Eddie Kelly (ex-Rankelson): Walk through the fire

The bastards of rock'n'roll Rankelson along with Wrathchild represented the glam side of NWOBHM. They came out quite late (1984), lived fast and bright (sometimes literally) life, released 2 albums and by the 1988 were done. Here is an interview with Eddie Kelly, one of the founders of the band. He quit Rankelson before they recorded their debut LP "Hungry for Blood" (1986), and he still regrets it. 

How did you decide to be a guitar player?

I was mesmerised, at an early age, by the energy and intricacies of the guitar. Tony Iommi, Jimi Hendrix and then Ace Frehley set my addiction to the guitar.

Is it correct that both you and Steve Wilson played in the band called Polaris before you joined Rankelson? What kind of music did you play in the band? Did you record anything with the band?

Steve Wilson and I played together in the last incarnation of the band Polaris. We only made demos. Polaris started off as a NWOBHM band, but after personal changes the Polaris Mark 3, which included Steve Wilson, was a more funk rock ensemble.

How did you get in touch with Colin Sergeant, Kim Hooker and the original drummer Wayne Cronin?

Wayne Cronin came for an audition, just after Polaris had disbanded, Colin Sargent I discovered from a social evening with mutual friends. He got up on a table in a bar and sung along to a Queen song on the juke box completely blowing the place apart. Kim Hooker was a school friend who was disillusioned with his band Neon Spirit and want to join us. His obvious talents were welcomed.

Who came out with the name Rankelson and what does it mean actually?

Rankelson is a portmanteau of keyboard player Tim Ranson (Ric Ferrari) and my name Eddie Kelly. We had written songs together from 1981 and formed Rankelson.

Rankelson had that glam type of image. Where did it come from? Were you influenced by any British artists or were you into American glam metal scene?

Rankelson’s image started at our first gig, a talent show at a festival. We experimented with our love of the early 70’s British glam rock and the 70’s American glam/shock rock acts like Kiss and Alice Cooper. This fortunately coincided with the new wave of glam rock coming in from America Acts like Mötley Crüe and W.A.S.P.

What was the point for taking stage names and why didn't you take one?

Stage names were a part of the glam metal culture back in the mid 80’s. Creating a larger than life persona augmented the stage performance. I was lucky to have been given a stage name at birth. A natural rhyme in my name fitted the bill.

What can you say about metal scene in Cardiff back in the day? What other bands from the city were your friends or rivals? Did you consider the band as a part of NWOBHM?

Early to mid 80’s was a very vibrant and creative period for the Cardiff metal scene. Bands like Persian Risk inspired so many local musicians to the genre of NWOBHM. Tok-io Rose, Tigertailz, Samurai and Preyer were great friends and rivals during these times. The competition of performance and creativity in music craft pushed the standards, locally, to a high level of competency. Rankelson were at a crossroads between NWOBHM and glam metal, drawing inspiration from both genres.

As far as I understand, your first gig happened at Ely Festival. Is it corrects? Is it true that Wayne left the band after the show?

The Ely Festival in July, 1984 was our first show and set the precedent for our future ambitions. Wayne Cronin did perform many gigs in the latter half of 1984 with Rankelson and was a treasured member of the band.

How did you find Dave Evans (a.k.a. Dave Vincent)? Did he fit better than Wayne Cronin?

Dave was a 17 year old punk rock/metal drummer who came for an audition in January, 1985. He was technically and image wise, far more suited to our ambitions. He got the job and improved our rhythm section completely.

American metal scene had very strong “anti-poser” attitude and cultivated hatred to glam image. Was it different in the UK at the time? Were fans tolerant to so called hair metal bands?  

We were the first metal band in our area to adopt the glam/hair metal culture. We were ridiculed, initially by our peers but the added visual performance from our shows gained us notoriety and cult like attention. We rapidly signed management and recording contracts, leapfrogging more established, conventional metal bands in our area. Some of these bands adopted the hair metal image after witnessing our success.

Tell me, please, everything you can remember about the show in Bogiez in 1985 when Lemmy and Phil Campbell attended and when you almost destroyed the place! Were you friends with the guys from Motörhead? Did you manage to finish the show?

The Bogiez inferno was a tragedy and a blessing in disguise. The use of industrial strength pyrotechnics to enhance our opening salvo at our showcase show at Bogiez had a devastating effect. After an eerie keyboard intro the explosive force of the pyrotechnics literally blew the stage apart. The audience thought it was part of the act, not allowing the band to exit the stage or security to extinguish the inferno. When finally the power cut out, the venue was evacuated. Motörhead were playing nearby and Lemmy and our old friend Phil Campbell came along to our late show and were convinced we staged the inferno. All publicly is good publicity.

What shows could compete with the night in Bogiez and be called the most crazy or the most memorable?

After the inferno showcase we had to maintain a wild, debauched experience for our audience. Pigs head filled with fake blood being hurled into the audience become a standard. A memorable show in Chelsea Art Сollege supporting Gary Glitter was a pinnacle of our live performance. Although Gary wasn’t impressed with our antics.

When and why did you quit the band?

I left the иand in August 1985. I had come to a crossroads of getting married and committing to marital bliss or committing to rock'n'roll. Unfortunately I was 21, very naive and chose the conventional route which I will forever regret.

How do you think, why didn’t glam metal become as big in the UK as it was in the States back in the day?

I think glam didn’t explode as big in the UK compared to the USA in the mid 80’s because of cultural norms at that time. America had diversity and infrastructure to accommodate the libertine revolution that glam metal drove forward. The UK was too conservative at that time.

What happened to Colin Sergeant who sadly passed away? What is your favorite story related to Col?

Colin “Zakk” Sargent was a real force of nature. He would have certainly been diagnosed as bipolar in modern days. At the peak of his disposition he was a creative force — uniquely powerful vocals coupled with a mesmerising presence. Unfortunately the flip side was a dark, negative place for Colin. His mental and physical condition deteriorated And he sadly passed away in 2007.

What you’ve been up to since you left Rankelson? Did you play in any other bands?

I personally have been the least productive, musically of the Rankelson’s. I formed a band called the Rag Dollz with JJ Cruise in 1986. They were fantastic, but I lost my mojo at that time. In the early 90’s Kim Hooker, Rik Ferrari and I teamed up with the City Kidds to showcase a Kiss tribute band — Lords of the Wasteland — which was fantastic. But since then I have only jammed with local musicians and friends

Do you still stay in touch with Kim, Ric, Steve and others? 

I have remained great friends with my old band mates. Touring with Kim and Tigertailz as a merch man and stage hand was fantastic. There is a great comradeship with the South Wales music community.

I understand that reunion without Col is impossible but is there a chance to see your albums reissued? is there any unreleased material from the band?

There has been a release of the albums with some bonus tracks on Diabolic Might Records.

Please say a few words to your fans and readers.

Rankelson embodied a time in music and youth culture where there was a real creative medium open to all, where dreams and aspirations were achievable to all. We hope this energy can inspire creativity in today’s music scene. We have a tremendous following from young bands around Brazil , especially São Paulo. We hope these bands can carry the legacy that we started almost 40 years ago.