Weapon
Put Rock Back In The Charts

25.06.2011

It’s hard to believe, but many of the bands that were contributing to the birth of heavy metal in the early 1980s not only continue playing, but also keep recording! Over the past few years several NWOBHM bands scaled up their activities – new albums were released not only by heavyweights such as Iron Maiden and Saxon, but also by Stampede, and Spartan Warrior, while Battleaxe are currently working on new songs in the studio. London’s Weapon are not idling, too – they have recently recorded a new single called “Ready 4 U”, and a very catchy thing this one is! The band’s original members, Danny Hynes (vocals) and Jeff Summers (guitar), kindly responded to our webzine’s request and provided answers to our questions. And be sure that they have a lot to tell…

Hello everybody! It’s nice to see that Weapon is coming back with some new stuff! Please tell me about your latest single and video “Ready 4 U” – how did you work on it?

Danny: Jeff Summers wrote the track at the end of last year. And work began on the recording in February 2011, with Jeff, Gavin (Cooper, bass, ex-Killers, ex-Paul Di’Anno’s Battlezone) and Ian (Sweeting, drums), laying down the backing tracks at Scream Studios in Croydon, Surrey, England. I travelled to the UK from my home in Stockholm in March to do my vocals and a few days later we filmed the video on the rooftop of The Harlequin Theatre, Redhill, Surrey, with some of the shots in a nearby subway.

Jeff: Yes, we had some issues getting the production right on “Ready 4 U” we wanted the song to have space in the production, not too produced or overplayed. The whole backing track was done in one take. It’s live to all intents and purposes and we wanted to retain the live feel but keep it “radio friendly” After giving 2 guys in the UK a crack at producing it, we were still not happy, Danny suggested Andy Reilly in the U.S. Andy had worked with Danny on the Paddy Goes To Holyhead album and also with Praying Mantis. Andy got it right!!

Will a full-length album follow the single? Do you already have a record deal? Can you share any details of the new album?

Danny: There will be a full-length album called “Bulletproof”, released around October/November to coincide with a planned tour. We have several backing tracks laid down and work will continue in the coming weeks.  There are several record companies interested but we may decide to do it ourselves. It really depends on what’s on offer at the time.

Jeff: We’re really excited about the new album. This line up is really cooking!! The new material is going to surprise a few people.

With “Ready 4 U” you started the campaign “Help Weapon to put some rock back in the charts”. Do you expect to get big success in the British charts? Do you think a band like Weapon can be a chart topper nowadays?

Danny: The campaign was started to create an interest both in the band and the rock charts. Apparently in 2010 only TWO rock singles entered the British charts. Everything else was either hip-hop or bland pop songs. Whether Weapon will be “chart toppers” I can’t say. However I will say, with the great collection of songs we have for the album we have a fighting chance! My hope is that something positive will come out of our campaign and people will start to buy ‘real’ rock music again!
 
Jeff: We have had an astonishing reaction to the song so far. People seem to love it and the video was the 77th most viewed video on YouTube within the first day of posting. The problem is radio play, in the UK getting new rock music on the national stations is difficult in the extreme. But we will keep plugging away and hope for the best.

In your opinion, why did the music industry change so much nowadays as compared to the 80s?  

Jeff: The music scene in the UK changes rapidly and always has done. The current flavour of music in the UK right now is - and has been for a long while - hip hop influenced. There is a chap in the UK called Simon Cowell, he basically runs the music scene in the UK and is also very influential in the U.S. He has the biggest music programme on TV (X Factor) and owns the most successful entertainment company in the UK (SYCO) He has the biggest record company and is constantly on the TV and in the newspapers. His taste is in hip hop and therefore the kids are over exposed to it here…

Danny: I think there have been huge changes in the music industry over the past 20 years - some good, some bad. Back in the 80s lots of bands, particularly NWOBHM bands, got signed to record companies and were given big advances but were then dropped if their first single/album failed to chart. Those who did manage to sell records never made any money because they had to pay back the advances, recording costs, promotional costs etc, etc. leaving them with ‘no pay day’. Today’s bands don’t really need the companies because with modern technology they can home record. And with the Internet, YouTube, Facebook and etc, etc then sell their records and merchandise on line, thus keeping all profits. Anyway the way things are going there won’t be any record labels in the coming years!

“Ready 4 U” sounds really good to me but your style changed comparing to your early material. What music influences you now?

Jeff: Thanks Konstantin, glad you like it! We’re really proud of it and happy to say that we still sound like us.

Danny: I don’t really think our style has changed that much, we’ve just modernised. Both Jeff and I are, and always have been, into the ‘old school of rock’, bands like Deep Purple, Free, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, UFO etc, etc. Although all those bands rocked they all had one thing in common - great songs. That’s what Weapon tried to do. If you listen to tracks like “Mad Mad World”, “Midnight Satisfaction”, “One Night Stand” and the ‘big’ ballad “Olivia” you’ll hear they all have great melodies, hooks etc. They stand the test of time, in my opinion. My influences now are still all of the above plus the likes of Foo Fighters, Metallica, Iron Maiden; I particularly love Dan Reed, old and new stuff.

The band’s line up has changed recently, too. While bass player Gavin Cooper is a well-known person, Ian Sweeting is not. Can you introduce him – how did you get to know him.

Danny: Ian was never in a ‘name’ band. Jeff had seen him play with a few bands around the London area and had him in mind for Statetrooper so when we decided we would reform Weapon he was the obvious choice to replace Bruce (Bisland), and a good one at that!

Jeff: Ian’s actually been a friend of mine for some time now and has been familiar with our music. He particularly loves the Weapon stuff and it suits his style perfectly.

The previous bass player has left the band due to illness. What happened to him? Was he involved in the writing of the song “Ready 4 U”?

Danny: Baz has neurological problems resulting in the loss of sight in one eye and almost unbearable headaches. It’s unfortunate but there is no way he could play live shows… He wasn’t involved in the writing of “Ready 4 U” but we plan to record one or two of his song for the album. He was a major part of the original band and we want to keep him involved in some way.

Jeff: Baz and Danny have been very close friends for a very long time and Baz would like nothing better than to be able to play live again. He, like Bruce, will always be part of this band and we try to keep them informed every step of the way…

Danny, as far as I understand, now you live in Sweden. What was the reason to move there?

Danny: I moved to Sweden about three years ago. The reason is that my wife, Malin, is Swedish, and having a 5-year-old son, I think it’s a better country to raise a child. It’s also easy to get around Europe for shows.

Danny, you have another band – Paddy Goes To Holyhead. This name reminds me of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Please tell me the story of this band.  

Danny: Paddy Goes To Holyhead was formed back in the mid-80s. A bunch of friends were having a joint birthday party and were going to have a disco! I told them I would get a band together for the evening. Which resulted in the first Paddy Goes To Holyhead gig. After that we were offered a few more gigs and it became bigger than I ever dreamed it would. During the past 25 years I have the great pleasure of having the cream of British rock play alongside me, including Andy Scott and Mick Tucker (Sweet), Phil Lanzon (Uriah Heep), Jeff Summers and former Weapon members Bruce Bisland and Baz Downes. Guests have included Dave Murray (Iron Maiden), Neil Murray and Mel Galley (Whitesnake) Brian Robertson and Darren Wharton (Thin Lizzy) Dave Hill and Don Powell (Slade) Tino and Chris Troy and Andy Burgess (Praying Mantis) We also had the great pleasure of being invited to play at Queen drummer, Roger Taylor’s 40th birthday party!

Jeff: Paddy Goes To Holyhead have a huge and loyal following wherever they play… It’s become a very well known institution on the live music scene in the UK.

With the Troy brothers, Andy Burgess and Benjy Reid of Praying Mantis all having played in Paddy Goes to Holyhead, have you ever been asked to join Praying Mantis as a singer?

Danny: I have never been asked to sing in Praying Mantis because the guys know, although I like their stuff, my vocals wouldn’t suit their music.

Let’s speak about the early days of Weapon. In the early 80s the band had a publishing deal with Virgin but never got a recording deal. Why did it happen?

Danny: Our management team were a pair of incompetent a-holes. There is nothing more I can say!

Jeff: We were young and naive and trusted our early careers with them… Bad mistake. As a band we were just getting better and better.

Weapon released its first single in 1980 but there were a lot of other great songs in your repertoire as well. Why did you pick those particular songs – “Mad Mad World” and “Set The Stage Alight”? Can you tell me about the song “Olivia” – who came up with the idea of such a great thing?

Danny: We choose “Mad Mad World” as the first single because we felt it was a great commercial song and “Set The Stage Alight” one for the headbangers. It turned out that “Set The Stage Alight” was the more popular, reaching No. 2 in “Sounds” magazine’s heavy metal charts. Jeff wrote my favourite Weapon song, “Olivia”, after seeing the actress Olivia Hussey in the 1968 movie, “Romeo & Juliet”.

Jeff: Songs like “Midnight Satisfaction”, “Liar!”, “Olivia”, “Remote Control” etc would never have been heard had the opportunity to release the album in 2003 not come about. That’s the reason we agreed to release them then.

It seems that after the release of the single “Mad Mad World” you were considered the next big thing but it never happened. What went wrong? Why didn’t you become successful?

Danny: All I can say, again, was incompetent management!

Jeff: That’s a big question Konstantin. I’m sure there have been many young and talented bands that have never been given the full opportunity to make it because of bad guidance and advice. It makes you wonder how much great music us music lovers have missed out on due to this.

Weapon toured with Motorhead and did a solo tour through the UK. Can you share with me some funny stories from the road?  

Danny: Too many (laughs)

Jeff (cracks): Let’s just say that it was an eye opener for such a young band to suddenly be thrust into a situation where they were touring our dream venues with the most notorious and successful band of their time.

Why did the band split up? Was it because of lacking success or something else?

Danny: Yet again, it was down to the management. We’d worked our arses of on the Motorhead tour, building up a great following. We’d done the solo tour, again, picking up more of a following. When we finished that tour the management had nothing lined up for us, no record deal, no dates, no income so there was no way out other than splitting.

Jeff: We were suddenly in a position where it became impossible for the band to work…Very sad times!

In 2003 you released a compilation called “Set The Stage Alight” which includes four demo tracks (“Remote Control”, “Light Of The World”, “Killer Instinct”, “Things You Do”). Where and when did you record them? Don’t you want to re-release this compilation, as it’s hard to find it nowadays?

Danny: The album was released by Zoom Club Records, who turned out to be another bunch of a-holes. We are out of contract with them so released a 30th anniversary edition the album on iTunes a few months ago. We may release a hard copy version in the near future. The demo tracks were recorded in a small demo studio in West Kensington, London. And we plan to re-record them for inclusion on the new album.

Jeff: Yes, we’d like to get this stuff out there again as soon as possible!

The song “Set The Stage Alight” was included in Lars Ulrich’s and Geoff Barton’s compilation “NWOBHM ’79 Revisited” but you always say that you were out of this thing (NWOBHM). What were the differences between you and other bands of those days in your opinion?  

Danny: We WERE, and are, a part of the NWOBHM. I think what we meant was, we were a little more melodic, i.e. we had songs with melody and sing-along choruses. I am very, very proud to be part of the NWOBHM and to have influenced bands like Metallica. Listen to their song ‘Hit The Lights’ recorded several years after ‘Set The Stage Alight’ a song they covered… Lars Ulrich told Jeff and Bruce that they used to open their set with it in the early days…

Jeff: For me, we never knew we were NWOBHM, it was just a tag. Most of the bands had different approaches to their music, for instance: Iron Maiden didn’t sound like Def Leppard, Saxon didn’t sound like Diamond Head and we didn’t sound like Praying Mantis. We were all just playing the music that we loved and we all had different influences.

Jeff, what are your best memories about your collaboration with Wildfire? I think that was one of the most underrated bands of that time!

Jeff: Great memories Konstantin, Wildfire were a very talented band and most of the guys remain great friends to this day. The first album “Brute Force And Ignorance” (1983) was literally written and recorded in about one month and I had been with the band for about two weeks prior to this. Martin (Bushell, guitar), Paul (Mario Day, vocals) and Bruce (Bisland) had already put the band together and were looking for another guitar player who could write, hence they approached me. I was playing and rehearsing with a number of bands, trying to figure out which way to go. Tytan, Angelwitch and an early version of Airplane were some but none were working out after Weapon. When I got the chance to work with Bruce again it seemed the right thing to do. We signed to Mausoleum Records in Belgium before the band was complete. The first “real” Wildfire album was “Summer Lightning” (184), we had become a real band by then. “Summer Lightning” was recorded at Shepperton film studios (very famous for the British film industry). We set up in an old church and recorded the tracks on the Rolling Stones mobile unit. We were such good mates and really enjoyed each others company. We toured with Blue Oyster Cult and did our own tours plus some shows and festivals in Europe and TV shows in the UK.

You were such a great guitar duo together with Martin Bushell. Can you say a couple of words about him? Don’t you want to work with him once again?

Jeff: Martin is a very talented musician. An extraordinary guitar player and remains one of my best friends. We worked together well because we understood each others styles and limitations. We worked to make the band sound good, not just ourselves. We were also a good songwriting team I think. Martin works in production and band management now and has also written songs for some famous artists (can’t remember who) but mainly U.S. pop bands. If we ever worked together again it would probably be in a writing or recording situation…But never say never.

When Wildfire split up the whole band except Paul Mario Day joined singer Gary Barden in Statetrooper and the band’s self-titled debut album sounds like a kind of continuation of Wildfire. Did you use any ideas which were originally intended for Wildfire?

Jeff: Yes, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” and “Set Fire to the Night” and “She Got the Look” had been started as the next Wildfire album. The whole band were Wildfire so it would sound a little like them…

What can you say about Gary Barden? Was it easy to work with him?

Jeff: Gary’s a great singer and an underestimated writer. Gary was 50% of the success of MSG, he basically wrote all of the words and melodies for those great songs with his collaboration with Michael Schenker. He was and is extremely easy to work with and is a real gentleman. He remains a great friend of mine.

Why did the band release only one album in the 80’s?

Jeff: Dare I say management issues? We were all great mates and were ready to make a new album. We got back from playing gigs in Europe and making a new video (which I still haven’t seen to this day) and there was no money to live on… I had to go and get a proper job to support my family.

Statetrooper returned to life in 2004 with the new album “The Calling”. Was that album well received by press and fans? What is the current status of this band?

Jeff: Yes, I’m very proud of “The Calling” It was very well received and sold in excess of 25,000. Some of the U.S. reviews were asking why Statetrooper were writing such great albums and MSG were not. We played some big festivals in Europe and the UK and some gigs of our own. We were always well received and loved playing together. Gary got the call to rejoin MSG just as we were making a follow up to “The Calling” Gary had to follow his instincts there, but he was much happier playing with Statetrooper, it was more of a democracy. The band is now defunct and all of my efforts are with Weapon… My first real band!!

Please tell a couple of final words for your fans!

We have really loyal fans, it’s difficult to believe that people still love our music after all this time! 30 years + !! We have to get our music out to more new fans however, so for those of you who know of us and for those we are about to meet along the way…We thank YOU!!

Weapon on the Internet: http://www.weaponrock.com

Konstantin “Hirax” Chilikin
June 25, 2011
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