Middlesbrough's natives Holland (a.k.a. Holland) lived very typical life of a NWOBHM band: they played energetic and enjoyable mixture of hard rock and heavy metal and gigged wherever they could and trusted their succes to Ebony Records. Of course, this label helped Grim Reaper to get a major deal and also released albums of Savage, Dealer, Blade Runner and Cobra, but most of these bands saw very little (if any) support from Ebony. So it was all about how enthusiastic bands were and how long they wanted to continue playing and recording. Holland, who changed the name to Hammer (more about that below), managed to record two albums before calling it a day in 1985. In 2019 I contacted Graeme Hutchinson to talk about the glorious days of NWOBHM and other things. Some of the info here is a bit dated (especially about Black Rose's new album) but other than that it is still interesting for a NWOBHM fan.
Could you tell me about the band Lazy Dog you played with before Holland? Who played with that band? Did you have any original material which you used in Holland? Did Lazy Dog record anything?
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| Graeme Hutchinson |
How did you all get in touch with Kenny Nicholson, Bob Henman and Marty Day?
I’d known Ken from the early days of Ice/Black Rose and had roadied for them in 1980/81. Bob was in another local band called Anvil (not the Canadian one) and Marty Day had been in Axis. When Janick Gers left White Spirit to join Gillan, there was a bit of a shake-up in the Teesside band scene. Ken and Mick Tucker (Axis guitarist and now in Tank) auditioned to replace Janick in White Spirit. Mick got the job and so Axis split up and Ken then decided to leave Black Rose. Ken and I wanted to put a band together and so we teamed up, which led to Lazy Dog folding. We next recruited Bob and then Marty Day as both Anvil and Axis had ended by then. We wrote and rehearsed during 82/83 whilst searching for a singer.
Why did it take so long to get Marty Wilkinson? What was wrong with other singers you tried to work with? 
Marty Wilkinson
We tried a few singers and advertised in Melody Maker which led to one hopeful coming all the way from Southampton to audition. However, he was awful. Bruce Ruff (ex-White Spirit) also rehearsed with us and we wanted him to join however he declined as I think he’d had enough after White Spirit. Eventually we saw Martin Wilkinson (Doggy) in a local band called Red Dog and we tried to persuade him to join however he declined. We wouldn’t take no for an answer, so we just kept going to see him play and eventually after several months we managed to get him to rehearse with us and he then decided to join. Our music was heavier than the music Doggy enjoyed which is one of the reasons it took a long time to persuade him to join.
What was the idea with the name Holland? Why did you choose especially this one?
I honestly can’t remember the exact reason we chose Holland, other than that Bob Henman is half Dutch.
Tell me about the early days of the band. Were you a pro band with a tech crew, touring bus, booking agent etc.? 
Bob Henman
We were semi-pro, as we all had other jobs outside of music. We played the usual rock pubs and clubs in the local area to begin with and then further afield in the UK. A few mates became our roadies, though none were professional roadies with specific technical skills. No touring bus I’m afraid though we did have a large six-wheeler transit van to get our gear around. We used booking agents from time to time though we didn’t have a manager — indeed all the management and admin was done by me.
What were some memorable shows from 1982 — early 1983 period? Did you support any bigger bands like Iron maiden or Judas Priest?
No major support slots sadly. It was mainly our own gigs, or we’d team up with other local bands to put on a night of local rock (Black Rose, Skitzofrenik, Battleaxe to name a few). We also supported other up and coming UK bands like Chinatown and Dumpys Rusty Bolts (both from London). We also supported Chrome Molly, though I think this was later on.
Tell me please about recording of the first demo. Was it a smooth one or were there some odds and troubles (beside the drunk sound engineer)? Why did only “Kicking Back” make it to the album? And why did you include only 3 tracks off the demo to 2012’s re-issue?
We had a minimal budget so we went for the cheapest local studio we could find — Evergreen in North Yorkshire. A BIG mistake! It was run by an enthusiast who worked on a farm. The studio was basic with an 8-track recording set up; however, it wasn’t the studio itself that was the problem but rather the guy doing the engineering who just didn’t have a clue… Фnd we didn’t know much either. I think he was called Clive. We recorded the 6-track demo over two days, bunking down in a room on the farm. We drank a lot of Clive’s home brew beer which didn’t help. Anyway, the bottom line was a terrible sounding demo, although it did help us get a bit more attention and gigs. Of the 6 tracks, 3 went on the Holland re-issue CD (“Driving Me Crazy”, “Illusion and The Lowdown”) and “Hard Hittin’ Woman” was added to the Hammer re-issue CD. The other 2 demo tracks (“Break Out The Booze” and “Kicking Back”) didn’t make it onto the Holland CD as there was not enough space on the CD itself. 3 of these tracks made it onto our albums with Ebony: “Kicking Back” and “Break Out the Booze” were re-recorded for the Holland album and Hard Hittin’ Woman was re-recorded for the Hammer album.
How was the demo received? Was it available in a tape-trading circuit or was it a promotional thing only?
We took the demo master tape to Guardian Studios to see if they could improve the sound and they did re-eq it though with minimal impact. We were so disappointed with the demo, that we didn’t push it although Radio Tees played a couple of tracks. We also gave a few copies away to fans who were interested.
It was always hard for any bands to get attention from the music press outside of London. We did get good coverage in local press, radio and even TV. When the first album was released, we got reviews in Sounds and Kerrang and started to get coverage in other rock/metal publications and fanzines both in the UK and overseas. We had a local fan called Mark Gregory who had his own rock fanzine called Cleveland Rock and also did freelance work for Kerrang and Radio Tees. He helped a lot in getting the band Radio play and other exposure.
Was the recording of the second demo any different to the first one? How can you describe the progress of the band between the demos?
We saved up money from gigs to fund the second demo and made sure we chose a decent studio and engineer. We went to Fairview Studios near Hull and worked with Roy Neave. This was the same studio and engineer that Def Leppard used for the first demo which led to their first EP. By this time we had many more songs written and were more rehearsed and tighter as a band. The experience in Fairview Studios was fantastic as Roy knew exactly what he was doing and took charge straight away. Everything was better in every way and Roy was musical enough to make the occasional suggestion during recording to enhance a couple of songs.
How did you get in touch with Ebony Records and why did you decide to sign with them and not with Roadrunner who also showed interest in the band?
I sent off copies of the second demo to quite a few record labels and a number replied. As I recall I got replies from Cherry Red, Neat, Roadrunner and of course Ebony Records. Neat and Cherry Red weren’t interested and I don’t remember Roadrunner showing much interest either so Ebony were our best chance of a record deal. They were very enthusiastic from the get-go and committed to signing us over the phone. They couldn’t get us in the studio quickly enough. They were also relatively local to us (about 100 miles away) which made the logistics easier. They were also cool about us continuing semi-pro as most of the band had day jobs and the deal with Ebony wasn’t enough to pay the bills. With hindsight, we know why as Ebony had a very simple business model which enabled them to make money form low cost recording and production of the albums so that each didn’t need to sell that many to make a profit. I guess they then hoped for some of them to take-of and then get distribution deals with one of the bigger labels — which is exactly what happened for them with Grim Reaper. I recall that 20,000 copies of the Holland album were originally pressed but less for the Hammer album.
Tell me about the recording sessions at Ebony Studios with Darryl Johnston. Malc Macmillan called them “eventful” in his NWOBHM Encyclopedia. Can you remember anything about that? Were you satisfied with the result? Why didn’t the song “Bad Boy” make it to the album?
We recorded at the original Ebony Studio which was built in the ground floor of a terrace house in Mayfield Street, Hull. It was an interesting set up with the live room at the front of the house with the desk and outboard equipment in a cramped room at the rear. Darryl had recently bought some up to date out-board, so he had a decent set up but to be honest I don’t think he was the best engineer, though very enthusiastic and supportive throughout. We had 2 weeks to record the Holland album — a week for the drums, bass and rhythm guitars and the following week for vocals and solos. Darryl then mixed the album on his own a short time afterwards. He was insistent that no-one from the band could be present during the mix and mastering. We were given even less time to record the Hammer album. “Bad Boy” was a Doggy song — he wrote it entirely. It’s a great song though the Ebony recording doesn’t do it justice. The keyboards sound naff and too much effect on the guitars. Ultimately, we could only put about 40 minutes of music on an LP (20 minutes each side) and so we had to lose one of the songs. It was Darryl who decided to leave out “Bad Boy”. As you can imagine as young lads, we were very excited and had a great time throughout. Darryl and Linzi were great fun to be with and we had a few drunken nights out with them in Hull. Great memories, I just wish the final recorded sound of the band had ended up better.
A guy I worked with called Paul Gaythorpe came up with the Holland cover design. The concept was a guitar shaped UFO flying over the Fylingdales early warning station in North Yorkshire. The Fylingdales station is well known in the UK and used to be highly recognizable by 3 large white globes on the horizon. Paul did a draft artwork for the cover which looked fantastic, however Darryl at Ebony was insistent that Gary Sharpe did the final artwork itself. So, we gave Paul’s artwork to Gary to work from and he came up with the final album cover. Gary’s artwork is OK but it is nowhere near as good in concept or in execution as the draft done by Paul Gaythorpe. That is why we insisted on using Paul for the Hammer album artwork, next time around.
The band was able to play some shows with Magnum. How many shows did you play with them and how did they go? Do you remember other shows in support of “Early Warning”?
We were due to play with Magnum and the Redcar Coatham Bowl (I think in 1984) however the gig was cancelled so it never went ahead. A few memorable shows were The Lion Inn in Warrington, the Sunderland Mayfair Ballroom, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Kings Lynn. We didn’t support either album with a tour as such. Most gigs were booked randomly though we tried to get as many as we could. However, because of our days jobs we were fairly restricted to what we could do.
Tell me about that legal issue with the Canadians who made you to change the name. How did all that happen? Did the names change harm your career?
The first we knew about it was when Darryl Johnston at Ebony Records told us he’d been contacted by the other Holland’s lawyers to challenge our use of the name. Darryl’s view was that he wanted his bands to be easily recognizable as metal and so he encouraged us not to fight for the name and instead come up with something more metal…. hence, we changed to Hammer.
Who came up with the name Hammer? Did you personally like it?
I suggested it at a rehearsal when we were discussing ideas for the new name. Everyone liked the fact it was short and hard rock sounding… So we decided to go with that. Ebony Records loved it as it was so heavy metal sounding.
Although you’ve mentioned in the liner notes for the “Early Warning” re-issue that Hammer and Holland were the same bands but as far as I can judge you moved to a slightly different direction adding keyboards to your sound. Who was responsible for that?
We all contributed to the songwriting though Ken did the lion share in the earlier days. As we progressed the balance changed which led to a slightly different direction/sound. Doggy is a multi-instrumentalist and was keen to do more, and so keyboards were added when it made sense for the song. I also got more involved in the song writing and song shaping which may have changed things a little bit as I lean more towards hard rock than hard metal. Probably the biggest factor was that we were just getting better as a band, in our song writing and, in our playing, which evolved into what you hear on the Hammer album.
And again, tell me please everything you can recall from the recording of “Contract with Hell”! Did you and Darryl understand each other better during those sessions?
In some ways it was easier because we already knew what to expect, however Darryl imposed a shorter time for recording. Initially he wanted it done within a week, though I think we got an extra couple of days in the end. Darryl had added some extra studio equipment which helped. The sound of the Hammer album has more power than the Holland album although both suffer from a messy mix. Generally, Darryl just wanted to get things done quickly so there wasn’t a lot of time working to get the perfect take. We’d spend the first day getting drums sorted and then straight into the drum and bass recordings. The rhythm guitars would then be recorded next and then the keyboard, vocals and finally the guitar solos. There was no production work as such, we basically took in the songs as we performed them live and recorded them, so Darryl’s role was really as the recording engineer. When we recorded the track “Contract With Hell” we had no lyrics, melody or title for the song. We basically recorded the music as we’d rehearsed it and prayed that Doggy would turn up at the studio with the words and melody. Fortunately he did and delivered an outstanding performance in the studio. Probably the best track on the album.
Is it correct that Kenny Nicholson quit due to musical differences? When did that happen? Was it you who asked you old pal Arthur Fixter to join the band? How much did he change the band’s chemistry? 
Ken Nicholson
After we’d finished recording the Hammer album, Doggy told me he’d had enough of the metal stuff and wanted to leave. Kenny was the opposite and wanted to go even more metal. Ken saw what was happening with the likes on Metallica and others and wanted to follow the trend whereas we just wanted to play the music that we believed in. After various discussions, Kenny moved on and Doggy, Bob, Marty Day and myself decided to continue. At the time we hadn’t decided whether to continue as Hammer or to start afresh (indeed we even played one gig under the name of Advance). Eventually we decided to remain as Hammer, not least because we had a third album commitment to Ebony Records. The four of us started to work on new material and this is where Doggy came front and centre. He was a prolific songwriter and his ideas were far more in the prog’ hard rock vein. His influences were Jethro Tull, Floyd, Genesis, Gentle Giant etc., so you can imagine this led to change. However, with the rest of us being hard rockers we ended up with what was kind of proggish hard rock. We needed another guitarist for live work and so I suggested Arty Fixter. Arty is an incredible guitarist who can play all sorts of styles although metal and hard rock is where his heart is. Everyone agreed unanimously to get Arty in the line-up as he is such a great player.
“Early Warning” was № 1 in Melody Maker’s heavy metal charts and what about “Contract with Hell”? How was it received? Did you tour in support of it?
“Contract With Hell” got even better reviews than Early Warning — it even received KKKK in Kerrang. It also received reviews from all over the world (Enfer, Metal Forces to name a couple), the vast majority of which were very positive. We didn’t tour the album at all because of the line-up change shortly after the album came out. However, we had been playing most of the songs in our set list prior to the recording so all the tracks except for “Contract With Hell” and “Satellite” had been performed live.
You demoed some stuff after the second album. What kind of music was it and what were some song titles? Why didn’t you put it with the re-issues in 2011—2012?
7 tracks were recorded across three separate demo sessions during 1985 and 1986. These were all recorded at Teesbeat Studios in Stockton with our friend Dimmer Blackwell as engineer. All were basic, low budget demos to help promote our new songs and line up. The tracks recorded are: “Gone In The Night”, “Don’t Stop (The Music)”, “Move It Up”, “Shoot”, “Cats and Rats”, “Castaway”, “Why Should Yesterday Matter”. You can hear most of them on Sound Cloud. Just search for Holland Hammer on www.soundcloud.com
Why did Ebony Records decline the option to release the third album?
We took the first demo to Darryl at Ebony Studios (who by now had moved to the massive Hemingbrough Hall location — proof enough that Ebony Records were making money from their bands). Darryl simply didn’t like the new songs — more than before he wanted metal and the recent speed metal sound. Our new songs were too sophisticated and whilst he could hear how good the songs were and how well we performed, this was not the direction he wanted for Ebony Records. He told us he didn’t want to do the contracted third album so that was the end of that. Ken did go on and record an album with Ebony Records with his new band Fast Kutz and even used an early Holland song on the album — “Driving Me Crazy”. Holland recorded this during the Evergreen Studios demo sessions and is included as a bonus track on the Holland, Early Warning CD reissue.
Why and when did you and Arthur leave the band? How long did the band carry on after that? 
Arty Fixter
I left in 1986 as the company I worked for had promoted me to a role that meant I had to leave the Teesside area. The band continued for a bit with Phil Brady (ex-White Spirit) taking on bass for a few months and then he was replaced by Brain Wilson. I believe Arty left because there weren’t enough gigs coming in and he loves to play live. The band continued for a while but eventually ran out of steam and fizzled out — in 1987 I believe.
Doggy and Kenny used to play in Outrageous Wallpaper and what about you, Arthur, Bob and Marty Day? What have you all done musically since then?
Bob and Arty have continuously played in bands since the end of Hammer. They also teamed up in a band called The Monsters Of Pop and also in a band called The Switch. They played all over the northern pub and club circuit throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Arty is also a prolific recording artist and has recorded literally dozens of songs and tunes — originals and covers. You can check out his recordings on YouTube. For myself, I played briefly with a Northampton based three piece in the early 1990’s which featured an outstanding guitarist called Si Mason. It was instrumentals featuring a few Joe Satriani and Steve Vai covers. Great fun but short lived. Other than that, I’ve played a few guest appearances with mates’ bands and then the Holland Hammer reunion gig in 2015. In 2018 I joined League Of Souls, a metal band lead by Ian Gilson (ex-Arizona, ex-Fast Kutz) who used to roadie for Holland.
Were you surprised when Old Metal Records approached you and asked about reissues of the albums? Are these reissues still available?
It was flattering to hear from King Fowley at Old Metal Records. He was fan of both albums and so we were more than happy to let him reissue the albums. Sadly, we didn’t have the original masters and couldn’t track down Darryl Johnston so ultimately the CDs were mastered from a combination of vinyl rips and high-quality cassette copy of the Hammer album I had that was taken direct from Darryl’s Betamax master tape. The bonus tracks were taken from the ¼ inch master tapes of the demos. Old Metal Records pressed 1000 copies of each album and as far as I know these are sold out, though you can usually find copies on eBay.
How did that reunion show happen? Did you say “Yes” straight away? Did it take long to rehearse the stuff and get the old chemistry back?
Ken had done the first BroFest festival with Black Rose and the guys that organized it turned out to be big Holland/Hammer fans. They asked if we’d be interested in playing and eventually, we managed to get Doggy to agree (sound familiar) and so we performed at BroFest 3 in 2015. Sadly, Marty Day didn’t want take part, so Chris Bennett from Black Rose kindly stepped in to the drum stool. As Doggy lives in Spain, we rehearsed without him for a couple of months in the lead up to BroFest. Doggy then came over a couple of days before the gig and we had two separate rehearsals with him before the gig itself. I’m currently working on a mix of the multi-tracks from BroFest gig with the possibility of a live Holland/Hammer album release later this year.
Did you think about playing more shows with Hammer and record some new stuff maybe?
Ken and I were keen to do more gigs but Doggy wasn’t interested so nothing went any further. These days we are all in different places musically so recording new stuff was never on the cards. Ken is recording a new album with Black Rose, I’m recording an album with League Of Souls and Doggy has a couple of solo albums which can be heard on his Reverbnation account.
Could you tell me a bit about yourself and the others outside the music? What do you all do for living? Do you still stay close friends and chat on a regular basis? 
Marty Day
Arty and myself are best mates. I’m also great friends with Bob and see him regularly. Doggy has been living in Spain for many years, so I keep in touch with him via email/Facebook. Ken and I keep in touch to deal with all things Holland/Hammer related. Bob and I are both now retired. Arty is a landscape gardener and plays in a duo at the weekends. Ken is an Instrument Artificer during the week, and I think he is working with about four bands at the moment — including Black Rose of course. I’ve sadly lost touch with Marty Day — I hope he’s doing well.
How do you see the years you spent with Holland/Hammer? Is it something you want to tell about to your grandchildren?
They were absolutely fantastic days. We were just diving into this music thing because we simply loved hard rock and wanted to emulate our heroes. It was an absolute thrill and so much fun and I learned so much more about music along the way. The early 1980’s were great for the resurgence of hard rock and metal in the UK (after the punk/new wave period) and I am proud that we played a small part.
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