Recorded live @ the Horn Of Plenty Battle Of The Bands Contest late March
Steve Christiansen on Bass, Lee Burrows Drums BVox, Nick John Vox & Paul ‘Rhino’ Ryan Guitar.

On April 26th 2008 Lyadrive played the Bristish Steel III London. They played a
40 minute set:

White Dress
Another Time Another Place
Warrior
Black Waters Rising
One Of These Days
Lazerwind
Steal Away The Night
We’ve Got The Rock

Photos

Wolfie @ http://www.coronium.co.uk/ kindly sent the
pictures here

Reviews

The following is an extract of the total festival review by
http://rockofages.wordpress.com

“Lyadrive” were next on and were quite simply a revelation. As feet
landed on the monitors onstage, a crowd assembled in front of the stage
and an atmosphere started to build. Did anybody expect them to grasp the
nettle to this extent and play such a blinder? A glimpse at Malc
MacMillan’s essential “NWOBHM Encyclopaedia” will tell you how highly
regarded this band were, and perhaps how unjust it was that their
début album didn’t actually surface until 1996. It’s also possible
that they may share the same tour manager as Halley’s Comet – their last live
appearance being 1999. Importantly though they recognised that the
festival was a celebration of a time in British music and through singer
Nick John’s well placed comments they certainly endeared themselves to
an appreciative audience. He noted Maiden’s worldwide success, Mantis’s
Japanese legacy and their own trip for a gig in Great Yarmouth. They
paid homage to America’s “honorary nwobhm-sters” “Riot” with a storming
version of “Warrior“, nodded once again to fellow early 80s band
Trespass with a blast through their own version of the classic “One Of
These Days“, unleashed their own should-have-been classics like “Steal
Away The Night” and “Lazerwind“, whilst showing that the engine’s till
running by including new track “Black Waters Rising“.

A nice touch was original guitarist Steve Jones travelling thousands
of miles from Alaska to join the band for one song, whilst the bass
players swapped mid-set too ensuring seven of the band’s membership
played some part in the proceedings.

Kudos too must go to Lyadrive for being the only act to have
vinyl product on sale on the day, and new vinyl product at that! Through
German label “High Roller Records“, the band have just released “The
Sands Of Time : Sessions 1980-82“. An archive collection, it features
some of the tracks that were re-recorded for the eventual début release
“Another Time Another Place“, along with a few other rarities including
the tracks that made the much sought after 1984 7″ single that ensures
interest in the band has continued into the new millennium. Extensive
sleeve notes courtesy of Nick John and drummer Lee Burrows make for
interesting reading and once again the band’s pleasure to have simply
been part of the scene comes through. A fine release for any nwobhm
collector but beware though… it’s a very limited edition!

It’s worth noting too that Lyadrive don’t seem content to rest
on their laurels as a CD wrapping up their recordings since the début
album “Post Millenium Blues” also premièred at the festival, details of
which can be found on www.lyadrive.co.uk and on the band’s myspace page.
And just in case anyone thinks I’m biased in any way toward a band I
think are well worth checking out, the post gig discussion on the Planet
Rock forums were the first to mark them down as the band who stole the
show… and far be it from me to disagree!

The following is an extract of the total festival review by

http://www.johntuckeronline.com/

LYADRIVE only managed one single – ‘Anytime’ – back in 1984, but
have been more prolific since getting back together later in the
Nineties. Things get a bit confusing in terms of the line-up, so as
drummer Lee Burrows explains, “There was me at the back, Paul
‘Rhino’ Ryan on guitars, Nick John front and centre, Steve
Christiansen – bass one, Guy Wilson – bass two, Graham Stuart on
guitar and Steve Jones on guest guitar! Basically, we had a dilemma:
Steve was our original bassist (he left the band in ’82), but over
the last five or six years we have forgiven him and he was always a
top bloke! But Guy is the man who recorded the ‘Another Time Another
Place’ CD. Seeing as this was seen initially as a oneoff gig, we
didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t do half a set each. And
along with Nick and I, Steve Jones was ever-present in the ’81 to
’85 line up. He moved to Alaska many moons ago and lost the mojo.
Luckily, he recently found it again and came over in 2007 to record
‘Black Waters Rising’. He fancied doing the gig but obviously
couldn’t make rehearsals, so a compromise was reached: come back to
Blighty for a week, visit family and friends, do a four-minute
number at the Underworld and return to the ice and snow! Simple!”
Lyadrive are a solid band with a diverse range of songs and an
imposing frontman, although given the amount of material they’ve
amassed, covers of Riot’s ‘Warrior’ and Trespass’s ‘One Of These
Days’ occupied set time which I would rather have spent listening to
more of the band’s own compositions. Still, they made great use of
their forty minutes, and I for one am looking forwards to hearing
more from them.

The following is an extract of the total festival review by
http://www.fromburntonow.it/

Before Lyadrive performance I go back to the merchandise stands
to buy some of the stuff, like the LP version of “Another Time,
Another Place” and the new release from Lyadrive and, of course, the
festival t-shirt, than we come back under the stage to wait for the
band to come. Lyadrive have recently re-united after twenty years
from thei split-up and released a new album called “Post Millennium
Blues” and some old songs collected togheter in a limited LP called
“The Sands of Time: sessions 1980-82”. When I see those bands
reuniting after many years some doubts always rise up to my mind
thinking about how the performance would be, but when their
performance starts, all those worries disappear! We are in front of
a super-band! They start with “Whitedress” followed by their cult
song “Another time, another place”. Nick John has lot of energy on
the stage, he shakes the microphone like David Coverdale usually
does (although he has a bit more space to do that!!). At the end of
the song he thanks the audience for being here and introduces the
next song this way: “Now we are going to execute a song from an
American band that can be considered ad honorem as a band memeber of
the NWOBHM movement”! The band is called Riot, and the song is
“Warrior”, the audience is enthusiastic! After “Black Waters”, is
time for another cover song, this time of an English band called
Trespass: this song is considered one of the best of the whole
NWOBHM movement, and is called “One of these Days”. Lyadrive already
covered that song and put it in their “Another time, another place”
release (produced by Vinyl Tap in 1997, including all songs that
have never been published). Immediately after the band starts with
their two final songs. The first one is “Lazerwind” (taken from
their 1998 release “Legends of Progressive”), great songs that shows
how the band is skilled and can play both HR and HM songs, and even
some progressive ones. Their music skills (like many other English
bands) cannot be brought into question, their solos are well played
and they rimain as pressed in your mind! The last track is “Steel
away the night”. As I said in other place or discussion, this song
reminds me “Fear of the Dark” from Iron Maiden (although it has been
written ten years before) not for the music but in the song
structure, and tempo changings (fast beginning and guitar
accelerations). Even the intro and John’s voice that starts slowly
and than rises up to reach high levels (like “Fear…” actually
does)! You have to listen to it, than you’ll make me know what you
think about. The performance is over, but the audience is still
enthusiastic for what they have been listening to (it couldn’t have
been different, the performance has been superb), even people who
didn’t know anything about the band. At this point, I start thinking
Lyadrive did the performance of the festival! I give you the
complete line-up: Nick John voice, Gary Wilson bass guitar, Keith
Thompson guitar, Graham Suart guitar, Steve Jones guitar, Lee
Burrows drums, Paul Ryan guitar, Steve Christiansen bass guitar.

24 October 2008 – British
Steel III reviews and photos added.

25 April 2008 – You wait years for a Lyadrive release and then two come
all at once!Announcing “Post Millennium Blues”1. Someone Else
2. Black Waters Rising
3. Rock And Roll Hootchie Koo
4. Vililante
5. Warrior
6. Drop The Bomb
7. Cold Sweat
8. Colours
Bonus Tracks
9. Sign Of The Hunted (Live)
10. Madame Guillotine (Live)The band are now on

Facebook. You can purchase this album via the band at the gig or by
contacting them via the website or

Facebook or myspace30 March 2008 – Lyadrive have a new release!The Sands Of Time is a limited edition 500 copy LP. It can be purchased
from High
Roller Records (http://www.hho-records.de/high_roller/releases/lyadrive.html)LYADRIVE – The Sands Of Time HRR 025, limited to 500 copies, 4 page
insert

Nick John – Vocals & Keyboards
Steve Jones – Guitars
Dennis O’leary – Bass
Lee Burrows – Drums

- Another Time, Another Place
- We’ve Got The Rock (You’re Gonna Roll)
- Anytime – White Dress
- Rock Tonight
- Write Me A Letter

- Steal Away The Night
- Young Lover
- Brave Young Man
- Spinning The Wheel
- Fortunes Of War

21 Jan 2008 – New UK GIG! British Steel Festival III – Camden
Underworld, London,
Saturday,
26th April – Doors 4:30 – £12.50 adv. The current lineup
is Witchfynde, PRAYING MANTIS, Elixir, Lyadrive, Redline. Tickets can be
bought from Ticketweb
Lyadrive tracks can now be previewed at www.reverbnation.com/lyadrivenwobhm

Since I last wrote an update on the site things have been slowly developing and
Lee Burrows has kindly written an update.

2005

Nov 2005 – We completed transfer of
‘worthwhile’ Lyadrive demos & live Tracks to CD’s for assessment by Olli Klemm @
High Vaultage in Germany

2006

Original Guitarist Steve Jones came home
from Alaska for a couple of weeks, an ideal opportunity for a LYADRIVE reunion!.
So turned out to be a recording session! 

LIKE A PHEONIX FROM THE FLAME,
LYADRIVE RETURN!! 

The Line up, from LYADRIVE MK1

NICK JOHN – VOX


LEE BURROWS – DRUMS


STEVE CHRISTIANSEN – BASS


STEVE JONES – ‘KEYBOARD TEXTURE’

& From LYADRIVE MK6

GRAHAM ‘STUART’ BELLMAINE – GUITAR/B VOX

Recorded @ FFG Studio Bredon Gloucestershire

Tuesday 7th March 2006

Warrior sent out to
various friends for private use, however our 2 DJ friends
wanted to share it
with some ‘other’
friends. It has been getting healthy airplay ever since.

Lyadrive join the new age & open up a myspace site



www.myspace.com/lyadrivenwobhm

There is a trickle of fans & interest
during the summer then we make contact with Rys Miller in the USA via the
myspace site. (Oct 06) She’d been over helping out with the 1^st
BRITISH STEEL FESTIVAL & was involved heavily with ELIXIR. She had got them a
slot on a NEW YORK show called TRUE METAL AMERICA & was looking for other bands
to do the same. She loved our version of ‘One Of  These Days’. The gig didn’t
come off for us, due mainly to the expense, however it did get Us in contact
with Phil Denton (ELIXIR & BSF Organiser)

2007

Nick’s on a writing course & has started
a project to make use of all that useless rock n roll trivia & experience he
has.  

Lee gets married this year & has sent
out invites to various parts of the globe. Steve Jones & his new girlfriend say
yes from Alaska ……. The cogs start whiring in that mind of Nick John!

APRIL 2007  – Word is sent out that to
make the most of Steve’s return, we’d better do some more recording!

JUNE 2007 – Nick, Rhino, Steve C &
myself manage 2 rehearsals of 2 old Lyadrive Songs – a 3^rd song
promised us by Steve J from A hadn’t materialised. Time had now run out. The
studio was booked and ‘Suck It & See’ was the new catchphrase!

 JULY 7^TH Lee & Lisa Married

JULY 9/10^TH  —

LYADRIVE MK1 (-barrie) RECORD AGAIN!

NICK JOHN
–
VOCALS


LEE BURROWS
–
DRUMS


STEVE CHRISTIANSEN
–
BASS


STEVE JONES
–
GUITAR !!!

+
RETURNING FOR THE TENTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE

‘ANOTHER
TIME ANOTHER PLACE’


CD RECORDINGS :-

PAUL
‘RHINO’
RYAN
–
GUITARS
KEITH THOMPSON
–
GUITAR + B VOCALS

2
NEW RECORDINGS OF ORIGINAL LYADRIVE DEMOS FROM 83
                          + A TOTALLY NEW SONG !!                                 

 DROP THE
BOMB


 VIGILANTE
 STANDING ON THE
EDGE OF THE WORLD (Working title)

Meanwhile, on the wonderfull world that
is myspace made a new contact called UKBill. It turns out he runs a blog called
ROCK OF AGES & contributes to various other blogs including CLASSIC ROCK
NEWSWIRE

Rock Of Ages    


www.rockofages.wordpress.com
from ‘classic rock newswire forum’ 


www.atfreeforum.com/crnewswire

He reviews “Another Time Another Place”
April 27^th 2007

Sporadic activity since the albums release, however the band have recorded a few
further compilation tracks and recently recorded the Riot track ‘Warrior’ as a
25th Aniversary event – this track is also currently on their myspace page. I
have it from Lee himself that further recordings are not out of the question and
material is currently being written in Alaska of all places (he didn’t say why
Alaska though!). So having enjoyed discovering Lyadrive myself my recomendations
are as follows :-

  a.. Get over to their myspace site and listen to the 4 tracks on offer
  b.. Visit the bands home page at



www.lyadrive.co.uk and read their
interesting story in full
  c.. Contact the band as I did and express your interest and encouragement.
It’s also worth pointing out that the CD turns up on eBay now and again with 3
copies available at present and rest assured if you shell out the cash, it’s a
keeper!

The trickle has become a small
tributary, progress with the new tracks has been sporadic as we all have full
time lives to lead! However …

2008

THIS VERY WEEK 14/01/08 Nick & I have a
chance to finally mix 2 of the New songs & we have been invited to play at
BRITISH STEEL FESTIVAL 3

That’s it, pretty
much updated! Time for a cuppa

 3 Nov 2004 – I have moved this site to a new server and put
it back on it’s old domain name.

26 Apr 2004 – If you e-mail sales@greatmusic.co.uk
as per the message of 4 March 2004 please can you ensure you mention the title
of the album and the catalogue number ie “Rockin’ All Over The World”
KBOX3338.

4 Mar 2004 – I have not been able to locate anyone selling the album
direct from a website but if you e-mail sales@greatmusic.co.uk
they will be happy to quote a price for the box set and send it. They get regular
shipments from the distributor. They told me the album would be £10 plus
£1.50 for UK postage. The album isn’t advertised on their website as it
doesn’t fit the normal profiles but they are happy to supply it as a favour
to the band.

1 Mar 2004 – There is a new compilation out called “Rockin’ All
Over The World” KBOX3338. It is marketed by Weton-Westgram B.V. Oud-Beijerland,
The Netherlands. Why do you want to know this information? Well it contains
all of “Another Time Another Place” plus four tracks recorded in 2000.
They are:

Thin Lizzy’s “Cold Sweat” as below
Rick Derringer’s “Rock ‘N Roll Hootchie Koo”

Colours

Someone Else

These last two tracks were written by Lyadrive’s bass player Guy Wilson.

I am currently trying to locate an online store that sells it. If I get any
joy I will try and update this page.

9 Dec 2002 – Firstly we decided not to renew www.Lyadrive.com so now
we are on http://www.praying-mantis.com/lyadrive/. I am not sure if “Metal
Daze” ever appeared but Cold Sweat is now on “Classic British Heavy
Metal” (PEG CD 351/GAS 0000351 PEG)

3 Dec 2000 – News from Lee “Here is the info regarding the latest
instalment of Lyadrive’s world domination (cough) OK there is a box set called
‘Classic Rock’ released by Pegasus (PEG BX 042). It’s a triple going for £9.99
out now! It will be available in 3 seperate CD’s from Feb next year £3.99 each.
(PEG 325/335/345 respectively) Lyadrive & Tempest Ride appear on 335, but on
325 Lyadrive have a cover of the old Johnny Winter/Rick Derringer number ‘Rock
n Roll Hoochie Coo’. Hopefully also in Feb next year will see the release of
another compilation CD, this one called ‘METAL DAZE’, on which Lyadrive’s version
of Lizzy’s ‘Cold Sweat’ will appear. Lyadrive are still a going concern as &
when other commitments allow, as this is very much a pet project, a labour of
love if you will, that unfortunately doesn’t pay the bills! We have secured
some studio time during the not too distant future and, with the help of one
or 2 ‘new’ friends, hope to work towards a 2nd CD release sometime next year.”

23 May 2000 – Lyadrive have been working working on a 2 cover tracks
for a compilation. The site moved to www.lyadrive.com

16 May 1999 – Lyadrive Live photos and video and more compilation appearences added. Including a rare verion of Another Time, Another place.

2 April 1999 – Delta have released a compilation cd under the modest title of “The Best Of British Metal” (Delta CD6184) with two Lyadrive tracks on it. “Another Time,Another Place” and “White Dress”. Other tracks on the album are by Samson, Angelwitch, Girlschool, Rock Goddess, Tigertailz & Thunderstick

24 March 1999 – I added and Interview with the band that appeared in Iron Pages In Germany. Also a review from a Greek Magazine

13 March 1999 – Tickets are now available for the Lyadrive Concert. They cost 8.50ukp and can be got by faxing Nick on 01451 870702 or E-mailing Lee Burrows

8 February 1999 – LYADRIVE To Play LIVE again! In Lee’s world “Lyadrive’s buisness manager, (Sir Nicholas John Esq), says that negotiations have been completed, leading to the first official Lyadrive live appearance, since the neo-legendary final concert, at Southall Football Club almost exactly 14 years ago!

The date & venue for this concert is as follows:-
FRIDAY 30TH APRIL 1999 LONDON ASTORIA 2

Other bands on the bill will be Blackfoot Sue &
The Groundhogs. It is assumed that Lyadrive will be the first band on, playing a
30-40 minute set, as of this moment, any other details are somewhat scetchy. More news,
film at 11!”

If you are interested in going I suggest you let me (Jon Hinchliffe) know so that I can keep you up to date on changes.

7 February 1999 – I have add the album lyrics.
3 January, 1999 – I have added some press cuttings and the following news from Lee. 
“As I mentioned, we were trying to write a new tune, which was a partial success. We are rehearsing again on the 28th & if almost finished, we, hope to record it before the end of the 1st week of Jan! Of course this is the height of optimism so don’t hold your breath! 
Some interesting news which could be put on our site. Our guitarist/engineer Kieth has his own CD now available! It’s a Blues/Rocker, in the vein of Robert Cray/Rory Gallagher & as that style goes it ain’t half bad! Mainly originals + covers of ‘Be Good To Yourself- Frankie Miller’ & ‘Crossroads aka Cream?’ It is over 60 mins long 
It’s called ‘Kieth Thompson & Strange Brew’ it is on Brambus, cat no. 199812-2. Brambus can be reached the following ways 
SNAIL— Brambus Records 
P.O. Box 44 
CH-7004 
Chur/Switzerland 
Phone/Fax CH+(0)55 614 10 77 
E-mail Brambus@access.ch 
Homepage http://songs.com/noma/brambus 
OR BY CARRIER PIDGEON!!”

You played place like the Ruskin Arms in the East End (where Maiden made a name for themselves), how was it?

Nick – There was a circuit of venues that bands tried to play, you found out which gigs other bands did and places that had a good crowd. The Ruskin Arms seemed like one of these, it’s name was associated with Maiden right from the start. That said, bands had to “prove” themselves by starting on a Monday night, working on to a Thursday and so on. As usual, you were often expected to take a crowd with you and, for us, it was hard enough getting the band there on time, let alone dragging our mates right across London!

Lee – We played it a few times and lost money each time! There was about four people at the first gig there, the band outnumbered the audience!

Nick – We lost money on MOST gigs! Nothing new there….

Neal Kay’s Bandwagon JIM Soundhouse was a meeting place for the entire NWOBHM movement in the early ’80′s, what was the spirit like back then? You formed Lyadrive at one of his nights, right?

Lee – There were other places around London and probably up and down the country, but it seemed like The Bandwagon was the focal point. It was a great time for us, as fans, having a place like this you could go to and it really felt new and exciting. The atmosphere was incredible, pretty wild some nights and yet never any trouble…people just going to hear the music they loved. Maybe it was slightly down to the ever-present odour of spliff but I think that was only a part of it. It certainly had a great vibe.

Nick – There was a real feeling that Metal was “happening” at a new level, although it had never been away. There was a tremendous buzz about the new bands, Maiden, Praying Mantis, Riot and Leppard…I can remember hearing Neal Kay playing the first Riot demo, “Warrior” I think, fantastic!

Lee – It would be dead romantic to say we formed at the Bandwagon Soundhouse itself but, although Nick and I had spent many nights down there, we didn’t meet up till the band formed at a pub in Uxbridge.

You recorded “Another Time, Another Place” for a compilation album on Bridge Records, what was the name of the album and when was it released (who else was on there)?

Lee – Yeah, “Another Time Another Place” was recorded for an album called ‘The Bridge Album’ which was released in June 1982. It wasn’t ever released commercially, the bands just sold copies at gigs. We were called Tempest Ride then and it featured bands who rehearsed at Bridge Studios in Cowley, near Uxbridge. It was a real mixed bag of styles, only us and Heretic and North Star being heavy acts. It did lead to some good gigs for us with North Star at Brunel University as well…and we also played with Liaison there too, and other heavy bands like Sunset Blaze and Urban Clearway.

How many copies of the single did you press? what were the press reactions like?

Nick – I think only 500 of the “Anytime/White Dress” single were ever pressed, which is probably why it’s pretty rare now. The press reaction was OK, the NME (New Musical Express) DIDN’T actually slate it which they normally did for metal bands, and Kerrang were OK too, considering, with hindsight, “Anytime” was too lightweight really to be representative of our style. It just seemed the most commercial song we did! We should have spent more money and insisted on a picture sleeve which would have helped too…

Lee – The NME actually called us a “pub rock Blue Oyster Cult” which we took as a great compliment, whether they meant it or not!

Nick – We got a lot of good press from local radio and papers for the single, which helped get gigs….

How close have you been to signing to CBS?

Nick – “Close” is perhaps over-stating things a little! We got a single to Muff Windwood, who was Head of A+R at CBS then, the “backdoor” way, a friend knowing a friend knowing a friend etc. He sent us quite a positive letter, he liked the single but wanted to see us live. We set a showcase up, but lost a bass- player just before it and had to cancel….

Lee – …..that blew the fuse and you only really get one chance like that don’t you?

Why was the 12″ EP on Loose Music/Brickyard Records never released? Have you ever listened to the Xero 7″/12″ with Bruce Dickinson? There were rumours that Xero recorded a full-length album for Brickyard as well, this never saw the light of day…

Lee – The “Young Lover” 12″-single was recorded and was to be our first release for Brickyard Records when the label ran out of money and went into receivership. We were contracted for an album and three singles in the first year so it was a bitter disappointment, hard to take at the time.

Nick – I can remember the owner of Brickyard, Andy Titcombe, giving me a copy of the Xero 7″ some time then.. didn’t it have a picture cover of the Japanese Zero fighter on it? We didn’t know what they had recorded for Brickyard by then and we never met them. I DID meet the Cocteau Twins there though for some reason!!

Why did you decide to pack it in?

Nick – Oh, the usual 27 reasons….!!

Lee – A whole bunch of things really…losing the deal was the big one, but loads of things all happened at once which knocked the stuffing out of us. We had set up a nation-wide tour to support the single release, which of course never came out. Some of the dates on the tour were cancelled and yet another bass-player upped and left. It seemed to be always be too much damn effort you know?

Nick – Gigging was weird too…we’d play a good support at Dingwalls one night, then at a pub the next night to five blokes and the jukebox. It cost bands a lot to play, hiring PA’s and lights, petrol etc and, coming from the suburbs, we always had to travel a lot to play decent gigs. After all the excitement of the deal, the record, it was suddenly like it was all back to square-one again.

Lee – We were all pretty disillusioned by the way things were conspiring against us by then!

In 1996 you decided to make a comeback! Who was the driving force behind this?

Nick – Everyone else was making a comeback! What the heck, we’re not THAT old yet!

Lee – We discovered we were on some Bootlegs and also Tony at Vinyl Tap in Leeds called us up to track down any existing copies of the “Anytime” single and it just grew from there. We also sold some singles over to the USA and, I guess because the stuff had become collectable, we made quite a bit of money.

Nick – I know it sounds arrogant, but we felt we had kind of “deserved” to get an album out. We sort of felt we had been robbed of our deal before and, with some money in our pockets, we could re-arrange and record the old songs with a new line-up and hopefully get a deal on it.

Lee – Either as “the end of the chapter” or a “new beginning”, either way ……

How did get the deal with your new label?

Nick – I was putting together a budget compilation of NWOBHM bands called “Noise Level Critical” which had Samson, Tigertailz and Rock Goddess on among others for release on Carlton and we tied in with Vinyl Tap and semi-agreed a release for the Lyadrive album. Anyway, when push came to shove, HTD picked it up for their Minority One label (which Tigertailz are also on) but we are getting some great support export-wise from Vinyl Tap as well.

Are you satisfied with the way the CD “Another Time, another Place” turned out? I think it’s brilliant Brit-Metal!

Lee – Thanks….yeah, we are really pleased with the way it turned out. The way Guy (bass) and Rhino (guitar) got their heads around the songs was terrific. Our original guitarist Steve Jones, now lives in Alaska so, with the best will in the world, he wasn’t gonna make rehearsals! We got in Guy and Rhino prior to the recording but they only needed 5 or 6 rehearsals before we went into the studio. I think that was good in many ways, it kept things fresh and not too “over-rehearsed”…..

Nick – ……we all worked hard together on new arrangements and, in some cases, new lyrics. I found singing lyrics I’d written when I was about 19 was sometimes a sobering business! Some I’ve left alone but others really did need working on.

Lee – Keith came in for the second sessions we did, though he did some overdubs on the first batch of songs later as well.

Nick – My mother passed away during the recording so, for me, it was also a very sad time and difficult to focus. I re-wrote the lyrics to the title track to describe my feelings at this point and we dedicated the album to her memory as well. I miss her very much.

Lee – All the sound FX and stuff were adding during the mixing. It’s all “tongue-in-cheek” stuff but we kind of like the way sound- effects can illustrate a song….the girl’s voice on the re- vamped version of “Anytime” came from a crossed-line phone-call and we never knew who she was!

How many copies have you sold so far?

Nick – Difficult to say at the moment. It’s only been out a couple of months and figures aren’t in yet. Pinnacle are handling UK distribution which is good, but whether people remember us is another matter. I’m happy if we get good reviews and people want to buy it and treat us like we’re a new band.. that’s fine.

Lee – Vinyl Tap are helping with overseas markets like Japan and they have got stocks in with Hellion for anyone who wants it in Germany. We’re also running a mail-order through Music Masters, our management set-up.

Nick – I think we need more exposure to really get things moving….

Who got the idea to cover “One of these Days” by Trespass? Do you know the guys personally, they played in Germany on a festival as well but their comeback-CD was rather unsuccessful I fear!

Lee – We always figured it might be a good idea to do a NWOBHM track, but we wanted to be careful which one we picked. We used to do Riot’s “Warrior” live and also “Let Me Go” by Y+T but in the end we went for “One Of These Days”, which we knew and is a simple yet really effective song.

Nick – I had the single when it had come out…in ’79? Or 1980?

Lee – Tony at Vinyl Tap also thought it was a good idea. He was looking at the Japanese market and thought Trespass were enjoying something of a renaissance over there. Every little helps!

Nick – No, we never knew them personally, but it’s a great song!

Did you know that “Madame Guillotine” was also a song/album-title of the British band Tokyo Blade?

Lee – We didn’t know until we read your book Matthias! But our track was written in 1982 and was in our live-set from then on, so tell Andy Boulton we got there first!

Nick – You know the demonic cackle of laughter at the start of our version? That was the only time Rhino was let anywhere near a microphone during the whole recording!

An you really supporting MUFC, as mentioned in the booklet?

Lee – Nick supports United, I’m an Arsenal fan, Guy is Watford and Rhino is Chelsea. Healthy animosity. Keith is so uninterested in football that he booked a gig for us at the Axiom in Cheltenham on the World Cup semi-finals night! He didn’t realise that no English guy between 18-40 would be there! As it was, we didn’t make the semis anyway….

Any plans for live-dates or new recordings?

Nick – Yes. We are looking at some supports when we can line them up. Without sounding arrogant again, we don’t want to flog on endlessly on the pub circuits, we have done all that in the past and, years on, it is obviously harder now with us having families etc.

Lee – We hope to work again with Dave Pick down at FFG studios. It is a great studio, out in the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside, and really relaxing. Providing we can get enough beer in to keep Rhino watered we are looking at some sessions soon. Maybe a couple of new songs to see how the new line-up writes, but certainly a few more of the old NWOBHM numbers we couldn’t fit on the album this time. We have a great track called “Vigilantes” we need to bring out! Lots of dual guitar- work and widdly bits!!

Did you do any video-recordings back then?

Nick – Yes, we did some live video recordings from Brunel University gigs, one in 1983 and one a year later. They are not available commercially but we do sell domestic-quality copies to anyone who wants them…..

Lee – …..though we don’t charge much, because the quality is fairly rough and ready. The 1983 one is colour and we had 2 or 3 cameras going, the 1984 is only black and white and the sound is distorted which makes us sound REALLY heavy! You also get to see our guitarist getting blown up by a flashbomb which is well worth the money!

Nick – We also did a promo-video for “White Dress” in 1984, but NOBODY sees that, it’s farcical!!!!!!

If you know any other NWOBHM bands personally and have their current addresses/tel. number, please let me know! I am interested in talking to them as well!

Nick – I chat now and then with Paul Samson but I can’t give out his home number, but I’m sure you know him anyway. Lee knows Tino and Chris from Praying Mantis really well too, he used to roadie for them back in the good old days.

Lee – I know Tom Farner from Outside Edge who signed with 10 Records (Virgin) in the mid-80′s and supported Bryan Adams and also Manfred Mann in Germany round about 1985? Him and his brother used to be Blackfoot Sue…in fact I think they have reformed under that name again and have an album on the way.

Tigertailz you can get via HTD Records.

Sign Of The Hunted

Madame Guilotine

Fools Paradise

Lazerwind

White Dress

Steal Away

Another Time Another Place

I throughly enjoyed the set as you would expect from the Webmaster of their site.
I recorded the Set on a DAT from the Audience. And Also filmed it but the sound on the video is poor as it overloaded the camcorder. Anyway here are some pics and a Real audio clip of them doing Madame Guilotine. Note there was a bomb went of about 1/2 a mile from the venue 1hr before there gig and the audience was therefore disappointing.