Burner, previously known as The Savage Dogs, were formed in 1980, in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. They recorded some demo tapes in the early days that were released on vinyl in the 2000's. We had a chat with drummer Steve Peach and guitarist Andy Richards to know more about them.
Q. - Hello guys, when did Burner
start? Was it in the beginning of 1980? Tell us a bit about the beginning of
the band and how did it all start.
Andy - Steve and I have known
each other since we were kids. He had a drum kit and I got an electric guitar
and an amp for my 16th birthday and it just grew from there. This was around
1980-81. We were originally called The Savage Dogs after an early song we had
written.
Dave Price joined on bass (who
played on the first Savage killer demo). Steve had been doing Vocals in the
beginning and eventually Andy Rotherham joined on vocals. The name Burner came
about just before we did a gig. A friend called Malc who had helped us out on
bass now again said something like "Look lads... the name of the band
Savage Dogs is S***! How about......BURNER? And that was that!
Steve - Burner started around
1980 but we had been using the name ‘Savage Dogs’ as a garage band since about
1978. The early line up was Andy Richards, Dave Price (bass) and me. I was
doing lead vocals at this point until we got Andy Rotherham. We had already
changed the name to Burner before Andy joined. We recorded in bedrooms, garages
and rehearsal rooms on a basic cassette recorder and the quality was very poor.
Q. Who were your main influences
at the very beginning of the band?
Andy - I suppose it was a lot of
big heavy rock bands of the early seventies. Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Judas
Priest etc. Kiss were a big-big influence.... I wanted to be Ace Frehley!!!
Also, all the bands that started
with the NWOBHM scene such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard etc.
Steve - We we’re into KISS, Judas Priest (obviously a big influence on Andy’s vocals), AC/DC and Black Sabbath. There was an abundance of great music during this period being the start of the NWOBHM explosion too.
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?
Andy - We only played locally
really... Pubs and village halls etc. Anybody who'd have us really! We had
numerous different line-ups’ in a short space of time. Andy, Steve and I stayed
the course though.
Steve - We stayed local in the Midlands playing Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. We got gigs reasonably easy due to the music around at the time being metal and breaking through and having success like Iron Maiden, Saxon, AC/DC etc.
Q. - At this time did you play
some covers too, or was it only your own songs?
Andy - From memory ... In the early
days it was just original stuff. Then we started doing a few covers also. We
became a 5 piece for a while and did all covers. Then when we went back to a 4
piece prior to the second demo Hammer of the gods and Kev Pipes joined on bass
we started to write more original material.
Steve - We mixed covers in with original material playing Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Saxon, Black Sabbath. Judas Priest material.
Q. - You recorded "Savage
Killer" and "Lay Down Your Arms" as a demo tape back in 82, did
you sell the demo at shows, sent it to labels?
Andy - Don't think we sold any of
the demos at gigs... Back then you when you did a demo at a recording studio
you just got cassette recording copy and maybe the reel-to-reel master tape if
you paid extra.... but most folk would not of had anything to play it on.
Having them put on vinyl which happened many years later would have been a pipe
dream cus of the cost etc.
Steve - We did sell a number of copies on cassettes but mainly away from gigs because we didn’t have a stand at gigs. People that bought it thought it was great at the time and I am eternally grateful to Malc MacMillan for having belief in the material for his first release on Zerlinda Records. Preserved forever on vinyl!
Q. - I believe that the quality
of both the music and the production on your demos were high enough to get a
major deal. Did you try to approach a record deal at that time?
Andy - No not to my knowledge.
Steve - We had an offer from
Ebony Records to put ‘Savage Killer’ on a compilation that they were putting
together but it meant us partly financing it. I think that it was about £200.
We were all earning low wages at the time and decided not to bother. I was only
earning around £60 per week back then and we all thought that it was too
expensive.
To be perfectly honest we just
loved gigging locally and although we dreamt of the big time, we didn’t really
believe that we would ever get there so didn’t really commit to trying 100%.
Q. - When did "Burner"
split up exactly? What happened that lead to the split?
Andy - Think we split up sometime
in 1985. Think Kev Pipes called it a day and Andy Rotherham not long after. The
band had just run it's course, I guess.
Steve - We played our last gig in December 1984. Andy Rotherham quit soon after the ‘Hammer of the Gods’ demo and that was it really. He got married and had a family and did don’t want to continue. We couldn’t find a suitable replacement so called it a day as far as ‘Burner’ was concerned.
Q. - In your opinion, were the
90's hard times for heavy metal bands?
Andy - Not really... But I think
music in general started to splinter into niche markets. The thrash metal scene
during the early nineties was not for me I'm afraid.
Steve - We live very close to the ‘Castle Donington’ (Monsters of Rock and now Download festival) and every year (1980 to present day) 100,000 metal fans descend on it so I don’t believe that ‘metal’ has ever had a hard time.really. There is always a healthy mix of bands coming through.
Q. - And what made you feel like
reuniting Burner again back in 2005? Some kind of unfinished business?
Andy - It really came about via
Steve. He will be able to explain better than me....
Basically, a guy who had a small
record label got to hear the old demo's and thought they were great. He offered
to put them onto vinyl for free etc.
And there was a big interest in
them. Which eventually led to us getting back together and recording
Resurrection.
Steve - I was introduced to the
world of the internet by my wife in the early 2000’s. I searched NWOBHM and
contacted Malc MacMillan who wrote an Encyclopaedia on the subject. He gave me
his telephone number and we chatted for a while. I sent him an old demo
cassette with another Leicestershire NWOBHM band ‘Chrome Molly’ on from 1983
that he was interested in hearing. He asked if I had been in a band and said to
copy the ‘Burner’ demo onto the other side of the tape. He contacted me via
email to ask if we would be interested in letting him release the ‘Burner’ demo
on vinyl. I spoke to the other guys and we were unanimous in going ahead with
his offer. So within a couple of months, I had 25 copies of the single sent to
me and it felt and sounded fantastic. Then of course I sent him the ‘Hammer of
the Gods’ demo and he released that one too. He then asked if we would be
interested in getting the band back together and recording an album. Andy
Richards and me have always lived close to one another and never lost touch but
we didn’t know where Andy Rotherham was. It turned out that he had moved
literally 5 miles away. After a bit of persuasion, he decided to do it. We
spent a number of months writing and arranging songs and recording in various
locations and rehearsal rooms until we had everything down then mixed it and
sent it to High Roller Records in Germany. It certainly felt like unfinished business
which is why we added in tracks from the 80’s (Long Lost Friend and Man or
Machine) so that music could get to a wider audience.
Q. - Was it like a dream come
true to see "Savage Killer" and "Hammer of the Gods"
released as singles, after so many years?
Andy - Yes it was amazing to have
them after all these years put onto vinyl and sell like they have!
Steve - Definitely. I went to a festival a few years ago and there was a record fair there. I flicked through the singles and found ‘Hammer of the Gods’. My mate said “This guy here was the drummer on that” and he got me to sign it. That was a great feeling!
Q. - It's been over 10 years
since the edition of "Resurrection", what do you feel about it?
Andy - Prior to doing this I had
not listened to Resurrection for a while....
But have had it on in the car a
lot since!! When we started it I suddenly had all these riffs and ideas flowing
through my head ... Something which I had not had for a long long time particularly
regards Rock music. It was quite cool as a 40 something year old trying to play
like an 18-year-old!
Steve - I wish that we had more time to do it as Andy Richards was moving house and getting married soon after and it felt a bit rushed. But it was true of us at the time we had fun doing it. If I could go back there are some things that I would play differently but no major regrets.
Q. – What’s the current status of
Burner? Are you working on new music, or thinking about a new album?
Andy - Nothing really in the pipe
line... But as the saying goes..."Never say never!"
What do you reckon lads?? One
more for the road???
Steve - No we are finished now. I’m 60 next year (God that sounds old!) and Burner is a proud part of my past but it’s done. I still play in a covers band and will continue while I feel fit enough to.
Q. - In your opinion what are the
main differences between the eighties and the reality of today? Do you keep an
eye on the metal scene over the years?
Andy - Sorry to say I don’t
really keep an eye on the current scene.
This is just my opinion... But
everything that can be done guitar wise has already been done.... Occasionally
tune into say Planet rock and hear the new stuff they play.... Bit to me it's
all very average now. Cheers.
Steve - Today’s bands don’t have
the quality of material that came out in the 70’s and 80’s. Everything has
already been done and it’s hard to do anything original.
I still go to concerts and festivals so I still see old and new bands. I saw Judas Priest at Bloodstock. Festival last year and loved it. For me the 70’s and 80’s will always be the best decades for music in general and especially heavy rock and metal. I don’t get too involved in many new bands nowadays as I still play the old bands from that great time period.
Q. - Anything more you want to
say, to end up this interview?
Steve - Thank you for your interest in Burner and feel free to use this interview as you please.
Thank you for your time, and wish
you all the best for the future!
