The HEAVY METAL KIDS are UNCONTROLLABLE!

Cheers to the brilliantly named Ollie Stench over at Frequency 7 blogspot for posting the video and putting me on to the new Heavy Metal Kids single Uncontrollable. It’s a stonking slab of funtime Rock’n’Roll, just what the doctor ordered in these times of manufactured music from the X Factor and Indie Rock NME wannabes. This is an honest sing along guitarslinging anthem. A tonic to the trouble torn times that are coming on down the hignway at us. But how can the un-replace frontman Gary Holton be replaced? He can’t! So why not get former Eastender’s actor John ‘Nasty Nick’ Altman to camp it up instead. Genius, Cheers doctor! For the love of Dot Cotton and Gary Holton I urge everyone to spend 79p at Itunes and get this tune to the top of the charts. I know times are hard, but hey lets start getting UNCONTROLLABLE!

HEAVY METAL KIDS - BBC In Concert 1977

What can I say about the Heavy Metal Kids that I didn’t say when I posted their Live and Loud album? Fuck knows can‘t remember it was a while ago. Apologies if I sound like a stuck record, but here we go…. The band weren’t Heavy Metal, more like Prog-Punk, not long drawn out beasts of songs about mystical fairies, theirs were short sharp tales of Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll. Fronted by the charismatic and theatrical Gary Holton who found fame after the band split with Casino Steel from The Boys releasing several albums (posted elsewhere on this blog) then as an actor in British comic drama Auf Wiedersein Pet, before dying of a drugs overdose in 1985. During the early 70’s The Heavy Metal Kids were a huge if often overlooked influence on the Punk scene; The Damned were taking notes at The Roundhouse Mick Jones and Tony James first met at a Heavy Metal Kids gig at The Fulham Greyhound. Their influence wasn’t just limited to the 70’s Mick Monroe from Hanoi Rocks has covered a couple of their tunes; She’s No Angel and Delirious, he shouldn’t have bothered in my opinion, but hey it’s all rock’n’roll. The darling of this years Brits music award Lady Gaga is said to like the bands Hey Little Girl, a track from their last album 1977’s Kitsch. This recording dates from August 1977, the band were on the verge of splitting up after the toils of constant touring and drugs abuse. This is an electric performance, far better than the Live and Loud one. From the “wide eyed sniffing boys” of Chelsea Kids, tales of sex and squalor at the Squaliday Inn, the honky tonk pop of On The Street, to the haunting passionate ballad of self obsession that is Cry For Me, then there’s a dose 70’s sexism with She’s No Angel, before this short 30min set finishes with the Fuck You! anthem of mental breakdown that is Delirious. High octane stuff with guitars played like Russian Roulette a thumping rhythm section and Gary’s distinct cockney yobster vocals. Anyway that’s enough said, here’s what it’s all about. Enjoy!

GARY HOLTON and CASINO STEEL

I’ve been meaning to post these couple of albums for a while, but never got round to it, that is until I was reminded by a mighty fine posting of a Casino Steel compilation over at Intruder Alert blog. So here's the first and there's the second album released by those lovable self confessed male chauvinist pigs messers Gary Holton and Casino Steel. Virtually ignored across the world except in Scandinavia where the pair reached almost superstar status with their collections of lovelorn, lager and liquor soaked laments topping the ‘pop charts’ Enjoy! LINKS HAVE BEEN FIXED!

TWO SEEMINGLY RANDOM SLICES OF 12" VINYL FOR YA.

Right then! A Sunday double bill for ya. First up from we’ve got LOVES YOUNG NIGHTMARE Not a lot to say about this nifty little beat combo, cos very little is know. Here’s what we do know. One of the members played in Preston’s premier Rock’n’Rollers The Genocides. The A-Side of this single, a cover of George Harrison’s All Too Much was produced by Only One Peter Perrett, the B-sides Tomorrow Will Be Fine and How The Mighty Have Fallen weren’t, and are the bands own numbers and mighty fine in a 1991 pop, punk, psychedelic way they are to. I have a vague recollection of seeing 'em support someone at a great little venue in Croydon called The Underground, way before this single was released, but this is a hazy memory.

The second part of today’s double bill is from GARY HOLTON. This single is slightly different from his work with Casino Steel, but still just as much fun. The A-side is a cover version of Perry Como's Catch a Falling Star. Garry worked with Slade bassist Jim Lea on this, which unsurprisingly is a little glam pop stomper of a track. On the B-side Angel (no relation to She’s no) Gary teamed up with Ray Mcveigh from The Professionals to produce a sort of rock/pop/rap little number. Production wise this single has a pure 80’s sound, well it was released in 1984 after all, as was the norm then both tracks are Extended Versions. Enjoy! Destroy! Whatever!

GARY HOLTON - Ruby (7"vinyl-rip)

Gary’s been mentioned in despatches on this blog before. Here’s his first solo single since he left/was asked to leave the Heavy Metal Kids. Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love To Town) was a song written in 1967 by Mel Tillis. It originally told the tale of a dying and disabled Korean War Veteran, who didn’t want his lover to leave him. By the time it had been made popular by Kenny Rodgers in 1970 it was about a Vietnam Vet, In Gary’s tale the line about “That old crazy Asian War” was changed to reflect the British Armies involvement in Northern Island. It’s a stonking slab of bar room boogie, dominated by Gary’s cockney barrer boy vocals. When he released it in 1982 with Casino Steel of The Boys fame It reached Number One in Norway, don’t think it dented the spittoon when it came out in Britain two years previously. Gary will probably be remembered more for his acting roles, especially his role in the popular Auf Wiedersein Pet, which he should really have sung the theme tune to rather than the no-mark that did who’s name I can’t and don’t particularly want to remember. However Gary did sing the theme to Murphy’s Mob, an early 80’s kids drama about the trials and tribulations of a youth football team, directed by Mickey Dolenz of Monkees fame trivia fans. I don’t know if it was ever released as a single, if it was, it’s a bastard to find, however here’s a brief sound clip of it, and here’s Gary’s Ruby single, plus it’s b-sides. Or was it the other way round? Whatever, enjoy!

THE HEAVY METAL KIDS - Live And Loud!!

Often over looked by ‘punk revisionists’ The Heavy Metal Kids were firing up audiences in the early 1970’s with their theatrical ‘pronto punk‘ They were regulars at The Speakeasy and The Marquee, were the likes of Mick Jones and Tony James (The Clash and Generation X) could be found amongst the audience. It has been reported that after seeing ‘em live a certain Johnny Rotten went up to their enigmatic front man Gary Holton, pinned a safety pin on Garys jacket and said “how does it feel to be ripped off” An extensive touring schedule, they once played 300 gigs in a year took it’s toll on the band, especially Gary, who by then had built up a drug habit to see him through the endless touring. He was eventually thrown out of the band as a result in 1977 and went on to find ‘fame’ as an actor, appearing in Quadrophonia and the successful TV series Auf Wiedersein Pet amongst others,until his untimely ‘drink and drugs death’ in 1985. Enjoy some classic HEAVY METAL kids, here!