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Sunday, July 10, 2022

Spider : Their Rock n Roll will forever last

 

Spider website

Gday, how ya going, it's been a minute or two hasn't it 

SO, one day I walked into Utopia records in Martin Place in good ole Sydney town 

and found, to my soon to be delight, Spiders first album, and from

 then its fair to say I was hooked

Spider formed in 1976, consisted of four young men from Wallasey, including two brothers, none of whom had played in bands before.

After releasing "Children of the Street" on the Alien Record Label, Spider , not mucking around , were playing, on average 20 dates a month, which included a support slot on the Uriah Heep 1980 Winter Tour.

1982 proved to be the band's most lucrative year. It began in late 1981 when the band were contracted to record for BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show. The producer, Tony Wilson, introduced them to Maggi Farren, who set up a recording deal with Creole Records as well as getting the band a support slot on the 1981 Slade Winter Tour.



Spider released the single "Talkin' 'bout Rock 'n' Roll" with Creole, which featured as part of BBC Radio 1's play list. They then went into the studio to begin recording their first album Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies, to be released on the Creole label also. However RCA, who had made a late bid for the band, and after negotiations, Spider signed a six-year recording contract with the record label.

1982 continued with Spider packing out the Marquee Club once a month. They supported Alice Cooper on the British leg of his Special Forces Tour. They played at the Reading Festival on Sunday 29 August 1982, as well as securing a support slot on the mammoth Gillan Tour in coincidence with the release of their first album.




SPIDERSTORY

It’s December 14, 1981, and Colin Harkness, rhythm guitarist and frontman ,who was weaned on Slade, Eddie & The Hot Rods and Status Quo. For the past fortnight, he’s lived the dream as Spider opened Slade on a British tour. In Nottingham

Dave Hill is dispensed  some advice. You don’t want to be too much like Status Quo, y’know – focus on the melodies.....however , these efforts went largely unnoticed and Spider were tagged unfairly as a poor mans  Quo. Performing in every corner of the country, they racked up more than 2,000 shows during a 20-year lifespan. 

Some outstanding Boogie tunes took Spider to main event at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. though, on the day they headlined there in March of 84, the attendance was decimated by a London Underground strike. And two years later, as lorries were due to deliver their third (and final) album to the shops, their record company went into liquidation.

“There’s no such thing as bad luck – you make your own,” shrugs bassist and co-frontman Brian Burrows now. “My belief is that we never really fitted in at all. Most heavy metal bands were riff-based. A thousand bands were copying Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. You can say that we sounded like Quo if you wish to, but there was them and us. We were a rock-a-boogie band, and it became trendy to knock us, especially to the press of that era.”




It all began in 1977 when Brian Burrows turned up on Colin Harkness’s doorstep enquiring about a bass guitar he’d heard was for sale. This led to a jam session with guitarist Dave Bryce – nicknamed ‘Sniffa’ for his interest in other people’s girlfriends – and Brian’s younger brother Rob E on drums.




According to Brian, the earliest goal was “just to get the hell out of unemployment-ridden Merseyside”. But before too long, Spider, as they named themselves, got serious. Back then, the band weren’t always hangover-free, and an embarrassed Harkness confesses to “sliding down the microphone, Sniffa running from the stage before he pissed his pants”, at the Grand Hotel in New Brighton. “In the end,” Brian explains, “we decided that alcohol wasn’t big or clever.”



Spider’s web soon spread further afield. Following a show at the Target Club in Reading and having been busted for signing on the dole and gigging, they simply decided not to return home.

Using a shared house in Middlesex as a base, a 35-foot converted coach known as Valhalla (home of the gods) carried Spider everywhere as they developed a raucous stage act that included throwing out sweets and ciggie papers to encourage crowd participation.

A nationwide tour in support of Uriah Heep in 1980 was a big step up. It was Heep’s Mick Box who christened them ‘rock’n’roll gypsies’. 

“If we learned a lot from Heep, we also learned a lot from Samson – how not to be  assholes,” 


Following a string of independent singles, RCA Records stepped in to fund their debut album. 1982’s Rock ’N’ Roll Gypsies was simple but effective, though as Harkness now theorises: “We knew it would be impossible to sustain a career by banging out such albums. There’s only so many times you can fit the words ‘rock’n’roll’ into a song title

At the year’s end, Spider were invited to support Gillan on a whopping 41-date UK tour. This gave them an insider’s view of what proved to be a meltdown in the headliners’ camp, following the news that Ian Gillan was breaking up the band




RCA had begun pressuring the band to write hit singles. “When the guy that took us to RCA left the company, our daily contact was the bloke who’d signed Bucks Fizz,” recalls Brian. Spider jumped ship to A&M, but the same thing happened there.




Though Spider had favoured retaining Tony Wilson, producer of Radio 1’s Friday Rock Show and the man behind the desk for Rock ’N’ Roll Gypsies, A&M insisted on using a ‘name’ producer for its successor, 1984’s Rough Justice.

Fresh from producing Y&T’s Mean Streak, Chris Tsangarides encouraged the band to spread their wings. The album began with a judge sternly sentencing them to death for ‘the heinous and dastardly crime’ of ‘playing heavy metal rock’n’roll’. 


Sounds magazine claimed Spider had “greased the stage” for their support act Terraplane (later to become Thunder) during a gig at London’s Lyceum, and although a retraction was printed, the damage was done. The previous summer the band ‘egged’ writers Mark Putterford and Xavier Russell at the 1983 Monsters Of Rock festival, leaving them stinking for the day in the backstage area. Brian claims to have irrefutable proof that the pair played a gameof pool during a Spider set in Leeds – a show both writers ‘reviewed’.



For four young men who’d never set foot outside the country, opening for UFO on their 1983 European tour was exciting. But it soon became apparent that the headliners were spiralling out of control. In certain territories, Spider were promoted to headliners after UFO vocalist Phil Mogg suffered a ‘nervous breakdown’ in Greece, causing the tour to be abandoned.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, the band’s frustration at meagre daytime airplay on Radio 1 boiled over into a song called Here We Go Rock ’N’ Roll (‘Have you heard the latest record/They’re plugging day and night/There’s lots of weird noises/An art student’s delight’). “We’d done our bit by writing these commercial songs, so why weren’t they being pushed by the record labels?” Harkness wonders quizzically. “We might as well not have bothered.”



In what Brian now recognises as a “last throw of the dice”, A&M presented a bought-in song called Breakaway and teamed Spider with a producer, Adrian Baker, who’d worked with the Beach Boys. When it stalled at No.92, the group were doubly devastated as, until last-minute scheduling issues, prior to the Breakaway experiment, Noddy Holder and Jim Lea had agreed to produce a more representative 45. “It was another nail in the coffin,” Rob E surmises.

The notion that Spider were just plain out of luck became more believable still when their new record label, PRT Records, went to the wall on March 10, 1986 – the same day their new album Raise The Banner was due to hit the racks. Though it wouldn’t be officially released until 2012 when their catalogue was revamped, all four members rate the Tony Wilson-produced album as a musical high point.



Behind the scenes, tension was growing as girlfriends entered the equation, and Harkness and Sniffa rebelled against the alcohol ban and was given the flick

Spider recruited Heretic guitarist Stuart Hurwood for some final shows, though his Edward Van Halen-esque style was a poor fit. 

For the remaining originals, splitting up would cause a flood of emotions. “There was sadness, maybe some relief too,” recalls Brian. “After ten years together, things had run their course.”

“It felt like a death,” Harkness admits. “It knocked me sideways and I went off the rails for a bit. I didn’t regain my interest in rock music till about 2003.”



Curiously, none of their members resurfaced in other groups, and with the bassist and drummer moving to France and Australia respectively, a reconnection didn’t take place until this century. Spider played at a fan club gathering in 2015 



Young, carefree and perhaps just a little too cocky for their own good, all four band members recall Spider as the best days of their lives. Ultimately, the cards refused to fall in their favour and in music, just like professional sport, fine margins can separate winners and losers.

There was some arrogance, sure,” Rob E Burrows admits. “And maybe you had to be in on our sense of humour to get it, but I’ve no regrets.”



Note: most quotes provided by a Dave Ling Classic Rock interview


Albums

1982 Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies

1984 Rough Justice

      1986    Raise the Banner (For Rock 'n' Roll)

2007 Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies

2011 The Singles Collection

2012 The Complete Anthology

Singles

1977: "Back to the Wall"

1980: "Children of the Street"

1980: "College Luv"

1981: "All the Time"

1982: "Talkin' 'Bout Rock 'n' Roll"

1982: "Rock 'n' Roll Forever Will Last"

1982: "Amazing Grace Medley" (Free with Rock 'n' Roll Forever Will Last)

1983: "Why D'Ya Lie to Me"

1984: "Here we go Rock 'n' Roll"

1984: "Breakaway"

1986: "Gimme Gimme It All"










Thursday, August 5, 2021

Alestorm - Avast Ya Landlubbers

WELL...Fark Moi two blogaroos in a brief period ..amazaballs ! Anyway , this time, my crazy self is gonna wax lyrical about those lads living the pirannical way , the mighty ALESTORM ...First time i saw the chaps was on a video that covered a Village People song , yeah I know, RIGHT...In the Navy hooked me, so i went for a search and found a vast array of Piratical brilliance ...hell, im even convinced that my local football team , The Central Coast Mariners should run onto the pitch to "I am a Pirate" ...but im odd :)...anyway into it ...get amongst it
Alestorm is a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth, Scotland....they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently stars lead vocalist Christopher Bowes, who also plays the keytar, guitarist Máté "Bobo" Bodor, bassist Gareth Murdock, drummer Peter Alcorn, and keyboardist Elliot Vernon, who also provides grunty roar roars ....The lead vocalist Christopher Bowes provides the announcer voice for the Pirate team in the video game Pirates, Vikings and Knights II.
The band was founded in 2004 in Perth, Scotland as Battleheart, a studio project by Christopher Bowes and Gavin Harper. Originally intended as a standard power metal band, the success of song "Heavy Metal Pirates" convinced the band to permanently adopt a pirate theme and incorporate folk metal elements into their music. Gavin and Christopher recorded & released two independent demos in 2006, which were received well by the local metal community.
The band began to perform live in 2006, with a lineup consisting of Bowes (vocals and keytar), Harper (guitars), Dani Evans (bass) and Doug Swierczek (drums). Doug Swierczek eventually left the band later that year and was replaced by Ian Wilson. After a period of inactivity, in late 2007 Battleheart sent their demos to Napalm Records, and the band was promptly offered a record deal.
After being signed by Napalm Records, the band changed their name from Battleheart to Alestorm.Their debut studio album, Captain Morgan's Revenge, was released in early 2008 The album featured the drummer of the band Incubator, Migo Wagner as the session drummer. The album was also produced by Incubator guitarist Lasse Lammert.
In April 2008, the band released the single "Heavy Metal Pirates". Drummer Ian Wilson left in June 2008 and later rejoined in August of the same year. By September 2008, original guitarist Gavin Harper had left the band. Tim Shaw was Harper's replacement, but after a brief period of touring, was fired from the band To fill the guitarist position, Dani Evans switched instruments from bass to guitar, and Gareth Murdock of Waylander joined as the replacement bassist.
The band's second studio album Black Sails at Midnight was released in May 2009. The album peaked at #60 on the GfK Entertainment charts. In March 2010, Ian Wilson left the band and was replaced with a new drummer named Peter Alcorn. Alestorm's third album, Back Through Time, was Alcorn's first appearance on an Alestorm album. Alestorm went on a Back Through Time World Tour starting in Australia and New Zealand. The album reached #42 on the German Albums Chart. In October 2011, Elliot Vernon joined the band as keyboard player and performing screamed / death metal vocals.
The band released their fourth record entitled "Sunset on the Golden Age" on 1 August 2014, reaching the #1 position in the UK Rock Chart....Dani Evans retired from the band in April 2015, and was replaced by Hungarian guitarist Máté Bodor of the band Wisdom, who is also a part of Leander Kills. In October 2016, Christopher Bowes announced during a concert on the Super Smashed Turbo Tour that the band planned to begin recording a fifth studio album in January 2017...The fifth record, entitled "No Grave But the Sea", was released on 26 May 2017.
On 8 January 2020, the band announced the title of their sixth studio album, "Curse of the Crystal Coconut". This was released on 29 May 2020. On 30 April, the band released an EP titled, "The Treasure Chest EP". Prior to the album's release, Alestorm released the singles "Treasure Chest Party Quest" on 2 April 2020, "Tortuga" (feat. Captain Yarrface of Rumahoy) on 23 April 2020, and "Fannybaws" on 14 May 2020 The fourth single for the album titled, "Pirate Metal Drinking Crew" was released on 29 May 2020. The album peaked at #68 on the Official Albums Chart.

. On 28 May 2021, the band released their second live album, "Live in Tilburg". The band refer to themselves as "True Scottish Pirate Metal" , which works for moi on all sorts of levels ;)...Alestorm's lyrical themes focus on pirates themes including, sailing, pillaging, and drinking....also very VERY bonza 






 PIRATES 

 Current members 
 Christopher Bowes – lead vocals, keytar (2004–present) 
Gareth Murdock – bass, backing vocals (2008–present) 
Peter Alcorn – drums (2010–present) 
Elliot Vernon – keyboards, unclean vocals (2011–present) 
MátĂ© Bodor – guitars, backing vocals (2015–present)

 Former members 
Gavin Harper – guitars (2004–2008)
 Dani Evans – bass (2006–2008), guitars (2008–2015)
 Doug Swierczek – drums (2006) 
Ian Wilson – drums (2007–2008, 2008–2010)
 Alex Tabisz – drums (2008) Tim Shaw – guitars (2008)




 Studio albums 
Captain Morgan's Revenge (2008) 
Black Sails at Midnight (2009)
 Back Through Time (2011) 
Sunset on the Golden Age (2014) 
No Grave But the Sea (2017)
 Curse of the Crystal Coconut (2020) 




 RECKYS PREFERRED PIRATICAL TUNES 
 keelhauled
 drink
 Alestorm
 in the navy 
A pirates scorn 
i am a pirate
 treasure chest party quest
 pirate metal drinking crew
 fannybaws
 big ship little ship shit boat
 f**ked with an anchor 

 SO THERE YOU GO YA SCURVY DOGS



FFDP, I Cant Complain

Gday gang , how the bloody hell are ya ?...been a friggin little bit huh?

 

So anyway, here I am nearly 60 and Im so happy that i still get to find bands that, for the most part, i dig their tunes , so, just recently , whilst watching a video of Isaac Butterfield on youtube(shout out to the Buttsmarn, you good MF'er) I saw a video on the side bar by a band i had indeed heard of but never actually investigated , that being Five Finger Death Punch, the song/video in question was "Wash it all away" ...what a deadset cracking tune ...truly bonz indeed . So, as is my want when i find a band that peaks(?) my interest , I go for a google and a Youtubing and , fark moi, aint there some brilliant songs ,  I gotta give Ivan from FFDP much and many you beauts, his vocals are amazing , cause he chucks in melody for days and thats just amazing ..Hell the whole band dont have a slouch amongst them and just quietly , how fkn good is Chris Kael's beard ?
So to some history ...get amongst it

FFDP formed in 2005 in the Las Vegas region. The band's name comes from some form of kung fu cinema,( i must look on the asian cinema doco, Iron Fists and Kung fu kicks to see if its on there) . The band started out with vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead guitarist Caleb Andrew Bingham, bassist Matt Snell, and drummer Jeremy Spencer. Bingham was replaced by guitarist Darrell Roberts in 2006, who was then replaced by Jason Hook , who i first saw on the "Hired Gun "doco , in 2009. Bassist Matt Snell departed from the band in 2010, and was replaced by Chris Kael(What a brilliant beard) in 2011. Spencer then departed the band in 2018 due to recurring back issues, and was replaced by Charlie Engen, making Zoltan the only founding member of the band. In October 2020, old Pommy mate , Andy James became the band's lead guitarist, replacing Hook.
Five Finger Death Punch's debut album The Way of the Fist was released in 2007, The 2009 follow-up album War Is the Answer increased the fan base , selling over 1,000,000 copies, the band's third album, American Capitalist, was released on October 11, 2011, and hit Platinum fairly rapidly from what i understand, so that was good.

The following four albums—The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 (2013), The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 (2013), Got Your Six (2015), and And Justice for None (2018) were all certified Platinum and Gold, making FFDP one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the decade. The band released their eighth studio album, F8, in 2020, starring in my humble opinion , the absolute grouse tune , INSIDE OUT
Also, the boys aint afraid to get amongst it and has played A SHIT TON OF international music festivals including Mayhem Festival in 2008, 2010 and 2013, and Download Festival in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

For a Fall 2018 tour, Charlie Engen replaced Jeremy Spencer to allow him to undergo back surgery. On December 18, it was announced that Spencer had departed the band permanently.











In June 2019, it was announced that Jeremy Spencer has continued the band's support of first responders and was sworn in as a reserve police officer in Indiana.
I just saw that Ivan cant sing 'Remember Everything" anymore in concert cause its emotional, yes its one of my fave tunes BUT good on him for being honest about it (as opposed to just dropping it and saying nothing) ALSO much cudos and love to Ivan and Chris for getting sober ..Goodonya Boys TOP STUFF


 Current members 
Zoltan Bathory – rhythm guitar (2005–present); 
Ivan Moody – lead vocals, keyboards (2006–present) 
Chris Kael – bass, backing vocals (2010–present) 
Charlie Engen – drums (2018–present; touring member 2018)
 Andy James – lead guitar, backing vocals (2020–present; touring member 2020)
Former members 
Caleb Andrew Bingham – lead guitar, backing vocals (2005–2006) 
Darrell Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (2006–2009)
 Matt Snell – bass, backing vocals (2005–2010)
 Jeremy Spencer – drums (2005–2018); lead vocals, keyboards (2005–2006)
 Jason Hook – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–2020)

Studio albums 
The Way of the Fist (2007) 
War Is the Answer (2009) 
American Capitalist (2011) 
The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 (2013) 
The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 (2013) 
Got Your Six (2015) 
And Justice for None (2018) 
F8 (2020) 



RECKYS TOP FFDP TUNES

WASH IT ALL AWAY
GOT YOUR SIX
JEKYLL AND HYDE
UNDER AND OVER IT 
INSIDE OUT
SHAM PAIN
BAD COMPANY
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
LIFT ME UP
REMEBER EVERYHING


 So, there you go...a further blogaroo for your edification SEEYA