On New Year’s Eve, 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a four-song demo at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Hoping the recording would help them secure more gigs, the band gave a copy to Neal Kay , who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called “Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse”. After…
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The roots of Atomkraft date to mid-1978, when Tony “Demolition” Dolan and Paul Spillett got together with the intention to form a band. Initially using the name of Moral Fibre and playing punk rock, they recruited guitarists Ian Legg and Chris Taylor. Ian Legg then left and was replaced by…
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Blind Illusion was formed in 1978 by De Anza High School students Mark Biedermann, on guitar and vocals, Les Claypool , on bass, and Bret Hern, on drums. By that time, Biedermann had been writing his own music from a young age, and original songs were a priority for the…
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Coupled with their inability to secure an American recording deal, tensions between vocalist DuBrow and bassist Garni began to tear the band apart. According to Garni, “I was on a constant quest to get him out of the band and get a different singer. I hated him, he hated me…
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In 1978, the band Hell Razor formed in Ottawa , Ontario . It consisted of vocalist and drummer Dan Beehler, guitarist John Ricci, and bassist Allan James Johnson. In 1980, the band changed their name to Exciter and recorded a demo which they then sent to Mike Varney of Shrapnel…
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The band then released another live album, Some Enchanted Evening (1978). Although it was intended as another double-live album in the vein of On Your Feet or on Your Knees , Columbia insisted that it be edited down to single-album length. It was a resounding commercial success, becoming Blue Öyster…
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Original Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni, who had been fired from the band after hatching a plan to kill the vocalist in 1978, urged fans to be patient and not offer any speculation until authorities ruled on the cause of death. Recognizing the negativity DuBrow’s behavior had created among fans…
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Osbourne initially set out to form a solo project featuring former Dirty Tricks members John Frazer-Binnie, Terry Horbury and Andy Bierne. As the new band were in rehearsals in January 1978, Osbourne had a change of heart and rejoined Black Sabbath. “Three days before we were due to go into…
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The band moved in a more heavy metal direction in 1978, when the group began to record its demos. Two of their demos found their way to compilation albums by New York classic rock radio station WBAB , and were later re-recorded for the band’s first two albums.
Filming commenced in the spring of 1978.