Heavy Metal Kids - The Albums 1974-76

Heavy Metal Kids were formed in 1972 when guitarist Mickey Waller and bassist Ronnie Thomas of the band Heaven convinced drummer Keith Boyce to join the band when their drummer left to join the Glitter Band.  When their vocalist had to stay behind in France due to a paternity issue, they asked actor and Biggles vocalist Gary Holton to join. Holton at that time had, among other things, been in the touring company of Hair and also performed in a critically acclaimed production of Oliver.  Rounding out this initial lineup was guitarist Barry Paul, who played with them for their early gigs and demos, but then left the band the same day they signed their contract with Atlantic Records.  He was replaced by Cosmo who played on some of their demos and although uncredited, played on a few tracks on their debut album before being kicked out of the band. He was replaced with keyboardist Danny Peyronel.  The band’s co-manager convinced them to change their name to Heavy Metal Kids, based on a character in William S Burroughs books.  While at the time the term “heavy metal” didn’t have any of the connotations it has now, in hindsight it was a decision that may well have hindered the band’s success.  Starting with the release of their eponymous debut in 1974 through to Kitsch in 1976, they released three outstanding albums that never got the recognition they deserved and are now considered by many to be a huge influence on numerous bands that came after them.  Now, thanks to Cherry Red and 7T’s Records these three releases have been compiled, along with some bonus tracks, in the new box set The Albums 1974-76.

”Hangin’ On” gets their debut going and is an extremely catchy rocker with a boogie woogie beat and some great driving boogie woogie piano. “Ain’t It Hard” is a bit of a different track that’s slower and bluesy with some really cool, slinky guitar and bass (at times strangely reminding me of the “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” from Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas).  With “It’s The Same” they show the right way to do a rock ballad.  It’s the first of two ballads here, alongside the just as good “Kind Woman”, and there is none of that cheesy stuff that bands would play years later, this is a rock solid track, with a hint of a Faces vibe, that really showcases Holton’s vocals and has some gorgeous guitar work and nice keyboard accompaniment.  Flipping things completely on its head, “Run Around Eyes” finds the band dabbling in reggae and doing a pretty good job with it, while the stamp of Mott the Hoople is all over the slow-building rocker “We Gotta Go”.  Driven by honky tonk piano and a partying boogie woogie groove, “Always Plenty of Woman” is a barn burner (check out the killer dirty bluesy guitar solo) followed by the big sounding bluesy classic rock of “Nature Of My Game”.  Closing out the debut is the seven plus minute long jam “Rock ‘N’ Roll Man” followed by the reprise of “We Gotta Go”.  This song ebbs and flows beautifully and while it’s largely a hard charging boogie woogie rocker with some insane guitar soloing it also has some nice slower introspective sections (this had to be a standout in their live shows).  Disc one also contains four bonus tracks starting off with three previously unreleased album out-takes.  “Bottle Of Red Wine” is a solid boogie-woogie track that would have fit very comfortably on the album.  The other two are also very strong tracks, but they take the band in a bit of a different direction.  “Run Run Run” has a very prominent bass and piano and has a funk groove that gives it a bit of a Doobie Brothers feel, while “No Time” is strongly reminiscent of Led Zeppelin.  The final bonus cut is a 7” version of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Man)   

Feeling like their name was causing confusion the band shortened it to just The Kids for their sophomore album Anvil Chorus (a sticker was added to the cover that said “Featuring The Heavy Metal Kids”).  Prior to starting the album Waller left the band to join Steve Marriott’s All Stars and was replaced by the returning Cosmo.  This time around a lot of the boogie woogie that was found on their debut was gone and the album was overall a lot heavier.  This is obvious right from the start with opening cuts “Hard At The Top” with its Mott The Hoople feel and “You Got Me Rollin’”, which has a more classic rock vein with some strong guitar work and a very prominent funk groove thanks to Thomas’ bass. The next two tracks bring to mind the Stones.  “On The Streets” has a sleazy, slightly blues sound with an occasional hint of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” in the guitar, while “Situations Outta Control” is a lazy, bluesy ballad complemented by some nice organ work.  Opening with some cowbell and bluesy guitar “Blue Eyed Boy” is solid, straight-ahead rock fleshed out with some honky tone piano.  The band returns to the boogie woogie of their debut, throwing in some horns at the end, on “Old Time Boogie”, followed by the good harder rock instrumental “The Turk (An’Wot’E Smokes)”.  With some expansive keyboard sections from Peyronel, “Crisis” at times finds the band delving into more of a heavy prog direction.  Album standout and what had to be another highlight of their live show, “The Cops Are Coming” is a raucous rocker that’s more like a suite and is a great showcase for Holton’s theatricality.  Closing out the album is “The Big Fire”, a powerful rock ballad with an intensely emotional vocal performance that once again shows how to do it properly.  Disc two include two more bonus tracks, starting with their cover of The Show Stoppers’ “Ain’t Nothing But A House Party”.  Originally released as a non-album single, this song was a perfect fit for them and they gave it a really good garage rock kick.  “Stand Back” was another unreleased album out-take that is a solid rocker with a touch of glam.  

Album number three found the band changing back to their full name and once again making some personnel changes.  Peyronel had been kicked out of the band (he joined UFO not long after) and was replaced by John Sinclair, followed shortly by Cosmo leaving and Barry Paul returning once again.  They also moved from Atlantic Records to Mickie Most’s RAK Records.  Most had produced the likes of The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate and the Jeff Beck Group and since he had plans to retire, he wanted to go out with a bang by producing their third album Kitsch.  Unfortunately for the band he became obsessed with it and didn’t even let them hear what he was doing as he spent four months mixing it.  There are some really good moments here, but not very much of it sounds like anything they did before and it’s a bit all over the place.  Sinclair was a classically trained keyboardist and his impact on their sound was very evident on the first three tracks.  “Overture” is a keyboard driven prog rock instrumental that kicks things off, followed by “Chelsea Kids”, which is a big souding, hard charging rocker with elements of pub rock and Supertramp like prog, and is one of the strongest cuts on the album.  “From Heaven To Hell And Back Again” is a very dynamic track that sounds a lot like early Genesis.  The power ballad “Cry For Me” is a very passionate track that is more orchestrated and polished than any of their earlier work and has the members of Smokie providing backing vocal harmonies.  “She’s No Angel” is a very poppy tune with some hints of glam and honky tonk piano that was released as a single, but unfortunately is probably the weakest song here, coming across as someone (possibly Most) trying too hard for a radio hit.  The influence of Ian Dury is very evident on the bouncy “Jackie The Lad”, but borders on being a bit of a novelty.  While it’s a fun track it gets old on repeat listens.  Closing the album out are “Docking In”, which starts off as a bouncy pub rocker before shifting to a heavier rocker that at times is reminiscent of “Ballroom Blitz”, and “Squalliday Inn”, a good straight-ahead rocker that is the strongest track on the album, but unfortunately has lyrics that have not aged well. Rounding out disc three are five more bonus tracks.  First up is “Hey Little Girl”, which is the b-side to the “She's No Angel” single and is another very Ian Dury influenced track that goes hand in hand with “Jackie the Lad” and to me is actually the better of the two.  “You Got What I Want” is basically an unreleased version of “Hey Little Girl” that is an earlier, less polished version.  The previously unreleased “Boogie Woogie” is just that a really good boogie woogie rocker reminiscent of their earlier days.  The non-album single “Delirious” is a killer punk rock track that stands up quite well against the other punk bands of that time, full of raw, jagged guitar riffs and Holton’s manic vocals.  “New Wave”, the final bonus track and last song Holton recorded with the band, is a really good rocker with some nice tempo shifts and a bit of a Uriah Heep vibe.

Without warning, in mid-1978 Holton left to pursue a solo career and the band went into what ended up being an extended hiatus.  He released several albums with keyboardist Casino Steel, stood in for Dave Vanian on a tour of Scotland with The Damned and was considered as a replacement for Bon Scott in AC/DC.  He also had acting rolls in movies like Music Machine, The Who's Quadrophenia and Breaking Glass and found fame in the TV show Auf Weidersehen, Pet, but sadly died of a heroin overdose in 1985.  Surprisingly in 2002, three of the original members got back together and along two new members released a new album, Hit The Right Button with Peyronel handling vocals.  While there have been numerous member changes since then (including Phil Lewis on vocals), they are still performing today.  Over the years The Heavy Metal Kids have been praised by the likes of Joe Elliott, Keith Richards, Hanoi Rocks, who covered "Delirious", and even Lady Gaga, and as evidenced by this box set they seemed at times to be a bit ahead of their time and sadly underappreciated.  

(7T's Records)