William Hayter (Bloodshot Eyes)

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!