Brian Tatler
Encyclopedia
Brian Tatler is an English
musician, best known as the guitarist
and co-founder of the Stourbridge
based heavy metal
band, Diamond Head
.
The band recorded and released self-financed demo tapes in 1977 and 1979. Although only recorded within six hours on a four-track, their unique sound and quality of song writing gained enough attention to tour as support with AC/DC
and Iron Maiden. Although many record companies fought to sign the band, none were willing to commit fully. The band grew impatient and decided that they would release their material through their own label Happy Face Records. The band released their debut album on this label most commonly known as Lightning to the Nations
, although it has never officially had a title. This album came in a plain sleeve with no title, having on it only a signature of one of the band members and no track listings. Amongst the stand out features of this album were the epic riffs created by Tatler, which prompted Sounds
magazine to claim that "one Diamond Head song contains more riffs than an entire Black Sabbath
album".
, UFO
and Rainbow
. Tatler has stated that some of the first albums he bought were Led Zeppelin
's second album and Deep Purple
's Machine Head
, and that his favourite album is Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti
, as it contains his favourite song "Kashmir
". He has said that although most of his guitar work was inspired by Ritchie Blackmore
, it was the punk rock
movement that showed him that anyone could form a band. Nowadays, Tatler tries not to be influenced by more modern bands in order to keep his traditional sound, although he imagines that "little bits creep into the writing process".
in 1981, and they released the Four Cuts EP
. Their 'major label' status afforded them a slot on the Reading Festival bill in 1982. Their set was recorded by the BBC
, and later released in 1992 through Raw Fruit Records as the Friday Rock Show Sessions.
Their first MCA LP was Borrowed Time, which reached #24 in the UK Albums Chart
. In many interviews Tatler has stated that 1982 was his favourite year, and found the era to be extremely exciting, trying to guess who is going to be the first NWOBHM band to make it big.
Their follow-up, Canterbury
, was released in 1983. Tatler has expressed since that making this album was one of the most stressful periods of his life, and the entire process almost caused him to have a nervous breakdown. He also said that having to fire his best friends from the band was one of the hardest things he has had to do.
The band split up for the first time in 1985. Around the same time, Tatler also decided that it was time to get rid of his signature white Flying V and convert to a Gibson Les Paul
, saying that "I think the Les Paul's better, the V's more of a metal guitar. At one stage it was just me and Schenker with them, now the guy in Saxon's got one and all the European metal bands like Accept have them."
, recording and producing local bands. He also formed the band Radio Moscow (not to be confused with the modern American blues-rock band of the same name), which drummer Karl Wilcox, who later went on to be a part of a reformed Diamond Head. Radio Moscow recorded two albums, (World Service and Get A New Life) both of which featured Ritch Battersby on drums, who later went on to perform with G.T.A and also The Wildhearts.
in 1991, but the reunion was short lived.
tribute act, Dizzy Lizzy, before joining up with the Celtic rock
band, Quill. During his time with Quill, Tatler recorded three albums (Out of the hat, Privileged and Back Intact).
, playing the Metal Meltdown festival in New Jersey
. However, the new album was never released. Harris' reluctance to tour and only concentrate on releasing further albums prompted Tatler to consider his options away from Harris.
Also during this time, Tatler collaborated with Dave Mustaine
of Megadeth
on an album together. However, after Mustaine decided to reform Megadeth, this project was shelved and never released.
Meanwhile, Tatler decided to resurrect Diamond Head with new vocalist Nick Tart who worked on Diamond Head's fifth studio album, All Will Be Revealed
, which was released through Cargo Records in 2005. Tatler stated that his aim was just to try and release a solid rock album, with "punchy" riffs and no fillers. After a successful tour supporting Megadeth, in 2007 Diamond Head released their latest album What's In Your Head
.
In 2009, Tatler released his autobiography, Am I Evil?. "It all started in a bedroom with a biscuit tin drum kit and a cheap fuzzy guitar, and went on to create some of the most exciting music ever written and inspire the biggest heavy metal band on the planet". The book contained forewords by Lars Ulrich and Dave Mustaine.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
musician, best known as the guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and co-founder of the Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
based heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band, Diamond Head
Diamond Head (band)
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...
.
Formation
Originally trained as a mechanic, Tatler is most famous for his first band, Diamond Head. Tatler founded the band along with schoolmate Duncan Scott, he playing on a cheap fuzz guitar and Scott on some biscuit tins. They later enrolled the help of Sean Harris and Colin Kimberley on vocals and bass guitar respectively.The band recorded and released self-financed demo tapes in 1977 and 1979. Although only recorded within six hours on a four-track, their unique sound and quality of song writing gained enough attention to tour as support with AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
and Iron Maiden. Although many record companies fought to sign the band, none were willing to commit fully. The band grew impatient and decided that they would release their material through their own label Happy Face Records. The band released their debut album on this label most commonly known as Lightning to the Nations
Lightning to the Nations
Lightning to the Nations is the debut album by heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980 through their own label Happy Face Records, due to lack of interest from major labels and the band feeling that they needed to get the ball rolling as other bands from...
, although it has never officially had a title. This album came in a plain sleeve with no title, having on it only a signature of one of the band members and no track listings. Amongst the stand out features of this album were the epic riffs created by Tatler, which prompted Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
magazine to claim that "one Diamond Head song contains more riffs than an entire Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
album".
Influence
Tatler has cited early influences to be bands such as ScorpionsScorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
, UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
and Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
. Tatler has stated that some of the first albums he bought were Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's second album and Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
's Machine Head
Machine Head (album)
Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972....
, and that his favourite album is Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti
Physical Graffiti
Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 24 February 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered leaving the band...
, as it contains his favourite song "Kashmir
Kashmir (song)
"Kashmir" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their sixth album Physical Graffiti, released in 1975. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant over a period of three years, with the lyrics dating back to 1973.-Overview:The song centres around a signature chord progression...
". He has said that although most of his guitar work was inspired by Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, it was the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement that showed him that anyone could form a band. Nowadays, Tatler tries not to be influenced by more modern bands in order to keep his traditional sound, although he imagines that "little bits creep into the writing process".
MCA Years
The success of the first album led to a record deal with MCA RecordsMCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
in 1981, and they released the Four Cuts EP
Four Cuts EP
Four Cuts EP is an EP by heavy metal band Diamond Head and was released in 1982. It was a double A-side with Call me and Trick or Treat, and was released by MCA. The EP also contained Dead Reckoning and a re-recorded version of Shoot Out the Lights as the two B-sides...
. Their 'major label' status afforded them a slot on the Reading Festival bill in 1982. Their set was recorded by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and later released in 1992 through Raw Fruit Records as the Friday Rock Show Sessions.
Their first MCA LP was Borrowed Time, which reached #24 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In many interviews Tatler has stated that 1982 was his favourite year, and found the era to be extremely exciting, trying to guess who is going to be the first NWOBHM band to make it big.
Their follow-up, Canterbury
Canterbury (album)
Canterbury is the third album by Diamond Head. The album was recorded and released in 1983, reaching Number 32 on the UK Album Chart.-Canterbury:...
, was released in 1983. Tatler has expressed since that making this album was one of the most stressful periods of his life, and the entire process almost caused him to have a nervous breakdown. He also said that having to fire his best friends from the band was one of the hardest things he has had to do.
The band split up for the first time in 1985. Around the same time, Tatler also decided that it was time to get rid of his signature white Flying V and convert to a Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
, saying that "I think the Les Paul's better, the V's more of a metal guitar. At one stage it was just me and Schenker with them, now the guy in Saxon's got one and all the European metal bands like Accept have them."
Radio Moscow
After Diamond Head split, Tatler went on to run RPK 24track studio, in LyeLye, West Midlands
Lye is a suburban area of the Black Country in England, between Halesowen and Stourbridge in Dudley Metropolitan Borough, West Midlands. It was formerly a village in the parish of Oldswinford, Worcestershire...
, recording and producing local bands. He also formed the band Radio Moscow (not to be confused with the modern American blues-rock band of the same name), which drummer Karl Wilcox, who later went on to be a part of a reformed Diamond Head. Radio Moscow recorded two albums, (World Service and Get A New Life) both of which featured Ritch Battersby on drums, who later went on to perform with G.T.A and also The Wildhearts.
First Diamond Head reunion
Tatler and Sean Harris reformed Diamond Head in 1990. The band signed to Warner/Chappell and released their fourth album Death and ProgressDeath and Progress
Death and Progress is a recording by Diamond Head and was released in 1993 under Castle Music Ltd.This was Diamond Head's first album since Canterbury, released 10 years earlier. It was mixed by Andrew Scarth, who had previously worked for bands such as Bad Company and Foreigner...
in 1991, but the reunion was short lived.
Quill
After the spilt, Tatler joined Thin LizzyThin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
tribute act, Dizzy Lizzy, before joining up with the Celtic rock
Celtic rock
Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock and a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context...
band, Quill. During his time with Quill, Tatler recorded three albums (Out of the hat, Privileged and Back Intact).
Diamond Head's acoustic years and Nick Tart era
Tatler played his last show with Quill in November 2000, and rejoined Harris to perform and record an acoustic version of Diamond Head, along with guitarist Floyd Brennan. Tatler and Harris recorded and toured new material and played their first gig in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, playing the Metal Meltdown festival in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. However, the new album was never released. Harris' reluctance to tour and only concentrate on releasing further albums prompted Tatler to consider his options away from Harris.
Also during this time, Tatler collaborated with Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
of Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
on an album together. However, after Mustaine decided to reform Megadeth, this project was shelved and never released.
Meanwhile, Tatler decided to resurrect Diamond Head with new vocalist Nick Tart who worked on Diamond Head's fifth studio album, All Will Be Revealed
All Will Be Revealed
All Will Be Revealed is a 2005 album by the British heavy metal band Diamond Head. This was Diamond Head's first album with new singer Nick Tart and also the only album to feature Arian Mills on guitar, who was replaced by Andy 'Abbz' Abberley during the second leg of this tour - his first show at...
, which was released through Cargo Records in 2005. Tatler stated that his aim was just to try and release a solid rock album, with "punchy" riffs and no fillers. After a successful tour supporting Megadeth, in 2007 Diamond Head released their latest album What's In Your Head
What's in Your Head
What's In Your Head? is a 2007 album by the British heavy metal band Diamond Head. This was Diamond Head's second album with new singer Nick Tart and the follow-up to 2005's comeback album All Will Be Revealed...
.
In 2009, Tatler released his autobiography, Am I Evil?. "It all started in a bedroom with a biscuit tin drum kit and a cheap fuzzy guitar, and went on to create some of the most exciting music ever written and inspire the biggest heavy metal band on the planet". The book contained forewords by Lars Ulrich and Dave Mustaine.
Discography
- Lightning to the NationsLightning to the NationsLightning to the Nations is the debut album by heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980 through their own label Happy Face Records, due to lack of interest from major labels and the band feeling that they needed to get the ball rolling as other bands from...
also known as The White Album (1980) - Diamond Head - Borrowed Time (1982) - Diamond Head
- CanterburyCanterbury (album)Canterbury is the third album by Diamond Head. The album was recorded and released in 1983, reaching Number 32 on the UK Album Chart.-Canterbury:...
(1983) - Diamond Head - Death and ProgressDeath and ProgressDeath and Progress is a recording by Diamond Head and was released in 1993 under Castle Music Ltd.This was Diamond Head's first album since Canterbury, released 10 years earlier. It was mixed by Andrew Scarth, who had previously worked for bands such as Bad Company and Foreigner...
(1993) - Diamond Head - All Will Be RevealedAll Will Be RevealedAll Will Be Revealed is a 2005 album by the British heavy metal band Diamond Head. This was Diamond Head's first album with new singer Nick Tart and also the only album to feature Arian Mills on guitar, who was replaced by Andy 'Abbz' Abberley during the second leg of this tour - his first show at...
(2005) - Diamond Head - What's In Your HeadWhat's in Your HeadWhat's In Your Head? is a 2007 album by the British heavy metal band Diamond Head. This was Diamond Head's second album with new singer Nick Tart and the follow-up to 2005's comeback album All Will Be Revealed...
(2007) - Diamond Head