Spellbound - 25th Anniversary 2006...and beyond

Interview with Tygers of Pan Tang guitarist Robb Weir - here

Questions and Answers with Brian Dick (drums) - here

Questions and Answers with Richard 'Rocky' Laws (bass) - here

Interview with Jess Cox (vocals) - here

Questions and Answers with Jon Deverill (vocals) - here

"I opened a magazine called Melody Maker at the classified ads , and there's this one that says, 'Band with deal needs guitar player.' I thought, 'They've probably got plenty of money', and I got down there and did the audition [...] They picked me out of 120 guitarists [...] They said, 'Do you want the job?' and I said, 'Yeah'. [...] They put me on 15 pounds a week. I'm living in a room with a mattress on the floor, living in the middle of nowhere. [...] We did three albums together. Crazy nights was a mixture of everyone's material, we weren't working as a band. Crazy Nights was a disaster, the worst piece of work that I've ever been associated with. The album was thrown together. I could tell it wouldn't be much cop, nobody had their heart in it. Spellbound had a lot more fire and excitement. I was really ashamed of Crazy Nights. [...] I didn't make shit. I actually ended up paying a debt for that band of 10,000 pounds. We ended up working with the producer who was working with Thin Lizzy, and I left the band, though we were still signed. They didn't take it serious enough for me. I was looking for bigger and better things. [...] What happened was I was getting fed up with them. Everything was a five-way split, yet I was doing most of the work and not getting the credit I should have done. They didn't wanna listen to what I had to say - I told 'em to get rid of the manager...they lacked dedication and they lacked style. They weren't the sort of people who'd work every night, and I don't believe you get anything out of this life unless you put something into it. [...] It was more personality directions than musical ones. The band was always a tight unit whereas Jon Deverill, the vocalist, and I were very much the outsiders. If Jon and I suggested anything, then Rocky, brian and Robb would always stick together as a binding force of three against two. if I wrote a song with Jon then all five of us were credited. We wrote almost all of Spellbound which was a huge change from Wildcat."

Below is an edited version of Robbi Millar's article on the Tygers from the same edition of Sounds

The view is spectacular. Beneath us the whole of Paris is spread out like a high quality patchwork quilt, a relief map of romantic history. Bright sunlight ripples over the River Seine, picks out the landmark of the Arc de Triomphe and, in the distance, wafts a hazy glow over Montparnasse - once the Parisian domain of Sartre and Picasso, now a temporary resting place for the alternative artistic inclinations of The Tygers Of Pan Tang. We're standing on the second stage of the Eiffel Tower. The French authorities won't allow us to climb any higher. The Tygers are presently in what could be called the second stage of their career. Will they be allowed to reach the summit. Life has not been overly easy on these whiskered Wooargh-mongers from Whitley Bay. Launched amid the frenzy of the NWOBHM (or more correctly, the NENWOBHM!), they faced heavy competition from and had to accept running second to all the 'big men' of that period. The Maidens, the Saxons, the Leppards. The Tygers were the support band for most of these.
Thereafter, Britain was a struggle for the band. The British audience being basically a conservative animal, the Tygers had to fight to move out of the also-rans section. The released three albums - 'Wildcat', 'Spellbound' and, last autumn, 'Crazy Nights' - none of which disgraced them despite weak promotion (my opinion, not theirs), embarked on an ambitious and, in retrospect, successful UK tour and generally improved,changed and developed. They're still fighting.
On this occasion, the battleground has moved to Europe. The Tygers of Pan Tang are in Paris, completing the last leg of a brief support slot to lan Gillan, a tour which has surprised and uplifted them, proved them more popular with the Northern Europeans than even they'd expected. When we meet up, they're bathed in pleasant recollections of the evening's gig at Paris' Bataclan - a gig which yours truly had managed to miss by ten minutes due to airport strikes, dodgy transportation and the ridiculous inefficiency of certain persons in not even letting me know that the Tygers were supporting\ - and of their new-found European success. Naturally it's tempting for the Tygers - that's vocalist Jon Deverill, bassist Rocky, drummer Brian Dick and guitarists John Sykes and Robb Weir - to make much of France and Holland in the wake of their problems in back home. But isn't Europe a fairly easy ride? "Not so," says Rocky. "A lot of British bands play in Europe, in fact almost all of them so the competition is exactly the same. The difference is, I think, that the so-called heavy metal revival that happend in Britain is really starting to happen here now." Sounds just like it used be in Blighty. So if the Tygers have captured the wave in Europe, what do they reckon hampered them in the UK? Jon Deverill considerd: "In England, we seem to have stood still. I don't think the Tygers have lost anything but we've not gained as much as ..." "As much as those bands that were bigger than us when we started," interrupts Rocky.
"We don't tour as much as we maybe should" (this is true - apart from a few dates scheduled for their return to Britain, the Tygers haven't toured properly since last spring) "plus we haven't had any big hit singles. "And, with the NWOBHM, it was difficult for later bands to start doing things. Those in first always do the best." All of this makes the Tygers' experiences sound like some hellish race. Surely it's their own development that matters the most? "It would be nice," admits Rocky, "if there was somewhere bands could go and play to gain experience". Adds Jon, "we do seem to have done everything back to front."
None of this is supposed to show up the Tygers Of Pan Tang as a small band in Britain. As their last major tour showed, they're popular with the public and they cite a "change of attitude" in both themselves and their record company, MCA, as a hopeful sign. Another hopeful sign is 'Crazy Nights'. My opinion is that it could have been a stronger album, a more diverse album - I still prefer the excellent 'Spellbound' - but 12,000 copies shifted in two days in Japan and huge sales in France show it to be the band's biggest worldwide seller so far. The album to break the Tygers? The feline ones are pleased with 'Crazy Nights'. Pleased that is with its achievements - the record could have been improved on. Says Rocky: "The problems with the album are due to a lot of things, to start with, we were originally told we were doing an album three weeks before we started it. The producer we wanted (Dennis Mackay of Judas Priest, Pat Travers and Bowie fame) was doing something else at the same time so he was flying backwards and fowards between here and America and arriving at the studio jet-lagged!" In the end, the best description for the elpee would be 'unfinished'. All agree that a lot more time could have been spent on it. "The title is very apt," remarks Jon. "Those were indeed crazy nights!" "At least it's not your typical HM album," insists Rocky. Aha, does this mean that the Tygers are avoiding the HM classification? "No, I don't mind it! What I can't stand is all those bands who couldn't be anything but HM saying they're not." Jon agrees: "But I hate labels. Music is music ... as long as people like it. The trouble with Britain is that you're not supposed to like HM and New Wave, in Europe tastes are much more diverse, more tolerant."
"We're like a different band now,' says Jon. "We know a lot more about business than we did and I think we know our direction now." "We know enough to say that it isn't a particular direction," comments Rocky. Jon continues: "We're a much better band that we were a year ago - the records are better. Hopefully, our next album will show that we know where we've gone wrong in the past. It'll be special." And he tells me that the next Tygers single, 'Danger In Paradise' features keyboards, a new producer, another purposeful progression for the band. Nothing to change the world but an attempt in the right direction. All that then remains is for the Tygers to clear up a few rumours. There have been a lot of rumours involving the Tygers. They would like you to know that: - 1. Long hair isn't and has never been an essential accessory for a Tyger. 2. Gary Moore didn't play any guitar solos on 'Spellbound'. He merely lent John Sykes some equipment and some words of guidance. 3. They're all still mates with Jess Cox - Sykes and Deverill share a house with him! Or, as Rocky says: "All we want is to play our music on stage and record it on records. For fun!"

'The management in their infinite wisdom decided that we needed another guitarist to fill the sound out. We auditioned for another guitarist and John Sykes joined us. On his merits a very good guitar player and he looks particularly good as well, he looks the part. When he came to the rehearsal we just knew that he was the right person for us. We asked him to join and he did, he jumped at the chance. His first gig was Reading in August in front of 46,500 people on the Sunday with Whitesnake topping, which was like throwing him in at the deep end really.
Then we went out on our own headline tour of the Top Ranks and the Mayfairs, but unfortunately Jess just didn't have the voice to carry us through. His voice was very limited, very much in the Motorhead vein. The personalities in the band with Jess weren't going right to start with. Our agent said he didn't think his voice would suit, so we asked him to leave. We auditioned 126 singers from which Jonathan Deverill came.
The new album's selling very well. It's got a few varying chart positions. On its initial sales it's shipping out quite well. Plans for the future: we were due to go to Europe at the end of July. There's a possibility of us going to the States instead. It's just a matter of fixing up a support tour with a big band to play to 20,000 people every night rather than play in a bar or club which would be to 300-500 or whatever. The US is the biggest market. Love to play Japan. You make it in Japan by glossy photographs and hype. If you look good (like Kiss and Van Halen) then you make it big in Japan.
My favourite track [from Spellbound] is Silver and Gold. I particularly like Mirror as well which is like the only slow track on the album.
The songs: we're all credited yes, we get the same amount of publishing. It's either myself and the singer, or John and the singer that writes the music mainly. Rocky occasionally writes the words, in fact Rocky wrote the words for Hellbound. [The songs] are written at home usually and we come down to rehearsals, play the songs to each other and if we like them then we keep them and if we don't we forget about them.
I'd like to do a solo album eventually; it would be something like Bernie Marsden's, which is like a little bit of funk, a little bit of rock, a bit of blues. At home I don't listen to heavy metal at all. I listen to funky music, a little bit of soul, BB King. With playing it and being completely surrounded by it I like a little bit of change when I go home.'

The following interview is Copyright Q Magazine

Newcastle hard rockers Tygers of Pan Tang took their name from the Michael Moorcock novel Stormbringer. As part of the new wave of British heavy metal they signed to MCA. After three albums, guitarist John Sykes abruptly walked out. Following their biggest hit, a cover version of Love Potion No 9 reached Number 45 in March 1982, MCA insisted they release more cover versions as singles. Their fourth album, the AOR soft metal The Cage, proved to be their last. Where are they now, asks Kay Gelfman from New York?

Richard "Rocky" Laws (bass): "Music is the best thing that any person can aspire to, but there comes a point where you have to draw the line and realise where you'll get with it. The band was pretty good in some respects but things happened so quickly, we didn't have time to develop the songwriting, and you need more radio-friendly stuff to take things further. I realised that things had run their course and I had better start on the path to something else." A Tygers lawyer had suggested that Laws would make a good lawyer "so I did A levels -1 was 27 - then university and law school, the whole nine yards. Five years total. But I worked pretty hard, having already done the 'misspent youth' bit." Because of his past. Laws thought he'd be accepted by firms with links to the music industry "so I wrote off to all of them, got accepted by Compton Carr, did my articles, and stayed another five years". He's now a partner at London firm Statham Gill Davies, representing independent labels (Warp, Gee Street, One Little Indian) and artists (The Auteurs' Luke Haines) - "the artier end of the business". Unsurprisingly, he doesn't miss band life. "I'm still working in the industry, where I have contact with musicians and go to gigs. It's almost ideal."

Robb Weir (guitar): Post-Tygers, he returned to jewellery, "which I'd trained at before the band" and started a business with two friends. "It worked well for five years, then we went our separate ways." He next tried his hand at being a bus driver: "I was married with a baby, and needed the security. I didn't think more about it." After five years, he became an inspector on Newcastle's local rapid transport, the Metro. "That was OK too, again safe and secure. I was there seven years." Eventually he sought to work from home "to spend more time together as a family. My wife and I are now carers For people with learning disabilities. It's more satisfying and a reasonable living." Weir still has his guitars. "I sit in my workshop and twiddle away. I've written lots of songs and I'd like to record them. Who knows, you might have a grandad rock album." When a German promoter asked the Tygers to reform, only Weir and the band's original singer Jess Cox were interested. "We rounded up some others, and played a festival in Hamburg last month. We needed half a dozen rehearsals though."

John Sykes (guitar): Sykes vanished at 2am one morning to audition for Ozzy Osboume's band. He didn't get the gig but ended up recording a solo single for Mercury, and got Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott to sing on it. Lynott responded by inviting Sykes to join Thin Lizzy, and he played on the 1983 album. Thunder & Lightning. Sykes, Lynott and Lizzy drummer Brian Downey played shows under the alias The Three Musketeers before Lizzy wound down and Sykes was snapped up by David Coverdale to join Whitesnake. The band recorded the Slide It In and 1987 albums before Coverdale sacked everyone. "The only reason I can imagine is that he wanted more control of things, certainly in the financial department" is how Sykes interpreted the situation. He restarted a solo career, signing to Geffen, and Mercury Japan, releasing solo albums Nothin' But Trouble, 20th Century, Loveland, Please Don't Leave Me, Out Of My Tree and Chapter One: The Best Of John Sykes, with a new album already recorded: "there's a bit of a hip hop feel on some of it alongside heavy guitars, so it's kind of interesting". A live version of Thin Lizzy including Sykes, Downey and guitarist Scott Gorham re-formed in 1994. "We're like a group of old veterans, we tell a few lies and have a few laughs, and we can pay our respects to Phil too." They still tour today.

Jon Deverill (vocals): replaced Jess Cox (who formed Lionheart with ex-Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, and eventually worked for Neat Records, where he reissued the Tygers albums) after the Tygers' 1980 album Wild Cat. After The Cage, "things started sliding. We had problems with MCA and management. Don't get me wrong, it was great, but I didn't want to spend my life singing in a rock band. We agreed we'd had our fifteen minutes." Having always wanted to act - "before getting sidetracked by the band" - Deverill did three years at the Welsh College Of Music & Drama. "I've been acting for the last ten years, everything From panto to Shakespeare. I'm currently in Run For Your Wife in Bournemouth, playing the reporter and understudying the lead part. Ninety-nine per cent of my work has been in theatre, and one lives in hope for TV and film work, but I love live performance." Deverill's been recording with Sykes's replacement in the Tygers, Fred Purser. "It's been a really slow process, fitting in with each other's commitments, but they're really good songs. And there's always a market for those."

Brian 'Big' Dick (drums): made inroads into the North-East's working men's club scene, hiring PAs and putting bands together and playing mostly chart hits. He wasn't able to make the Tygers reunion show in Hamburg because he'd accepted a six month contract as session drummer for Kid Creole & The Coconuts.

FOR ONE used to rising at the crack of noon, an early call at Sam is about as close to death as you can get without actually coming face to face with the MD. And Grahame Thompson, the Tygers manager, on the other end of the 'phone sounded as dead as I felt. The rendezvous at Kings Cross at 10.00 seemed about as possible as Ozzy playing a complete tour without going crazy, but somehow we both made the train by the skin of our teeth. Three hours and as many gallons of BR coffee substitute later, we pulled into Newcastle Central Station and made the short transfer on foot to the newly built Metro terminal, which the City council claim is based on the finer points of many of the world's top underground services. Personally speaking it looks like a poor man's Paris Metro but since that's got nothing to do with the Tygers Of Pan Tang, : we'll change the subject. The band live in Whitley Bay, which is a typical Northern seaside resort, packed out with drunken Scots during the summer, and bored locals in the close season. There's nothing much to do unless you like amusement arcades (the sea front boasts one Spanish City that achieved five minutes of fame in the Dire Straits epic Tunnel Of Love' — "Girl it looks so pretty to me / Like the Spanish City to me," pretty, nah! But you know these Geordie types) or fish'n'chip shops. The Tygers do, but it was to the pub we first headed. The Tygers of Pan Tang have been around for quite a while now and, together with steady live work, and three excellent albums, they have carved enough of a following to almost pack out such illustratious venues as Hammersmith Odeon (or perhaps Hammerdown Smith?) and their local City Hall. Why then have the Tygers opted to tour as support to Black Sabbath (the actual billing is 'Special Guests' but the rewards are financial rather than prestigious)? "Basically it means that we're gonna be playing to 50,000 people in 13 days which means that the album's going to pick up sales after the initial peak in December when it hit the Top 50. Also our new singer, Jon Deverill, hasn't yet played a support tour with us and it's gonna be good experience for him." So says Rocky, the bass player and ace piss artist (but more of that later). The band are also embarking on a European tour with Gillan, and together with their own following here and abroad, which is beginning to approach a largish size, the Tygers look set to break out in a big way. But obviously it wasn't all wine and roses, was it Rocky . . .ROCKY! O.K. Rob Weir takes the table . . . "We really hit the big (ish) time by riding on another band's back, one of the local hard rock'bands who had a residency at one of the more popular rock clubs around the area. They blew out the gig, and we took over. Then a local record company — Neat Records — seemed to like what • they heard and signed us up for one single. But we spent about a year playing any gig we could get, frequently around the Tyneside working men's clubs and pubs. It wasn't until we actually got a gig in front of confirmed rock fans that things really started to take off." And take off they certainly did. The single 'Don't Touch Me There' was put out on Neat and sold 7,000 copies. MCA, the Tygers present company got to hear about Neat, and in particular The Tygers of Pan Tang and snapped up the band without so much as a how do you do. The single was put out again by MCA and sold a further 7,000. Their debut album 'Wild Cat' continued the upward trend in the Tygers appeal, hitting the charts; eventually peaking at 18 in the BRMB listing and the second platter, 'Spellbound', consolidated the dramatic change in fortune. But as far as press and publicity are concerned, the Tygers haven't exactly been making the headlines. Unlike the majority of HM bands, you don't hear about Rocky's latest drink spree or how many games of pool Rob clocks up in an average bout of Whitley Bay boredom. As we moved on to one of the many deserted amusement arcades (despite my persistent begging, nobody wanted to visit the Spanish City and anyway 'Mark Knopfler ain't gonna be there'} and Jon Deverill cued up a fruit machine, we broached the delicate subject of lack of press. "I think it could be the fact that we're not exactly part of the London 'scene', unlike the Iron Maidens, Samsons or Mantis's .and Ships of the world. Look at the gossip columns in Sounds and Record Mirror and there's always a reference to the current 'in' bands even if it's a piss take. But I don't think many of the band are really in to all the posing and backstabbing that goes on in the London H M scene." Of course the system can work in both directions and the Tygers, by staying away from the pretty posing and one-upmanship are not going to be caught up in the 'currently in vogue' syndrome which can make AND break in a matter of weeks — just look at the meteoric destruction of Priest's popularity. The band don't really shun publicity, as this humble offering proves but they don't go out of their way to be seen. Anyway, it was drawing towards the time that your man on the spot was to climb aboard his trusty steed and head back for a quick pose at the afore-mentioned hell holes. But bring Rob Weir to the rescue. Up until now the meeting had been a little on the farcical side, a pint in the pub and a number of poignant questions, but no real insight into personalities. So rather than heading back to London with the facts and nothing but the facts, Rob and I managed to persuade the record company to splash out on a hotel for the night — 10 quid and apparently a hearty breakfast in the morning (oh, little did I know what was to follow!). So that little problem fixed, we trundled off in opposite directions after arranging a rendezvous at seven in one of the 'safer' Whitley Bay hostelries.

So, seven arrived, and I was still suffering from both starvation and British Rail lag, which basically meant that the first pint started off a string of outrageous questions, none of which were answered, and none of which are worthy of any publication save Forum. But later on, after calming down a bit — i.e. nearly falling asleep, I got involved in a long discussion with vocalist Jon Deverilt about the current state of the music scene: "a bit better than it was a while ago" and generally about his home town of Cardiff (first prize goes to reader H. Banger for spotting that Cardiff is in Wales, and not as previously assumed, an obscure suburb of Newcastle. It turns out that Jon was previously in a band called Persian Risk (featured in the December Kerrang! under 'Armed and Ready) before joining the Tygers just over a year ago, and moving up permanently to Whitley Bay. Somehow we got to talking about the legendary Leighton Reece (the darts player, he of the quadruple chin and triple knee caps). "It's incredible seeing him walk down the street, he's so fat he has to swing from side to side and sort of use momentum and balance to get anywhere." Enough of this waffling, let's find out what the band think of their current album 'Crazy Nights', again causing the Tygers a piss off due to the incredible lack of press action — only Sounds and yours truly in Record Mirror actually acknowledged the existence of the album — although the proof of the pudding is that 'Crazy Nights' is, at the time of writing, leaping up the album charts like Herman Rarebelt chases birds around the bed!! "We're really happy with the way the album's turned out but next time we've decided to handle production ourselves. Dennis Mackay has done a great job on 'Crazy Nights' but all of us feel that once one has the technical knowledge, production can only really be handled properly by the artist in question." At this point, on the dreaded exclamation of "TIME NOW PLEASE," the more important business of where to continue the lubrication process was next up on the agenda. It was agreed between Rocky and myself that we should head back to sample the delights of the Croglin Hotel's 24 hour bar, where on the TV was the added bonus of the New York Dolls on Whistle Test in addition to the Crosby by-election starring Shirley Williams. But by 2.00am, all but the bass player and the hack had made embarrassed and wet excuses and skunked off home to bed. So, Rocky and myself proceeded to dry out the bar. The last thing I remember was consuming all the crisps at about 4.00am. The following morning, with a hangover I still don't believe possible, the trusty hack made his way, via the beach to Newcastle, and finally back to our glorious capital city.

Like Beatles, Tygers Of Pan Tang came in fours. With the addition of extra guitarist John Sykes, like the Rolling Stones, they now come in fives. Watching the way Sykes beefs out the sound, adding power to what used to be mainly noise, it seems like the band were just marking time till he came along. If there's anything left to stop them becoming the biggest of the NWOBHM bands rest assured the Tygers will route it out and attend to it pronto.

My acquaintanship with them goes back a couple of years, during which time I've seen them grow from being a band knocking around in a club in Whitley Bay to an outfit ready to (thank you Judith) take on the world. We've long agreed to disagree about the awful racket they make, so if it's a treatise about the number of ker-anngs per second they put out you'd be well advised to look elsewhere. No, this is a swift side-long glance at five blokes more stubbornly individualistic than virtually any other band I've come across. So much are they their own men, that you imagine a Tyger having a birthday party and only inviting half of the rest of the band.

In an attempt to dig some way behind this apparent paradox I elected to talk to them separately and alone. So much of what's said is as new to them as it is to you. To ease our way in, let's start with the new boy. His dropped aitches betray John James Sykes' Southern origin and sure enough the first 14 of his 21 years were spent in Reading. From there to Spain, and when the family returned three years later he went with them to Blackpool. While in the poor man's Paree he formed an HM combo by the handle of Streetfighter who did well enough to get a track on the forthcoming Des Moines assembled 'New Electric Warriors' compilation, but not much else "I was working on this building site and it was just getting worse and worse. I used to dread eight o'clock in the morning, going to work. One day, the foreman was moaning and I thought 'Christ! I'm wasting my life 'ere. I've got to do something.' So, I 'ad a look in the paper and it was just what I was looking for, really." So, one Melody Maker advert, one interview and one audition later, John is a Tyger. And while it probably wasn't his looks that got him the job, the classic-HM-cum Greek-god of his visuals certainly helped. Initial personal reaction to John have him pinned as probably less deep than the others, more into the basics of life and rock 'n' roll. What you see is what you get. Or: "There's only one thing in life for me and that's my guitar. As long as I'm playing I'm 'appy."

Pleasantly unaware of how much of a commercial asset he'll be to the Tygers, John Sykes will be giving golden boy in residence Jess Cox a real run for his money. Mr Gerald Cox used to sign his name for a living before he took up vocalising. At 24 he's the oldest Tyger and, bar John, the last to join. There's always been a minor but still noticeable distance between Jess and the other three 'originals' and if there is a band scapegoat he's it. Good looking in a pretty rather than rugged sort of way, so that girls probably want to mother him rather than submit to his every whim, he admits that the piss is sometimes extracted. "I come in for a bit of skit from the others. But really, I'm not that bothered about going off with a different girl on every night of a tour. Girls do come backstage for more than an autograph. They just point and say I'll have him! And I've chatted to them and we've just disappeared. I really don't bother with groupies though ..." Probably aware of still being an 'outsider' after two years, Jess has an easy going, almost lazy air to him. But one thing that is of prime importance to him is the band's plans for world subjugation. ''I'd like to think that we'll get to places like Japan and America. Because Def Leppard have opened up a bit of America there's a chance for us to be more accepted than we would have been. I don't think we're on the Motorhead side of things. We're somewhere in the middle, between them and Leppard, so it might happen for us."

Less laid back, but equally ambitious ("I'm a capitalist") is Richard Linsey Laws, somewhat understandably better known as Rocky. Like Robb Weir he holds strong views about most things, including Pan Tanganese internal affairs. "I've always though that the battle for power was between me, Rob and Jess. We all want to make our presences felt for various reasons. I'm not prepared to let anything happen that I don't think is for the good of the band." Coming from what he describes as a 'very middle class family', the gangly bassman is some six months younger than Jess. He turned to accounts clerking after failing an HNF in politics because "Mine and theirs were too dissimilar". The Tyger you'd talk to for hours, chewing things over, tossing round all possibilities. Rocky is a thoughtful, maybe even introspective sort of bloke. "I'm very cautious by nature, as opposed to Robb who's very headstrong," he explains. And when reminded of a years-old conversation during which he'd claimed that he could never be in a band with 'that Rob Weir', who he'd'sort of played with before the Tygers proper, Mr Laws has the obvious re-assessment well in hand. 'I found that I could either see Robb socially or be in a band with him but couldn't do both. It's not like that now, but Robb an I don't see that much of each other socially anyhow, it's probably changed because a certain mutual respect has grown between us. "When we first went on tour we didn't know if we'd be at each other's throats, in fact, it brought us together."

Rocky's view of the Tygers is not overly democratic, maintaining as he does that not everybody in the band has an equal vote in what they do, but even this doesn't phase Norman Brian Dick, the less vociferous tub-basher with the sort of name that would drive lesser men to Deed Polls. "I have me say in a lot of things", he sniffs through an asthmatic haze. Quiet he may be, but Bri is no-one's mug. The baby of the band at 20, before bashing seven shades of pigskin for a living he applied slightly more refined skills to computers. Like the rest of the band he's pretty much got it worked out, but shouts it less. Like the matter of relocation. While the others are slowly coming to the conclusion that perhaps Whitley Bay isn't the centre of the universe after all, Bri knows where his bread is well marged. "Jess, Rocky and John have already said they want to live in London. At the I moment it's not possible because they've not the money to finance it. I'm just not keen at all."

Robb Weir, guitarist of this parish, has the walk and talk of a man who knows he's got a local reputation as a bighead. A doctor's son, his private education shines through and even though that hyena laugh is never too far away there's still a hint of a superiority complex, even when he's delivering lines as obviously put on as "I like to pride myself that I'm always right!" After leaving school earlier than his parents would have liked, a three year jewelry apprenticeship was gone through, followed by spells at driving trucks and doing nothing, until he re-entered the tinsel trade, doing well enough at 20 (last year) to be promoted to shop manager. "Managing the shop, I was coming out with in the region of £120-£130 per week in my hand. When we were offered the Magnum tour, it was a bit of a financial upheavel. From that to £1.50 a day!" While he can still have his moments, the past couple of years have seen a certain mellowing in Robb. He wouldn't have been able to come to terms with the competition that having another guitarist in the band would provide. But now ... "I didn't like the idea at first," he admits. "But having John in, it's good. He's much better at lead than I am." And knowing that you don't feel resentful? "No - he adds to the sound and is very amenable. Although he seems very grateful to be in the band and I could dictate to him it isn't what I've done. I took a completely open line. Because he's so good I'm not going to hold him down. He's fucking shit-hot and I've told him so. But I've also told him that I write the songs. You can be the best guitarist in the world but if you haven't got the songs you're nobody." With the 'Wild Cat' album straight in the charts at 32, obviously a lot of people agree with him. The Tygers Of Pan Tang have only just begun to fight. Even if Robb is the new Barry Manilow.

Below are some more photos of John from the Tygers 1980 Newcastle Mayfair gig.