Out of the ashes of Shader comes
Bloodshot Eyes, they released the LP "On My Knees" in 1984, now a
days considered one of the rarest hard rock LPs. We talked with drummer William
Hayter about this underrated band.
Q. - Hello William! Tell us a bit
about the beginning of Bloodshot Eyes, how did it all start? How did you get in
touch with the other members?
William - The band came together
out of the ashes of Shader. We were all local friends whilst Shader was active.
When Shader called it a day, Bloodshot Eyes was effectively the continuation of
that band.
Q. - Who were your principal
influences at that time?
William: Pink Floyd, Hawkwind,
Gong and lots of other progressive rock.
Q. - How did the band name came
up?
William - Because of the bands
drinking habits!!
Q. - What about shows? Did you
play regularly in the UK back then? Did you share stage with some well known
bands?
William - No. Shader toured
extensively supporting Budgie and several other shows under their own steam.
After a recording contract with Polydor Records fell through Shader split up.
Bloodshot Eyes was then formed to keep the momentum of Shader running. At this
point, no shows were booked so it was decided to go and record enough songs to
do an album first. When the album was released, the band split up before any
shows could take place despite interest being generated among promoters to
stage Bloodshot Eyes gigs. The individual members moved into other projects
with me and Matt Russell joining Sudden Afternoon and Hanif Bulbulia going to
Hitchhiker. George was left to pick up the pieces.
Q. - Do you recall the songs you
were playing in the beginning? Did you play any covers too?
William - No, no covers as we
just concentrating on getting the album songs developed.
Q. - The Lp "On My
Knees" was released in 1984, what do you recall from these recording
sessions?
William - There were three
sessions at Recession Studios in Hackney, London. Memory is a bit vague now but
I do recall George shouting at the sound engineer who tried to suggest
something with the recording but George was quick to point out that he was
paying for the sessions so was boss and had the final say. Quite amusing
really. It all sounded good after the overdubs and mixes and no bad feelings
were had by anyone. The final sessions sounded good in the end.
Q. - Did you tour supporting
"On My Knees"?
William - No.
Q. - Are there any other
recordings by Bloodshot Eyes (demos or live recordings) besides the LP?
William - Yes. The band reformed
at the end of 1984 with Ian Secombe on guitar and John Prine on bass plus me on
the drums. We rehearsed and then recorded six new songs ready for a new album
which was going to be called Bad Blood. This eventually never got released due
to the band splitting for the last time so eventually got shelved.
Q. - The "Bloodshot
Eyes" adventure didn't last much, what led to the end?
William - Frustration at not
being able to maintain a regular line up or agreeing on anything finally split
the band, sadly. Lives were changing and other bands were taking members away.
I was starting the knowledge to become a London taxi driver and it took up a
lot of time. I got in to a folk rock band called Caliban that were influenced
by Fairport Convention, they played a lot of local gigs around London but never
developed beyond recording a cassette album before splitting up.
Q. - Did you stay in touch with
each other all over the years?
William - George and I have
stayed friends even though there have been lengthy spells where we didn’t see
each other. We played together at local blues jams and so forth. Hanif went to
Wales so we don’t see so much of each other. Matt is in a punk band called The
Outbursts. They gig a lot around London. John and Ian have disappeared and we
have no contact with them.
Q. - What do you think that
lacked to "Bloodshot Eyes" to have a successful career?
William - Stability.
Q. - So what are you doing these
days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.
William - George is now a member
Howlin’ Mojo Bones. They are gigging a lot including The Bish Bash festival in
Bishops Stortford and the Harlow Summer Link Fest this summer and a blues
festival at Butlins in Skegness in January next year with Savoy Brown, The
Animals, Climax Blues Band and Nine Below Zero topping the bill.
They also had their CD reviewed
by Blues Blast in the USA and were recommended for an award.
I run my own studio now and have
a lot of music released. I had a single by The Flaming Gnomes released by
Fruits de Mer Records. I have recently worked with a lot of artists like Nick
Haeffner, The Revenge and am currently helping in a small way with a
forthcoming box set by well known Canterbury band Caravan.
There are loads of other things
that are too long to list but one other notable event that I took part in was
entering the Guinness book of records when I joined 600 drummers all playing
together at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in 2009.
Q. - Are there any plans to
reissue "On My Knees"?
William - Yes. We have been
approached by High Roller Records in Germany to have the album released. The
remaster is sounding very good and will be out next year
Thank you for your time, and wish
you all the best for the future!
