HEAVY METAL HOLOCAUST, PORT VALE AUGUST 1ST 1981

The summer of '81 was a good time to see Heavy Music. After the rise of the NWOBHM plus both the emergence of new US bands and second wind for some of the established originators of the genre, things were looking very healthy indeed. The previous year saw the launch of the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington and the line-up at Reading was the heaviest in the long history of the 3 day event.

Being 38 years ago today, some of the details are a bit errr muddled. I remember we went up on a coach from Victoria Coach Station, arriving in the long queue as Vardis took the stage. Getting in was a challenge. I had a large bag with tape recorder, tapes, batteries, some food and a dozen or so cans of beer. After being told the tape machine was a no no, I got into a discreet negotiation with a very accommodating security guy who miraculously failed to spot the large machine and tapes etc after presenting him with a gift of 6 cold cans.... Bearing in mind there was no alcohol on sale inside and no recording allowed this was a bit of a result....

As we walked in, past the stage left side of the huge PA, Vardis were by now finishing their set with Sewing, sorry Silver Machine. The crowd was huge, the weather fab. Sales of little bottles of pop meant they rained down on any disliked band, and although Riot got a good reception, a few were flying about. This was make or break year for them, loved them opening for Sammy Hagar the previous april and then at Donington and thought the Fire Down Under elpee was their finest to date. From the opener Swords and Tequila they were on top form and played mostly stuff from it until the closer Rock City. They were even better when they opened for Saxon across the UK the following November, still a mystery why they didn't break through. 

Triumph were disappointing because they got shafted by awful sound. Saw them on their debut UK tour and they were stunning, so was annoyed it all went horribly wrong here. Frank Marino was, on the other hand, for me the star of the show. Something in the back of my ind remembers him coming on before Triumph, but I could be mistaken. Anyhoo, he played like the ultimate guitar hero for an hour or more, from the opening You Got Livin' to the closing encore of Roadhouse Blues. In between we got the full majesty of the symhonic Electric Reflections On War, sounding superb through the vast PA system that was just beginning to warm up.

Next came Ozzy. Originally due to be co-headlining with Sabbath, I was looking forward to seeing Ronnie blow him off stage once and for all. Sadly, they cancelled due to recording Mob Rules and yet another Bill Ward exit drama. So Ozzy brought his new American rhythm section over. This was the 4th and last time I saw Randy Rhoads play. He was the star of the band, no doubt, even if the metal handling noises and divebombs etc were getting a little predictable. He did seem a bit straightjacketted in Ozzy's band.

Still, Ozzy did his V-signs, told us he loved us all and shuffled around the stage like an old man wearing a nappy. Was good fun tho and the sound system was now putting out a lot of wattage. The crowd loved it too. By the end of his set, aided by a triple hit of classic Black Sabbath, it was bedlam. 



And then came Motorhead. The set was extended a bit too far, some odd little solo bits seemed a bit out of place. The set did include much of Overkill (their finest elpee imho) and ended with the title track and White Line Fever. Do remember some parachutists dropping in, although one apparently missed the stadium altogether and ended up in an allotment a few miles away!

Looking back it was a great day, with a lot of great performances. So glad I got there, at a time when Heavy Metal was thriving and there was a lot of great new music coming through.