Lost/Forgotten Album #204

This week's pick is 2003's "Hit The Right Button" by Heavy Metal Kids, their first album since 1977's "Kitsch" which makes it a whopping 26 years between albums. That beats Boston AND GnR!

Before we get started, let's get this out of the way:

NOTE: 100% collusion-free, as usual. All facts are from jonsmindopedia, unless otherwise noted. Unlike others, funny pictures are excepted as a response since I'm not uptight.

And now a history of the band, courtesy allmusic.com:

"One of the most spectacular, if sadly neglected, British bands of the mid-'70s, the Heavy Metal Kids straddled the eras of glam and punk with such effortless ease that neither genre has ever seemed entirely comfortable with them. Not for the Kids the succession of compilations and tributes with which the CD age has gifted so many of their peers; not for the Kids the awed accolades of a generation of future stars, raised on their high energy rock and dazzling visual flash. But for anybody who is in on the secret, the three albums which the Heavy Metal Kids unleashed between 1974-1977 represent the missing link in the story of Brit-pop, the bridge which links the Small Faces to Oasis, the Action to the Jam, and any other two points you care to mention.

As an accomplished child actor, vocalist Gary Holton first came to attention as a protégé of the Sadlers Well Opera Company during the early '60s and also played the Artful Dodger in an acclaimed production of Charles Dickens' Oliver. From there, he moved on to regular performances with the Old Vic Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company, before joining the touring company of Hair in 1972, aged 17. It was during this period that he began making the contacts which would lead him to form the Heavy Metal Kids two years later, with Mickey Waller (guitar, and no relation to the Jeff Beck/Rod Stewart drummer of the same name), Argentinean-born Danny Peyronel (keyboards), Ronnie Thomas (bass, vocals), and Keith Boyce (drums). The group's name, incidentally, was taken from William Burroughs -- naively or otherwise, the band members never dreamed people might draw other, musical, conclusions from it.

Fronted by Holton's raucous Cockney accent and visually steeped in the paraphernalia of his theatrical upbringing, the Heavy Metal Kids made an immediate impact. Singer/songwriter TV Smith, whose punk-era band the Adverts would play several gigs with the Kids, recalled, "they cared about their look, wearing makeup on stage, dressing up special for gigs, which was the kind of stuff we were looking for before punk. Silly lyrics, funny, energetic on-stage." Guitarist Brian James (the Damned/Lords of the New Church) agreed. "The Heavy Metal Kids were great fun. Gary used to take the piss out of himself so much and they kinda filled a little bit of a gap, amongst all that pomp of the early '70s. You had the hippy side, you had the glam thing that was taking itself so very seriously, and then there was Gary and his boys, just being silly." He, too, was adamant, "they were ahead of their time."

Discovered by former Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich frontman Dave Dee, the Kids were signed by Atlantic Records and went immediately into the studio to record their debut album, Heavy Metal Kids. It was well received, but did little, a fate which many observers put down to the conflicting signals sent out by the band's name. Heading out for their first American tour in early 1975, the group dropped the Heavy Metal from their name, and gigged as the Kids alone. Recorded with new guitarist Cosmo replacing Waller, Anvil Chorus, their sophomore album, also appeared under this abbreviated name. It fared no better than its predecessor and, following a U.K. tour with Alice Cooper, the Kids parted company with Atlantic towards the end of the year. Further personnel changes included the departures of Peyronel and Cosmo, to be replaced by John Sinclair (keyboards) and Barry Paul, guitarist on the group's original demos two years earlier.

In December, 1975, the Kids signed with producer Mickie Most's RAK label, but before work could begin on their next album, Holton was loudly sacked from the lineup amid a storm of drink- and drug-related headlines. Plans for the remaining members to continue on without him, however, came to naught and, in late 1977, Holton rejoined the band for a handful of live shows and the long-delayed third album, Kitsch. But by mid-1978, he had departed once again and, this time, the band broke up.

Returning to acting, Holton landed roles in the disco movie Music Machine, the Who's Quadrophenia, and alongside Hazel O'Connor in the hit Breaking Glass. He also starred in the British TV movie Bloody Kids. His musical endeavors were now confined to strict one-offs: in December, 1978, Holton stood in for Damned vocalist Dave Vanian on a short Scottish tour, he also recorded a solo single, a stunning punk-country version of Kenny Rogers' "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" with the Boys' guitarist Casino Steel. But even the opportunity to replace the late Bon Scott in AC/DC could not lure him back to full-time rock & roll.

In 1983, Holton landed a starring role in British television's Auf Weidersehn, Pet, a light drama conceived by Quadrophenia director Francis Roddam and one of the surprise hits of the 1983-1984 season. He followed up with a memorable role in a Pilsner lager commercial and, in September, 1984, Holton returned to theater, appearing in the London cast of the 1950s Americana musical Pump Boys and Dinettes.

The following summer, he traveled to Spain to work on the long-awaited second series of Auf Weidersehn, Pet. It was there that he died, on October 25, 1985, the victim of a heroin habit which even the gossip-ridden London underground scarcely remembered."

How about a review, again courtesy allmusic.com:

"Sorely overlooked at the time of its original release, beyond a smattering of semi-nostalgic coverage in the U.K. press, the Heavy Metal Kids' fourth album -- and their first in almost 30 years -- was a rambunctious beast, overflowing with the kind of hooks that the original band prized so highly, but exploding, too, with little reminders of just how much future generations would borrow from them. True, the longtime fan mourns the absence of the late Gary Holton, whose distinctive tones raised the Kids so high, but founding member Danny Peyronel fills his boots well, both on the studio cuts and the four bonus live tracks appended to Angel Air's 2010 reissue. "Chelsea Kids '70s heyday with an exuberance and savagery that take the listener back as well, to the seething clubs that the Kids once ruled, and the conviction that this band was marked out for glory. They never grasped it, sadly, but their 21st century revival will not disappoint regardless."

"Girl Of My Dreams" sounds like something from the 80's, a perfect song to go cruising to on a Friday night.

That sentence above is my biggest contribution to this post.

You're welcome.

Hit The Right Button

1. Message
2. Girl Of My Dreams
3. Blow It All Away
4. Hit The Right Button
5. Wildlife
6. N.Y. Streetlife
7. Viva New York!
8. I Walk Alone
9. Crool World
10. Whisky
11. A Hundred Skeletons
12. Gotham City
13. Voices

Availability: Two versions available, the one with the album cover posted above runs for around $11, and there's also a remastered version titled "Hit The Right Button Plus" that includes 4 bonus tracks and runs for around $15.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on July 14, 2014 at 11:28am

My thoughts:

Tracks one and two are okay.

Blow It All Away is pretty cool. I get the punk vibe. But not irritating punk at all.

The riff on Hit The Right Button is very familiar. I'm thinking Scott's favorite band, The Smithereens. Something off of Green Thoughts, I think.

Wildlife, unfortunately, immediately sounds like a song that would have been right at home for Paul Stanley on Crazy Nights.

Viva New York! is another cool track.

I Walk Alone gives me a Warren Zevon vibe. This is the best song I think. And it's three straight songs about New York.

Crool World was good, but would have been better at 2:23 instead of 4:23.

No problem at all with the track Whisky.

A Hundred Skeletons is dang good too.

Gotham City makes me think of The Kinks.

I could have done without the last track [it's not terrible though, geeeetar (no trademark infringement) is good].

Overall a very solid post from a solid individual.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Gordon Williams on July 14, 2014 at 4:05pm

I've been wanting to hear some HMK for a long time, and never got that chance. Until now. I wanted to check them out after I found out Danny Peyronel was a part of the band. Danny had a cup of coffee with UFO back in the mid 70's. I don't think it lasted more than 6 months.

So, anyway, this was not what I expected. And after about half of it, I was ready to go on to something else. But I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. I thought the "best stretch" of the album was tracks 9, 10, and 11...back to back to back.

Track 10, "Whisky", was easily my favorite after one listen through. Good, heavy main riff, and the guitar lead is really, really good. It's strange, because this lead is really mostly just noises and effects...but it sounds really killer, and is very creative. The lead to track 11 sort of had that same kind of "good strangeness" to it.

I won't buy this, but I will definitely be back to hear it again some more.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Scott on July 16, 2014 at 4:17pm

I really liked the opening tunes new wave/punk feel. Also really got into the second track, some bubble gum pop never hurt anyone!

But I got lost on Blow It All Away - feels flat. Hit The Right Button - first thought was sounds like a Krokus riff, but the vocal and chorus threw that theory out the window.

I Walk Alone is cool and rivals Whisky for the best tune on here - maybe a tie at least for me.

Weird fade in on Gotham City, thought it was an issue with volume and production but it recovered. Overall, Lots of fun quirky geeetar (no copyright infringement) work everywhere.

I'm not an Oliver buff, so I have no idea who this guy is/was. But Actors who do music usually doesn't sound appealing to me, there are very few who did it well. Springfield, Thirty Second to Mars, uh uh uh... Ya no others come to mind right away. So while this guy maybe wasn't successful enough to sustain a music career, he did good. This was good listen with a couple filler tunes, but overall this was a fun listen!

I wont even complain about the more than 10 tracks, didn't seem to bother me... Nice work Jon!!!