Warfare
Taking their cue from Venom and Motorhead, this three-piece band were formed in Newcastle in 1984 by former Angelic Upstarts drummer Paul Evo, who also took on vocal duties, guitarist Gunner and bassist Falken. With Algy Ward (Saints/Damned/Tank) at the production helm they recorded an album for Neat Records and put together an excellent set of punk/metal standards. They also recorded one track with their friends, Venom, entitled Rose Petals Fall From Her Face, one of the world's most obnoxious songs (the album which housed it ran under the banner PURE FILTH). Their next recording was a 12-inch single, a wickedly satirical version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Two Tribes, which brought them to public attention and even secured national airplay. In 1985 they set off on a tour of Europe and enhanced their anarchic image with wild live performances. The only new recording came as another 12-inch single, the TOTAL DEATH EP, which contained wholesome numbers like Rape, Destroy and Metal Anarchy. The latter gave them a title for their second album, produced by Lemmy, which also featured a guest appearance from fellow Motorhead man Wurzel on guitar. They continued in the same vein for 1987's MAYHEM FUCKIN' MAYHEM, but soon after release Falken left to be replaced by Zlaughter. The following year's CONFLICT OF HATRED had some surprise guests with Mart Craggs (Lindisfarne) on saxophone and Irene Hume (Prelude) joining the more predictable supporting cast, which included an appearance from Mantas (Venom). They resurfaced in 1990, announcing their intention to record a tribute album to Hammer Horror Films' 49th birthday celebration. An ambitious and ultimately unsuccessful project, this featured many samples of classic Hammer films. After one big promotional concert they were faced with a barrage of press criticisms and announced that they would no longer perform live, stating as an epitaph: ‘If our fans want to see us they will have to buy a video’. Since then they have remained largely inactive.