Mike Weatherley MP is MP for Hove
Everyone loves music. And often people tend to like most
music. But heavy metal? Usually not – reasons include "terrible screeching
vocals" to "you can't dance to it". This is an exchange I often experience:
Me: ‘What sort of music do you like?’
‘All music really.’
Me: 'Ah, so you don’t like my music then.’
No really – I like all music.’
Me: ‘Even heavy Metal?’
‘Oh no – of course not heavy metal!’
Heavy Rock/Metal has never been socially acceptable (unless
one adds in the likes of Bon Jovi and Guns & Roses into the definition) and, for
many, this musical sub-culture is something to be avoided.
When I was in my early teens, I always preferred my music
guitar-based – any single that had a guitar riff in it got my vote. Others liked
something you can dance to, but I liked guitars. It wasn’t until Deep Purple
brought out ‘In Rock’ when I was 13, closely followed by my introduction to
Black Sabbath albums, that I found a genre I could call my own. And once found,
it becomes tribal and almost an obsession. Actually, scrub ‘almost’ – it is an
obsession. Blues is good, thumping bass and screaming guitars even better.
Disco, to quote a 70's slogan, sucks.
Most people have hobbies – something they become passionate
about. Something that moves them. It could be hitting a golf ball sweetly in
Portugal, following a football team and checking the results every Saturday, or
going to Tolkien conventions. For me, it’s always been about music. From hours
spent sifting through the racks at the local record store, to reading the
specialist magazines or whatever. Given the time spent on this hobby, I suspect
that if I had been this passionate about chemistry I would have invented a cure
for something by now!
‘Metal’ crosses social divides and international boundaries.
Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia, is a Deep Purple fan. If our paths
should ever cross, I am absolutely sure we would spend the first 10 minutes
talking about the merits of various Purple albums – and then get onto nuclear
disarmament or some such. Anywhere in the world, if I see someone in a Maiden
T-shirt, I know they will introduce me to the local metal bars and their
friends.
And as with all sub-cultures, it has its own identifying
characteristics – yes, I had the long hair and ,yes, I had the embroidered denim
jacket interchanged with a biker’s jacket (which I understand is now back in
mainstream high fashion!). And tattoos. I don’t headbang as much as I did when
I was younger, but the air guitar still comes out to play occasionally. We have
our own heroes and places of worship. Everyone has heard of Reading and Isle of
Wight Festivals – but few have heard of Download (Donnington), which hosts
100,000 people each June, making it the second largest festival in
Britain (after Glastonbury), and which I go to every year and camp with my
family. Listening to metal live is an enduring priority – I still try and go to
a gig every month and more often than that, if votes in the House allow me to
get away in time.
It's 43 years now since ‘metal’ first was coined (precise
date still debated – was it Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be wild’ (1968)? Was it
Black Sabbath’s first album (1970)? – and a whole new generation is
becoming as passionate; it is a sub culture that has endured, though. I know that I
said Metal was unpopular with most people, but the passionate supporters make up for that
– AC/DC and Meatloaf (yes, we accept Meatloaf as one of ours), both having albums
that reached worldwide top 10 ever. If you are ever asked ‘which artist or band
had a top 10 hit every year during the 80’s?’ in a quiz show, you may be
surprised to learn that the answer is not Michael Jackson or some boy band, but
England’s own Iron Maiden (who, incidentally, have just finished a worldwide
sell out tourm and are still consistently in the top five UK overseas earners). So,
sub culture yes – insignificant, no chance.
So how did a heavy metal fan end up working for 'the enemy', Pete Waterman? (After all, Pete was a music writer that rarely had any guitars
in the final product.) Well, after selling my share in a manufacturing business
and looking for my next challenge, I stumbled upon an advert for an accountant in
the music industry and thought 'why not?'. When I turned up for the interview,
I opened by saying: 'Pete, before we start let me say this – I fully accept you
are loved by millions, but I have hated everything you have ever produced' – he
lent over the table, hand outstretched to take mine and said 'congratulations,
you have got the job!'.
I know that many reading this will be saying ‘but yes, we
get all of that, but why do you like
rock / metal?’ Ah my friends, if you have to ask that, then you will never
understand why.
Some bands I am
listening to at the moment: Shinedown, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, Maiden,
Sabbath (their last album a few months ago went to No 1 by the way), In This
Moment, UDO and the winners of my special ‘Rock The House’ award, Collibus –
and occasional nostalgia with the likes of Rory Gallagher and Rush (although
their latest Clockwork Angels is superb and fully back to form).