About the Blog

Welcome to the virtual museum of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal!

Yeah, this is not just a blog. I started it to collect every bit of the era when heavy metal was forged. Were you in a band and gigged around the UK in the late 70’s and early 80’s? Did you attend local shows as a fan? Were you a promoter or a DJ? Did you discover NWOBHM only a few years ago? You are all welcomed! Everything you can share about those days is a treasure: pictures of clubs, bands, friends, tickets, tour programs, whatever! And what is the most important and what you can’t touch but can feel and relive — memories! How was it to be an independent musician in Bristol in 1980? Or how was it to be in the middle of the metal hurricane in London or Newcastle watching young Iron Maiden doing their first steps to the top? People are fading away, clubs are closing down, and there are less and less opportunities to save the memories about the glorious days of British metal! Therefore feel free to get in touch and tell your stories! 

Email for any purposes: kcwild1982@gmail.com

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So who is this crazy guy who runs this museum?

My name is Konstantin (or KC). I’ve been a metalhead since 1996. My love to heavy metal started with girls, of course! One day at a school party I heard Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and asked a girl for a slow dance. Touching girl’s body for the first time was incredible, but that was the music that really hooked me up. The next day I went to a local music store and asked, “Do you have any Metallica’s album?” Of course they had — Metallica were HUGE back then in Russia. The only thing was that they had only “Ride the Lightning” cassette tape. Imagine my feelings when I heard “Fight Fire with Fire” instead of “Nothing Else Matters”! Yeah, right — I was shocked, scared to death and fell in love with the music immediately!

Within a year I discovered tons of awesome bands: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, you name it. I read about metal bands everything I could: local music magazines (there were only 2 or 3 back then), cuts from foreign zines, books, encyclopedias (one of them stated that Venom played the heaviest form of blues!). In many interviews Lars Ulrich and Dave Mustaine mentioned bands like Diamond Head, Raven, Sledgehammer, Paralex, Angel Witch, Saxon, Samson, Tank etc. That’s how I discovered NWOBHM. The only problem was that it was impossible to find albums of these bands in Russia for a 15-year-old kid. The very first time I heard “Wheels of Steel” was in 2000, when I finally found a bootlegged CD with the album. So for a few years I dreamed about the moment when I would be able to get my hands on these gems! And when that happened, I was more than ready! When I got my first job at the age of 19, I spent my first salary on the CDs entirely.

As it usually happens, the things got worse and worse (for my wallet). It was like a snowball: “Did you know that the drummer of this band played in that band in 1981? They had a single and an EP!” — “Man! I have to find this band!” I’ve never had enough of this music and of information. Unfortunately there was almost no info about the vast majority of NWOBHM bands in Russia, so around 2008 I decided to start writing and spreading the word about the music I love. I did interviews with White Spirit, Tank, Dennis Stratton, Weapon, Paul Mario Day, Dealer and Preyer among others. Since 2012 to 2022 I put out my own printed magazine with a section called “NWOBHM Encyclopedia”. A lot of the interviews I did for the zine are posted in this blog.

I started the blog/museum in 2017 and I’ve been privileged to do dozens of interviews with bands and musicians like Quartz, Satan, Jaguar, Nicky Moore (ex-Samson), Mark Venables (ex-Di’Anno), Mick Procter (ex-Blitzkrieg) and many more!

Here is what people say about the blog:

KC interviewed me back in 2018 for my role in Paul Di’anno’s first band coming out of Iron Maiden. I found his questions intelligent, insightful and probing. I knew that I was actually talking to a proper “rock” person who knew the genre. With a few clever questions he drew the whole history of the band from me, a few “secrets”, and a bit about my outside interests as well. I am pleased to have had the pleasure of communicating with this extremely pleasant and knowledgeable man.

Mark Venables, ex-Di’Anno

KC interviewed me in April 2022. I loved the questions and wasn't expecting so many. KC's knowlenge of those early NWOBHM days is exceptional and his attention to details is superb. All questions were relevant to the 1980's and to Le Griffe's home town of Stoke-on-Trent. If all the bands that KC interviews could send in their opinion of their particular questions and how this made them feel about times gone by, then this would be a series of articles to cherish and to really get the feel of rock music in those great days.

Rob Moseley, former lead vocalist/bassist of Le Griffe

It was a pleasure and really easy to work with KC Wild. He submitted interesting and different questions for the band to answer in a very timely manner. Once he received the band's answers and comments he quickly produced a well written in depth interview/article which was well laid out and flowed well covering all the points the band wanted to make. Well done & cheers.

Tim Perry, manager of Quartz 

Every interview in this blog is very informative, no obvious/usual questions. Worth checking out.

Gustavo Rios Autran, blog’s reader