q. - Are you still a heavy metal fan these days?

Gian - Yes I still listen to rock, but I do find myself concentrating on the old stuff mostly. But a good tune is a good tune whether it’s disco, or pop, or blues. One of my favourite radio stations is Planet Rock – I’ve discovered tunes from the older bands that have passed me by, but have also been introduced to some decent new music.

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