Quartz was yet another of the bands emerging from the Midlands at around the time the new wave of British heavy metal was coming to prominence. Just like many other bands of the era, Quartz had a relatively short career and arguably should been bigger than they were. All a bit of shame really as they were one of the more talented NWOBHM outfits.
Quartz actually sprang in to life as far back as 1974 going by the name of Bandy Legs with a line-up of Derek Arnold (Bass), Malcolm Cope (Drums), Geoff Nicholls (Keyboards/Guitar)**, Mike Taylor (vocals) and Mike Hopkins (Guitar).
They changed the name to Quartz for their self-titled debut album in 1977 which was produced by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. A connection which would continue with Quartz supporting Sabbath on tour and even Ozzy Osbourne doing backing vocals on one track that missed the cut for the album though did see the light of day as the B-side to the single Stoking the Fires of Hell.
Heavy touring and regular appearances at the Reading Festival saw the band pick up some attention and momentum including some high-profile support slots on tour with such names and Saxon, UFO, Iron Maiden and even Rush.
A second album appeared in 1980 which was the minor classic Stand Up and Fight which did not set the sales charts alive as Quartz kept plugging away with a third album – Against All Odds – in 1983. Though that was that and time was finally called although the Sabbath connection saw Geoff Nicholls join the Sabs for the legendary Heaven and Hell album and stayed until 2004.
Probably best known for their cover of Mountain’s Nantucket Sleighride it’s a pity Quartz were unable to build on the high-profile support slots as their musical output did (in my opinion) deserve it. Sometimes raw an unpolished though certainly powerful and not unlike a mixture of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden of the period with a bit of Sabbath thrown in.
Here’s a video of the band performing Wildfire in 1979 on BBC’s Look Hear program
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8O3Q54P6Po[/youtube]
I did see then on the Rush tour (Permanent Waves I think) at the old Queens Hall in Leeds. That was a cavernous venue with acoustics which were not great and they put on an energetic enough show. Also I’m pretty sure I saw them at an old night club in Sheffield (no idea which one) performing on their own in front of about seven people possibly in 1982 or so just before they split.
If you are a NWOBHM completist or just plain curious you could do worse that to check out a Quartz album to see what could have been. Stand Up and Fight is arguably the most well known, and best, of the three. Have a look…….
>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT QUARTZ, STAND UP AND FIGHT <<
**ADDENDUM: Received the following email from ex-Quartz keyboard player Alan Long who writes:
“Hi I thought I should correct the Geoff Nichols blog. I was the keyboard player on Nantucket Sleighride – Quartz version which was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980. Geoff had already left Quartz to join Sabbath. My credit is on the 7″ single sleeve”.
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