Hailing from heart of the UK, Savage were born out of the need for a bunch of teenagers to put their own stamp on hard rock.
At the tender age of just 15 and 18 , founder members Chris Bradley and Andy Dawson set light to the local music scene by first rampaging
through covers of their heroes such as Thin Lizzy, Ufo, Deep Purple and Van Halen.
But the band didn't drag their heels in penning original tunes, and
as they were soon wowing local audiences with a blend of energetic new metal with a spinkling of covers, Savage were invited to participate in the seminal compilation album: 'scene of the crime', recording two barnstormers: 'let it loose' and 'dirty money'.
It was clear the band were head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd and in a lucky twist of fate thes album ended up in the hands of METALLICA'S drummer Lars Ulrich, who bought the album whilst in London. He couldn't wait to get back to the US to share the tracks with his fellow band mates and before long Metallica were playing Savage tracks, themselves!
They recorded 'let it loose' which set Metallica on the road to creating their brand of thrash metal and secured them their first deal.
At around the same time, Savage were offered their first deal by Ebony records following the band's double A side single was released to strong reviews, and in 1983 Savage released the legendary 'LOOSE N LETHAL' album which stood out from much of the 'also ran' fodder at the time. The album received rave reviews from all who heard it and it was soon pronounced best selling metal import album in America.
The band played gigs throughout the uk and focussed especially on London including the notorious MARQUEE club made famous by Hendrix, the Stones and just about every star band you could mentiion.
The Hard rock and heavy metal bible: 'KERRANG!' reviewed many of the london gigs.
In 1984 the band took it to Europe and shared the bill with Metallica and Venom playing to 10,000 people and received outstanding reviews, yet again. Metallica knocked at Savage's dressing room door and asked
to share a beer with the Savage boys. They later met up in London where more beer drinking ensued; this time it was for a Kerrang article on 'real ale'!
In 1985 Savage released their second album: 'HYPERACTIVE'. The album recived a 5* (K) review in Kerrang! followed by a UK tour with a homecoming sold out theatre show.
Despite the success of the first two albums and live shows, the lack of support from both their record label and management caused much frustration with in the band and resulted in band infighting. So, in 1986, the band finally folded.
Bradley and Dawson continued to make music seperately for the next few years until finally due to demand the band reformed with original
drummer Dave Lindley to record the comeback album HOLY WARS (on Neat Records). The album sold well here, europe and Japan and the
guys played a cracking set at Germany's HEAVY ODER WAS festival.
Enjoying the return to form, they recorded their fourth studio album: 'BABYLON', which along with the video for the title track, was released to great reviews. The new material demonstrated Savage's ability to craft powerful, punchy classic rock, with Bradley's snearing vocals and thundering bass as a counterpoint for Dawsons outright riffing and searing solos, showing that British rock bands can have attitude, grit and punch!
The new millenium brought 'XTREME MACHINE', an album full of mean grooving rock which brought new fans to the Brit Metal anthem boys. This was followed
a year later with more live shows - the band hit America for the first time, with new boy MARK NELSON on drums, playing to US fans that had travelled across the continent to get a glimpse of the band. Next up was a trip back to Germany where the band performed a killer show at the famed WACKEN festival to fans old and new.
And so...the time is upon us again for Savage to get down to what they do best, classic Britiah Rock. Bradley, Dawson and Nelson are already
preparing tracks for the new album. A release is planned in spring 2010 on the Minus2Zebra label and initial listenings show that the band are set to return to their roots with pounding brit rock anthems! So, look out
and listen out, the British are coming!
SAVAGE - BABYLON Promo Video as introduced by Tommy Vance on VH1 Rockshow
SAVAGE - LET IT LOOSE Live @ Heavy oder Was Festival in Germany 1995.
NWOBHM Book - NO SLEEP TILL SALTBURN is OUT now in paperback exclusively at lulu.com.
Featuring seminal North East UK acts, Black Rose, Battleaxe, Satan, Raven, Arizona, Holland and more. Along with Brit Metal kings Saxon and Def Leppard, this affectionate look back at the truly Golden Age Of Rock & Roll documents Mark Gregory's chaotic excursions into fanzine publication, concert promotions, band management and rock radio presentation, against the backdrop of industrial North East England in the early 80s. Here's what the critics say:
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NO SLEEP TILL SALTBURN features coverage of Satan's legendary appearances at The Dynamo Eindhoven in 1983 and you can buy it in paperback now at:
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