Here is a brief interview with Tony Foster. Guitarist for re-formed NWOBHM-ers Sparta. Thanks to Tony for sparing the time to answer questions so thoroughly. here we go……
NWOBHM: Please tell us a little about Sparta from back in the NWOBHM early days – what was life like back then, was it a struggle to get noticed amongst the competition at the time.
TF: We never toured outside of the UK but we played with a lot of bands at that time such as Diamond Head, Praying Mantis Lionheart and Geddes Axe. We also played with Budgie and the Ken Hensley Band (from Uriah Heep) from the old school and many other bands around at that time such as the Groundhogs. We were all Budgie fans and that was a very memorable gig.
We were exactly the same as all the other bands at that time but we didn’t get the lucky break. We were not living in the same cities such as London, Birmingham and Newcastle where the major labels were. This is why we decided to release our own records on our own label, Suspect Records. We tried and came close to getting deals but never quite made it. Some of the guys in the band were active until 1990 but never managed to get a deal. It is quite ironic that many of the reviews for “Welcome to Hell “play on the fact that this was our debut album after 35 years. This was indeed our debut album but many reviewers said that if this album had been released in 1980 it would have been a classic. Who knows?
I think that if you look back there were many NWOBHM bands at the time. It was a new type of music and there were only so many record deals around. We thought, as did many other NWOBHM bands, that it was better to get some music out on vinyl, even if we had to finance it ourselves. We paid for both singles ourselves and the “Scene of the Crime “album featuring Tyrant, Savage, Panza Division and Manitou was also paid for by the bands. We all paid £200.00 and got 200 albums. All the bands were happy to get something out on vinyl at all costs. Metallica found Savage via this album but it would never have happened without the foresight of me and John Fritchley who were actually Suspect Records. This is the lucky break I’m talking about. It could have been any of us.
The NWOBHM was a chance for ordinary people to record Heavy Metal and Rock. Unfortunately there wasn’t the financial backing from record companies. Several bands did make it such as Def Leppard but there were hundreds who didn’t. Companies such as Neat Records in Newcastle recorded many artists with some success but it was never mainstream for the vast majority of the bands at the time. It was a great “Do it yourself” movement where you could spend some money and make a record. It is interesting that NWOBHM is now more popular in countries such as Germany and Holland than it ever was in the UK. I think this is a pity since the UK metal scene would have been much more interesting if the major companies would have been prepared to invest in what was seen as “Underground Music”. There were a couple of Heavy Rock DJs at the time who were The Bailey Brothers who both played cardboard guitars during their disco and when the bands were playing live. We played with them many times and I think it is fair to say they were fans of Sparta.
NWOBHM: What happened in the years between then and now – did you/band members stay in the biz.
TF: We all carried on playing. Tony Warren and I formed Sound Company who played heavy rock blues for about 10 years . We recorded another self financed CD called “ Best and the Rest of Sound Company” . The Reders brothers carried on in various guises playing covers. They also recorded some heavy metal material with a band called “ Richter Scale “ but it was never released. We occasionally reformed for various gigs but we always kept in touch. We all kept active musically.
NWOBHM: How did the reunion/reformation come about – was it a concisious decision perhaps given the NWOBHM is enjoying something of a resurgence with many bands from back in the day hitting the stage and studio – yourselves included.
TF: It all started when Karl Reders started his own facebook page and he was contacted by High Roller Records to see if he was the original Sparta singer. He got back to them and the result was the release of Use Your Weapons Well which was a collection of all the recordings we had dome throughout our original career Due to the success of the record we decided to reform and record a new album.
As we agreed with High Roller Records the album was going to sound just like the original Sparta and as such should be viewed as a direct follow on from the singles and the sound we had at the time which was summarised in the 26 track compilation double CD “ Welcome to Hell “. The original members were all involved in the recording and I still use the same original Gibson SG guitar so the sound is more or less the same.
We paid for all of the original recording of “Welcome to Hell” just like we did in the 1980’s. We mixed every track in a local small town recording studio which is what we did with the original recordings. The digital recording is great since you can do so many things that you could not do in the 1980’s. One mistake does not mean you have to record the whole track again like it used to be. The album was remixed in Germany but we would have put it out as it was if we didn’t have a record deal. The difference is that we had a record label prepared to spend some money on the album. In particular the artwork was also done in Germany by Alexander Von Weisling and was paid for by High Roller Records. I hope you will agree that the artwork perfectly captures the 3 parts of Hell which is a part concept of the new album. There is the picture of the “Kingdom of the Sky” based upon the track on the album which depicts “ Hell in the Sky “, there is the Hell of Battle as captured by the title track “ Welcome to Hell “ and then there is the pictures of resurrected warriors appearing directly from “ Hell “ beneath the earth. Also the remix was excellent and captured the original Sparta sound. I had endless discussions with Thomas Engel about the remix of each track and although we didn’t always agree we came up with exactly what we were trying to achieve.
NWOBHM: You played Brofest #2 this year. How have events like that helped to get you noticed again and help in general with the NWOBHM revival.
TF: We had a great reaction from the people at Brofest. Many people brought the old singles for us to sign . Quite a few Americans turned up who had bought the singles when they first came out . We were happy with the gig and played well. There is a video of the performance on Sparta uk facebook. It is surprising how big the NWOBHM is with our friends from abroad especially Germany and USA.
We were not nervous since we had been playing together again for the previous 2 years . We had already recorded the new album “Welcome to Hell” and we were playing as a tight unit so apart from one wrong ending , the gig went really well. Also we were starting to get positive reviews about the album and we were all really confident.
It was great to see so many young people enjoying the music of the late 70’s and early 80’s. I think that the current Heavy Metal scene is very stale in the UK. You have the big band such as Iron Maiden , Black Sabbath and Judas Priest but there are very few new young bands. The great thing about the NWOBHM is that it was a breath of fresh air at the time and encouraged loads of new bands to record new singles and albums
NWOBHM: What was it like recording Welcome To Hell – how has the album been received
TF: The modern technology was a real eye opener and we could not believe that there was just a computer to record all of the new songs. We had a good sound engineer and we produced the album ourselves. It was great that just because one of us made a mistake we didn’t have to record the whole track again. In the 1980’s we would often have to record a song again and again until we got it right so a great improvement.
We recorded , produced and mixed the songs in a local recording studio. The sound was deliberately made to sound like early 1980. High Roller were keen that we produced a record in the style of the original Sparta. Thomas Engel of Temple of Disharmony in Germany did a final mix of the songs. This ensured an authentic Sparta sound. It is interesting that the reviews say that this is the first Sparta album released 35 years after we originally formed . But what they also say is that it sounds like it was recorded in the early 1980’s. This is a seamless transition between the old and new Sparta.
The artwork was done by Alexander Von Weisling who was commissioned by High Roller Records in Germany and was inspired by the lyrics and the concept of 3 forms of hell. Up on the top left you can see the Kingdom of the Sky and on the ground is the hell of battle inspired by Welcome to Hell. Then you can see the dead Spartan Warriors rising from Hell to join their king in battle.
I have upwards of 70 positive reviews of the album. I have done many interviews with fanzines and radio stations . The reviews are all over the internet. The best reviews have come from people who “ get it “. That is that the album was deliberately recorded to sound like the early 1980’s. It was not meant to be a polished new sparkling product although the end result is very impressive in the context of NWOBHM.
NWOBHM: Is promoting releases these days any easier with the internet, social media available
TF: Facebook is the single greatest invention for getting like-minded people together and I would not have had contact with you and many others without it. Youtube is also the same.I recently did an interview with an American radio station live on Skype. Pretty cool! In the early 1980’s you relied upon being picked up by someone and sending your records to everyone in the hope of them playing your songs. We were played on Radio One. Radio Hallam ( Sheffield ) and Radio Trent( Nottingham ) Sparta were never motivated by money just the love of the music. We never made any money in the 1980’s and have made more recently than we ever made. But the Sparta philosophy is such that every penny we make will be put back into the band. This is the way Sparta have always been and always will be. Check out Sparta uk on Facebook.
NWOBHM: What next for Sparta – future plans, recoding, gigging
TF Got several new songs and we do intend to record a new album. I don’t see us changing direction in any way so we will see if the album does well and if High Roller would want us to record another. But to be fair, in the true original spirit of NWOBHM we will record some songs and if necessary they will be free on the internet. Can’t forget the original roots and ethos of the NWOBHM! Music is for the masses and true fans. We are playing some European festivals next year in Germany , Holland and Belgium. This seems to be where NWOBHM is still the most popular. Our next live gig is on 15.11.14 at the Black Markey Club in Warsop. However we are also playing local and English gigs which are always advertised on our facebook page Sparta uk.
My thanks again to Tony for his time. I have my hands on a copy of Sparta’s latest release – Welcome to Hell. A review will follow in a few days.