Remember Diamond Head? ‘Course you do. Besides, they headlined a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal festival in London in November 2005. But what about Bitches Sin? Or Satan? Shiva? Soldier? Trespass? The NWOBHM catapulted Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard to global fame and fortune, but left behind were countless bands that should have made it but didn’t, and whose legacy is maybe a couple of singles and some clippings from Sounds. ‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the story of those bands and highlights the highs and lows of not only forming a band in the early Eighties but also trying to keep it together and become heavy metal superstars.

With contributions from the above-named hopefuls, as well as the likes of Girlschool, Witchfynde, Saxon, Jaguar, Paul Di’Anno and Lemmy, and an introduction by Sean Harris, the original voice of Diamond Head, ‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the first book to analyse the NWOBHM in any great depth. It describes in the bands’ own words what it was like to be writing and playing heavy metal in the post-punk era and sets the music in the bleak social context of the time, when getting a feature in the local paper was a real big thing, being played on BBC Radio 1’s The Friday Rock Show was the ultimate means of mass marketing (as well as the ultimate seal of approval), and bands like Metallica could play covers of NWOBHM bands’ songs live and pass them off as their own.

‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the first book by John Tucker who, as a fanzine writer and photographer of the time (as well as a big fan of the music), was lucky enough to watch the NWOBHM unfold around him. It is not a nostalgia trip by an aging rocker but a personal tribute to the bands of the NWOBHM and to the timeless music they produced. It is published by Independent Music Press and is available in all good bookshops for £12.99

Metallica, Megadeth,Anthrax, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Grohl
and the Foo Fighters, Green Day and Muse – just a few of the
bands and artists who regularly pay homage to their love of the
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.

This book tells the definitive and complete history of the NWOBHM, from its
formation during the late Seventies, through its numerous peaks and troughs
in the Eighties and on to its current status as one of rock music’s most
influential genres.The most famous exponents of this heavy metal explosion
arestadium-selling bands such as Saxon, Def Leppardand the currently-
enormous-again Iron Maiden, but there are also scores of other acts who
have been selling millions of records to the movement’s enormous and
fanatical fan-base for years.

Suzie Smiled... describes what it was like to be
writing and playing heavy metal in the post-punk era and sets the music in
the bleak social context of the time.With an introduction by Sean Harris,
then vocalist of the legendary Diamond Head, this book is the first ever
collection of stories from the bands of the New WaveOf British Heavy Metal.
Through a mixtureof exclusive new interviews, contemporary articles and many
unpublished photographs, Suzie Smiled...lets the musicians tell the entirestory
in their own words, including how some of the greatest heavy metal songs ever
written were created.

Author John Tucker is an acknowledged expert on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. As a fanzine writer and photographer at the time – as well as a big fan of the music – Tucker was perfectly placed to watch the NWOBHM unfold around him. He has written for countless metal magazines, worked with various record labels and is regarded as the world-leading expert on the subject.

Vai al sito ufficiale