Tranzzam (Andy Orme)

 

From Oxford, England, came Tranzzam, formed in 1979 and having recorded two demo tapes, Lionheart in 1982 and Hypnotized in 1984. We had a chat with drummer Andy Orme, to know a bit more about this underrated band.

Q. - Hello Andy, how did your interest in heavy metal music start?

Andy - Hey Paulo, earliest ever thoughts were probably at Marc Bolan & Osmonds (Phase 3 album) when I was really young (6 or 7). Then an afternoon round a friends with Quo Live & a Focus album. Later – first proper gig was Sabbath with Van Halen supporting – how can you not like metal after seeing Eddie at an early age?

Q. - What about Tranzzam? How did it all start?

Andy - I was always going to be a drummer from small child (setting ‘drum’ kits of books on my bed and playing with paint brushes). By age of 13 I had a pieced together a kit of various parts, learning to play via school orchestra classical percussion playing and kit playing Queen, Rush, Yes, Genesis etc with the stereo up really loud and just playing along. My sister was dating a guy in a band. They booted their singer, the drummer (Tiff) became the singer and they needed a drummer. I was (and still am) 2 – 3 years younger than the others.

Q. - And how did the band name came up?

Andy - That would have been Pete’s idea. He did all graphics, posters and logos. I always liked the car, plus it rings a bell that there was already a Trans-Am band (in Wales maybe?) so the necessary adjustments were made (ZZ).

Q. - Who were your principal influences at the beginning of the band?

Andy - Everyone brought their own into it, but classic rock/metal like Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Scorpions, along with NWOBHM bands of the time – Maiden, Judas Priest etc. but then I liked Van Halen a lot so I brought a bit more swing into it. Tiff (singer) was into Discharge and Alien Sex Fiend, so it was the throwing it all together and we were what came out.

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

Andy - Pretty much throughout our gigs, we’ve only included 2 or 3 covers at most in a set (except when we played American Airbases who demanded 4 x 45minute sets). I do remember that I never heard the originals of lots of the covers we did, so they seemed like our songs anyway to me.

Q. - The "Lionheart" demo tape came around 1982, and was very well received by the metalheads in the UK, did you try to approach a record deal back then?

Andy - We certainly talked either on the phone or via letters. Labels were never keen on

us weirdly. I think it’s about how we sounded on demo compared to live.

Live – we are very loud, very heavy and as tight as we can possibly be. This can be hard to get across on a demo tape done in a weekend.

In 2000 we released a CD ‘Pest’ – band name now High N Mighty (same line up). That has been the only time (in my opinion) where studio sounded anywhere close to live.

Q. - Do you have any special memories from the shows you played back then?

Andy - 1st gig, for local bikers chapter aged 14 (how scared?)

1st Oxford Pennyfarthing gig, 200 plus people aged 15

1st Marquee in London gig aged 16

We started counting them up a while ago and stopped at about 275 shows we could remember, so lots of funny (and bad) ones along the way.

Q. - Around 1984 comes the second Tranzzam demo tape, Hypnotized, what do you recall from these recording seasons?

Andy - I think that’s from the only demo I don’t have a copy of! I can’t even remember which studio we were at. It may have been Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. If so, it was the weekend after a Friday night All-England Bikers Chapter gig where they wouldn’t let us off stage until about 2am.

Q. - With the great talent and potential you guys had, what do you think has failed to achieve a real success?

Andy - We’ve never been very pushy or shouted for our own glory which certainly gets a lot of musicians their contracts (hassling labels, getting Managers etc.). We just got on with making the music and playing gigs because that’s what we enjoyed doing. The fact that other people seemed to like it too was a lucky bonus!

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

Andy - We are all very much in touch. As I mentioned earlier, the band morphed into High N Mighty with many more gigs, still mainly London and Oxford, still demoing and as I said releasing a CD in 2000. We actually played together in 2019 at a friends garden party and were planning a 20 year CD celebration gig until Covid kind of ruined the idea.

Q. - Have you ever thought about doing a compilation with all the recordings that you have done with Tranzzam?

Andy - It’s a distinct possibility. I am the technical/studio boffin of the band, so I have nearly all recordings digitised and backed up. I have started my Youtube channel as a place where people can get to see/hear Tranzzam and High N Mighty tracks and videos (if they care) and I’m hoping to upload lots more in the future.

Q. - What other projects did you have after "Tranzzam", tell us a bit about it too.

Andy - I’ve constantly been in bands throughout my life. Session studio and live work whenever people wanted it, a singer/songwriter friends band for a few years (kind of jazz rock), a band with a Paul McCartney relative singing, a disco band with a full brass section and currently a proper ‘musicians band’ full of weird timings and clever chords.

Also, my work has always been in installation of technical wiring at Studios, Radio Stations, Theatres etc, so I’ve been around music, technicians and musicians almost constantly.

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?

Andy - I don’t keep up with all developments of metal, but I do pick up on stuff throughout the years. Became a big System of a Down fan and a friend has just introduced me (very late) to Tool. Never liked Linkin Park then saw them at Reading Festival and they blew me away (have seen since and not as good). Still dip into Van Halen now and again.

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

Andy - Just thanks for your interest. It’s really gratifying to know that people around the world have picked up on this stuff and are getting pleasure out of listening to it, which is why we wrote and recorded it in the first place. Keep watching out for the Youtube channel (I’ll try to get the CD album on there soon). If you need any more info from me, please don’t hesitate to ask.

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