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. 

Quartz: Back in the Band

 

Are Quartz a NWOBHM band? Well, if Rage (formelly Nutz) are than Quartz are, too. As they note they were too old for NWOBHM and started playing waaay before musicians from Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Gaskin (you name it) picked up an instrument. But by the late 70's and early 80's they definitely had turned into heavier music and contributed to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This interview was done in 2021 by a good friend of mine for Russian printed magazine "Stay Heavy". Now, when Quartz are ready to release their new album "On the Edge of No Tomorrow", here is an appetizer for you! This is very first appearance of the interview in the Web and in English. Answers were supplied by Mick Hopkins (MH), Derek Arnold (DA) and Malcolm Cope (MC).

Nicky Moore: Retired but not tired

Nicky Moore has done hundreds of interviews during his long career. So what’s the reason for another one may ask some of you? Well, it’s never enough of his stories about Hackensack, Samson, Big Jim Sullivan and other bands he sang with. Now, when Nicky is retired from music, it’s also great to let him know that there are people who still love his amazing voice and appreciate his achievements. So turn on some album from Nicky’s huge back catalogue (jazz, blues, rock, metal — he sang them all, so you’ll definitely find something for your taste!) and dig into his stories!  

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).  

Gangland: Riots, fights and rock'n'roll

Gangland never were a NWOBHM band as they came up at least 10 years late to be a part of that movement. But they did have strong connection to such acts like Deep Machine, Touchstone and Battlezone. After short interview with ex-Gangland/Battlezone guitarist Paulo Turin I decided to do an in-depth interview with Mark Storey, singer of Gangland. The band never made it big although enjoyed some success in Japan where appeared on a compilation called “Metal for Muthas ‘92” and released a single. So how was it to be in a starting rock band in the UK just before grunge wiped out everything? Mark Storey is ready to tell you!  

Paulo Turin (ex-Battlezone, ex-Di'Anno): "It was just madness!"

I’ve already touched Paul Di’Anno’s career after Maiden (see the interview with Mark Venables) but I believe that this subject could fill dozens of books. So here is a small bit of Mr. D’s history according to Paulo Turin who recorded “Feel My Pain” with Battlezone and Di’Anno’s solo album “Nomad”.  

Mick Procter (Nato, Blitzkrieg etc.): The man with an eclectic taste

Mick Procter wrote his name in metal history with Blitzkrieg’s classic of the genre — the album “A Time of Changes”. He also was in Tygers of Pan Tang for a brief period of time. That’s probably all that a regular metalhead knows about the man. When I approached Mick, my main focus was his first band Nato who released a single “Gangland” in 1981 which is now one of the rarest items among NWOBHM releases. And Mick didn’t let me down providing detailed information about this act and telling stories about his time with Jess Cox Band, Spear of Destiny, Hearts of Darkness and more!