Blitzkrieg are an English heavy metal band formed in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1980. The current line-up consists of Brian Ross (vocals), Alan Ross (guitar), Liam Ferguson (bass), Matt Graham (drums), and Nick Jennison (guitar). Ross is the only remaining member from the band's founding, and the band are now based in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

History

In 1980, Brian Ross joined Leicester band Split Image (comprising guitarists Jim Sirotto and Ian Jones, bassist Steve English, and drummer Steve Abbey), and after a change of name to Blitzkrieg, their demo led to a record deal in October 1980 with

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of t ...

, a label that was signing many of the bands involved with the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

movement.Rivadavia, Eduardo
Blitzkrieg Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 5 September 2020 After a single released in 1981, Jones and English were replaced by John Antcliffe and Mick Moore. In the early stages of Blitzkrieg's career they regularly produced gigs in England, but then later split in 1981 before the band's debut album was completed. Brian Ross most notably went on to join

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

, another metal band, along with stints in

Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

, Lone Wolf and Unter den Linden. In 1984, Ross reformed the band, with Sirotto, and Moore, the line-up bolstered by guitarist Mick Proctor (of

Tygers of Pan Tang Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...

) and drummer Sean Taylor (Satan/Blind Fury, ex- Raven) to record the Blitzkrieg album that was originally planned to be released in 1981, ''A Time of Changes''.Stratmann, Holger
''A Time of Changes'' Review
, ''Rock Hard''. Retrieved 5 September 2020Phillips, William & Cogan, Brian (2008) ''Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music'', Greenwood Press, , pp. 37–38 It was released in 1985. "Blitzkrieg", the B-side of the band's debut single, was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

for the B-side of the 1984 single "

Creeping Death "Creeping Death" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 1984, as the lead and only commercial single from their album ''Ride the Lightning'' (" Fade to Black" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls", from the sam ...

".Daniels, Neil (2012) ''Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal'', Independent Music Press, Metallica were fans of Blitzkrieg and before they were signed had sent Ross a demo to try to get signed to Neat Records, for whom Ross was then doing A&R work.Butcher, Joanne (2011)
Geordie rockers Blitzkrieg tell how they inspired Metallica
, Chroniclelive.co.uk, 7 August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2020 In 1991, Roadracer Records released the ''10 Years of Blitzkrieg'', and the band recorded new material which was combined with older tracks on the ''Unholy Trinity'' album, the release of which was delayed until 1995 due to contractual issues. The band continued with Ross the only constant member, releasing the albums ''Ten'' (1997), ''The Mists of Avalon'' (1998), ''Absolute Power'' (2002), ''Absolutely Live'' (2004), ''Sins and Greed'' (2005), and ''Theatre of the Damned'' (2007). After a six-year gap, the band returned in 2013 with the album ''Back from Hell''. A re-recorded and expanded version of ''A Time of Changes'' was released in 2015 to celebrate 30 years since the original release. The band's latest album, ''Judge Not!'', was released in 2018,Barton, Jeff (2018)
Blitzkrieg ''Judge Not!''
, ''Classic Rock'', 1 May 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020 via Pressreader.com with an EP, ''Loud and Proud'', following in 2019.

Band members

Current

*Brian Ross – vocals (1980–1981, 1984–1991, 1992–1994, 1996–1999, 2001–present) *Alan Ross – guitars (2012–present) *Liam Ferguson – bass (2019–present) *Matt Graham – drums (2015–present) *Nick Jennison – guitars (2020–present)

Former

Guitars *Ian Jones (1980–1981, deceased 2009) *Jim Sirotto (1980–1981, 1984–1986) *John Antcliffe (1981) *Mick Proctor (1984–1986) *J D Binnie (1986–1987) *Chris Beard (1986–1987) *Steve Robertson (1988–1989) *Glenn S. Howes (1988–1990, 1996–1999) *Tony J. Liddle (1989–1996, 2001–2002) *Phil Millar (1996) *Martin Richardson (1996–1998) *Paul Nesbitt (1992, 1998–2006) *Guy Laverick (2006–2011) *Ken Johnson (2002–present) Bass *Steve English (1980–1981) *Mick Moore (1981, 1984–1986, 1991) *Darren Parnaby (1986–1987) *Robbie Robertson (1988–1989) *Glenn Carey (1989–1990) *Dave Anderson (1992–1994) *Steve Ireland (1996) *Gavin Gray (1996–1999) *Andy Galloway (2001–2004) *Bill Baxter (2012–2017) *Huw Holding (2017–2019) Drums *Steve Abbey (1980–1981) *Sean Taylor (1984–1986, 1991–1994) *Sean Wilkinson (1986–1987) *Kyle Gibson (1988–1989) *Gary Young (1989–1990) *Paul Ward (1996) *Paul White (1996) *Neil Nattrass (1996) *Mark Hancock (1996–1998) *Mark Windebank (1998–1999) *Phil Brewis (1999–2012) *Mick Kerrigan (2012–2015) *Matt Graham (2015–present)

Discography

Blitzkrieg performing in 2008, 320px

References