Issue 8
Issue 8’s Armed and Ready has a slightly different element to it this time round in the form of a double page feature that focusses on some of the independent labels that are at the heart of the NWOBHM movement. More on that later, but let’s have a look at what Howard Johnson considers the movers and shakers and the bands to look out for!
Toad The Wet Sprocket
Now, no one would have thought that there would have been two bands that came to same conclusion about this name; but that is the case. Whilst digging a little deeper for this piece, it turns out that not only did 5 blokes from Bedfordshire find inspiration via a Monty Python sketch in 1975, but also four blokes from California felt the same urge in 1986 – and hence we now have two bands from rock history with the typically Pythonesque moniker of ‘Toad The Wet Sprocket’.
Our Toad The Wet Sprocket were formed in Bedfordshire in 1975 and will be most familiar to those of you who own the Metal For Muthas Vol 1. compilation album released in 1980 and compiled by Neal Kay. A seven year career saw them release two singles on their own Sprocket label, with their sound veering encouragingly towards NWOBHM later in their existence. Having said that, their raw bluesy sound that can be heard on the Metal For Muthas track, ‘Blues In A’ is certainly pleasing and begs the question, why did they not see more success during their early days?….probably the name…
‘Reaching For The Sky’, released in 1980 is much heavier and places them firmly within the NWOBHM camp. Akin to early Maiden, the lead breaks are noticeable by their absence – but this makes them stand out in our opinion. It’s a track that drives forward through its simplicity, injecting just enough complexity to keep it interesting. It’s a shame we never got to see more of them beyond this release and they disbanded in 1982.
By all accounts their live show was pretty manic and had they opted for leather pants and studded wrist bands instead of their more casual attire, then there is no doubt they would have climbed to the top of the pile and become a much more (slightly daft) familiar name on the scene.
Bandanna
It transpires that the version of Bandanna covered in Issue 8 is actually the second version of the band and they had already had a pretty decent career pre Mk 2.
In 1980, following a hiatus after becoming disillusioned with the scene, which had become punk heavy, Bandanna resumed performing and dropped all their previous work from their set and started again. Aiming for a heavier sound akin to Thin Lizzy and their twin guitar mastery, Bandanna began making waves on the local Birmingham scene. A regular slot at a local venue ensured they developed a good fanbase and they quickly progressed from a Monday night slot at The Railway on Curzon Street, to a Friday night and a much more enthusiastic (and lubricated) crowd.
As is often the case with bands featured in Armed and Ready, Bandanna don’t really go on to have a huge impact on the world of NWOBHM, but they are most certainly worth further investigation and tracks ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ and ‘Little Sixteen’ stand out when we dug a little deeper into their existence.
720
The advent of the internet has made researching old music and discovering new music much easier…..unless the bands name is 720 that is. It is made especially difficult given that 720 is a standard high definition setting on YouTube…ha ha. Anyway, we shall persevere and hopefully by the time we’ve concluded writing this piece, one of the WLL minions will have found a link to some music and everything will be fine in the world.
It is clear that Howard Johnson didn’t have a huge amount of information either as he doesn’t really present any decent content in the Armed and Ready 8 feature. We know they are formed in 1980 in Bolton and that the name apparently comes from the measurement of the speed of sound (which is actually around 761mph – if only the internet had existed then eh!?). According to Johnson, they are far from balls to the wall – he even suggests their infectious beat will give you a case of the Shakin’ Stevens in your legs….but we are destined to never know as our continued search for some music has proven fruitless. The lack of any presence online suggests they may never have released anything, despite the suggestion in the article that they are about to release a single through RCA. 720 do appear in future issues of Kerrang! So perhaps we will get a better idea when we get to those issues.
As mentioned at the start of this feature, Armed and Ready has an added bonus this Issue in the form of a double page feature exploring the top independent labels pushing NWOBHM to the great unwashed and feeding the hungry mouths of the major labels. We find Howard Johnson in a cynical mood and heavily critical at times, which comes as some surprise given the importance of these labels in promoting and delivering the music that Kerrang! readers love. However, it is not as straight forward as that.
The feature is actually a little more about the bands that are signed to independents than it is about the labels themselves. When Johnson does delve into the ins and outs of the labels, it is here that we find him most critical – especially as to who is pulling the strings of the so called ‘Indies’. He does hold a flame for a few of them though and picks out Neat Records and Heavy Metal Records for a special mention in the article.
Neat Records was based in Newcastle and was founded by David Wood in 1979. Working out of Wood’s Impulse Studios in Wallsend it was in every sense, an independent label, Steve Thompson, who was the in house producer at impulse helped with setting up the label and also ran the A&R, produced the initial recordings and managed the publishing arm of the label. Neat was key to the increase in popularity of NWOBHM and was home to some of WLL favourite artists and early Kerrang! Regulars, Raven, Venom, Blitzkrieg and Jaguar (see our early blogs). Neat proved to be a hugely influential label, notably with the likes of Metallica and Anthrax – in fact, it could be suggested that Neat Records was the Thrash Metal ground zero. So whilst none of the Neat Records artists really broke the mainstream, their impact could be felt for many years to come. The label was sold to Sanctuary Records in 1985.
Heavy Metal Records found its home in Wolverhampton. Run by Paul Birch, it was started after he found no joy punting a demo to majors and decided to take it upon himself to publish it. What he does say in the article, is that HMR utilised the majors for their own needs – using CBS to master records and having them manufactured at Polygram – essentially creating a useful relationship that meant some of the majors felt part of the growing scene.
Howard Johnson goes on to mention a few of the other players of the time; Pheonix, Avatar and Jive – all playing important roles in supporting the growing army of bands looking for deals.
Johnson concludes that Indies have a limited lifespan as such and that Majors will always win in the end. Seeing Indies as a stop gap or simply as a platform for any band to utilise before ‘disappearing into obscurity’ is slightly shortsighted, but also quite damaging to those labels challenging that idea at the time. Whilst many of these labels did indeed disappear, Heavy Metal Records still exists and is still committed to the promotion of new and exciting metal bands – albeit as part of the larger Revolver Group. More importantly, those that have gone leave a legacy; they present a snapshot of a period in music that became so influential. You could argue that major labels are only as successful as the Independent labels that feed them. Long live the Indies!!