Spider were a hard working band from Liverpool who released a lot of singles, three LPs, played countless gigs and then disappeared. Probably they happened to be in a wrong place at a wrong time. They represented rock'n'roll-ish side of NWOBHM and I guess they weren't "metal" enough for an average fan of the time. Does it makes their music bad? Not at all! I contacted Spider's guitarist Dave "Snyffa" Bryce to cover the history of the band and to pay a tribute to Col Harkness who left us erlier this year.
Hello Mr. Bryce! How are you doing lately? Busy playing with your band?
All good, thanks! AWOL has been going for about 10 years and since the end of Covid we don’t do that many gigs. About 6 to 10 a year.
Now let’s get back in time. When and how did you start showing an interest in music? Was music your first choice or were you into other forms of art or maybe into sports?
My Mum plays classical piano and my Dad played acoustic guitar, mainly country music and he was into jazz and played the clarinet which I learnt when was 12-ish. I did piano lessons when I was 13 for 6 months but got bored of playing piano and after a few lessons from my Dad I was hooked on the guitar. It was 1973 and there was a lot of glam rock on the TV, I loved most of the stuff that was on: Sweet, Mud, Slade and of course Quo. I also bought a Beatles book and learnt some of their tracks.
You and Colin Harkness who left us unexpectedly earlier this year were friends since the age of 10. What’s your favourite story about him? What story would describe him the best?
We did many things together when we became friends. I told the story of how we met at his funeral when I flicked paint on his painting and he offered fisticuffs at our local park, at the time I had a reputation of being a bit of a hard knock and with the help of my friends I beat him up and we were Best friends the next day. We later joined a choir and in 1975 we joined the air cadets hoping to join the airforce but that all changed once the band formed in 1976. During our time at the choir they had a youth club and I taught Colin a few chords and we used to perform Buddy Holly songs and Beatles songs on a stage to our mates so that was the start of our musical adventure. Colin read a lot and always had something to say. The funniest story I can remember is when the band were invited to a meal with Tony Wilson (producer of the Friday Rock Show), his wife Maggie Fahren, Tommy Vance, Bernie Marsden from Whitesnake and someone else. There was wine on the table and me and Col got stuck in and were slightly tipsy. I was sat opposite Bernie and asked him how the tour was going. Col started kicking me under the table but I ignored that and continued to quiz Bernie. I don’t think he was too amused at me as he told me that he’d been sacked from Whitesnake and was starting a new band (yeah I put my foot in it).
Colin explained how he met the Burrows brothers here. But who came up with the name Spider? I heard it was taken from some TV show…
It was taken from a TV series that we used to watch and the character’s name was Spider Scott, he was a detective.
How can you describe the roles within the band? I heard Brian could be dominating, but what about the others? Who was the troublemaker, who was the peacemaker etc.?
Ah, right, characters. We were young all 16 except for Brian who was 19. Brian had all the ideas and yes, he was in charge. He did all the driving and motivated us as a band. Robe, his brother, became our drummer and learnt from scratch. I think we all learnt as we went along on our journey. Robs a joker he’s still a joker and I spoke to him last week. Colin became our singer as he had a good voice and started writing songs and I would help him out with melodies. I myself was very quiet, almost shy, but committed to being a lead guitarist. We were all troublemakers and the band was everything to us. We used to do our own posters as Brian used to works at a printing shop so a free supply of paper was provided. We would drive around in our van and paste as many as we could get away with in our local area.
And what about songwriting? Colin and Brian were credited as writers for most of the song in the early days. Later on all the musicians of Spider shared writing credits, Was it really like that or was it a business decision?
It was mostly Colin who wrote the songs, but Brian did write some of the tracks. It was Brian’s decision to put all our names for writing credits even though me and Robe did not contribute words but music and melodies. Brian mainly wrote the political songs (them that start the fighting don’t fight). I remember chatting to Col a few years ago saying what a great track “The Minstrel” was and he said Brian wrote that one. Royalties were always split 4 ways not that we got that much!
People often compared Spider to Status Quo, but were you really fans of the Quo?
For us as a band that annoyed us to be compared to Status Quo. Yes we played Rock’n’Roll and we had a few obvious SQ sounding tracks like “All the Time” but I felt we were heavier than Quo. But yes we were big SQ fans and got to meet them at Donnington in 1986. Just to let you know there was hundreds of metal bands at the time but only a few Rock’n’Roll bands but no room for us.
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| From Kerrang! № 20 |
Did NWOBHM influence you in any way? Were you into bands like Maiden, Saxon, Vardis, Angel Witch, Weapon etc.?
I personally was influenced by Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood, I loved all the glam rock bands. To be honest I listened to a lot of American bands like Molly Hatchet, Styx and later April Wine. Maiden were good at the time and I love Def Leppard. The first album I bought was Santana so I like all sorts of music.
I believe the first ever record is like the first love, so what are your best memories about recording “Back to the Wall”? Did it take long to record and mix it? How come that you recorded your first single in Oldham’s studio which was located near Manchester? Weren’t there cheap studios in Liverpool?
I have no memory of why we recorded in that studio but I’ll tell you something. A lot of people don’t know is that I’d left the band 6 months prior to recording Back to the wall and got a job as a Dental technician. The guys wanted me back in the band and I wanted it so much (Spinal Tap moment). So I took a day off at work and they sacked me. We went into the studio and recorded “Back to the Wall” and “Down and Out” and sold it at our gigs.
“Back to the Wall'' is such an awesome song! Why didn’t you re-record it for one of the full-length albums?
Thanks. It was a basic song with strong lyrics. Apart from Colin we were all on the Dole (benefits) and the song was a bit dated. Colin and Brian had written better songs and I’m guessing that we would have re-recorded it if we were still together but that wasn’t to be. Did you know that a punk label from New York re-released it 15 years ago as it was around the punk era?
No, I didn’t! And why did it take 3 years to come up with another single? I’m sure you had plenty of songs, so was it all because of money and business stuff?
It was a great time to gig as we didn’t have a record label and would accept anyone that wanted us. We used to rehearse every day playing our first album up and down the country before it was released by RCA. We travelled around in a van, slept in the van and we had a few roadies which we picked up on our travels. As for money I didn’t get a wage. As long as I had my cigarettes and food then I was happy.
At some point the band left Merseyside when you were busted for being on the dole and playing shows. How come that the authorities find this out and when did that happen?
That’s a funny story. We played in our area and pubs were packed in them days. It was our local pub called the Dale Inn and we’re performing and we all noticed 2 guys taking notes, so I confronted these guys and he said he was investigating us for earning money whilst claiming (we got paid £5 for most gigs at the time). We all drank at that time and I was drunk and took this guy outside for a punchup. He was drunk as well as me and I couldn’t reach him as he was six feet tall and well I’m a short guy. A week later apart from Colin we went to court and got fined, mine was a £400 fine. We left for London in 1978 to seek our fame and fortune!
Over the years the band recorded a few cover versions. Who came up with the idea of making a medley of rock classics “Amazin’ Grace Medley”? Was it something you played during rehearsals and soundchecks? Was it easy to cram all the songs into the medley?
We used to mess around during sound checks and gradually added our favourite bits to the song starting with “Amazing Grace”. It developed into a fan favourite but once we started playing bigger gigs we dropped it. I recently recorded my own version on my computer and invited a Spider fan who could play a bit of Rock’n’Roll to mime and we had a bit of fun.
What about “Get Down And Get With It”? Were you inspired by Slade's version of this song or were you into the original version of Bobby Marchan?
We were Slade fans, I’d not heard Bobby Marchand version. We like songs that involve the audience and it’s a great song.
The band also recorded some songs written or co-written by other people: “Part of the Legend”, “Talkin' 'Bout Rock'n'Roll”, “Breakaway”. Why was that? Were they labels’ demands, or did you try to vary your material?
I’m not sure how we acquired these songs but for me “Talkin' 'Bout Rock'n'Roll” is one of my favourite track and I’m sure Colin wrote “Part of the Legend”. “Breakaway” was originally done by a band called The Dead End Kids, this track was pushed by A&M and the guys weren’t happy about recording it but I loved it. Robe hated the track as they used a drum machine but Rob did a few fills. To me record companies want hits and if you don’t get that lucky break they drop you and this happened to us. I think the 3rd album was more mature and my favourite album of the 3.
Could you tell me about Maggi Farren? How substantial was her input in Spider’s success? Did she have a business plan for Spider and what were her management’s methods? What could be done differently in your opinion?
Maggi Farren is married to Tony Wilson. She was good for us as she got us onto tours and gave us the opportunity to record albums. Maggi got both deals with RCA and A&M and was very enthusiastic for the band. I didn’t have a lot to do with the business side of it but Brian did and wanted control of business decisions. I think that got in the way of things. I recently had a conversation with Rob that Brian should have been our manager and we should have got another bass player but that was an afterthought. Part of the problem was that we all lived together: roadies, girlfriends and band members, it was a packed house and I started rebelling towards the end. We should have had our own lives but I guess we couldn’t afford it.
I never got into the business side of it but it was an awesome time. A 6 album deal with proper backing major tours recording our 1st album which was a fan favourite and getting plenty of press. There wasn’t a hit so they dropped us.
I know that the band (or at least Brian Burrows) was disappointed with “Why D’Ya Lie to Me”. Was there a chance to release the original mix or the pressure from the label was too high?
I’m guessing the pressure was always to release a catchy song and that’s what we thought would be a hit but again it didn’t quite make it in the charts. But it did get us on the TV. “Why D’Ya Lie to Me” was always a poppy rock song but I liked it. Brian always got involved in promoting the band and he did a hell of a lot through the Spider days. My experience was to entertain, get involved with the fans and have a good time but on reflection I should have got more into the business side of it.
Why did RCA drop the band? Were they disappointed with the sale’s numbers? How did you take that situation? Was it a blow to your ego?
I was disappointed but we got signed to A&M pretty quickly and they gave us a opportunity to record another album with slightly different tracks on it. I don’t think I ever had an ego, I loved being in a rock band and had a fantastic 10 years of mainly ups and a few downs.
Spider worked with Tony Wilson and Chris Tsangarides. Who understood the band better? What made them different from each other as producers?
I’m not known for chatting, just got on with creating some great music and performing. I came alive onstage and still do. Tony was like a mate and even came on tour with us. He was a great producer and did both Friday Rock sessions at the BBC. I don’t know how much Tony charged us but he produced “Rock’n’Roll Gypsies” and “Raise the Banner”. Chris was a top producer and produced a Thin Lizzy album and worked with A&M. He did a great job on “Rough justice” which was slightly different to the other 2 albums. Chris was top bloke and we all got on great with him.
What are your best memories about the recording of each Spider’s album? Which one of the most pleasant to do and which one was an odd thing?
“Rock’n’Roll Gypsies” had a live feel to it. We were inexperienced and only had 2 weeks to do it. We wanted a live feel and put all the tracks playing live in the studio. We didn’t use tuners and tuned a semi tone down by ear and I’m sure a few of the tracks are out of tune, but it doesn’t matter as I think we captured what we were about and the songs on that album had been around for years. The next album, “Rough Justice”, was experimental and Colin and Brian wrote slightly slower tracks. I don’t think A&M really cared as “Death Row” was supposed to be the lead track on the album but they put it in the middle! We later changed that when Cherry Red got involved. We also introduced a female singer (Anna Maria), Brian’s girlfriend at the time, and it worked. Then came “Raise the Banner”. This to me was a more mature Spider, stronger songs and well produced, we were more experienced and better players. I loved the whole recording process apart from one episode when I completely forgot “What You’re Doin’ to Me” (brain freeze) and had to listen to it to remind me!
I have an impression that “Rough Justice” was the most diverse album of Spider. Would you agree with me? If yes, what made the album so special?
Yes, it was and if we were still together I’m guessing we would have done more diverse stuff but we rained it in with “Raise the Banner”. I think “The Minstrel” and “Time to Go Now” were different to any of the other tracks and maybe offers. Possibly influenced by Uriah Heep.
As you said, “Death Row” was planned to be an opener of “Rough Justice” but the label insisted on changing the order of the songs. What was their idea?
I have no idea why A&M did this, it didn’t make sense and I don’t think they really cared, but we got to do an album and they threw money at us. Guitar sponsorship — tours paid for. I personally didn’t see any money but I was having a good time and didn’t think about that side of it.
Could you clear the situation with “Raise the Banner”? The booklet of the 4 CDs anthology says it remained officially unreleased until 2012. Does it mean that the printed copies weren’t available in stores?
My recollection of it was that PRT signed us and managed to put a thousand copies out before they went bust. There’s a few dodgy copies released by kresendo records where they blatantly copied the record onto a CD and sold it. You can hear the needle on the CD. But later on we struck up a deal with Cherry Red Records in 2012 who put an anthology out of all our material. We all got a cut from that deal and gave up the rights to our songs but still kept the royalties. Also Cherry Red sorted out the correct track listing with “Death Row” as the start of the album.
Who were the Swots who were credited as back singers on “Raise the Banner”?
So What were a band from Glasgow in Scotland and they supported us at a gig in Glasgow and we struck up a friendship. They were a class act and I think they used to help out Brian Connolly from Sweet before they put their own stuff out. They helped us on “Raise the Banner” and we covered one of their songs, “Bad Boys”. Awesome band and should have been famous but they didn’t get any support from record companies.
Now let’s talk about touring with Spider. I understand that after playing 2000 shows you can’t remember them all, but let’s do a quick run through some key points. In 1980 you toured with Uriah Heep. How did you get this opportunity without a major deal or a full-length album?
I was chatting to Robe recently and it was pure luck that we got this tour. The support band pulled out last minute and we just happened to be about at the time and had a reputation of gigging a lot. We were 3rd on the bill behind Samson with Bruce Dickinson on vocals, I didn’t really have a lot to do with the guys from Samson but Uriah Heep were good for us. They looked after us. Mick Box was a top bloke and we spent a lot of time with the band. It was a rough tour as we spent our time travelling in a Luton van it was fricking cold but was an experience at the time. We also got to play bigger venues and that was awesome.
You also toured with Samson and there was bad blood between the band because Bruce Dickinson did something with your single. Do you remember what caused this animosity? Did they consider you old fashioned?
I don’t think there was any bad blood between us and Samson and I’ve no idea what he did to our single? I think it was that we got on with Uriah Heep and perhaps a bit of jealousy at the time. I met Bruce Dickinson when he was in Iron Maiden and he was really nice to me. Top bloke. As for did he consider us old fashioned, probably as we played Rock’n’Roll and most bands at the time were metal.
Some sources say that in 1982 Spider played every month at the Marquee club, but I couldn’t find any approval of that. Was it really like that?
We did have our fair share of gigs at the Marquee but not every month. What a great gig though: no air conditioning, sweaty and a great atmosphere.
Once you headlined a gig in Marquee with Marillion as a support band. Any memories about that day? Could you see Marillion being such a big band back then?
I never imagined Marillion being famous and at the time I thought what a bunch of hippies. I remember their fans sitting down as they came on stage. Musically they were good but it wasn’t my kind of music.
How was it to play at Reading Rock in 1982? You played quite early, so were there many fans in front of the stage? Did you come just to play your set and go to the next gig, or did you hang out in the festival ground the entire weekend?
It has to be one of the best gigs I’ve ever played. The stage was huge and I used to jump around a lot (still do). I was told there were about 30 thousand fans when we were on stage and they sang some of our songs which sounded great. We didn’t hang around but I saw Twisted Sister that day and they blew me away.
What was the story with egging some journalists at the Monsters of Rock festival? Was it just a joke or was it your way to pay back the press who never loved Spider?
I have no idea what that was all about, sure the press weren’t very kind to us. I certainly wasn’t a part of the alleged egging.
Would you say that the headline show at the Hammersmith Odeon was the peak of the band? What are your memories about the gig and the supporting bands (Clive Burr’s Escape and Alaska)?
It was a highlight playing Hammy O, there was a train strike that day. I remember Alaska as they had Bernie Marsden on guitar. Great band. I was backstage a lot and missed out on watching bands.
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| Spider with the ultimate rock star |
This is a difficult question. Uriah Heep looked after us and Mick Box and Trevor Bolder were nice to us and we sometimes hung out in there dressing room. Gillan always had women around him and was/is the ultimate rock star, their guitarist was Janick Gers and he was down to earth and a top bloke. Slade were huge stars and apart from Noddy Holder, who I guess was the boss, the other members were great to get on with. I will say this about the Slade tour. Our first gig was awesome: sound check, lots of lights, encore. Brilliant. Next gig there were restrictions on lights, no sound check and we were not allowed to do an encore! I’ll say no more.
You played around 2000 gigs during 10 years which makes 200 gigs per year. How did you manage to remain sane? What was your way to fight the boredom of touring?
We did gig a lot and would play anywhere. It was good fun and we got up to mishaps along the way. Vans breaking down, long journeys, lots of sleeping. For me a lot of sleeping. In the early days we would meet up with local lads and play football.
Is it true that the band didn’t drink alcohol at all and preferred tea? Were you 100% behind this decision?
It is true that we had a reputation for drinking tea, but not so in the early days when most of us were under age. We used to get drunk before going on stage and it was decided probably by Brian that we should be more professional and stop drinking. GOOD CALL. So we drank a lot of tea which we all liked at the time. But in the later years me and Col rebelled. To this da6 I don’t think Brian drinks but me and Rob like a drink and Colin he definitely liked a drink.
No. At first we had a Luton van which we slept in and a pink Commer van with a pink PA system which we built ourselves out of chipboard, bloody heavy, and then we bought the coach and put beds in and made it into our on road house. Oh we did buy an RAF bus which broke down a lot! Apart from Europe we used that coach a lot through the years.
What is your favourite story/stories from the touring life? What story sums up the whole Spider experience for you?
For me it has to be the first time gigs that we played. The Marquee had great atmosphere and was always packed. Playing Reading festival was amazing as I had so much space to run around and as we gigged a lot we had some fans there and they knew our songs. Playing Wembley arena supporting Ian Gillan was a highlight so for me it was performing and meeting the fans later on.
Why did you quit Spider?
It was 47 years ago. Not many people know this but I left the band twice, just before 1978 we used to fight a lot and I had enough and left. My mum and dad were pleased and I got a job as a dental technician for 6 months (I hated it) I rejoined the band and we recorded our 1st single and later left for London. I left Spider because my life wasn’t my own and I guess I rebelled against Brian and his ways. Our 3rd record company had gone bust and we weren’t gigging as much. I loved Spider but there comes a time when you want a bit of fun and we argued a lot. There’s obviously a lot more to it!
Did you try to launch another band, get a deal and record original music?
Easy answer — no. I met my girlfriend in 1984 and we are still together now. I got a job in 1987 and worked 33 years before retiring in 2019. I’d had enough of music and threw my guitar in a corner and settled down to married life. I’m sure you’ve heard the story of my computer tech guy sorting my computer at work. I had a guitar and amp at my office and used to practice a lot and this guy told me about a local jam night which he was apart of. So I went to the jam night with my son who was 13 at the time. I met Ian husband’s and gave him the lyrics to hear “We go Rock’n’Roll” and said, “Sing that“ (he murdered the song). So I decided that I would learn the lyrics and sing a few Spider songs myself. It turned out that Ian had worked for Brian for 9 years and gave me his number and I rang him some 15 years after Spider split. We met up a few times after and have sort of made up.
Now you have AWOL, a cover band. Could you introduce the band please? Where people can see you on stage?
We had a gig at the Hop poles in Enfield on the 3rd December. We don’t gig that much but that suits me fine as I have problems with my hips but that’s another story! Dave Evans on bass is in a lot of bands, he played with a band called Replicant and I have helped them out in the past by learning songs by Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath which I enjoyed. Paul Tompkins our singer who was replaced some 4 years ago. Paul was in a AC/DC and Thin Lizzy tribute band and still performs as Syn City. I depped once and had to learn their set list. Mark Chudley the other guitarist and very good, we play “Comfortably Numb” and “Still Got the Blues” and takes the lead on them songs and I do a lot of the Rock’n’Roll songs and we play a few Spider tracks. Mark is in a band with John Saville our new singer and I’m hoping to do an acoustic thing with John next year having learnt 70 odd songs.
Were you in touch with the Burrows brother all those years? How come that they moved to France and Australia? Is it true that they played a few shows in France in 1989 under the Spider’s moniker?
I spoke to Brian some 15 years after I left the band and we later met up for a meal and catch up. It was always going to be difficult getting back together as Robe lived in Australia having met an Aussie and emigrated. Brian runs VWAction festival and settled in France. I don’t have a lot to do with Brian but we do speak and he’s recently offered AWOL a slot at his final gig in Northampton next year with a bit of a get together. It hasn’t been announced yet. I’ve met Rob quite a few times as he’s good friends with Debra one of our roadies in the day and also met Rob some 3 months ago as he came to see his dad. I really like Robe and he’s always joking around. Did spider perform in Europe In 1989 I don’t think so. Maybe Colin did but I lost contact with Col for a number of years.
Could you tell me the story of the Spider’s unfortunate reunion in 2016? How long did it take to rehearse the songs?
What a shame that this didn’t happen. We had done or should I say I performed an acoustic gig with our singer from AWOL and a bass player that I knew in 2012 organised by Jesse Lock. All of Spider were there and after our set which consisted of all Spider songs done on an acoustic, Colin got up and we did “Feel Like a Man”, then Rob and Brian joined us and we did a further 3 Spider numbers. It was a great evening. The unfortunate re-union didn’t happen because ticket sales were bad and Brian pulled the plug on it as it was his venue in Northampton VWAction which he runs. I remember we rehearsed for a week and Brian bought a drum kit for Rob and a bass for himself. I had to tab out all the notes for Brian and help him along as he hadn’t played since the band split up. Colin’s voice was OK but he did struggle a bit and Robs drumming was awesome.
What went wrong with the show in your opinion? Were you ready to play despite the poor ticket sales?
We were ready and had a full week of rehearsal. I have the rehearsals on my iPad! We were all set to go ahead but Brian didn’t feel confident enough so he cancelled.
How can you summarize your experience with Spider? Was there something that you really believed in but didn’t fight hard enough to persuade your band mates?
As in most bands we all had different personalities. Brian was older than all of us and he was in charge. He did all the driving before we had roadies and he pushed the band Robe, Brian’s brother was just crazy and funny and a bloody good drummer Colin wrote most of the songs but as a band it was decided that we split the royalties which didn’t amount to much. We all believed in the band and worked hard to make it happen. I loved the music we did and still some of it to this day. Towards the end I guess I rebelled against Brian and left the band in 1986. I’m very proud of what we did as a band, I enjoyed performing and I had a blast. I think we needed a break but we didn’t get it and the fact that there wasn’t many Rock’n’Roll bands around our only competition was Status Quo and Slade. One last thing: I will always play guitar for as long as I can so I’ll keep on rockin’.
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