In League with Venom

Back in the days before music magazines felt any obligation to stick free music to the cover of their publications, I sent off 2.99 plus p&p (allowing 28 days for delivery) to sounds or Kerrang! (can't remember which, Sounds I think) for a sampler tape for Neat Records. That's right, I, and who knows how many others, effectively paid for Neat's marketing budget. When it arrived, it had tracks from all kinds of NWOBHM bands on the label's roster. All of them rubbish. Apart from one. It didn't sound like anything else on the tape. The drums sounded like knitting needles being struck against pillows (a sound I knew very well) and the quality of the production sounded as though the entire recording budget had been 2.99 plus p&p. It was, of course, Bursting Out by Venom.

It's easy to forget what a stir Venom caused when they first came out. Kerrang! never really knew what to make of them, giving them bad reviews one issue and then putting in weird (and silly) 3D photosets of them in the next one. They made two albums and built up such a following (despite never touring) that Neat expected their third album to make the Top 40 of all places. Something that Tommy Vance practically guaranteed. On the Friday Rock Show, he described their single Warhead as one of these songs that comes along every so often that changes music. Or similar words. He also bet the then Radio 1 Breakfast Show DJ Mike Reed 100 pounds that he wouldn't play it on his show. Which of course he then did ("He's got a lotta bottle" said Vance afterwards).

The success went to their heads. Third album At War With Satan had a pretentious cover, and - uh-oh- the title track was a 20 minute concept piece. Venom and 20 minute concept pieces made uneasy bedfellows if you ask me. I prefer to remember them via this story from Kerrang! no. 24 from September 1982.

(Cronos) had been unable to contain himself from pawing the unfortunate females at his local Mecca Centre. He was hastily ejected after numerous complaints to the management and aided by two fellow rogues-in-arms proceeded to repleat his revenge on some innocent, unsuspecting campers on a nearby holiday camp, by donating them a sound kicking for their troubles. However, Cronos was given away by the motif etched into his jacket ... VENOM, and was brought to his just deserts. 

Thrown out of his local Mecca Centre, eh? Lay down your soul to the gods Rock & Roll!

Hollywood Teases

I go along completely with the theory that the best period of Top of the Pops happens to be exactly at the time that you started to watch it. In my case, this meant 1979 or 80 or so. And to be fair, it was a good time for the show: Blondie, Kate Bush, Two Tone, Iron Maiden playing live, and a bunch of New Wave weirdos that you simply can't imagine getting on the TV any more (Lene Lovich, Flying Lizards etc etc). And every now and again you got groups performing who had no right to be there at all, as in when Girl appeared playing Hollywood Tease.

Lord knows how they got on. A last minute cancellation of some other act, surely. Perhaps the singer in Darts had a stomach bug or Liquid Gold's tour bus got stuck in traffic just outside of Peterborough. Whatever the reason, they gave a fantastic performance (my memory has singer Philip Lewis performing standing behind the drummer, but it's been a long time) and I went out and bought the single. Unfortunately, not too many other folk did, and the Polyhex archives has it peaking at No. 50, and spending a mighty 3 weeks in the Top 75.

Despite being signed to a major (Jet), Girl never managed to break through. One reason was bad timing: while other NWOBHM acts were strapping on bullet belts and biker jackets, they looked like a cross between Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. In 5 years time, about every Metal band bothering the charts and going platinum would look like a cross between Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. But not in 1980. Even Alice Cooper didn't look like Alice Cooper in 1980. The other reason may be, that, well, though they had great singles like Hollywood Tease and the even better My Number, their album Sheer Greed wasn't great.

I couldn't find the TOTP appearance on YouTube, but the promo video was there and is below.