DENIGH

 

From Folkestone, Kent, England, comes Denigh, formed in 1978 and having recorded 3 demo-tapes (two in 1979 and one in 82), the successful single "No Way" in 1980 and the album Fire from the Sky in 1984, besides the compilation of 1997. We had a chat with Jon (Bass, vocals) and Ian (Guitars, keyboards, vocals) the remaining members of the original line-up and the core of this great band.

Q. - Hello guys! How and when did it all start? Who were the first members of the band? Please tell us a bit about the origins of Denigh.

Jon: DENIGH was formed in 1978 in the coastal town of Folkestone, Kent in South East England.

As individuals we had served our apprenticeship in 'covers bands' on the local pub and club circuit and I guess the time was right to go our own way.

It's fair to say that me and Ian in particular wanted to write at least some of our own songs.

I had only provided backing vocals in other bands up to this time, so initially we were keen to recruit a lead singer but this proved extremely dificult. I recall we tried three guys at our rehearsals and, having decided they and we were wasting our time I eventually stepped up to the lead mic.

Combining Bass and lead vox didn't come easy and the learning process continued throughout our early gigs - we had to plan each set to help my voice!

Ian: Phil Allchin was with us at early rehearsals on lead guitar, but during the long delay in finding a lead vocalist, he was offered a place with another band. I'd known Phill for a while, we lived in the same street, Nos. 8 & 12 and our first encounter was a back garden stone throwing battle where he accused me of killing his rabbit. We started out fighting, but ended up good mates with our mutual interest in making music.

So I was sorry to see him leave us and it should have been a major setback, but we found Steve Maddock to take the lead guitar slot and Jon stepped up to the lead mic.

The original performing line up was:

Steve Maddock – Lead Guitar

Ian Devlin – Keyboards / Guitar / vox

Jon Everett – Bass Guitar / Lead vox

John Regan – Drums

Q. - How did your interest in Rock / Metal music start? Who are your main influences?

Jon: Making music is in my family, my taste is very broad, across most genres including classical.

However, I have early memories in the 1960's singing along to the Pirate Radio stations that my older brother and couzins were tuned to.

So that would have been The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys in particular. Later at school in my teens I didn't hang around with the 'pop crowd' - although I liked Slade, Elton John, Quo and a few others - but mostly for me it was Genesis, James Taylor, John Lennon, Santana with a little bit of John Mayall, Lou Reed, Uriah Heep …

Ian: My story is much the same as Jons. I grew up in a musical family where downstairs would be Mum & Dads Perry Como, Cilla Black & Sandy Shaw, but upstairs my two older sisters were playing The Beatles, The Who and The Move. In my teens I was into Led Zep, Quo etc.

 

Q. - Do you remember how did the band name came up?

Jon: Band names are so difficult to choose, especially when trying to think of one.

Our story is that after rehearsals in a hall near Folkestone we would pop into the village pub 'The Chequers' before going home.

The landlord knew us well, due to the fearful racket we made in the village hall and one day he set us a riddle “there's only one four letter word in the dictionary ending in ENY, what is it?”.

None of us could guess it, so he told us – DENY.

Ian: I reckon this is the first time anyone has asked this question!

We had been searching for a unique name for our new band and after thinking it over with a few beers in the pub, we changed the spelling and by the next rehearsal we had adopted it.

Q. - Do you recall the songs you were playing at the beginning? Did you play any covers too?

Ian: We had written eight songs ready for our first gig:

The Star / Falling Snow / Bed Of Nails / Stay On Top / Three Sparows / Burn The Sky / Echo Of An Echo / Missing You.

I don't remember the covers except 'Dont Believe a Word' by Thin Lizzy, coz I got to use my WahWah pedal!

Jon: And these covers, Rain - Quo, Strange Kinda Woman - Deep Purple … the two I remember!

 

Q. - How was the Kent Rock / Metal scene like? Did you play regularly there or even in the rest of the UK? Did you share the stage with other well-known bands?

Jon: In 1978 there was SAMSON in north Kent for us to look up to, but in our area on the south coast of Kent, there weren't many Rock Bands and of those, very few were writing their own material.

Generally a local band would get more gigs and therefore more money by playing covers, so thats what most did.

Ian: Yeah, and in those early days of DENIGH we had no money and limited transport, so getting further afield was difficult. But before long we got a reliable van, so were able to travel all over Kent, into London, Essex and to Birmingham. We also crossed the channel to do a mini tour of French coastal towns.

In 1979 DENIGH were proud of the opportunity to support SAMSON and that was the first of many including: SAXON, BUDGIE, RAGE, GIRLSCHOOL and TORME.

Q. - Was the 1979 "Denigh" demo tape your first experience at studio? What memories do you keep from these recording sessions?

Ian: This was my first experience in a proper studio although I don't remember anything about it. But I recall a time much earlier when me and a mate Clive had used a couple of stereo tape recorders, bouncing tracks between them to build the recording – with hopeless results!

Jon: My first studio experience was with a band 'Talisman'. (Incidentaly, Phil Allchin was the lead guitarist in this band and Phil took over the lead guitar in DENIGH after Steve left mid 1979).

The first DENIGH demo was recorded at the same studio, in the basement of the engineers house in Folkestone. The sound proofing was really thick and made your ears 'strain' for sound!

I don't remember much else though. But I still have the tapes, they sound dated and on a budget but they're fine.

 

Q. – And how was the single "No Way'" received by the fans? Did it have airplay on radio stations?

Jon: The single was a success and such a shame that we couldn't follow it up sooner with another release.  We simply had no money and although we didn't realise it at the time, we also needed proper management guidance.

We sold the single mainly at gigs and through local record shops but a number were sold through a national distributor and it was these sales that led to a 'number 97' position in the official UK singles chart.

Ian: And on top of that, the single had airplay on the BBC Radio Kent show 'Kent Rocks ' hosted by Mike Brill and ultimately on the BBC 'Friday Night Rock Show' hosted by Tommy Vance.

Q. - After the release of "No Way", it took two years since you recorded new songs, the demo tape "Lean on 'em Hard". Did you try to approach a record deal at that time?

Jon: I have to give this question some thought.

We always had the idea that we could be completely independent and in control of everything about DENIGH.

After all, we had a successful single release, we had a decent fan-base, we had local and national radio airplay and last but not least, we produced good material.

We were certain that DENIGH was gathering momentum. And it was.

In addition to gigs on the usual circuit we were organising 'showcase' gigs in larger local venues that involved hiring PA equipment, lighting, roadcrew, support bands, advertising, tickets, posters – the list is endless.

On top of this we produced quality merchandise for fans, trying to maximise exposure of the band.

Looking back, the approach we adopted was misguided because it was too idealistic. We took on too much ourselves and seeking a record deal took a back seat.

Ian: I agree with Jon but there was also one fundamental thing missing. DENIGH didn't have a decent & up to date demo tape, likely through lack of funds, but also lack of focus.

Certainly the early demo wouldn't have convinced a record company.

 

Q. - What do you think that lacked to "Denigh" to have a successful career?

Jon & Ian: Paulo, we know we were successful, thinking back to all that DENIGH achieved, but we should have been more successful.

What we lacked was proper management and focus ....

….and maybe a bit of luck?

Q. - Did you stay in touch with the other former members of the band over the years?

Jon & Ian: Yes, of course though we all went our own ways with different bands and musicians.

Although Steve has stayed very much to himself with very little contact and sadly Phil Allchin died in 2019.

Q. - What other projects did you have after the end of "Denigh"? Tell us a bit about it please.

Jon: I fronted a couple of local bands through the eighties into the nineties, none with the same ambitions as DENIGH, but that suited me at the time. And I was also happy to provide my Bass and backing Vox for other bands recording projects. Later I coached and recorded a couple of local contempory folk artists / vocalists.

And of course, Ian and I have more than once got together, but there's often been other distractions that have broken the bond. That is, until now of course.

Ian: I also played in a couple of local bands and from one of those the bassist (Paul) and his brother formed a new band called Immaculate Fools - who later signed a deal with A&M.

Three years and two albums later Paul contacted, asking me to join the band for a tour of Spain and Portugal. After a week rehearsing in London I did the tour and joined the band officially. I worked with Immaculate Fools for about five years and in this time we recorded the album 'Another Mans World' with CBS that went 'Gold' in Spain and 'Silver' in a couple of other European countries – plus there were a couple of hit singles off that album.

And, for your interest Paulo I did numerous gigs and tours in Spain and Portugal, so you and me may have already crossed paths at some time?

After I left that band I did get an audition with Jethro Tull for a planned world tour - but sadly I didn't get the gig.

 

Q. - Denigh self-produced several different promo materials (like badges, stickers, posters) and even albums. Have you ever thought about the reissue of Fire from the Sky or the 1997 compilation on Cd?

Jon: As a result of recent appearances and exposure on Voodoo Radio we have been contacted by a specialist label, 'Obscure NWOBHM Releases', regarding the re-issue the 1997 Compilation CD.

Negotiations are complete and the project is underway with an expected release in the 1^st quarter of 2023.

A similar plan for “Fire From The Sky” will be considered after the completion of the initial project.

As for promotional products / merchandise we're all for it, but now we don't offer it for the revenue it generates. Instead we have made our artwork / graphics available free via download from our Social Media pages and our 'Linktree' page.

Anyone can take the artwork to their local printer and get a shirt, mug, stickers etc.

Q. - How did you see the whole N.W.O.B.H.M. movement, back then, and how do you see the interest around those bands and recordings nowadays?

Ian: To be honest Paulo, we didn't know we were doing anything special.

As DENIGH we described ourselves as British Rock, taking our inspiration from the (mostly British) bands that preceeded us in the early 1970's. Such as Deep Purple, Led Zep, UFO etc.

So, DENIGH and other bands of that time just took this inspiration forward and it was much later on that 'NWOBHM' tagged this particular Rock era.

DENIGH never described their music as HM, something all of us in the band would agree right from day one in 1978.

Jon: As for the recordings, I recall speaking with Matt Mader at Iron Pages prior to their re-issue of “Fire From The Sky”. He was insistent that we didn't apply any modern studio tricks to the sound, because it had to be of the time.

And this is what he meant.

Nowadays, 'anyone' can make a good recording at home with easily available and low cost equipment, but back then the bands didn't have any money and relied on small independent basement studios to record their sound.

The time and cost restraints usually dictated a 'live take' of the band with some 'tracked' vox afterwards. And that was that.

Those hurried, low budget recordings have captured the essence of the times.

Ian: Its great that fans still review the bands and their recordings from those days and though there will be some that are lost, there must still be some that no one has heard yet.

Obviously we're glad that we still have our early recordings as they offer a tangible insight into what DENIGH was about.

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

Jon: I'm not sure how to answer this, except – that was then and today the music business is totally different.

Are there any regrets? Sure but we have to face up to the choices we make.

Could DENIGH have 'made it'? Yes, I believe there was every chance.

Ian: One big difference is the technology now available that enables musicians / artists to create and showcase their material to a high standard and within a reasonable budget.

DENIGH is taking advantage of this right now.

Thinking back, I remember my first 'guitar amp' involved pulling the stylus unit out of a record player, cutting off and stripping back the wires on one end of a guitar lead and joining them to the wires now hanging out of the tone arm. Plug in yer axe and crank up the volume – usually an impressive 4 watts …!

Those days are long gone.

Q. - What's the current status of "Denigh", still alive and kicking?

Jon: Me and Ian are active as DENIGH in a songwriting partnership.

Its important to add that we enjoy what we're doing with no constraints set on the material we produce.

DENIGH at last has a Manager …!  He is Carl Penfold.

Carl takes resposibility for our online and social media presence and is the single point of contact for DENIGH.

Carl also creates our Promo Videos that can be viewed on the DENIGH YouTube channel.

DENIGH material is released on our own label “Drawn Horse Records” and supported by proffesional publishing and distribution of our works.

Ian: This year we have released two new singles (BEVIN BOYS and BLACKSHEEP) that are available for download from all the usual online stores and a new album is due early 2023 titled “Back In The Game”.

The album will be for download / streaming initially, with a CD format expected to follow.

So, me, Jon and Carl are able to fully embrace our 'ideal' and maintain control of everything DENIGH.

 

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end this interview?

Jon & Ian: Thanks Paulo, for inviting DENIGH to interview.

We look back with pride on what we achieved in the past and now look to the future as our music is evolving. The response has been fantastic, not only in the UK but globally too and its great to know that along with our original followers our music is attracting a new audience.

And if you will permit Paulo, anyone interested in what DENIGH is doing now please use this link to access all our Social Media / online platforms.  DENIGH

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

Thanks Paulo, you too mate. Jon, Ian and Carl