Glenn S. Howes: Live life to the max!

What do such bands like Tygers of Pan Tang, Blitzkrieg, Avenger and Fist have in common? Yeah, they are all from North East of the UK and were signed to Neat Records. And they all had singer/guitarist Glenn S Howes in their ranks. Though he wasn’t a founder of any of these bands he helped them to carry on. Sometimes he came to a rescue like it was with Tygers but sometimes he did help to put the bands back on track, contributed to songwriting and recording for which he deserves a credit from both bands and fans. So here is the man speaking about his career (I urge you to check out this and this interviews done by Garry Alikivi to learn more about Glenn’s adventure with Tygers and his early influences).  

       As far as I understand you did your first steps in music with the band Axizz. What type of music did you play with them? Who was in the band beside you? Did you record anything with the band?

Wow! That is a blast from the past you have done your homework, ha. That was a band that was formed when I was a teenager around 1979/1980. It was just a bunch of friends having a go to be honest. We were young and naïve and not great but it was great fun. Axizz was very much a band influenced by what went before for e.g. Rainbow, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, UFO etc. Classic Heavy Metal Rock bands. We had a few different line-ups. The initial line up was me on vocals, Ian Mattimore drums, Brian Dorothy bass, Maurice Pickles guitar. At one point we had Andrew “Stidi” Stidolph on drums. We didn’t record anything unfortunately. The 1^st gig Axizz did was supporting NWOBHM heroes Fist in my home of South Shields at St. Hilda’s youth club. Little did I know that I would end up being their front man many years later. It’s crazy to consider that now when I think about it.  I still play with Ian Mattimore to this day he is an amazing drummer and a good old friend.

You started playing music as a guitarist but were a singer in Axizz. How did that happen? What do you like better — singing or playing guitar?

I started off learning guitar however I was roped in to sing as Maurice was ahead of me as far playing guitar was concerned at that time. Before Axizz the other guys jammed with a singer called Paul Clough who was good but that didn’t work out. Nobody else wanted to do it at the time and I agreed to do it as I just wanted to be in a band. I didn’t even really know how to sing properly being honest I just screamed my head off ha ha. I continued to play and learn guitar even when I was singing in the early 1980’s. I actually like doing both guitars and vocals.

Chase, 1984

Tell me about the band Chase. When was it form and who else was in the band? Did it last long?

Chase like Axizz was a bunch of friends who got together for the fun of it all. We had Kev Hayes on guitar, Steven Stansfield on bass and Eddie Docherty on drums. I can’t remember exactly when formed I think maybe early 1983. We did stay together for about 2 years. I had some great times with Chase and stay in touch with all of the guys from Chase. Great lads all of them. We recorded some demos and did fairly well locally.

How did you get the gig in Blitzkrieg? Were you friends with Brian Ross before that?

Ahh. Now that was an interesting situation. Brian was known around the North East UK already but had been going through a difficult patch at that time and just could not settle on a line-up for Blitzkrieg even though “Time of Changes” had been released. I think by the time we met he had already had about 6 versions of the band. I was introduced to Brian I think Summer 1987 through a friend Robby Robertson who is the guitarist in extreme punk band The Fiend. We hit it off personally and I think Brian felt he could work with me and likewise. Such is the way with Blitzkrieg, there were a lot of line up shuffles until it settled when we got Gary Young drums, Glen Carey bass and Tony J Liddle on board around 1988/89.

Blitzkrieg, 1990

“Ten Years of Blitzkrieg” included some original material which later became Blitzkrieg’s classics^ “The Sentinel”, “Night Howl” and “Nocturnal Vision”. Were they already wrote or did you contribute anything to them?

All the music for “The Sentinel” and “Nocturnal Vision” was written by me. “Night Howl” was written by Tony. Brian wrote the lyrics for all the songs however I always helped Brian with vocal melodies and encouraged him to try things in the studio when recording.

How was it to work with Tony Liddle? Did your styles complement each other’s well?  

Being honest myself and Tony were poles apart. In some ways our playing was so opposite that in a weird way it worked because the chemistry in our music created an edge which added to the excitement. I can see that now. He was more like a Tony Iommi I was more like a Kai Hansen. The main problem was that we could not get on personally.  

How was it to work with the legendary Keith Nichol? How can you describe the guy?

I had a great experience with Keith when we did “Ten Years of Blitzkrieg”. He was patient understanding and did the best he could. I think he got a great sound. It wasn’t perfect but it was great for what it was and I’m grateful for that. My experience with him when we did “Mists of Avalon” was not so good.

Tell me please about filming of the video for “Nocturnal Vision” which was a tribute to Alice Cooper. Did people get your idea? Did it help to promote the band? is it true that Tony Liddle hated “Nocturnal Vision”?

I am glad to say that I had nothing to do with that video, ha. I’m not actually even sure when they did that and released it as such. Whether it successfully promoted the band or not I cannot say however I will say that when I watched I thought it was amateur at best. It is true that Tony would go out of his way to make it obvious that he disliked anything that was originally written and performed by me, ha. Childish in my opinion.

It took 4 years to release “Ten Years…” actually. Why so long? Were you busy playing shows? Don’t you think that you lost your chance to return to the scene during the best years for metal?

There were reasons for the delay but mainly waiting for a window to come up so we could record at Neat Studios. I agree if it had been done earlier may have had more impact. We did play around this time as well.

Why did you quit the band even before the EP came out?

 I did not quit Blitzkrieg before the EP came out. To explain. After “Time of Changes” was released Brian Ross was the only existing member left from the original Blitzkrieg line-up. Blitzkrieg was now Brian’s band by that point and has been ever since. Almost from the time this line-up came together it became clear to the rest of the band that even though it was Brian’s band, he did not want to take ownership or responsibility for organizing or managing the band in any way. We had no agent or management and we were making no progress as band at all. It was frustrating and made all of us unhappy. It all came to a head when we attended an arranged rehearsal at The Railway pub in Walkergate one night. We had an honest discussion that night and all grievances were aired with Brian. Brian didn’t accept the valid reasons why we were unhappy. To the rest of us it seemed pointless carrying on with a band that had no agent, management and had no one taking responsibility for the bands business and future. We agreed to end that line up there that night. It was sad but it was the right decision.

What did you do between 1990 and 1997? Was that a period when you played with Ladykillers, Kickout, Reign and The Fiend?

Ladykillers was before that. Ladykillers followed my time with Chase and that was the mid 1980’s and Kickout followed that. The Fiend was the band I was messing about with before I hooked up with Brian around 1987. I did join The Reign in the early 90’s. After that I kind of floated around trying a few different things here and there. More of an experimental phase being honest. Did some punky metal stuff, did some Industrial Metal. Never got anywhere with it but it was jolly good fun.

Kickout, 1986-1987

In 1997 you rejoined Blitzkrieg. Why did you decide to enter the same river?

I must admit I was reluctant at first due to my experiences in the late 80’s early 90’s but Brian talked me into it. He is a smooth talker ha.

Tell me please about songwriting for “The Mists of Avalon”. How did you work on the songs with Brian and Martin Richardson? Did you have free reign in writing riffs and melodies?

“Mists of Avalon” is a very important album to me. The songwriting and recording sessions were very smooth. I worked well with all members of the band especially Mark. It was well understood by everyone that the main driving force behind that album was me and everyone was cool with that. I had done lots of work on pre-production to make sure everything went to plan and that was respected by all the band.  There were no restrictions to the writing and the whole point of “Mists…” from its inception was to do an album that sounded different to previous Blitzkrieg albums. I didn’t want to just knock out the same E minor riffs.  Everyone was in agreement. It wasn’t about rejecting what Blitzkrieg had done before it was just that we wanted to bring our other influences into the mix.

Was it Brian who brought the idea of King’s Arthur concept? Or was it the music you were writing that suggested the theme? Didn’t you want to do a full concept record?

It was a bit of both in all honesty. Brian did want to do the Arthurian concept before the album was being written but once he heard my musical ideas he knew it would fit with his lyrical themes. We never set out to do a full concept album. It was always going to be The Arthurian concept then other tracks that we had. 

Tell me please about those folk/Celtic influences in “Crimson Dawn” and “Stryngs”. Are you into this type of music?

Absolutely. I love music so I take notice of things that appeal to me. It could be a metal song or classical, folk or something left field. I will take notice and use that influence in my songwriting. Like other musicians I sometimes go through phases where I listen to different forms of music to gain inspiration and that definitely happened during this period.

There is some really heavy stuff on “The Mists…” like “Anasazi”. Would you say that you tried to modernize the band’s sound a bit, beef it up so to say?

Not modernize, no. It was an attempt to do something different and not to stick to the same formula. “Anasazi” was something I had been toying with for a while and it helped break the album up. I really like “Anasazi”, it’s different and quirky. In my mind why would you want to repeat what had happened before on previous albums and the album you are recording as well. To be clear it was never my intention to alienate the fan base. I was just wanting to offer them something a little different and show a different side to the band as well as the expected standard Heavy Metal type song. I also wanted to fully pursue my mixed influences more than I had before. There is nothing like musical freedom.

By the way, where did you take an inspiration to write a tune about an Indian tribe of Anasazi?

Me and Mark Hancock actually had a band called Anasazi before we hooked up with Brian in 1997. We discovered the name and meaning via TV program the X-Files. We researched the Anasazi tribe as a result and fell in love with the name.

What is the idea behind the title “The Mighty ’A’”?

That’s easy to answer. It’s because the whole piece is in the key of A and it was kind of a play on words as we used to call Avenger the mighty A as well.

Another song I’m interested in is “Tranquil State”. It has strong punk vibe. Tell me please how this song came into fruition!

Tranquil State was a song Mark Hancock wrote about the “troubles” in Northern Ireland. I do see that it has that vibe. Mark wanted an upbeat, heavy but kind of spikey feel. I think it’s one of the best songs on the album. Well written and performed with great lyrics.

“Princes to the World” sounds like Metallica’s “Orion” but with Brian’s voice to me! Who wrote this amazing track?

That’s Mark Hancock’s baby. He wrote some great stuff. Mark had nothing to do with the lyrics but wrote all of the music. It’s about Princess Diana. I must admit to not loving the lyric but the song structure is fantastic.

What are your favourite tracks off the album and why?

That’s a hard question to answer. My favourite is Arthur. For me it’s complete musically. It has everything I love in a song. I love epics.  I have to admit to also loving Smell of Roses and Yesterdays too. Damn I pretty much like the whole album, ha.

Who is Gillan Ross who did some guest vocals on the album?

Gillan is Brian’s son. He did some vocals here and there.

How come that Keith Nichol recorded some leads on the album?

We essentially invited him to play as we respected him as a musician as well as an engineer. Great guitar player is Keith.

You said that Keith lost his interest in the album somewhere along the way due to his conflict with Neat Metal and Peter Carr stepped in. Did you consider an option of re-recording the songs you did with Keith? What are your memories about the recording sessions overall?

As far as we are aware Keith was having conflict with the label when we started the album. We don’t know why but one can guess it was probably down to money and ego. It became apparent later during the sessions with Keith that he wasn’t really viewing things in a professional way and began experimenting with the recordings which did not work well. Later in the sessions it was obvious that he just didn’t care. He wasn’t communicating with the band effectively and we had a few runs in with him. Which is a shame as we did respect him prior to starting the album. We came in one day and he was gone. I’m not sure if he was sacked or he quit. He just wasn’t there. The main issue we had is we couldn’t undo what he had recorded because didn’t have the budget to re do what been recorded by him. When Peter Carr came on board and took over everything settled down and we got on with the job at hand. Apart from the setback with Keith the overall experience of recording “Mists” was positive. It was hard work but smooth.

Mark Hancock recorded the drums and the bass himself. Didn’t you want to get a bass player to the band?

Mark was a star. We did 20+ tracks and he nailed nearly all of them on the drums in one take. Amazing. We didn’t have a bass guitarist so we all played bass on the songs we wrote. Mark played bass on his songs, Martin on his and me on mine. I enjoyed playing the bass especially on “Yesterdays”.

By the way, what happened to Mark and Martin? Are you in touch with them? 

I speak to Mark occasionally and keep in touch with Martin through social media. Mark still plays but I’m not sure what Martin is doing.

You mentioned that the fans disliked the album while critics gave it high rates. Would you say that the album got the recognition it deserves or is it still overlooked?

When “Mists” was released the reviews from magazines and other media were good however the response from the fans was different. Essentially the criticism was that it wasn’t heavy enough and was too different. I accept that.  I think it was a shock to them as they probably expected another album like the one that came before. It was supposed to be different but still heavy. If you listen to the album especially after the Arthurian concept you can hear the album regaining its “heaviness” that’s because the early part of the album was recorded weak by Keith. I wanted a re-mix but I wasn’t allowed due to the very low budget. We should have placed the Arthurian on the end part of the album and put the heavier stuff first that way it wouldn’t be too much of a shock for the fans. I also think it could have been packaged better. I’m being honest I hate the album cover. It was not my idea to use that cover I can tell you. I still believe the album cover put people off as well. A lot of time has passed since it was originally released. I honestly get nothing but compliments about it now. I still receive emails and messages from fans telling me how much they love the album.  I do honestly think it has stood the test of time. People now understand it and have grown to love it.

You played at Wacked Open Air with Blitzkrieg but did you tour properly in support of “The Mists…”? Can you recall anything from that era?

Playing Wacken 1998 was amazing. We did gig around that time but didn’t do a great deal so didn’t tour.

Why did you quit Blitzkrieg for the second time?

It was history repeating itself. I was in Blitzkrieg again with no viable management in place to gain us tours and gigs. Jess Cox got us a few gigs which were grateful for however he wasn’t our manager. Brian made promises that this wouldn’t happen this time however it did. The whole set up business wise for Blitzkrieg was not good. I tried my best to persuade Brian to take a lead and manage the band however that didn’t happen. Over time, as I expected, most of the band members became unhappy and started leaving. All the promises that were made to the band did not happen. You know Brian is still a good friend of mine and I do respect him however I am truthful. This is what happened. I got the opportunity to join the Tygers of Pan Tang in 1999. While flying to the USA March 1999 to play a show with Blitzkrieg, Jess asked me to fill in for John Sykes for Wacken 1999. I agreed. There seemed to be more of a future with the Tygers so I decided to leave Blitzkrieg and join the Tygers Summer 1999. It was a good decision for me.

Illegal question but whose classics did you like to perform more — Tygers’ or Blitzkrieg’s?

Ha ha... both.

Jess Cox performance during Wacken Open Air looked a bit weird to say at least. What did you think about his stage closes and behavior?

Yeah. He wore a cheese cloth suit for Wacken 1999. The rest of us wore like jeans, t-shirts and vest. I asked him why a cheese cloth suit? And he said it made him look like “Jesus”. Strange at the very least. Most of the time he was ok to work with band wise. Not so much when dealing with him on the business side.

You stayed with Tygers for about a year, so what can you recall from that period? What shows were the most memorable?

We did Wacken 1999 and headlined the Friday night. We played after Saxon.  We only ever played that one show. There was talk of us doing more but that did not transpire. Rob had different plans and being honest I think he wanted to move away from Jess Cox and associated musicians.

You also were a part of Avenger and Fist but never recorded with them. Why is that? Did you ever try to go in a studio and lay down a song or two?

I joined Avenger in 2005 and helped Gary Young put the band back together. My contribution to Avenger when they re-formed was substantial as I put a lot of hard work into that. I don’t often get a lot of credit for that from Avenger publicly. I had a great time with Avenger. We toured and gigged regularly. We did start writing some new material however band politics and ego’s kicked in around this time and I found myself out of the band. We did reconcile. I have kept in touch with lads regularly and have helped them out when required since. Liam Thompson is a good friend of mine. Gary and I go back a long way.

Glenn with Fist

Why did you quit Fist after 4 good years? Did you feel uncomfortable in the position of a front man?

I was perfectly comfortable as the front man for Fist. This was my dream job. I loved their songs and could sing and play the songs easily. Every time we played, we had a great show and had a great time. The fans loved that line up. When I joined Fist the agreement was to write and record new songs for a new album. This did not happen. We were offered a decent record deal and still they would not write or record new songs. I wrote songs for them which they ignored. It became a frustrating problem. What is the point of being in an original band if you don’t write and record new songs? I’m a productive musician and like to move forward. It seemed to me that they wanted to live on past glories only and do no more work. After over 4 years of playing the same songs it became kind of like a tribute band or me. That is the reason why I quit Fist. If we had wrote new songs and recorded, I would still be in Fist now.  I enjoyed my time with Fist but it was the right time to move on.

What you are up to these days?

I’m still playing and rocking! I have two projects on the go. Earthrod which is an original metal project I originally started with Mark Hancock back in 2000. I am also front man in a Gary Moore Tribute band called G-Force. I do occasionally help other bands and do some session work on request.

The last words are all yours!

You won’t always get it right and will make mistakes but learn from your mistakes and move on. If everything was perfect then life would be boring. Let’s make life exciting.  Live life to the max and chase your dreams!