Battleaxe (band) - Personal Changes

Personal Changes

Success seemed to be on their doorstep as they tore up venues throughout England. On the eve of a major appearance at Hammersmith Odeon London in support of Saxon on their Crusader tour, some A&R guys from Atlantic Records were showing interest. After the show, they wanted the band to organise a showcase for them. It was then, for still unknown reasons to the band and fans, that Steve Hardy quit and they had to pull out of what could have been a major signing. It took almost two years before a new lineup was found that was somewhere near the quality and spirit to what they had. This was a severe blow to their career and put the band on hold until they could regain their ground. That happened when they toured the UK in support of Madam X, who had to pull out of the tour due to an illness, leaving Battleaxe to headline. They finished the tour at the Dominion theatre in London. The new lineup added Mick Percy and John Stormont. That lead and rhythm guitar combination put a new level and fuller sound to the band's performances live as well as in the studio. Soon after, they went into Neat Records studio to record the tracks Radio Thunder, Girl Crazee, and Killer woman. These tracks were added to their current EP release Nightmare Zone. John Stormont, one of the best lead guitarists around at the time, contributed a phenomenal lead break performance on the track Killer Woman. Sadly, John left the band for domestic reasons, and afterward, there was a rotating door of musicians until 1987 when they recruited Jason Holt on guitar and Stew Curtan on drums (after Ian McCormack hung up his sticks). During this period of instability, the band were lucky enough to have met drummer Paul Atkinson from Newcastle, filling in now and then, but not quite joining the band until a very later date (He is now a full-fledged member, recently recording the YouTube video to the band's fast and furious track Chopper Attack see below). With this lineup, their sound had fattened, being made more powerful and adding much versatility that was not possible with one guitarist. The power and energy from this new lineup was sensational. Unfortunately again, as the way bands tend to do, this promising new lineup lasted only a short time before the lack of demand in the UK for good quality British rock died and a new wave of death metal and grunge appeared. This made it hard for Battleaxe to tour. Metallica, when first appearing on the metal scene, wanted to tour the UK and Europe with Battleaxe but because of strange politics within the band, changed their minds. However Battleaxe were added to a compilation album with Metallica, Manowar, and other big-named bands. This album is detailed on the band's web site. In 1995/6/7/8, Battleaxe were in limbo until they met a brilliant young guitarist named Colin Simpson, from Washington Tyne and Wear. He brought fresh blood to the band and helped write some great new material for the band's long-awaited third album. They gigged around England and did a spectacular gig at Klenal Hall Biker’s Festival in Northumberland. Plans were made to record a third album and they went into the studio to record the demos that were to become the recently released Nightmare Zone EP. The third album was originally going to be called Metal Edge, but they were not able to secure interest from a record label back then and the band began to lose interest. Colin then decided to call it a day when touring and live gigs at the time were impossible due to the sheer lack of funding. The YouTube video recording was then done with just a four piece line up of Mick Percy Guitar, Paul Atkinson from Skyclad on drums, and the two founding members, Brian Smith Bass, and Dave King Vocals (not the Fastaway vocalist Dave King which many people get mixed up with).