#jon deverill

[queenbea-1610]

🐅🌴

[sweetsoulsxster]

Some love for Jon Deverill tonight 🩷 so underrated, so talented, so sweet, and so gorgeous!

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, March 3: Tygers of Pan Tang, “The Wreck-Age” [ENCORE]

The Today’s Metal Tune tumblr launched March 3, 2014.  To celebrate 7 years of metal, this week we are revisiting some favorites from our early days, showcasing memorable deep cuts from legendary and semi-legendary acts.  A huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s followed, liked, reblogged and commented over the years, there is still a lot more metal to come…

A few years and several hairstyles away from their NWOBHM roots, the Tygers of Pan Tang re-emerged with a mostly new lineup (only vocalist Jon Deverill and drummer Brian Dick remained from the previous incarnation) and a more “current” sound.  Of course, this meant that The Wreck-Age sounded more dated than any of their previous albums, with all the cheesy synths, annoying electronic drums and vocals that soared higher than Deverill’s substantial weave.  But the title track was a good time, a guitar-driven headbang that more than got by on energy.  Everything still sounded overly processed, but there was momentum and verve, and while it was a bit kiddie metal (especially when compared to the prime NWOBHM of the Tygers’ earlier albums), “The Wreck-Age” was a fun would-be anthem that was at least metallic, opposed to the rest of the pap that permeated The Wreck-Age and the even worse Burning in the Shade.

(Note: this live performance of “The Wreck-Age” segues right into the godawful ballad “Desert of No Love."  Everyone is better off moving on as soon as the first song ends)

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, July 10: Tygers of Pan Tang, “Gangland”

With “Gangland”, the Tygers of Pan Tang briskly solidified their place near the top of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal hierarchy, as it took Spellbound’s opening track all of three minutes to sum up everything that was going on in British metal circa 1981.  And while the Tygers had already endeared themselves to NWOBHM fans a year earlier with their debut Wild Cat, this song took things to another level, showing off a more dynamic aggression thanks to Chris Tsangerides’ quickly developing production skills as well as the crucial arrival of both Jon Deverill and John Sykes.  The soon-to-be legendary Sykes didn’t really get a chance to shred here, but Deverill’s swaggering vocals gave “Gangland” added presence and attitude, and quickly made everyone forget that he was replacing the more limited Jess Cox.  The tune was pure NWOBHM: fast, energetic, catchy and fun, it not only set the Tygers on a path to near-stardom, it became a crucial part of their legacy.

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, January 9: Tygers of Pan Tang, “Crazy Nights”

Crazy Nights didn’t fully squander the goodwill Spellbound generated for the Tygers of Pan Tang, but it did slow their momentum due to its feeling like an underproduced and somewhat half-hearted retread of its well-regarded predecessor.  This wasn’t entirely the band’s fault: at the commercial height of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and just as they were building a solid head of steam on the road, the Tygers were forced back into the studio by a clueless MCA and ordered to write and record a new album in only 3 weeks, and without longtime producer Chris Tsangarides, who was busy producing Thin Lizzy’s Renegade.  So it wasn’t that surprising that Crazy Nights sounded uneven and haphazard, but the record still contained a few worthy NWOBHM bangers, not least of which was the title track.  “Crazy Nights” largely got by on Jon Deverill’s charisma, though Robb Weir and John Sykes nearly overpowered Dennis MacKay’s sterile and limp production with their swaggering riffs.  In some ways, the song felt like the prelude to a crazy night rather than the soundtrack to one, but a lot of that again comes down to a rushed recording that flattened Brian Dick’s drum sound and didn’t give Sykes enough time to craft one of his famed supercharged solos.  But otherwise, “Crazy Nights” was a fun blast from the Tygers’ best lineup, and was ultimately one last great anthem from the NWOBHM’s creative and commercial peak.  

[longliverockback]

Tygers of Pan Tang The Cage 1982 MCA ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Rendezvous 02. Lonely at the Top 03. Letter from L.A. 04. Paris by Air 05. Tides 06. Making Tracks 07. The Cage 08. Love Potion No. 9 09. You Always See What You Want to See 10. Danger in Paradise 11. The Actor —————————————————

Jon Deverill

Brian Dick

Rocky Laws

Fred Purser

John Sykes

Robb Weir

* Long Live Rock Archive

[longliverockback]

Tygers of Pan Tang Spellbound 1981 MCA ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Gangland 02. Take It 03. Minotaur 04. Hellbound 05. Mirror 06. Silver and Gold 07. Tyger Bay 08. The Story So Far 09. Blackjack 10. Don’t Stop By —————————————————

Jon Deverill

Brian Dick

Rocky Laws

John Sykes

Robb Weir

* Long Live Rock Archive

[generationclash]

Retronaut Selects: Tygers Of Pan Tang - Spellbound (1981)

I first found out about Tygers Of Pan Tang during one of our days when we were going to go to the record store store, but decided to stay home.

I remember vividly that my dad brought up a few of his original Tygers singles and a Rainbow single. I remember hearing “Hellbound” and being blown away by it.

By coincidence, a record store we were going to had a copy of Spellbound and I got to spin it on vinyl and I was obsessed with it.

This album is amazing to me because it has such a great flow to it and it’s just so awesome. It’s such a great listen and it’ll always be one of my favorite albums!!

Essential Tracks: Hellbound, Mirror, The Story So Far

Listen Here: Spellbound