Colin French (TNT)

 

From Kent, England, comes TNT, they recorded a 3 song demo-tape in 1982, and the single "Back on the Road" in 1984. we had a chat with guitarist Colin French about his times in TNT.

Q. - Hello Colin! Tell us a bit about the beginning of TNT, how did it all start? How did you get in touch with the other members?

Colin - After being bitten by the music bug back in the 1970's after seeing bands like The Sweet, Geordie, Status Quo and the like on TV it was something I wanted to do as well, but I didn't pick up a guitar until years later in my last year of school. Mark was a friend of a friend and I saw him playing guitar and he showed me a couple of chords and we jammed together on some Free, Budgie  and Rush songs and looked around for some other musicians went through a few until finding as drummer called Nick Avery who was technically well advanced. This allowed us to put a set together of our favourite songs and our first gig which we did as a trio featured songs by Rush, UFO, Van Halen, Judas Priest and Montrose amongst others. After a few months Nick left for university and I was approached by Gary Stevenson of a band called Montreaux who were a local quartet which I joined and at the first rehearsal their singer decided to quit music! And after a bit of persuading I managed to get Mark to join as the singer and ditch the bass which he reluctantly did. So the quintet was formed and we kept the TNT name as it was the more well known band at the time.

Q. - Who were your main influences at the beginning?

Colin - Well growing up, unknowingly, The Sweet were both Gary and my favourite group. Nick was a huge Alice Cooper fan Nobby was into Black Sabbath and Mark's favourite band was The Beatles so a good mix of influences. Collectively we were Deep Purple, UFO and Def Leppard fans amongst others.

Q. - What about gigs, did you play all over the UK or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked at that time?

Colin - We played local bars for awhile then started putting on our own shows on in local halls and bigger venues, the rock scene was really growing with the success of the NWOBHM at the time and we started playing further afield and scoring some good supports in London with TANK and The Dirty Strangers. We did play in the midlands, the home of heavy rock, at selected venues but it was hard to tour due to financial difficulties.

 

Q. - At this time did you play some covers too, or was it only your own songs?

Colin - With the formation of the quintet it was decided then that we should be an original band we did have original material in both camps so we did get and original setlist together but we included the odd cover here and there to keep the audiences happy. I remember covering The Godz - 'Under the Table', Judas Priests Fleetwood Mac cover 'Green Manalishi', Sammy Hagars 'This Planets on Fire' and Y&T's 'Dont Wanna Lose.'

Q. - "End of the Line" and "Sweet Freedom" were recorded as a demo tape back in 82, was it your first experience at studio? What memories do you keep from these recording sessions?

Colin - Montreaux had already been in to record 'Sweet Freedom' the previous year with their original singer so they had recorded before but it was all new for Mark and Myself.

We were very pleased with the recordings at the time even though we knew it was on a budget, but it captured the spirit of the band which was the important thing. Good memories as we were all learning together and on an even keel.

Q. - What memories do you keep from the BBC Session from 1983? A day to remember?

Colin - Even though it was the BBC, the equipment was very primitive and I think that session was done in mono!  But it was great fun and we got to a couple of jingle ads for the show using our songs and of course it was great to hear our songs back on the radio which I think we used as part of the demo to get the Neat single deal.

Q. - The single "Back on the Road" came up in 1984, did it have airplay on radio stations? And how was it received by TNT fans?

Colin - As far as I remember it had good independent radio play nationally and the reviews were generally good although the sales didn't necessarily reflect that lol.  It was a mixed bag with the fans, many were pleased to have it but some thought it wasn't as heavy as our live show versions.

Q. - Did you try to approach a record deal with Neat (or any other label) after recording the single? What do you think went wrong with TNT to achieve real success?

Colin - Naively we thought the single would alert the major labels to our presence so we didn't actively chase an album with Neat although the producer Keith Nichol liked the more commercial aspect of the material but Dave Wood the manager of the company knew that Raven and Venom were still doing good business so was a bit weary to change.

 

Q. - "Sorry" appeared on the compilation Metal Warriors (Ebony Records, 1983), how did that happen?

Colin - I think we responded to an advert in the back of Kerrang that was looking for bands for the compilation albums they were putting out at the time which were doing pretty good business.

Q. - From the ashes of TNT, came Sweet Cheater, how did the idea to form this band came up?

Colin - Mainly it was out of respect for Mark who had left the band,  and with the new vocalist coming in and the slightly heavier direction the band took we felt a name change was a good idea.

Q. - For how long were Sweet Cheater active? Did you record any demo tapes?

Colin - Sweet Cheater was adopted as a new band name when we moved to London in the summer of 1985, although as TNT we recorded a four track demo to show off the new sound. The name lasted until the beginning of 1987 when the band finally split.

While in London we had done some gigs with Rock Goddess and Kooga and attracted the interest of John McCoy of Gillan and we set about recording an album with him at Scott Gorham's studio but we couldn't raise the funds to finish it. We did  a good two track demo produced by John called 'Rock Steady', which was a more commercial and more professional sounding recording than the previous 4 track tape but didn't attract more than a casual interest from the labels that courted us whilst in London.

 

Q. - Did you stay in touch with each other’s all over the years?

Colin - After a cooling off period lol, due to musical differences, there were two bands playing the bands material one added keyboards [Back Talk}and the other got more gritty sounding like early Aerosmith {Gunslinger} ' Gunslinger' was my band with Gary Owen and I had another band called 'Lynx'  Lynx released an unrecorded Sweet Cheater  single 'Caught in the Act', and as Gunslinger we recorded a 4 track EP produced by Bernie Torme {Gillan} who Gary later joined for the 'Demolition Ball' CD. Up with after the Widowmaker project with Dee Snider folded.

We remain good friends and did a one off charity show back in 2015 which sold out and raised a good sum for the charity. I regularly hook up with Gary Stevenson and Nobby works in a band with Gary Owen that play locally

Q. - Have you ever thought about doing a proper edition, compiling all this TNT songs recorded between 81/84 on cd?

Colin - We digitised all the old master tapes at the end of the 90's and made a compilation CD which went around the world to various tribute radio shows to the NWOBHM and feedback was good. If you want a copy forward me an address and I will send you a copy of the audio all the print covers are long gone!

Q. - Do you still keep an eye to the heavy metal or hard rock scene? Is there any band that you still like to listen?

Colin - Yes still a fan, the new Maiden and Wildhearts albums are great. I never really went down the post Metallica route due to vocals but as tastes broaden I have been getting into bands such as The Tea Party and Jellyfish among many more of course, and finally got to really appreciate Led Zeppelins spin off solo stuff, and the Beatles of course.  Rock still rules in my house!

Q. - In your opinion what are the main differences between the eighties and the reality of today?

Colin - For me the 80's seemed to be more 'fun' the scene was still expanding and developing today it all sounds very similar from the recording sounds to the lack of variety across an album, it's not the bands fault it is the greed of the record industry wanting 10 hits and not allowing bands to develop, the underground scene is great though even though there isn't the financial benefits for the bands as there was in the past. And don't even get me started on tickets prices....!!

 

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

Colin - If it captures the vibe and is just as much fun then I'm all for it. I recently saw Diamond Head and they still rock even though Brian is the only original guy left. Sadly though most of the bands I grew up on, most off the original members have passed away and it's a sad reminder when you see a great festival line up that most of the original guys won't be there and that is depressing.

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

Colin - Thanks for your interest in the little ol' band from Margate UK. We had a blast at the time and even though we didn't reach the heights of a Def Leppard or a Bon Jovi, I think, or rather know, we'd all do it all over again. Peace.

Curly '21.

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