Granbretan Invasion!

Graham Oliver and Me playing some Saxon classics

Not long ago, Witch Cross were approached by our Metal buddy Bart Gabriel over at Skol records to see if we’d be interested in contributing a song to a new tribute album to the glories of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Needless to say the answer was a resounding “Hell yeah!”

The choice of song was a no-brainer for us. In our live show, one of our encores is the SAXON classic “Strong Arm of the Law”. Luckily I was over from Spain at the right time and we got the track recorded, but there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to have my long time friend Graham Oliver, Saxon axe-wielder extraordinaire on the track!

I drove up to Graham’s place in Yorkshire while I was in the UK and we headed up to Beat Street Studios in Leeds to record his parts. He’s the genuine article, the real deal, and his playing brought the song alive.

Graham working his Metal Magic

We’re really proud of our contribution to this fantastic project and can’t wait to hear what the other bands have done. Besides Witch Cross featuring Graham Oliver, it contains NWOBHM covers from Cauldron, Crystal Viper, Enforcer, Gatekeeper, Helvetets Port, Hitten, Ironflame, Martyr, Savage Master, Substratum, Twisted Tower and Dire. The album will be out later this year – stay tuned! Big thanks to my mate Jase Brooks at Beat Street for fitting in with our tight recording deadline!

L-R Kev Moore, Graham Oliver, Jase Brooks, Oliver Sekunda

Kev Moore

A band with pedigree……

Pete Phipps onstage with BC Sweet at Hertals Rocks in Belgium - by Sascha Staginski

The story of BC Sweet is a long one, and is littered with casualties, not least of which was the late Brian Connolly himself. A Glam Rock icon, he was one of the leading poster boys of his generation. His split from The Sweet caused him to form Brian Connolly’s Sweet, which he continued to perform with until he died.  The decision was then taken to continue the band as BC Sweet, performing in tribute to Brian’s memory, and the songs he helped make famous.  I was lucky enough to work with him when touring with Christie and met him several times. Over the years the line-up of BC Sweet has changed, and now no longer contains any members from the band that originally backed Brian. Rather, we perform as a tribute to the music he made. But to label us as a mere tribute act would be doing us a disservice, as the history of its members reveal credentials eminently suited to reproducing the classic canon of Sweet hits with style, and an innate knowledge of the genre. Bands like Christie, Saxon, Bay City Rollers, The Glitterband, Eurythmics, etc, have all appeared on our band members resumés.

Now I’m biased as a bass player – but playing with a great drummer is an absolute necessity for me, so when I joined up with BC SWEET, some 7 or 8 years ago, playing with Pete Phipps was a real bonus. Not only is Pete a great rock drummer, but he happened to play on two of my favourite albums, Mummer and The Big Express – by one of my favourite bands – XTC.  Now, via the magic of youtube, you can see him at work in the studio with the geniuses that are Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding & Dave Gregory, performing ‘Beating of Hearts’ from ‘Mummer’.  I thought I’d share it with you today below.

Don’t forget your sticks on Sunday Pete!  😉

Kev Moore