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

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!

Dreamcatcher - Whitechapel 1888 (Video)

Whitechapel 1888, is the new video of the band Dreamcatcher. This music belongs to the album "The Road So Far", released about one year ago and is based on the myth of Jack The Ripper, but in this case not in the streets of London but "À Paris".

At the middle of the video, there is a small reference to "Rue Morgue" and the album "Killers".

Overall a very interesting and well-made video. You can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TDZ5kXAdXM&ab_channel=DreamcatcherFrance

Linda Kelsey-Foster (Dogwatch, Airrace)

 

Linda Kelsey-Foster is a rock keyboardist who in recent years has worked with Airrace and Reuben Archer's Personal Sin, having started her career playing with Heavy Water and Dogwatch. Here's a little interview about the bands she went through.

Q. - Hello Linda, tell us a little bit about your beginnings in rock'n'roll music, who were your main influences, what lead you to be a keyboard player?

Linda - My grandfather was an amazing pianist and accordionist and I loved to hear him play. He played by ear. So, I started studying classical piano at a very young age and completed all my exams. However, when I hit 16, I started listening to pop and rock records – early Zep, Purple, Floyd etc – and when I turned 18, I got the opportunity to start messing around in rock bands and the love of listening and playing rock music escalated from there.

Q. - Before joining "Dogwatch" you were part of "Heavy Water", what memories do you keep from the "Heavy Water" days?

Linda - The singer was a guy called Danny Morgan – who later formed a business partnership with Simon Napier Bell of Nomis Studios in London. Danny had quite a few contacts in those early days and gigs were easy to come by – we toured consistently in and around London.

Q. - Are there any recordings from the "Heavy Water"?

Linda - Sadly not. The band disbanded before we got a record deal.  But I think I have a cassette of a live show somewhere.

Q. - And what about "Dogwatch", how and when did it all start?

Linda - I answered an ad in Melody Maker for a keyboard player. Dogwatch was a kind of early Genesis concept type of band and I loved Genesis– each song had a story and the singer Roy Weard was well known for his many stage outfits and changed almost ever song and was very visual; acting out the sing as well as singing.

Q. - Did you play regularly in the UK back then? Did you share stage with other well-known bands?

Linda - In Dogwatch we had a residency every Sunday at the Ruskin Arms at East Ham – where Iron Maiden used to also play (they had their gear stolen once and we lent them our backline). We also played frequently at the Bridge House in Canning Town where we also recorded our live album – Penfriend – using Ronnie Lane’s mobile unit. We started – as every band did – by playing on a Monday night at the Bridge House and if a band continued to increase their following, you’d eventually get the coveted Saturday night spot. Which we did! The guy who ran that venue – Terry Murphy - wrote a book about the venue and its got some amazing history of some of the name bands he put on there, who then grew and went on to much bigger venues. Its a great read. We supported Nutz at the Round House but mainly we did our own shows – not support slots.

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

Linda – No.

Q. - How did the idea of recording "Penfriends" came up?

Linda - We did a showcase at the Music Machine in Camden and as a result, were offered a record deal by Bridge House Records.

Q. - Are there any other recordings by "Dogwatch" besides the live album? Did you record any demos too?

Linda - No.

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

Linda - Wrong time, wrong place, friction amongst band members – the usual stuff.

Q. - Did you stay in touch with each-others all over the years?

Linda - On the odd occasion.  I still speak to Tony Morley and Roy Weard. I was very friendly with Roger Glynn – who I always thought was such a gifted guitarist – and we all did a bit of a reunion gig at Roy Weard’s book launch in 2015. Sadly, Roger died a few years back of lunch cancer.

Q. - What memories do you keep from those days in Dogwatch?

Linda - Very fond memories. I listen back to some of the material and its pretty complex. We played consistently and had a great following. My best memory was Valentines Day where we play the Ruskin Arms and some of the fans presented me with a Valentines Day card which they had all signed – it was about 6 feet tall!

Q. - What other bands did you play after "Dogwatch"? Tell us a bit about it please.

Linda - I then joined a northern melodic rock band called Presence. The 2 main songwriters and drivers of the band were Mark Parkin and Gavin Lewis. John Trelawney (formerly of Dogwatch) was managing them with his colleague Mike Stockdale. Presence had just won the Radio Hallam rock contest and had got a publishing deal with DJM.  John and Mike had set up a private showcase for them for at Terminal Studios and had invited me down to get my feedback. They had no keyboard player at the time. Presence were picking up some good traction and then got the Gary Glitter support slot for all the Christmas university shows. They decided they needed a keyboard player and asked me to join. The rest is history. We toured in France with Wishbone Ash and again, did a number of other shows across the UK including twice at the Marquee in Wardour Street. But again, band politics got in the way and the band dissolved in the late 80’s.  Such a shame – the material was brilliant.

Q. - How did you end up join Airrace on keyboards? 

Linda - After Presence, I kind of fell out of love with playing. I wanted to buy a house so needed a mortgage and to do that, I needed a career. Stupid really. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I never kept up my playing – didn’t touch a keyboard for several years, and my skills started to wane. Laurie Mansworth used to come and watch Dogwatch and loved watching Roger Glynn play. And through Facebook, he contacted me. He had been successfully managing his sone’s band The Treatment for several years, but Laurie is an immense talent as a songwriter and guitarist, and after having toured the world with More and Airrace, I think he was getting itchy feet and missed playing. He had written some new material and asked me to become involved. We started off doing a project called Ludovic Potts but especially at the time, it was almost impossible to launch a new unknown band on to the circuit – things had become so competitive by then; many venues had closed down and there was no money really to be had. Laurie had always felt that Airrace was unfinished business so he decided to re-launch the band and also got Rocky Newton (ex Schenker/ Lionheart) in on bass to work with his son DHani Mansworth \nd singer Adam Payne. We started rehearsing in earnest I had an incredibly busy job at the time and was flying round the world, rushing home from the airport, driving to band rehearsals at the weekend as well as rehearsing on my own in the evenings at home where possible. I was knackered – but I loved it! The Airrace material stretched me and Laurie was a very tough taskmaster and demanded perfection.

Q. - What memories do you keep from the Untold Stories recording times? 

Linda - All the driving I had to do, to rehearse and record! But it was all incredibly exciting and we had amazing fun at the same time.

Q. - Being you living in Spain, is it difficult for you to stay active with Airrace for rehearsals and shows?  

Linda - Just before Covid, we had decided to disband Airrace – or at least put it on the back burner for a couple of years to enable Laurie to continue with his other commitments and we had our final show booked in London, which was going to a really special show at which Keith Murrell, the previous singer, would also have shared the stage with us. But Covid ruined that and we had cancelled the show twice. So, there are no immediate plans to do anything – but I would never say never! Living in Spain especially with flights and also technology, make it very easy to continue to be a member of a predominantly UK based band. I know many band members who lived elsewhere in Europe and still manage to rehearse, record and tour with their UK band members.

Q. - Are there any plans to record a new album with Airrace?

Linda - No.

Q. - Before recording with Airrace you were part of Reuben Archer' s Personal Sin - Petrolhead, how did that happen?

Linda - I had known Rueben for many years and he had already done one Personal Sin album, using well know musicians to guest on it. Again – as a project – Reuben asked me if I would come down and help with the new album. I joined the band and we did a few shows – again, great fun and I really enjoyed it.

Q. - Do you know if Reuben Archer' s Personal Sin project will continue? 

Linda - Rueben has a blues band that he has pulled together right now, so there are no more plans for Personal Sin at this time.

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

Linda - When I look back at my music career, I’ve had an amazing time – met some wonderful people both fans and fellow musicians – played some brilliant over the years and I miss it like crazy! One of my best friends is Tracey Lamb from Girlschool who also lives in Spain. We are talking about an all girl project band which we will probably call Snow Queen. We hope to pull something together later next year as Tracey is crazy busy right now, playing all the Covid cancelled and rebooked shows across Europe with Girlschool.  So, I have no intention of hanging up my hats just yet!

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

Gary Aubert (Legend)

Gary Aubert was the bass player for Jersey band Legend, they were active during the first half of the 80s, and came back in 2002 recording two more albums, Still Screaming (in 2003) and The Dark Place (in 2013), here's a chat with Gary, about this great band:

Q. - Hello Gary! When did you join Legend? How did it happen? Tell us a little bit about the early days.

Gary - Hi Paulo, I was playing in a covers band (Parasite) with Marco Morosino (Guitarist on Legends 1^st album), Neil Haworth (Bass guitar on the demo tape extras on ‘Anthology’ CD and Rhythm guitar on The Dark Place) and Gavin Bartlett on drums. One night in June 1980, after practice with Parasite, we went down to Hilgrove Hall in Gorey (an old, spooky church building that we continued to use with Legend), to see Neil’s brother Peters band, a 3-piece band known as Doctor Morbius, with Peter Haworth on guitar and vocals, Julian Wakeham on bass and Dave Whitely on drums. My jaw hit the floor, I’d never heard such a professional sounding, awesomely loud band in Jersey before! Within a few weeks, Pete was in touch to see if I’d like to try out for his new band and though extremely nervous, I jumped at the chance. After a few weeks Julian decided to leave the band (he was playing rhythm guitar then) and Marco was offered the job as second guitarist. This band was formed purely to headline a heavy metal concert in November ’80 at The Royal hotel. The name Legend was decided upon sometime in August, with Pete designing our logo of unique text and the cloaked hands wielding a mace.

We gelled very quickly and started writing new songs straight away, all we needed was a vocalist. After trying out several singers, it was when Mike Lezala (a folk singer/guitarist who knew very little of rock music) came to us, that we knew he was so right for the band. A few weeks later in early August an up-and-coming band (Saxon) played in Jersey at Fort Regent for 2 nights, after seeing that gig, I knew exactly that I was in the right band at the right time.

We played our 1^st gig in November ‘80, playing our own songs and the audience loved our music, this was the reason we decided to record our 1st LP in February ’81. Funnily enough, we played ‘747- Strangers in the night’ as an encore but were told our music was much more appreciated. We never played any other cover songs after that.

Q. - Who would you cite as your major influences at that time?

Gary - My main influence, from an early age was The Sweet. I loved their singles in the charts and when I bought the records and played the ‘B’ sides I loved how heavy and hard rocking a band they really were. Gradually I got to know Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Deep Purple and all the other great music of the rock genre.

Q. - How about shows? How was the heavy metal scene in Jersey? Did you play regularly back then? Or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked in the area at that time?

Gary - There really weren’t many opportunities for heavy metal bands in Jersey and as our island is only 45 square miles, you would always be playing to more or less the same audience every time. Because of this, we tried to leave around a 3-month gap between gigs, to allow us time to write more songs and our fans looked forward to these irregular gigs. We always organised our own gigs at hotels or clubs that could also allow under 18’s to attend.

Q. - Did you feel you were, somehow, outsiders of the N.W.O.B.H.M.? Due to the fact you were from Jersey?

Gary - We did feel outside of the movement, though were humbled to regularly see our songs or albums in the independent charts of Kerrang/Sounds etc. and Tommy Vance gave us a couple of plays on the Friday rock show. If only we could have had the opportunity to gig for a couple of weeks in the UK, things may have been quite different. It was a massive shock with the dawn of the internet, to realise our albums had travelled all over the world and fans used to write to us quite regularly. We have a verified photo of a cassette tape that had been recorded and traded by none other than Lars Ulrich!!!!

Q. - However, you were the opening act for Thin Lizzy on their 81 UK tour, tell us a bit about this tour, and how important was it for Legend?

Gary - Playing on the same stage as Thin Lizzy was an absolute honour, this was only our 4th gig and I was only just 18, it all seemed quite unreal. I’m sure we played well as everyone in the audience (2,500) enjoyed us. The only downside was that Lizzy’s road crew had cut the wires to our flash bombs and didn’t let us use the monitors at the front of the stage, so we were hearing a crazy mix of our own amplifiers and the music returning from the back of the hall a second or so later. It was great to meet Phil Lynott after the show, he really was one of the good guys.

Q. - Did you try to find a record deal before editing both albums "Legend" and "Death in the Nursery" by yourselves?

Gary - We never tried for a record deal, we funded our 1st album between the 5 of us and we managed to get enough back to fund some more copies of the 1st album and a little towards us recording Death in the Nursery. It was probably a good thing that we had total control with our band. Obviously, Death in the Nursery was quite different to the 1st album as we had lost Marco to University, and we decided to keep going with just one guitarist, so our music took a slightly different direction, with shorter, snappier songs.

Q. - Why did you leave "Legend" back in 83?

Gary - I left Legend in February ‘83 when I damaged my spine in an accident at work. I was in massive pain for the next 5 months and sadly it’s always been there to some degree ever since. There was a gig lined up for March ’83 as support for Bernie Torme in Jersey. I taught Neil Haworth all the bass parts so Legend could play this gig.

Q. - After the split, did you stay in touch with each other over the years? Were you involved in some other musical projects?

Gary - Sadly, we did lose touch for a while, though we have always remained very close friends. A year or so later I joined another band over here called Ruff Justice. The songs we played were covers and we were very popular over here.

Q. - I think Pete Haworth was the driving force in Legend, it's been almost two years since his passing, do you think Legend will ever play live again someday?

Gary - Yes, Pete was definitely the driving force of the band. He was such a talent, with his song writing, musically and lyrically, and many of his lyrics are still true in this current time. He is greatly missed, and I doubt we will ever play live again without Pete.

Q. - It's been 9 years since the edition of "The Dark Place", were you happy with the release of this album and what it achieved so far?

Gary - We were all extremely happy with The Dark Place. It was recorded over 5 weekends at Gilbert O'Sullivan's studio in Jersey. I know from mine and Pete’s point of view, we probably spent half of our time laughing and I have some really great memories. I know, as we posted all the CD’s that they were being sent all over the world and that it was well received by our loyal fans.

Q. - Any special memories from playing Keep It True back in 2013?

Gary - Keep it True was an amazing experience for us. We flew Jersey to Gatwick, Gatwick to Frankfurt and then drove down to the festival, with our own music blasting out of the van’s cd player for 90 km. The hotel we stayed in was mostly occupied by other bands also playing at the festival and in the first evening we went for a few drinks in the nearest town. The people we met in Germany were so friendly and the bars all seemed happy to play rock music, I’d love to go back sometime. The festival itself is so well organised by Ollie and Tarek and we loved every minute of our hour on stage. The fans there are the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. We were again humbled by the number of fans who queued to meet with us after we had played. It was also amazing to meet up with guys we had spoken with over the internet for the first time.

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

Gary - It was and still is an incredible period of time that I’ll always be proud to have been a part of. There were just so many great bands around at the time, many deserving to have been given record deals, my personal favourites being Trespass and Demon.

Q. - Do you still try to keep the eighties metal spirit alive?

Gary - I’m still 18 years old in my head (even though my body tells me otherwise). I am currently recording with my new band Dark Matter. We play a type of progressive rock/doom which has quite a unique sound, just as Legend were unique sounding. The band consists of 2 other friends I was in contact with in different parts of the UK. Dave Gilbert is the founder of the band and is also the vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboard player, drummer and producer of the band and Alex Perry, an incredible guitar player, who also still performs and records with his original NWOBHM band Mythra. Our new album ‘The Rectory’ should be available to buy from November ’22. I always take time to answer any questions from anyone, anywhere in the world about Legend. It is surprising just how many people still get in contact.

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

Gary - Thank you for the opportunity to recall all the wonderful times I spent with Legend, it really was a great band to be a part of.

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

Burner (Steve Peach, Andy Richards)

 

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!