THE STORY OF ECT (EPISODE 8) – LIVE HEAVY METAL ON CHANNEL 4
Welcome
back to Episode 8 of ECT, the groundbreaking live heavy metal show broadcast on
Friday afternoons by Channel 4 in mid 1985.
This
time it gets personal.
ECT
8 was my first ever gig. Although a big rock and music fan throughout my
younger years, I didn’t really have any friends that were into rock music (ok,
to be honest I didn’t really have ANY friends), so I plucked up the courage and
ordered the free tickets to ECT via Kerrang! magazine.
From
what I recall I think it was pot luck which tickets you received and you then
had to make your way to the tv studios near Wembley for the live broadcast.
I
think I heard the line up for my week in advance and knew it was The
Gunslingers (never heard of em at the time), The Torpedoes (used to be fronted by Phil
Lewis of Torme then LA Guns fame), Black metallers Venom and
headliner was Metal Queen herself Lee Aaron.
So
having no idea what a heavy rock gig would be like (albeit a daytime one) I
made sure I had ordered up some clobber. I remember wearing bright red Phaze
plastic trousers and definitely would have had my leather motorsickle jacket on
and knowing me, probably a Kiss T-Shirt. My hair at the time I think was in my
trying to dye it blond phase. This resulted in it going shocking orange as I had put
blond hair dye on top of black. Ok, ready to rock!
I
can’t believe Phaze are still going! Here’s a pic of the ridiculous trousers….
where did you get those strides...
So
I pitched up at somewhere near Wembley and began following the hordes of
rockers to the TV studio. There was a long queue outside and first sight was of
mad metallers Venom gurning and making noises out of a top floor window.
Into the venue
we went eventually and it was on with the show….
First
up THE GUNSLINGERS. Can’t remember what I thought at the time as I was crushed
in the crowd and the huge TV cameras and cables meant that the audience was
continually shoved around! However – I became a huge fan of THE GUNSLINGERS –
their Hanoi Rocks crossed with The Faces beat was right up my musical alley and
I went to see them live a few months later and even bought their single (never knew until years later that they recorded an album . Anyway, enjoy – they are fantastic….
Next
up it’s THE TORPEDOES. Originally a hard rock outfit fronted by Phil Lewis, he’d
left them (as I recall) to join TORME. Renaming themselves THE NEW TORPEDOES they
went for a more radio friendly edge and had some good songs. That and a tasty
female singer who wore scanty outfits onstage was enough to pique many a metal
fans interest. Oh and I went to see them at a gigs as well!
Then
what most of the crowd had been waiting for VENOM! Not really my cup of tea but
even in these early days you could sense that metalheads wanted more err,
metally stuff. Anyway, against all the odds, VENOM put in probably the best and
most ridiculous performance in the whole series of ECT! Absolutely great and
lunatic stuff and the crowd went mad…
And
lastly, the gorgeous LEE AARON (who I believe has been a country rock singer
for many years now). Anyway, here she is in her pseudo metal glory! I bought
the pretty good album METAL QUEEN at a central London signing the next day and
her follow up album should have made the big time. Unfortunately after the
first single (Rock Me All Over) it was remixed and all the life and power was
sucked out of it. Anyway here’s LEE AARON again providing some titillation for
the mainly male metal masses!
After
the daytime gig it was back home and I was never the same again. Within a week
I was at my first proper nighttime gig and never looked back since…
Previous
articles :
