Diamond Head is 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.
Formed by school friends in 1976 Brian Tatler and Duncan Scott with Tatler playing on a cheap fuzzy guitar and Scott on biscuit tins. The name "Diamond Head" came from a Phil Manzanera album that Tatler had a poster of in his room. Sean Harris later joined the band after they learned about his vocal abilities while on a school trip, singing Gene Vincent's 1956 hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula", and auditioned him in Tatler's bedroom. Bassist Colin Kimberley, a friend of Tatler's from primary school, joined the band in 1978 (and was in fact Diamond Head's fourth bassist). The band started to play local gigs in the Black Country area, with their first gig at High Park School in Stourbridge on 10 February 1977 but things did not go too smoothly at that gig, with feedback problems marring the start of the concert.
In their early days, the band played few cover songs and concentrated on their own material. Exceptions were Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", "Its All For The Love of Rock and Roll" by the Tuff Darts and "Motorhead" by Motörhead. In one interview, Brian Tatler stated that they wrote some 100 songs before their first studio recorded release, and only one song (It's Electric) from their 1978 set was recorded for their debut.
The band recorded self-financed demo tapes in 1979. Recorded within six hours on a four-track, their unique sound and quality of writing gained enough attention for the band to tour as support to AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Although several record companies expressed interests in signing the band, no contracts were forthcoming. The band was at the time managed by Reg Fellows and Sean Harris' mother (Linda Harris),who reportedly turned down an offer from the influent Leiber/Krebs Management,. Thus while other 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal' bands were signed to major labels and headlining their own tours Diamond Head remained independent. The management decided that they would release their material through a label owned by Muff Murfin called 'Happy Face Records'.Muff also owned a studio where Diamond Head did many of their early recordings
It is nigh-on impossible to categorize the music of Uli Jon Roth or, in fact, the man himself. Actually, with each new album this task seems to get more difficult.
However, if one looks at the amazing musical journey this man has undertaken, certain traits are very much apparent throughout. U.J.R. is best known for his transcendental mastery of the Sky Guitar, which in the eyes of many remains unrivalled today.
Having been a founder member of one of Rock’s all time most successful bands was a mixed blessing for Roth, who left the Scorpions while still in his early twenties. There was maybe a tendency to try and pigeonhole him as a great metal guitar player and no more than that. Nothing could be further from the truth; the artistic evolution and transformation U.J.R. underwent AFTER he left that band is simply incredible.
Uli Jon Roth’s towering early achievements and constant later innovations as a guitarist have sometimes overshadowed his considerable talents as a musical all-rounder and multi-instrumentalist. In recent times, however, U.J.R. has been increasingly recognized as a master of the art of composition and as an inventor of new musical forms and structures. From the beginning Uli was a visionary and innovator – and his journey of artistic expression and musical explorations has now reached a new plateau with “Metamorphosis Of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons”.
Each of Uli’s albums and each stage of his journey bears certain similar hallmarks – they all display plenty of artistic conviction and courage;. they also have in common the fact that they are all noticeably different from one another, thus they stand apart from anything else that is on the market. It is also a common trait to virtually all of his compositions of the last 20 years that they are full of beautiful melodic content.
