Wayne Morgan (Scimitar)

Scimitar were formed in 1980, in Abergavenny, UK, ad recorded two demo tapes in 1981 and 1982. We had a chat with bass player Wayne Morgan about the early days of Scimitar and about future plans.

Q. - Hello Wayne, tell us a little bit about your beginnings in the heavy metal world, what lead you to be a bass player?

Wayne - Why bass? Simple answer is Jim Lea from Slade.  Early 70s Slade was quite heavy (listen to Slade Alive for proof) and Jim Lea played the bass like it was cross between a lead guitar and a chain saw.  He also looked as cool as fk!!! It just seemed to me that the bass changed the feel of songs completely…or the rhythm section did any way.  Working with Stubs over the years just confirmed that….. because when we are shit everything sounds shit LoL!

Q. - When did Scimitar start? How did you get in touch with the other members? Tell us a bit about the beginning of the band.

Wayne - Scimitar followed an earlier band called Heavy Weather (Stu S, John D, Craig Richards (guitar - later Monro) and Gary Stanbury (vox). 

I was in school bands with Craig, Gary was my mate who was always singing and looked like a rock star.

Around 1980 a mutual acquaintance told us about “a shit hot 17 year old lead guitarist” who liked Priest, Budgie, VH, Rush…. This was John D.  We had a blast and decided we’d take it further…somehow…..We were all 17-18 and lived about 30miles away from each other and none of us had any transport so had to blag lifts to pracco and then get train and bus home.  We’d knocked up a few songs and tried a few drummers. Then we found Stubs (another mutual acquaintance…no feken FaceBook in those days) and when he started playing we knew straight away that he was the right one even though he didn’t have long hair like the rest of us….yet

When HW split up (musical differences) John and Stu started another band which included Steve Colley (Traitor’s Gate).  I joined and then Gary joined too.  Before we got to gigging I think Gary kinda lost interest and Trev came in.  Trev had been vocalist with Traitor’s Gate and was a little bit older than us…..great voice and again just looked like a rock star.  So that was that for a while including the Loco demo and some mad gigs.

Q. - Did you start writing your own songs since the beginning or were you most concentrated on covers?

Wayne - Heavy Weather and Scimitar were originals bands from the start.  We did throw in 2 covers per gig - over time HW did  Wasted (Def Leppard), Hell Bent for Leather (Priest), Touch Too Much (AC/DC), Neon Nights (Sabbath).

Scimitar did a super fast version of Paranoid, Get Ya Rocks Off (Leppard), Aint Talkin About Love (VH).  HW was NWoBHM with spandex and leather.  Scimitar very quickly wasn’t.  We looked more like The Ramones or 4 blokes from the pub than metal bands were supposed to at the time.  Steve still looked like a rock star though.

Q. - A 4 song demo tape were recorded in 1981 (Burning Rubber, Wield The Axe, Heartless, See You Around (Next Time)). What do you recall from these recording season?

Wayne - This was the second time we had been to the Loco studio in South Wales (once as HW) but first time with Trev and Steve.

We scraped enough money for one day in studio and did 4 songs in a hurry.  If you looked at them graphically in Ableton you’d see how rough and rushed they were.  Not massively proud of those recordings as they contain a few obvious fk ups each 😊 but I think the “do it yourself” unpolished sound was what NWoBHM was about….a bit punkish in attitude.

Sadly nobody knows what happened to the master tape…..maybe not sadly….I have cassette version and like I said, it aint great 😉 But, the songs are of the NWoBHM genre without a doubt…..you can almost spot it from the song titles 😊

Q. - Did you sell the demo at shows, send it to fanzines? What feedback did you receive from this demo?

Wayne - By then we were still only 18-19 and not very savvy or organised. 

All our mates liked the songs but there was no real outlet for small bands in South Wales with very little organisation…and we were very disorganised/pissed a lot too

We did nothing really except use the tapes to get gigs and the interest from Ebony.

Q. - In 82, a two song demo tape were recorded, at Ebony Records Hull, what do you recall from these recordings?

Wayne - Ebony had heard the Loco demo and there was enough interest to talk to us.

By now Steve had got fed up with the lack of progress (disorganisation) and left so we stayed as a 4 piece.  Steve also had a good idea of what he wanted image wise and we weren’t it because as I said before by now we weren’t very NWoBHM anymore.  More like 4 noisy unpolished hooligans.

We travelled to Hull in a camper van which we slept in. 3 of us went out in Hull and got hammered until daft o’clock in the morning….recording was all about fighting the hangovers.

We tried out 3 songs “GFM”- (aka Good Fkn Mayhem) but recorded “That’s the way I want it” and a song called “Scimitar”.  The lyrics were written for both on the morning we recorded them as Trev had never really settled on what he sang live (kinda made it up as he went along). There are some photos floating about and we look rough as fek on them 😊

Q. - Also in 1982 comes the compilation “Metallic Storm”, by Ebony, with the track "That's the Way I Want It", how did that happen?

Wayne - When we did the album tracks we were literally still kids. Darryl Johnston (owner of Ebony) advised us to use “Scimitar” for the album as it was a good NWoBHM type song but we decided to use the other one as it was more representative of us live…..ie. noisy, punky and loud.  Possibly not one of our better ideas on reflection.

Its quite a bit different from the other tracks on the album (I think)…for starters it’s only 2:40 long. Listening to the lyrics now is quite funny…. There is a line “When I am an old grey man will life still get to me?”…..Err, yes.

We weren’t very happy with the production as it wasn’t punchy enough.  A review I read a while ago described us as “lightweight rowdies”….seems fair now but we were a bit pissed off when we read it.  I’d still like to do it properly as it should have sounded.

Q. - Was there any promotional tour after the release of this compilation? Did you get support from the media back then? Radio, magazines, fanzines?

Wayne - Nothing. Again, lack of organisation and ambition……beer might have had something to do with that too.  We didn’t really know what to do with the material. Ebony had promised a media blitz for Metallic Storm but I didn’t even see a review in Sounds which was the NWoBHM media back then.  Definitely felt a bit let down by Ebony but 1982 was a completely different planet to 2019 in terms of media outlets.

Q. - Did you try to find a record deal after these release?

Wayne - Hmmmm…youth, disorganisation, all had 40hrs/week jobs.  In fact around April 1983 we ripped up most of the songs and started again in an effort to make them more melodic (still noisy, fast and loud).  That took us out for many months but we did end up with some good songs.  We just left it a bit late and within 5 months Scimitar had gone.

Q. - Why did Scimitar split up in 1986? What happened that lead to the break?

Wayne - The Ebony line up split up in 1983. We had some nice gigs booked up and by then we were pretty tight with some good catchy punky metal songs.  We recorded three on an 8 track but it was pretty disastrous.  Sound was rubbish and we didn’t know what the hell we were doing. Within months of recording at Ebony, 3 of us were married and had kids.  Stubs was probably regretting sticking with the band instead of going to University (he was the clever band member).  I think John called it a day in September 1983 which was a shame really but once again disorganisation played a big part in it with not one of us really being massively driven.  We were that disorganised that after me and my pregnant wife had put posters all around Cardiff announcing we were playing at Bogies, we forgot to tell the venue Scimitar had split up.  I had a very angry call on the night saying “Where are you?  Bogies is full and you’re meant to be on in an hour!”  Felt bad about that for the last 36 years but I am getting over it…slowly 😉

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

Wayne - Me Stu and Trev were in a few bands together up to around 1986ish.  John by then was concentrating on his specialist building business which became very successful. Trev drifted off (and we haven’t seen him since), but Stubs and I stayed in intermittent contact over the years. After talking about it for eternity we put a cover band together around 2012 with my son on guitar and Gary Stanbury back on vocals. Sadly Gary got a bit disillusioned and left.  But with a few line up changes that cover band lasted for about 5 years and was quite popular in our corner of the UK.

Q. - What do you feel about the interest in Scimitar after all these years?

Wayne - Surprised!  Shocked….we were just a small unknown bunch of louts making a noise. I guess if it wasn’t for Metallic Storm we would be totally invisible in 2019. I think it’s more of a general interest in the whole NWoBHM scene.  It’s a shame Planet Rock doesn’t have a show dedicated to playing just the obscure independent tracks.

Q. - Have you ever thought about doing a compilation on cd with all the demos recorded by Scimitar in the early days?

Wayne - We have been asked but not being able to find the original recordings and the fact that we all agree they were a bit shit kinda killed the idea.  We couldn’t re-record them …not without Trev signing so that’s off the menu too.  We can’t even trace the second track from Ebony (Scimitar).  None of us has a copy so I guess that is lost forever…which is a bit shit.

Q. - What plans do you have for Scimitar future? Are you planning a comeback or new recordings?

Wayne - Stubsy and I have been working with John again for a few months just for fun.  We did some of the old songs but have also written some new stuff which we are in the process of recording.  Sadly no Trev so we’ll sort out the vox between us.  There are some of the old songs that I would love to revamp but I think something would be lost in the process.  The riffs, lyrics and overall sound was specific to that time and our age (ie kids).  Change anything and it just won’t really be NWoBHM…might be good though…I have heard a lot of the old bands banging out new stuff and it sounds great but not quite authentic NWoBHM. So, I don’t think you’ll be hearing anything released as “Scimitar”.  But, as soon as we finish recording (which might include a couple of oldies) we have a special mental note saying “Send To Paulo”  😉

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?

Wayne - NWoBHM was brilliant. Going to gigs was like being in a football hooligan firm. At the start bands like Maiden, Saxon, Leppard were thought of as “us”…it was like seeing your mates becoming successful. They were all just working class lads, like us. Quite quickly the “Glam” thing started to appear and it seemed to me that image became more important than the music…music started to become a bit “bubble gum” and I wasn’t too keen on all that.

Q. - Are you still a heavy metal fan these days?

Wayne - I am not the music fascist I used to be “If aint rock, it sux c**k” attitude has gone.  I still love the old metal and a lot of the new stuff of course.  Its just that much of the new metal sounds the same to me…I can’t even discern between bands.  But that might be because I am now 57 years old and that stuff is not aimed at me.  I would have been mortified if, back in 1983, someone 57 years old said they liked Scimitar 😊

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

Wayne - When John, Stu and I got back together, for several weeks before we picked up the instruments, we met in the pub and chatted for hours about the old days and each of us had stories the others had forgotten all about.  Before we started playing together it was important to see if the “old bond” was still there. It was / is.

Nearly 40 years on we can’t have the same spark and dreams of being rock stars that NWoBHM gave us as kids but the memories can just take you back in time and make you feel young just for a moment

Thanks for getting in touch Paulo.  Its been a blast reminiscing.

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

Pippa Lang

Pippa Lang was a music journalist for thirty years and had such a great work on countless magazines, including Mojo, Melody Maker and, in particular, Metal Hammer, where she was Reviews Editor from late 80s to mid-90s. Played the bass in the punk band 'Disturbed UK' in the 90's. We had a chat about the early days of the NWOBHM, the magazines and Disturbed UK.

Q. - Hello Pippa, how did your interest in hard rock and heavy metal music start?

Pippa - Well just to give you a bit of social background, I was a 70s teenager and, at that time, Britain was still rebuilding itself after World War II, so there was a lot of unrest, dissatisfied youth, feelings of alienation from our ‘War Generation’ parents and we needed an outlet. Luckily, there was this band from Birmingham called Black Sabbath… Metal was like a tool of survival, empathy, expression, catharsis. Still is, I guess, although it’s changed, evolved so much since then.

Q. - What memories do you keep from the Soundhouse in the late 70's? Do you think it was a mythical place?

Pippa - Ah! I don’t know about mythical…but I do remember some great nights with DJ Neal Kaye providing us with tracks from this exciting new NWOBHM ‘movement’. I still have my original copy of Iron Maiden’s Soundhouse Tapes.

Q. - How would you describe the enthusiasm of the fans? Do you remember the effort and dedication on the cardboard guitars contest?

Pippa - Oh yes – there was a particular guy called Rob Loonhouse who was really dedicated at air guitar, in fact I think was pioneer - he became a bit of a legend!

Q. - Do you know what ever happened to Rob Loonhouse?

Pippa - Ah I see you’re ahead of me! No…but I could probably find out…..

Q. - And what about the "Friday Rock Show"? Was, somehow, Tommy Vance an influence on you?

Pippa - I listened to Tommy’s show all the time. For sure he was an influence – a place on the airwaves that we could call home. Met him a coupla times, such a nice guy, very down to earth.

Q. - Did you try to play in some bands back then? Tell us a bit about it please.

Pippa - I nearly played bass when I was about 17 – I say ‘nearly’ because there was a missing bassist at a local gig, so I was all ready to wing it (after a five-minute crash course!), when he suddenly turned up! I learnt classical piano from age five till 16, stopped because I thought it was uncool and didn’t pick it up again until much later. After playing bass in hardcore punk band Disturbed UK in the 90s, I started a more melodic rock band called Red-Eyed Suburbanites (piano, vocals, songwriting). Still play and recently picked up bass again.

Q. - When did you start working at the Sounds magazine? How did that happen?

Pippa - 1980 – and I only really compiled the gig guide for Sounds (and Record Mirror), although I did write for Record Mirror. That happened because I was receptionist/advertising assistant at Smash Hits(!) magazine in Carnaby Street in 1979. I was the only hippie/metaller there amongst all these sharp-suited two-toners. I was this scruffy, long-haired chick of 20 who thought a crumpled second-hand velvet jacket and jeans was a smart look! Eugene Manzi, who worked for London Records, used to come in a lot and we’d chat, and he told me about the gig-guide job going at Spotlight Publications in Covent Garden (Sounds & RM’s publishers). Working there really set the ball rolling. Sounds of course came up with the ‘NWOBHM’ label in the first place, Garry ‘Oi!’ Bushell definitely gave metal a leg up.

Q. - And what do you think about all the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement, and the repercussion it had around the world?

Pippa - Well, really it was the commercialising of Metal – but at the same time a necessary evil in order to spread the word globally. It was a crazy time in the UK – both the punk movement and NWOBHM were so vivid – I remember looking down from Smash Hits’ offices above the shops in Carnaby Street and watching the colourful people traffic go by: the dichotomy between the bright coxcombs and mohicans of the punks and the wild uncut hair, black leather jackets and jeans of the metalheads. I was right in the middle of it all. But there was hardly any animosity between the two (contrary to what the media claimed) because BOTH punk and metal were creating an essential wall of expression for dissatisfied youth to throw themselves into, what with Maggie Thatcher’s Conservatives encouraging people to be selfish, buy a house, put yourself in debt for 25 years (I know, I did it, terrible idea). Then when Maiden first went to America, they faced the evangelical mentality of Ronald Reagan’s neo- conservative Republicans, although the ‘clean-up America’ campaign was just as rife with the Democrats. Bear in mind Senator Al Gore’s wife, Tipper Gore, founded the Parents’ Music Resource Center (sic) (PMRC) in 1985 (‘burn all metal albums!’) and you can see what Maiden – and metal – were facing. But, hey, even thirty years of demonization couldn’t keep metal down.

Q. - Having been a closer friends to Iron Maiden in their beginnings, did you think they would reach as high as they did?

Pippa - I first met Maiden at their groundbreaking gig supporting Judas Priest at The Rainbow in 1980…. In particular, I got to know Dave Murray very well. I remember distinctly traveling with them on their first headline UK tour playing places like Oxford Apollo, Bournemouth (can’t remember the other gigs), middle-weight gigs…but, even then, bursting out of the backstage door with them was exhilarating, such a rush of adoring fans! But still Dave, for one, was still living in a small house with his parents in Clapton, lovely people (both gone, sadly) – so small, Mrs Murray had to do the ironing in the hallway. So this tour, then, was the start of a different life, for ALL of Maiden, and was an indication of what they were about to achieve, that big step from middle to heavy weight – and then they were gone and, pretty soon, would be surrounded by the industry machine, I remember that sense of waving goodbye. That wasn’t the case, of course, because Maiden became very present, visible from then onwards for EVERYONE. I do still get to say ‘hi’ every few years when they come back and tour the UK. They always have these mad aftershow/album release parties! Well, not quite so mad these days – we’re all getting a bit long in the tooth…

Q. - Was there any other bands, besides Iron Maiden, that impressed you at the beginning of the N.W.O.B.H.M.?

Pippa - Definitely Samson – and not just because Bruce started with them. Paul was such a quality guitarist, I was so sad when he died, and then Chris Aylmer followed him, although I think Pete Jupp’s still around. (Nicky ‘Nippy’ Moore isn’t too well these days either…) I knew Paul very well and, although I don’t remember, I used to hang around with Bruce too. (A friend recently told me because my own memory is very bad – we must’ve spent some good times together I guess!). Sledgehammer was another excellent band, and Wildfire, comprising musicians who moved on to many other bands but, particularly, Weapon UK and (the new) Sweet, both of whom are still gigging, lovely guys. Wildfire’s vocalist was Paul Mario Day, of course, who sang for Maiden in 1975/76 and then More. He’s also still gigging. It’s so cool that most of the NWOBHM guys are still around.

Q. - Around 1988 you started to work for Metal Hammer as a freelancer, how would you resume so many years of work with them?

Pippa - It was a very privileged time, being so involved with Metal Hammer then, and I mean that in terms of access to the plethora of fantastic metal around that time, not just the perks of the job (which, as Reviews Ed, were pretty cool though haha!). The early 90s was that groundbreaking era when Nirvana and grunge blurred the edges of metal because, of course, prior to this, bands could pretty easily be regarded as either metal or rock (with ‘hard rock’ in the middle I guess). When Nirvana came along, suddenly sub-categories of metal really opened up. I remember when Kurt died: we’d just put the latest issue ‘to bed’ when I received a phone call telling us he’d gone. We worked through the night and out the other side to change the issue and try and do justice to his life and death in a very short space of time. I think one of the highlights of working at the Hammer was interviewing Nirvana just before Nevermind came out. Many great stories and anecdotes from those days, most of which I remember lol.

Q. - During the 90's you played the bass in the punk band Disturbed UK, for how long did you play in the band? Did you have some fun touring with Disturbed?

Pippa - Ah, that’s nice you know that! We were together for 10 years – we were only a small band but supported Sham 69 and the UK Subs a couple of times, and Kerrang’s Morat put us on his playlist, Garry Bushell liked us and we had a good review in Melody Maker’s demo page. It was a great feeling being up onstage thundering out the bass riffs and, being a girl, it was pretty empowering. I had more girl fans than boys – that made me proud.

Q. - Did you feel the 90's were hard times for heavy metal bands?

Pippa - If you mean that, because of grunge, metal bands had problems with identity, perhaps yes… Plus I think the whole Britpop thing put metal in the shade in the UK a bit, made fun of metal. And then of course The Darkness turned up and to my mind that prompted some of the older bands to either reform or, like Uriah Heep, reinforce themselves to show people what REAL metal is about…

Q. - Are you retired from the rock business nowadays? Do you miss it?

Pippa - I don’t miss the music industry at all. However, there is an amazing rock/metal community outside and on the periphery of the industry that thrives despite it. So I love going to pub gigs and most of these comprise members of the NWOBHM who are still gigging in this lively environment that, as long as they stop closing pubs in England, will never die. I do occasionally hang out with old industry/journalist friends at the legendary Crobar in London, plus on the rare occasions I can score a pass, I’ll bump into a few people from the old days. I’m going to Hellfest this year, just one day to see Kiss, Whitesnake, etc., can’t wait.

Q. - You are a PhD Student (Music Autoethnography) in the Kingston University, what can you say about this new experience?

Pippa - It’s insane that despite all attempts to escape metal (lol), I end up being rerouted back to this place that I cannot deny is Home. It was mostly the business itself I was trying to get away from I guess, but I really didn’t get on with black and death metal, my heavy tastes are more industrial or hardcore or dub-metal, not sludge or growling. So, latest attempt to escape was to go to Uni at 50, and suddenly found myself writing about music journalism and problem music subcultures (hip-hop and metal)….revisiting the past. When I finished my Music Masters, I started speaking at metal conferences – as Metal has become a respected academic discipline! I’ve been invited to speak at several I think mostly because of my metal journalism background – I’m like a relic, a source of curiosity, moving from metal journalism to academia. Most recently, I spoke at the first World Metal Congress in London, organised by the amazing Alexander Milas and metal academic Niall Thomas, very exciting. In June I’m going to France and speaking at one of the many conferences run by ISMMS (The nternational Society for Metal Music Studies, started by Niall), called Locating Metal, right before Hellfest. Point is the conferences led to the PhD, thanks to a metal professor called Karl Spracklen, who suggested it. An autoethnography is like an autobiography but in ultural context, so this is about my life in metal, all the different roles I’ve had (PR, roadie, promoter, manager too) but, in context, how metal basically saved mine and others’ lives, which I mentioned before. My life is like an example of what metal meant/means to young people (and adults of course), both the positives and negatives; I have to be objective. It’s brought up a lot of feminist issues, and I’ve realised how different metal (music and subculture) is these days, women are much more empowered, which is both good and bad because it can create too much of a division between men and women – but, and this is an important fact I’ve learnt recently - true feminism is about balance, not division. As both a tomboy and a woman, I’m kind of in the middle – all I’ve ever experienced is support within metal, but I know there are problems that women these days won’t tolerate (which we kinda did in the 70s, we were different people with no support networks) so, yes, I do need to be objective. Ah! There I go, ranting academically, sorry...

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

Pippa - I love it – it’s solid proof that metal is one of the most established popular music genres in the world and isn’t going anywhere! It’s becoming much more accepted globally. Whilst young metal bands are forging new territories for the genre, the older bands are still very much valued and respected and, I would say, needed to remind people of where metal originated, as both a form of music and a subculture. The Home of Metal exhibition in Birmingham this year is celebrating Sabbath’s 50 th anniversary and, by default, metal’s 50 years – and this in itself speaks volumes. I’m hoping to speak at the Home of Metal conference in September…cross fingers. Let’s not forget those other legendary Brummies, Judas Priest, played a major part in metal’s origins. I mean, let’s not forget Rob Halford was responsible for the leather jackets and studs!

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

Pippa - I think I’ve waffled enough, don’t you?! Just that the world has changed and so have attitudes and these are reflected in the world of metal. There are lessons to be learned both from the past and the state of the world today. We have to be better. As an established global community, we have to be an example of tolerance and inclusion. Let’s do it! Be careful out there…

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

Tony Forsythe (L.A., Overdrive, Weapon UK)

Tony Forsythe was the bass player in the bands L.A. and Overdrive, from Birmingham, in the late 70's and early 80's. Currently is playing with Weapon UK, after some years in Rogue Male. We had a chat with Tony about his early days in L.A. and Overdrive, and what's going on with Weapon UK.

Q. – Hello Tony! What do you recall from the beginning of the band L.A.? How did you get in touch with the other members?

Tony - L.A. was formed at the tail end of 1978 going into 1979. I was working at the time for a Birmingham paint sprayer manufacturer called Apollo Sprayers, this was to pay via HP (hire purchase) for my very first serious bass guitar, a 1979 Fender Precision. It was a beautiful transparent burgundy red with a lovely slim maple neck. Apollo Sprayers for their sins mainly employed pensioners part time so when a new guy (Dave Wheeler) in my own age group started, we naturally gravitated towards each other mainly during tea and lunch breaks and soon found we had many things in common, playing instruments, a deep rooted passion for rock and heavy metal and a love of live music and watching bands. We both desperately wanted to get away from our dead end jobs and do something that was inspiring, creative and above all fun. I mentioned I knew of another guitarist (Larry Ashurst) who’s band I’d seen and heard many times rehearsing by being cheeky and peeking through the window of the local church hall in Newtown, Birmingham. So it was quickly agreed we’d form a band, we found a place to practise and set about auditioning drummers. We saw numerous drummers and had reached the point of frustration. It had been a very long day with no one making any real impression on us, when in walks this very cool looking, blonde long haired guy (Roger Simms) wearing mirrored shades with clothes to give Dave Lee Roth a run for his money. Even better was he had a massive, Fibes double bass drum kit in a chrome finish that matched his shades and boy could he play and that was the birth of L.A.

Q. - Who were your principal influences at that time?

Tony - Thin Lizzy, “Live & Dangerous” was the common thread between us all, the songwriting, story telling and twin harmony guitar sound and of course the very cool image of the band. Phil Lynott was for me at his peak, a brilliant song writer full of bravado and rock star swagger, all the girls loved him and what was there not to like as a role model for a young up and coming black bass player. As a band we listened to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Deep Purple, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Triumph, Budgie, Van Halen and many more, too numerous to mention here.

Q. - When did you start playing gigs and what venues did you play?

Tony - Our very first gig was an open air event in the summer of 1979 at Sandwell Park, we had a good sized crowd as the event was quite well attended, 1500 people approximately and all eyes were on us especially as we were the only band playing, it was very enjoyable but nerve racking experience which lived up to and surpassed our expectations. From there we gained regular gigs at popular venues such as Bogarts, The Railway, Romeo & Juliette’s, The Golden Eagle, Mr Bills, JB’s in Dudley & The Barrel Organ.

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

Tony - We didn’t believe in playing covers, and as a young band felt our songs stood, if not better, head and shoulders with our peers. We knew we had lots of work to do, to become a major head lining band but that didn’t deter us. We rehearsed at least three times a week because we were very driven, determined and hungry for some recognition. Early song titles and crowd favourites were, “See You In Hell, Wrong Side of The Law, Victims, You’ve Got Me, Survival & Little Jimmy”.

Q. - A 4 song demo tape were recorded in 1979 (You've Got Me, See You In Hell, Little Jimmy, Victims). What do you recall from these recording season?

Tony - We had a great time recording these tracks at Zella Studios in Edgbaston Birmingham. The Studio itself was situated in a posh leafy residential area in what if I remember correctly was an old church and not really the kind of area you would expect young long haired noisy rock n’ roll type upstarts to be roaming around. This was our first time as a band in a professional studio environment, we were all very excited and nervous at the same time with very ambitious expectations of recording and mixing four songs in one day. We set up in the live room, which was large in comparison to the cramped control room and were given the very strict instructions of “no drinks” being allowed in there by the owner John, mainly due to the vast array of very expensive looking equipment and quickly calmed ourselves down a little due to the explicit warning, we’d be paying for any damages, if anything was spilt, especially on the mixing desk. It took a while to mic and set up with chest high sound reducing screens placed around the drums and in front of the Marshalls. We had a quick run through for levels but it was so loud the Marshalls had to be turned around to face in to the studio walls. After some time fine tuning and adjusting, John had the band sounding great and we were ready to rock. Unlike the studio’s of today where you have hundreds of sounds and triggers available at the end of your finger tips, back then you had to totally rely on the experience of the engineer and the quality of your equipment. We felt a little what pressured as we’d spent more time than expected getting a sound. Because we were well rehearsed we made up some of the time but had to book more time to do the mixes. We took away cassettes of the rough mix and ordered a acetate disc of “You’ve Got Me” which we then took with great excitement to Bogarts the very same day we picked it up , we so desperately wanted to hear and see people’s reactions. It was pure magic to say the least seeing the Bogarts crowd rocking to our brand spanking new recording before actually informing them via the DJ it was our band L.A. This was met with a loud and raucous approval with quite a few saying it sounded like “Thin Lizzy”, which we took as a very positive compliment. For those not familiar with the word acetate disc, this is a record made and cut in to aluminium and used as a master for vinyl pressings.

Q. - Did you sell the demo at shows, send it to fanzines? What feedback did you receive from this demo?

Tony - We never actually got around to selling demo’s at shows or sending our songs to publications or any fanzines. We very fortunate early in to the bands existence to get involved with the late great Chas Chandler, former manager of “Jimi Hendrix”, producer of the band “Slade” and Bassist for “The Animals”. This came about by sending our demo tape to the booking agent for the world famous “Marquee Club” which gained some very positive feedback and managed to secure us a support slot opening for the “Tygers of Pan Tang”. Unknown to us at the gig was Chas Chandler who I believed came to see the headliners. After we’d finished playing I was approached by Chas who liked and enjoyed our set so much, he gave me his business card with a personal invite to come to his studio in Portland Place to record and possibly release an album. So our very first big adventure outside of Birmingham paid off dividends and delivered some very exciting news for the band, we had somehow managed to by pass the route normally taken by most bands of selling recordings, publishing a fanzine and having to build up a strong and healthy following to gain the attentions of record labels. So if any one out there has a L.A. Demo in their possession I can safely say it’s most definitely a rarity.

Q. - Did you try to find a record deal at that time?

Tony - As mentioned in the previous question, a record deal with one of the industries most highly respected managers and record producers was being talked about. I believe in hind sight Chas Chandler was from my perspective looking to have a similar run of success as he’d experienced with Hendrix and I was possibly the vehicle to be mentored and developed. The band, I will never forget, arrived at Chas Chandler’s studio the morning it was announced John Lennon had been shot and killed outside his apartment in NewYork, it was a complete shock as we set out in the early hours from Birmingham to drive to London. The mood was not the one we had all excitedly anticipated in the weeks building up to our all important visit to the studio in London. Everyone’s, including Chas Chandler’s spirits was completely down and extremely sombre, consequently the session was a up hill struggle and everything that could possibly go wrong did so, my inexperience showed and sadly got the better of me and I was unable to reach the high notes in the songs I’d written and performed at many gigs, a very dark cloud hung in the air that none of us could shake off “John Lennon” had always been around and was part of the fabric of our lives and his cruel and senseless killing by a fan shook everyone to the core that fateful day.

Q. - Why did you change the band's name to Overdrive? Was it at this time that John "Wardi" Ward joined the band?

Tony - After what I thought was our disaster of a visit to the studio in London, Chas Chandler still had strong faith and belief that the band could deliver something special and we were, to my complete surprise invited back. By that time I’d decided I wasn’t going to front the band anymore or do lead vocals, I didn’t want to go through that pressure of feeling I’d let everyone down if things didn’t work out vocally again and I was still licking my wounds so to speak. After a lunch time drink at Bogarts on a Saturday, I’d sometimes hang out at the Birmingham Odeon where all the major bands played while touring the U.K. This is where I first met John “Wardi” Ward, one Saturday afternoon, we were both hanging around inside the Odeon watching roadies setting up for that evenings show and waiting for the band to sound check so we could get passes. I let slip I played in a band looking for a vocalist and “Wardi” followed me around the rest of that day singing at every opportunity he could, until eventually I said, he could have a blast with the band. The name changed happened almost around the same time. L.A. was just too plain and didn’t really reflect the energy or connect to the music of the band and in comparison to our peers it was far from memorable or catchy. With “Wardi” now in the band our musical direction started to shift more towards a much heavier sound, so it seemed a logical step to take, a new front man and a new name.

Q. - Soon after, John Ward is replaced by Tony Mills, how did that happen?

Tony - The band, now named “Overdrive”, made another visit to Chas Chandler’s studio in London with our new vocalist “Wardi” in tow. The idea was for Chas to hear our new found direction and find a possible single from our material for release. The session itself went much better than our last visit, with us playing more or less our full live set in the biggest studio live room we’d ever seen in our entire young lives, so big, it could easily accommodate a full orchestra with room to spare and probably did, as BBC Broadcasting House was only a stones throw away. The control room was itself situated up a flight of wooden stairs above the live room and had been graced by many great artists, “Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Deep Purple, The Kinks, David Bowie and of course Slade” to name but a few. So to say it was a surreal experience would be a understatement, a bunch of young unknown brummie lads recording in a place steeped in so much musical history. Chas Chandler wanted time to go through and listen to our session and promised to call the following week, which he duly did. He came back with the conclusion we lacked a hit single and provided us with a song called “Sleeping Visions” to work in to our own style, he also set up a showcase gig for us at a venue called “The Brecknock” in London as he had some business partners who he wanted to see the band. “Wardi” was still learning his trade as we all were at the time. That said, Chas Chandler wasn’t completely convinced “Wardi” was the right man and this was another reason for arranging the showcase gig, sadly the gig didn’t pan out in “Wardi’s” favour and on our return back to Birmingham we held auditions and quickly found a very young Tony Mills who suitably blew us away with his four octave vocal range.

Q. - Two demo tapes were recorded with Overdrive, do you recall the songs from these tapes?

Tony - Not every song, as sadly I don’t have a copy of any of the sessions we did with Tony Mills. I can say for certain the would be single Chas Chandler provided us with, which was called “Sleeping Visions”. However that said, I do still have a couple of old set lists from that time, one for “Wardi” and one for Tony Mills and the likelihood will be anything that was duplicated would have most certainly been recorded in these demo sessions with the exception of “Survival” which was originally performed by “Wardi”.

“Wardi Set”

1. Staircase

2. Crazy Bikers

3. And I’ll be Fighting

4. Can’t get close to you

5. Fox Hunt

6. Lady Obsolete

7. Shock Treatment

8. Little Jimmy

9. Victims

10. See you in hell

11. Wrong side of the law

12. Can’t get away with murder

13. Bitch

14. Fighting.

“Tony Mills Set”

1. Screaming Cars

2. Survival

3. Can’t get away with murder

4. Lady obsolete

5. Shoot to kill

6. No sense of freedom

7. Storm child

8. Grey skies

9. Phasing time

10. Some like it hot

11. Let it Rock

12. Wrong side of the law

13. Fighting

14. Toys of War

Q. - Did you tour supporting those demo tapes?

Tony - The demo tapes were primarily recorded with the intention of securing a record deal at the invite of Chas Chandler to his studio and not really for the purpose of being on sale. Had we managed to secure a support slot with Saxon at the time then it may have been a different story, there were talks of this up until the point we found out we had to buy on to the tour.

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

Tony - Well great talent, being in the right place at the right time and luck all has its role to play. For us I think, being so young and naive was one factor as you believe you have all the answers and look at things from a very blinkered point of view. We were unable to adapt in unexpected situations and still seize opportunity with both hands when it presented itself, we took things very much for granted as it all happened so quickly and failed to realise at the time opportunity can be sometimes like waiting for a bus, nothing for ages so you take a gamble start walking and then two drive straight past you and that’s your opportunity gone. Passion always ran high within in the band so being professional and easy to work with was another factor, band arguments in a very expensive studio at a top producers time and expense is never a good idea and sadly we were guilty of that. It’s also difficult to keep a bunch of talented musicians together who are young, very impatient and hungry for success.

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

Tony - Yes, we all managed to keep in touch one way or another over the years probably more so now with social media around and are still good friends after all these years.

Q. - Did you ever thought about an Overdrive reunion? Or do you do it sometimes?

Tony - We had a great private reunion back in July 2011 at “Madhouse Studio” Birmingham. This was purely just for fun and was wonderfully organised by former “Overdrive” guitarist Nik Lloyd. Tony Mills, Larry Ashurst, Roger Simms, Nik Lloyd and myself were present and we certainly had a fantastic day blasting out some of the old songs, shared a few pints and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company just like the old days. Dave Wheeler, “Wardi” and Harry Chichon réside outside the U.K. so it wasn’t possible to invite them at the time but hoping to fix that at some point.

Q. - Have you ever think about doing a compilation with all the recordings made by L.A. and Overdrive?

Tony - As we speak there is a compilation album coming out early this year, which will include some of our demo’s a long with other bands around at the time. This is being put together by George Advanitakis of Obscure Nwobhm Releases (ONR) and we’re all very much looking forward to this.

Q. - Rogue Male comes around 2013, have you done any recordings with them? Do you still play with Rogue Male nowadays?

Tony - Unfortunately no recording with Rogue Male was completed in the time I was with the band, due to management issues I no longer have any involvement with the band but Jim Lyttle and John Binne are great lads and I wish them all the very best as always.

Q. - How did you get into Weapon UK?

Tony - I’ve crossed paths with Danny Hynes since the 80’s we played in bands that did the same circuit and met Jeff Summers while playing for Rogue Male who I immediately hit it off with, he’s genuinely one of the nicest guys in the business. I was at a bit of a loose end after Rogue Male and saw they were having some problems and simply offered to help them out, I got a call a good while later informing me they had some dates in Sweden and could I help out, I duly did and it went extremely well and as they say the rest is history.

Q. - Are you recording a new album with Weapon UK? What can you tell us about the new album?

Tony - Yes, we’ve actually finished recording the new album and it’s being mixed and mastered as we speak. Jeff Summers is a superb song writer and we have some beautifully crafted songs, which I can’t wait for everyone to hear. I won’t go into all the full details here but I will say the band hasn’t rested on its laurels and has definitely worked hard to bring something new to the table and not rely on doing a carbon of the last critically acclaimed album “Rising From The Ashes”. There’s something for all metal fans. Darren Lee delivers plenty of thunderous power and buckets of energy on the drums. Jeff Summers, riff master general played literally until his fingers bled on the faster tracks, Danny Hynes is truly spell binding with his sublime vocal delivery of some very classy melodies, I’m more than pleased with the bass tracks I’ve laid down on the album and look forward to getting some feedback. I believe we have a album we can all be very proud of. Weapon U.K. diehards will enjoy its freshness while hearing our traditional musical heritage and influences the band is well known for. The albums titled “Ghosts Of War” will be out on “PURE STEEL RECORDS” later this year.

Q. - How do you see the NWOBHM movement after all these years?

Tony - As strong as ever, there’s always in my eyes been a loyal following. More kids seem to be getting in to nwobhm music these days mainly because of popular chart music following the same bland lazy formula, year in, year out, the kids are actively seeking out and discovering for themselves which is absolutely brilliant. I’m seeing numerous youngsters picking up and learning instruments some of whom are amazingly talented for their tender age on YouTube and eventually this will translate in to going to gigs and forming bands of their own. The great bands I grew up with are sadly but surely, slowing disappearing and of course the music industry has changed completely since I started. The NWOBHM still has a very important and relevant role to play in all of this and as long as people want to see and enjoy the music I’ll be there.

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

Tony - Its been a good while since you first presented me with these question so an apology is in order, in my defence I will say I’ve been a extremely busy boy, recording three albums with another to start this year, shot two video’s for other projects I’m involved with, all of which will surface at some point this year and I have festival slots coming up with preparations already beginning, so thank you for asking and many thanks for being so patient...

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