The New Wave of British Heavy Metal

[David L]

Here's something I didn't know until this morning. I don't think I did, anyway. Pete Gill, Saxon's drummer in their heyday, was in the Glitter Band! I remember that they had two drummers. He went on to join Motorhead for a  few albums. I did know that.

The Glitter Band singles were brilliant!

[Thenop]

Saxon, definitely NWOBHM. Saw them at a little place in Hartlepool in August '79. Most people in the club hadn't even come for the band. Me and my mate Barry were standing down the front, pints in hand among about 20 other enthusiasts. I recall Biff saying "nice to see we've got a few friends in tonight".

Just had a Google to see if there's a reference to this memorable night online anywhere. There isn't, but I did turn up this interview with Steve Dawson:

https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2017/02/19/steve-dawson-oliver-dawson-saxon-interview/

"We did play at Stormin' The Castle bikers festival in Durham a few years back. We played in Hartlepool too not long ago with the Tygers of Pan Tang but we haven't been to Newcastle for a good while."

So they did return to the town in the noughties.

Did a bit more Googling and found this from last year:

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2024-04-12/70s-and-80s-heavy-metal-star-jailed-for-historic-child-sex-abuse

A founding member of popular 1970s and 80s heavy metal band Saxon has been jailed for historic child sexual abuse. Steve Dawson, now 72, from Rotherham, was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 14. Sheffield Crown Court heard the abuse took place in the early 1990s when the victim was aged six.

Good grief.

This takes me back a bit.. we were booked to open for Saxon some 27 years ago here in Holland. When we got to the venue it turned out it was the Oliver/Dawes Saxon, a spin-off that was trying to ride the coattails of.
The drummer must have been Dawes then, I wasn't impressed. He was mainly a hard-hitter.

[David L]

Saxon, definitely NWOBHM. Saw them at a little place in Hartlepool in August '79. Most people in the club hadn't even come for the band. Me and my mate Barry were standing down the front, pints in hand among about 20 other enthusiasts. I recall Biff saying "nice to see we've got a few friends in tonight".

Just had a Google to see if there's a reference to this memorable night online anywhere. There isn't, but I did turn up this interview with Steve Dawson:

https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2017/02/19/steve-dawson-oliver-dawson-saxon-interview/

"We did play at Stormin' The Castle bikers festival in Durham a few years back. We played in Hartlepool too not long ago with the Tygers of Pan Tang but we haven't been to Newcastle for a good while."

So they did return to the town in the noughties.

Did a bit more Googling and found this from last year:

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2024-04-12/70s-and-80s-heavy-metal-star-jailed-for-historic-child-sex-abuse

A founding member of popular 1970s and 80s heavy metal band Saxon has been jailed for historic child sexual abuse. Steve Dawson, now 72, from Rotherham, was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 14. Sheffield Crown Court heard the abuse took place in the early 1990s when the victim was aged six.

Good grief.

This takes me back a bit.. we were booked to open for Saxon some 27 years ago here in Holland. When we got to the venue it turned out it was the Oliver/Dawes Saxon, a spin-off that was trying to ride the coattails of.
The drummer must have been Dawes then, I wasn't impressed. He was mainly a hard-hitter.

Steve "Dobby" Dawson was Saxon's original bass player. Very distinctive image - Think Pete Way with a porn star moustache but as bald as a coot. Was dealt a very poor hand in terms of rock and roll looks. Bloody hilarious when I saw them in the early days. Liked to plant a foot on the monitor, I recall.

[Thenop]

Steve "Dobby" Dawson was Saxon's original bass player. Very distinctive image - Think Pete Way with a porn star moustache but as bald as a coot. Was dealt a very poor hand in terms of rock and roll looks. Bloody hilarious when I saw them in the early days. Liked to plant a foot on the monitor, I recall.

I see, this is one of the few my memory is a bit blurry on. We did a some opening acts for 'bigger' bands, usually they were cool. This one, not much of a recollection, except for the clunky drummer that is.

[Slim]

Steve "Dobby" Dawson was Saxon's original bass player. Very distinctive image - Think Pete Way with a porn star moustache but as bald as a coot. Was dealt a very poor hand in terms of rock and roll looks. Bloody hilarious when I saw them in the early days. Liked to plant a foot on the monitor, I recall.

He didnt have the long hair of course but he did have a certain look. The really funny thing about Saxon was that one of the guitar players had a belt with a rotating guitar attachment, so he could spin his Strat around like a propeller onstage. I saw that at Hartlepool.

Highslide Image Viewer

One night he's supposed to have knocked himself out with it. I didn't see that, sadly. Spinal Tap should have nicked that (and actually supposedly Derek Smalls was part-based on "Dobby").

[David L]

Just imagine being a part of the recording of a NWOBM classic like 'Big Teaser'.
(Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be enough for Dobby)

[Nickslikk2112]

Steve "Dobby" Dawson was Saxon's original bass player. Very distinctive image - Think Pete Way with a porn star moustache but as bald as a coot. Was dealt a very poor hand in terms of rock and roll looks. Bloody hilarious when I saw them in the early days. Liked to plant a foot on the monitor, I recall.

He was the inspiration for Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls due to his penchant for playing an open string and pointing his hand in the air.

[Slim]

This tune popped into my head this morning. They were from the NE, don't know if they were well known nationally. My little brother had the single. I've just read in the comments that their singer Keith Satchfield died on Wednesday.

[Slim]

Samson. They weren't at the Brain Damage Party, but I saw them at the same venue a few weeks earlier. Supporting Rainbow.

Best known now of course for Bruce Dickinson being their singer. I did buy their album for some reason, still have it in the loft. I must have liked their set but I don't remember liking any of their recorded music.

[The Picnic Wasp]

My main concern during the early weeks of NWOBHM was trying to figure out what it meant. No Google in those days and it seemed like an age before I saw it translated somewhere. Too scared to ask anyone I suppose. I've got a Rogue Male LP somewhere. Did they count or were they later? Very dodgy lyrics I seem to recall. I heard them on Tommy Vance one Friday and liked it but didn't buy the album until years later. Strange story actually, I  eventually found the album on EBay and when it arrived it was from a guy I knew who lived about 10 miles away.

[Nickslikk2112]

This tune popped into my head this morning. They were from the NE, don't know if they were well known nationally. My little brother had the single. I've just read in the comments that their singer Keith Satchfield died on Wednesday.

Me and my mate Webby loved that one. Kast Iron Klassik

Just looked it up on Discogs and Conrad Lant - Cronos from Venom - designed the cover.

[Slim]

Remember Tank? I thought they were great. Formed by ex Damned bassist Algy Ward in 1980. More than a hint of Motorhead about them.

Curiously, the first time I saw Motorhead in Middlesbrough at the beginning of '78, they were supported by a band called Tank who were pretty good as well. Not the same band, though.

Algy, who died a couple of years ago sadly, wasn't the only Damned bass player to go on to serve in a hard rock band. Paul Gray went on to join a later version of UFO. Great player, strong Entwistle influence. But I digress.

[Slim]

Speaking of ex punks in rock bands, Fred Purser was in Penetration, serving alongside Pauline Murray on their first two albums. He took over from John Sykes in the Tygers and plays on this. Produced by Peter Collins and quite evolved from the original NWOBHM ethos.

[David L]

Speaking of ex punks in rock bands, Fred Purser was in Penetration, serving alongside Pauline Murray on their first two albums. He took over from John Sykes in the Tygers and plays on this. Produced by Peter Collins and quite evolved from the original NWOBHM ethos.

The Cage is a good record. I didn't know it was produced by 'Mr Big'