Here’s a little playlist to accompany my Headbanging essay. For those too young to remember, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (a term coined by rock journalist Geoff Barton, and later editor in chief of Kerrang!, if I recall correctly) came in the wake of punk as a renaissance of newer bands with a faster, punchier style than the 70’s behemoths like Black Sabbath and Rainbow, and an emphasis on trope-heavy, leather-clad style that owed much to Judas Priest. Here’s but a sampling of bands mentioned in my article. Rock on!

Girlschool put on a great high energy show night after night, with their pop-oriented heavy metal sound. Great mates of Motörhead’s, and lovely ladies too!

I met up with Boulevard after a Diamond Head gig in Bristol back in January 1981 if I recall correctly. They were but one of a massive crop of metal bands that were inspired by the DIY punk ethic, after punk had lost steam. I was surprised to find that someone recently uploaded a copy of the tape I was handed that night, and which my mate Ian enjoyed so much. They split in 1982. BOOL-LEE-VAAARD!!!!

…and let’s not forget Diamond Head, of course, with their at times Zeppelin-inspired sound. These guys were definitely above average and an influence on Metallica. Sword and sorcery galore in this one!

…and not to forget their legendary sex-epic ode to the glories of oral pleasure Sucking My Love “Tasty, oh, whoa…” (sheer poetry… Robert Plant, eat your heart out!)…

Grim Reaper, featuring my bête noire, Nick, on guitar. This, the title track to their debut album, was ranked at No. 38 on VH1’s Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs Ever countdown, according to Wikipedia. This clip is delciously Spinal Tap-esque. I keep waiting for the drummer to explode!

And how could I not close without a nod to the mighty Motörhead? This was the first metal single that I bought, resulting in annoyed glances when I insisted on playing it at 78rpm on the Sixth Form common room’s record player at full volume. Their shows were high energy mayhem and they were renowned as being the loudest band on the circuit. My ears were ringing for a few days after one gig, and kids could be seen throwing up afterwards, allegedly from the volume, although I suspect there may have been other factors involved. Honestly, these guys were a genre unto themselves. Turn it up loud!

Lemmy, of course, emerged to form Motörhead after being famously fired from one of my enduring musical loves, Hawkwind, of whom I am sure I will write in the future.