Heavy Metal Kids
Encyclopedia
The Heavy Metal Kids are a British hard rock
band, formed in 1972 in London. The band's former frontman Gary Holton
and their core founding member Dave Dee are both deceased.
.
The initial, pre-recording line-up consisted of Mickey Waller (guitar), Ronnie Thomas (bass and vocals), Gary Holton
(lead vocals), Keith Boyce (drums) and Cosmo (guitar). They were the first signing by Atlantic Records
' new London offices, having been spotted by their A&R
man, Dave Dee
. In January 1974, they recorded their first, self-titled album
, produced
by Dave Dee and engineered by Phil Chapman.
Waller left the band shortly before they went in to Island Studios, to record the follow-up album Anvil Chorus, in January 1975, which was produced by Andy Johns
. At this point keyboard player Danny Peyronel
left to join UFO
and was replaced by John Sinclair. Shortly after, Cosmo was replaced by Barry Paul, and the band moved to Mickie Most
's RAK Records
where they recorded Kitsch, which was produced by Most.
John Sinclair left to join Uriah Heep
and was replaced by Jay Williams.
Hit The Right Button enjoyed critical success. The 'twentieth century' Heavy Metal Kids embarked on a series of tours of the UK and Europe. In early 2008, a 'special edition' of the album was released by Angel Air Records. Under the name Hit The Right Button Plus, the CD
featured four of their songs performed live in London and Milan between 2003 and 2005 as bonus tracks, as well as fully re-designed artwork.
In October 2008, and now featuring Matteo Salvadori replacing Guarnerio, the Heavy Metal Kids went into Massive Arts Studio in Milan, where initial recordings were made. Barusso worked for nearly two years with Salvadori and Peyronel trying to finish the album, but it was never completed.
On 8 August 2010, Peyronel left the band and shortly after this, the actor
John Altman was unveiled as the new lead singer. Altman was a friend of the original frontman, Holton, and he appeared with him in Quadrophenia
.
In October 2010, the Heavy Metal Kids embarked on a tour with the new line-up featuring John Altman (vocals), Ronnie Thomas (bass/vocals), Cosmo (guitar), Keith Boyce (drums) and Justin McConville (guitar/vocals/keyboards). They have been working on their album to be titled 'Uncontrollable!'. A single of the same title has been released.
In early 2011 John Altman announced he was leaving the band to focus on his other commitments. L.A. Guns
frontman Phil Lewis
joined the band for a couple of gigs and will return to the band for some performances later this year. The band is currently operating as a four-piece with Justin McConville taking on lead vocal duties.
In October of 2011 Ronnie Thomas appeared in the Identity Parade round of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
, preceded by VT
of the Top of the Pops
recording of Shes no Angel. Ronnie was not picked out of the line.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band, formed in 1972 in London. The band's former frontman Gary Holton
Gary Holton
Gary Frederick Holton was an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor from London. He was the frontman of the band Heavy Metal Kids, for whom he played lead vocals, guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards and harmonica, and played the part of Wayne in the UK television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet...
and their core founding member Dave Dee are both deceased.
Early years
The Heavy Metal Kids were formed by the merger of two previous bands: Heaven and Biggles. They took their name from a gang of street kids, featured in the novel "Nova Express" by William S. BurroughsWilliam S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
.
The initial, pre-recording line-up consisted of Mickey Waller (guitar), Ronnie Thomas (bass and vocals), Gary Holton
Gary Holton
Gary Frederick Holton was an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor from London. He was the frontman of the band Heavy Metal Kids, for whom he played lead vocals, guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards and harmonica, and played the part of Wayne in the UK television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet...
(lead vocals), Keith Boyce (drums) and Cosmo (guitar). They were the first signing by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
' new London offices, having been spotted by their A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man, Dave Dee
Dave Dee
Dave Dee , was an English singer-songwriter, musician, A&R manager, fundraiser and businessman. He was the frontman for 1960s pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.-Early life :...
. In January 1974, they recorded their first, self-titled album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Dave Dee and engineered by Phil Chapman.
Waller left the band shortly before they went in to Island Studios, to record the follow-up album Anvil Chorus, in January 1975, which was produced by Andy Johns
Andy Johns
Andy Johns is an engineer and producer who worked on well-known rock albums such as Led Zeppelin's IV and The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. His sound is exemplified by Free's album Highway, which he engineered and produced....
. At this point keyboard player Danny Peyronel
Danny Peyronel
Danny Peyronel is a singer, songwriter, keyboard player and producer of Northern Italian and Southern French origin, best known for his work in rock groups such as the Heavy Metal Kids and UFO. He studied in the Manuel Belgrano school in the Belgrano neighborhood within Buenos Aires proper...
left to join UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
and was replaced by John Sinclair. Shortly after, Cosmo was replaced by Barry Paul, and the band moved to Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
's RAK Records
RAK Records
Rak Records was a British record label, founded by record producer Mickie Most in 1969. Rak was home of artists like Herman's Hermits, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Kenny, Hot Chocolate, Smokie, Arrows, Span, Racey and Kim Wilde. Rak Records were distributed via a licensing deal with EMI, which bought the...
where they recorded Kitsch, which was produced by Most.
John Sinclair left to join Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
and was replaced by Jay Williams.
Present day
After Holton's death in 1985, the band went into a long hiatus until, in 2002, they recorded a new album, Hit The Right Button, released in 2003 and featuring Peyronel, now on lead vocals and keyboards, Ronnie Thomas, Keith Boyce, Marco Barusso (guitars and vocals) and Marco Guarnerio (guitars and vocals). The album was produced by Barusso.Hit The Right Button enjoyed critical success. The 'twentieth century' Heavy Metal Kids embarked on a series of tours of the UK and Europe. In early 2008, a 'special edition' of the album was released by Angel Air Records. Under the name Hit The Right Button Plus, the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
featured four of their songs performed live in London and Milan between 2003 and 2005 as bonus tracks, as well as fully re-designed artwork.
In October 2008, and now featuring Matteo Salvadori replacing Guarnerio, the Heavy Metal Kids went into Massive Arts Studio in Milan, where initial recordings were made. Barusso worked for nearly two years with Salvadori and Peyronel trying to finish the album, but it was never completed.
On 8 August 2010, Peyronel left the band and shortly after this, the actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
John Altman was unveiled as the new lead singer. Altman was a friend of the original frontman, Holton, and he appeared with him in Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia (film)
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based around the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as a Mod named Jimmy. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut...
.
In October 2010, the Heavy Metal Kids embarked on a tour with the new line-up featuring John Altman (vocals), Ronnie Thomas (bass/vocals), Cosmo (guitar), Keith Boyce (drums) and Justin McConville (guitar/vocals/keyboards). They have been working on their album to be titled 'Uncontrollable!'. A single of the same title has been released.
In early 2011 John Altman announced he was leaving the band to focus on his other commitments. L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
frontman Phil Lewis
Phil Lewis
Phil Lewis is an English vocalist for the American glam metal band named L.A. Guns, He was born on January 9, 1957 in London, England.Prior to joining L.A. Guns Lewis also worked with Girl , New Torpedos, and Tormé. While temporarily out of L.A...
joined the band for a couple of gigs and will return to the band for some performances later this year. The band is currently operating as a four-piece with Justin McConville taking on lead vocal duties.
In October of 2011 Ronnie Thomas appeared in the Identity Parade round of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
, preceded by VT
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
of the Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
recording of Shes no Angel. Ronnie was not picked out of the line.
Discography
- Heavy Metal Kids (1974)
- Anvil Chorus (1975)
- KitschKitschKitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
(1977) - Chelsea Kids (1987)
- Live and Loud !! (1988)
- Hit The Right Button (2003)
- By Appointment...Best Of The Old Bollocks (2004)
- Delirious, Classic Kids Capers (DVD) 2006
- "Heavy Metal Kids With Phil Lewis Live At Camden Underworld" (DVD) 2011