| 2003
– A year in the life of HMK fan Terry
I
couldn’t believe my eyes when during my regular
Google search on 'Heavy Metal Kids' I was suddenly
presented with ‘The Official Heavy Metal Kids
Website’. Even better was that HMK had reformed,
were releasing a new album and were planning
a tour. WOW!!! My dreams have been answered,
there is a God.
I immediately
phoned my brother Pete and my mate Alan (they
are the 2nd and 3rd biggest fans of HMK in the
world) to tell them that 2003 was about to become
a ‘rocking good year!’, and to get logged on
to www.heaymetalkids.co.uk
to check out the news. Having read every word
on the entire site, I was now like a man possessed,
craving for more information – when is the album
coming out, when are they touring?
I decided
to send Danny an e-mail to get more information.
I’d never sent fan mail before but I was quite
excited at the prospect of receiving a personalised
reply from one of my all-time heroes. Maybe
I was only 17 years old after all, and maybe
I was just occupying this 45 year old body until
the time was right for the ‘second coming’.
It was fantastic to hear back from Danny. He
told me of his plans for HMK over the next 12
months or so, and it sounded great - I couldn’t
wait to hear the new CD and to see them live
again.
During
the ‘tea break’ over the past 25 years I have
continued to listen to my HMK records so there
was no need for me to go rummaging in the loft
and dusting off those old albums and 45s to
satisfy this nostalgic buzz that was now racing
through my veins. Transferring HMK, Anvil Chorus,
Kitsch and Live and loud to CD was one of the
first things I did when the technology became
available. As I began to think back on the days
of my youth, vivid images of HMK began to appear
as if they had only happened last week.
I first
saw HMK when they were on tour as support to
Humble Pie. At the time I was a big fan of Humble
Pie and had never heard of HMK, but that night
- 31st Oct 1974 was to have a significant effect
on the rest of my life. I immediately connected
with what HMK was all about. The music was my
type of music - the energy, the theatrics, the
sheer entertainment value was the best I had
seen and to this day - have ever seen.
During
the next 3 years I saw HMK about 50 times going
to every gig within a 50 mile radius of Birmingham
together with the regular visits to the Reading
Festival and the Wembley gig with Alice Cooper.
HMK were regulars at Barbarella’s Nightclub
in Birmingham and it seemed at the time like
they played there every six weeks or so. A gang
of us used to go together and we always had
a great night out, getting off on the show and
shouting abuse at Gary so that he would shout
abuse back at us – Fantastic!
I played
drums in a band (and still do...) and Keith
was such an influence on me. I loved his technique
and the sheer power of his performances – CRISIS
is still one of my favourite songs of all time.
Anyway,
back to 2003. As the year unfolded I waited
in anticipation for the release of ‘Hit The
Right Button’ and the announcement of the tour
dates. My appetite was whetted by the samples
which were published on the website as the release
date was pushed back to June. To my disappointment
the first set of tour dates clashed with my
annual holiday so after all these years I was
going to have to wait even longer to see my
heroes. I did think about re-arranging the holiday,
but that didn’t go down too well at home.
‘Hit The
Right Button’ – WOW! These guys sure know how
to rock’n’roll - what a brilliant album, full
of the power and energy of a live HMK show.
They are all great songs, but I think my favourite
is Gotham City. For me, HMK was always about
the music and the songs and that is still the
case with ‘Hit The Right Button’. Gary was undoubtedly
one of the best front men ever to grace the
stage and added a massive visual presence to
the show, but at the end of the day it was the
songs and the music that I believe made HMK
the best rock’n’roll band in the world.
Having
listened to the new album a zillion times, I
was desperate to see the show and hear the songs
performed live. Then, on one of my daily visits
to Battttttty’s official fan site, the new tour
dates were announced, and guess what..... two
gigs right on my doorstep – couldn’t wait!
On Oct
24th the long wait was over.... there I was
at JB’s with my brother Pete, both of us 17
years old again, waiting to see our heroes.
The support band ‘Hurricane Party’ seemed pretty
good, but unfortunately we spent too much time
reminiscing about the old days to pay any real
attention to them... sorry lads.
Finally
the time had arrived... Danny, Keith and Ronnie
up there again blasting out high energy rock’n’roll
like they had never been away... f***ing amazing!
Danny was really good as the front man with
some excellent vocals and a wicked sense of
humour. Ronnie – well Ronnie was no different
to how he was 25 years ago, still pumping out
those driving bass lines and looking like he
was having a blast. As for Keith... well what
can I say, this man is a totally awesome drummer.
As for the 2 Marcos, they are both excellent
guitarists and really give the band a hard edge,
particularly when playing some of the old stuff.
At the
end of the show I went up to chat with Keith
and he invited me back stage to meet the rest
of the band. Well he didn’t have to ask twice!
I grabbed Pete and there we were, ligging with
HMK and catching up on what they had been up
to since 1978, I really couldn’t believe it!
The next
week was spent trying to track down as many
of the old crowd as I could so that we could
go and support HMK at the Coalville gig. I had
arranged with my new mates!...Danny, Keith and
Ronnie... to get to the gig early so that they
could sign some of my HMK memorabilia , album
sleeves, posters, photos etc... I really enjoyed
showing them my HMK stuff.
So, there
I was again at another HMK gig - nothing for
25 years, then twice in 7days. Hurricane Party
were again the support band, so this time I
did pay attention to them and really enjoyed
their set... excellent. As for HMK - yet another
fantastic evening's entertainment, this time
all captured on video so that I can keep reminding
myself of what has been missing from my life
for all these years.
Thanks
Danny, Keith, Ronnie for getting back together
and giving the world a second chance to see
HMK. I look forward to more HMK in 2004.
It’s been
good to be here, now it’s time for me to go.
I really like the album, I play it loud just
like the show!
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