Sweet Savage are a heavy metal band from

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, formed in 1979. Future Dio and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

guitarist

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the guitarist of Dio. He has also been the guitarist of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). C ...

was an early member. Since forming in 1979, Sweet Savage have released three studio albums, three singles and one demo. Their latest album, ''Regeneration'', was released in 2011. Considered one of the pioneers of the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis (music journalist), Alan Lew ...

movement alongside acts such as

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, Diamond Head, and

, due to a handful of songs, most notably, played and recorded live on the

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

- ''

The Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...

''. The band however, only released two singles in their first incarnation, failed to record a single album and thus success eluded them, leading to their disbandment by 1983. The band reformed in 1984 with a different line-up, but did not last long. The band reformed for a second time in the 1990s, following

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

's cover of their song "Killing Time" as a B-side for their " The Unforgiven" single, recording two albums, before disbanding for a third time. They have since reformed and released their third and last album (to date), in 2011.

History

Early days (1979–1983)

Sweet Savage began with a line-up of Trev Fleming and Vivian Campbell on guitars, David Bates on drums and Ray Haller on bass and vocals. The band gained a support slot for

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

on their Renegade tour and supported acts such as

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British Rock music, rock band who achieved success in the early to mid-1970s. Their albums include ''Wishbone Ash (album), Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage (Wishbone Ash album), Pilgrimage'' (1971), ''Argus (album), Argu ...

and

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

. In 1981 the band signed to Park Records and released their first single "Take No Prisoners" which was limited to 1000 copies – this single included the song "Killing Time". A self-released demo known as ''Demo 81'' was released at this time, which contained a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

session of four songs. In early 1983, guitarist Campbell accepted an offer to join Dio and subsequently left the band.

Reform (1984–1985)

After a year long break, Sweet Savage decided to reform, but without Campbell and Fleming. Ian "Speedo" Wilson joined Sweet Savage on guitar and the band recorded a single with vocalist Robert Casserly, "Straight Through the Heart" and was released on Crashed Records. In 1985, the band recorded their third single "The Raid". After this, Sweet Savage disbanded for a second time. Sweet_Savage_Cardiff_1981

The albums (1996–1998)

Much later in the late 1990s after

covered "Killing Time" in 1991 as a B-side for " The Unforgiven", there was renewed interest for Sweet Savage. Fuelled by this interest, the band reformed and signed to

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear. A key figure in the establishment of the label ...

in 1996, releasing their first studio album entitled ''Killing Time'' The original lyrics to the track, which Metallica covered, (the original Sweet Savage version and the Metallica cover can both easily be found on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

) had racial overtones that have since been removed from all lyrics sheets. The band at this stage were joined by

Simon McBride Simon McBride (born 9 April 1979) is a Northern Irish singer and guitarist, who has played with other artists, including Deep Purple and Snakecharmer, as well as recording and touring his own band, and teaching at BIMM in Dublin. He was anno ...

on lead guitar and the return of Trev Fleming on additional guitar. Ian Wilson was concentrating on other projects and was not present on the ''Killing Time'' record, with Simon McBride taking over from him. ''Killing Time'' contained re-worked and re-recorded versions of songs that were originally released early on in their career. Two years later in 1998, the band recorded and released an album of completely new material entitled ''Rune''. Following the two albums, the band went on hiatus as each member wanted to follow different musical routes.

Present day revival (2008 onward)

In 2008, Maniacal Records from the USA was to release the band's early studio material on vinyl, but the band abruptly cancelled the project, citing lawsuit concerns from a former member. 23 April 2008 saw the long-awaited return to the stage by Sweet Savage, as they supported

on the St. Georges Day concert in London's Shepherds Bush Empire. Bates decided to leave the band and was replaced by Jules Watson. A trip to Germany ensued in early August where they played the Headbangers Festival and the Wacken Festival to great acclaim. Later that month they supported

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...

in Dublin, Marlay Park, 20 August 2008. On 1 August 2009, again in Marlay Park, Ray Haller joined Metallica on stage for "Killing Time". The current line-up of Haller, Wilson, Fleming and Watson has been cited as being "the strongest version of the band" by the industry professionals and as frontman Ray Haller explains "All this interest lately, has come out of the blue and it's phenomenal how well the band is being received by everyone. We played Germany for the first time recently and were surprised to hear the kids singing our tunes back to us, we really had no idea how popular the band are." In 2009 Sweet Savage were confirmed as the support along with Doro for Saxon’s Battalions Of Steel World Tour II. 2009 also saw the release of their newest studio effort entitled ''Warbird'', on SPV Records. The album features

making a guest appearance on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "

Whiskey in the Jar "Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is ...

". At the band's support show with Motörhead, lead singer Ray Haller confirmed that the new record ''Warbird'' would have been released in early 2010 and not 2009 as planned. On 7 July 2010 Sweet Savage were announced as replacement support for the first date of

's Final Frontier European Tour at the O2 in Dublin on 30 July 2010. Heaven & Hell were originally announced as support, but were forced to cancel all of their summer dates due to

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...

's death. At the show, Sweet Savage introduced a packed Dublin crowd to new drummer Marty McCloskey who would be taking over from Jules Watson. Watson went on to drum for Conjuring Fate. The band revealed that the record ''Warbird'', which had been postponed due to the current economic climatic in the music business, would be seeing a full release in late 2010. As of late 2019, it remains unreleased. On 2 October 2010, guitarist and songwriter Trev Fleming died after treatment for a recent illness, he had been missing from the band's line-up since February 2010 and was not present for support slots with

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

or for Sweet Savage's performance at Sonisphere Festival. Ray Haller joined Metallica onstage on 7 December 2011 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA for Metallica's 30th Anniversary show. Ray sang "Killing Time" with Metallica and also backing vocals on their track "

Seek & Destroy "Seek & Destroy" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica and the ninth track from their debut studio album, '' Kill 'Em All'' (1983). It was also featured on the demo '' No Life 'Til Leather''. It was the first song the band recor ...

". This was the second of four shows that Metallica played.

Band members

;Current *Ray Haller – vocals, bass guitar (1979–present) *Marty McCloskey – drums (2010–present) *Phil Edgar – guitar (2011–present) ;Former *Trev Fleming – guitar (1979–1983, 1996, 2008–2010; his death) *

– guitar (1979–1983) * David Bates – drums (1979–2008) *Robert Casserly aka Rob Cass - vocals (1983–1985) *Ian Wilson – guitar (1984–2012) *Jules Watson – drums (2008–2010; died 2021) *

– guitar (1996–1998)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*''Killing Time'' (Metal Blade; 1996) *''Rune'' (Neat Metal Nation; 1998) *''Regeneration'' (Candyman; 2011)

Singles

*''Take No Prisoners'' (Park Records- PKR 1001; 1981) *''Straight Through the Heart'' (Crashed Music – CAR 48; 1984) *''The Raid'' (Park Records– PKR 1003; 1985)

Live sessions

*''Friday Rock Show'' (BBC; 1981)

Compilations

*''The Friday Rock Show'' (BBC Records; 1981)
Featured track: "Eye of the Storm" *''Now in Session'' (Downtown Radio; 1982)
Featured track: "Lady of the Night" *'' NWOBHM '79 Revisited'' (Caroline Records; 1990)
Featured track: "Eye of the Storm" *''Lightnin' to the Nations: 25th Anniversary of NWOBHM'' (2005)
Featured track: "Killing Time" *''Full Metal Garage: The Songs That Drove Metallica'' (2006)
Featured track: "Killing Time"

Cancelled releases

*''Eye of the Storm – The Early Years'' (Maniacal Records/High Roller Records; 2008)

References

External links

Official Myspace page
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Savage (Irish Band) Heavy metal musical groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Hard rock musical groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups established in 1979 Musical trios from Northern Ireland New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups