HellsBelles (formerly known as Hell's Belles) is a heavy metal band from England active from 1984 to 1987 and 1998 to present, considered part of the latter stages of 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 ...

(NWOBHM).

1980s – Hell's Belles

They gained a considerable following and achieved major airplay and media coverage, with radio plays on

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), al ...

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, on lead singer Paul Quigley's Mancunian friend

Terry Christian Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is a British broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series o ...

's award-winning radio show 'Barbed Wireless' on BBC Radio Derby during the band's 80s heydey, as well as on pirate rock station Alice's Restaurant Rock Radio. In the press, the band received rave coverage for both their live performances and recordings in metal magazines ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' and ''

Metal Forces ''Metal Forces'' is a British publication founded in 1983 which promotes the music genres heavy metal and hard rock. ''Metal Forces'' was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its ''Demolition'' feature and championed the likes of ...

''. They were unusual for their time for playing a distinct mix of punk rock and more traditional heavy metal, a genre subsequently emulated by many bands such as

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 ...

and others. The punk element came from the ex-Discharge and The Varukers drummer Garry Maloney, who had played on Discharge's 1982 seminal hardcore album ''

Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing ''Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing'' is the debut studio album by English hardcore punk band Discharge, released on 21 May 1982 by Clay Records. The album is characterized by a minimalistic approach of music and lyrics, a heavy, distorted, ...

'' and guitarist Pooch (born Peter Purtill), previously a guitarist for Discharge following the departure of Bones to join his brother in

Broken Bones A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

. Gareth Holder was a former member of Leamington Spa-based punk band The Shapes. The heavy metal and classic rock influence was provided by vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Paul Quigley, formerly of seminal NWOBHM heavy rock band

SwingFire Swingfire was a British wire-guided anti-tank missile developed in the 1960s and produced from 1966 until 1993. The name refers to its ability to make a rapid turn of up to ninety degrees after firing to bring it onto the line of the sighting m ...

with former

The Hoax ''The Hoax'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film starring Richard Gere, directed by Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström. The screenplay by William Wheeler is based on the book of the same title by Clifford Irving. It recounts Irving's elaborate h ...

drummer Dave Raeburn and bassist Mick Paul. Quigley later formed London-based A.M. and later RAAM with former Metal Mirror guitarist Chris Haggerty (1960–2004). Quigley subsequently founded London scene glam rock band BellaDonna in 1987 who went on to perform with ex-drummer of

Tokyo Blade Tokyo Blade are an English heavy metal band, active since 1982. Tokyo Blade is one of the many acts considered part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, which lasted from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Tokyo Blade hav ...

, Andy 'A.D. Dynamite' Parsons (who later went on to play with former

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

vocalist

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...

in Battlezone. Drummer Anthony 'Spiv' Smith was previously a member of Brute Force, and replaced

D-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-be ...

pioneer Discharge drummer Garry Maloney in April 1984 shortly after the band's inception. Maloney subsequently rejoined Cal (born Kelvin Morris) in Discharge for their 'Grave New World' and 'Massacre Divine' albums. Paul Quigley also acted in the lead role in two promo videos for

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep for Vertigo Records, and he set up ...

' heavy metal band

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 yea ...

in their singles "

20th Century Boy "20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan, released as a stand-alone single on 2 March 1973. It entered in the UK Singles Chart at number 3, on 10 March 1973 and peaked three weeks in a row at that position. It stayed a ...

", a cover version of the

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hit of the 1970s, and "

Play Dirty ''Play Dirty'' is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin. The film's story is inspired by ...

", which both featured on Girlschool's 1983 album of the same name, produced by

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co ...

and

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. Paul Quigley's acting also appeared on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

favourite cartoon comedy show

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which featured the "Play Dirty"

video. Hell's Belles released one full-length album ''Hell's Belles'' (RAWLP015) in 1986, and one single "Barricades" on both 7" and 12" format in the same year (RAWSS001/RAWTS001), during their span on

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

' Raw Power label. They also featured with two tracks on Castle's ''Metal Killers Kollection Volume 1 & 2'', as well as other rock compilations 'Rock Legends' and 'Rock Classics' on other record labels. Hell's Belles' guest keyboard player, classically trained Lyndsay Bridgwater had formerly been the touring keyboard player for former

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

lead vocalist

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the previous year on both the '' Diary of a Madman'' tour with

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo alb ...

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and

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, and then on Ozzy's ''

Speak of the Devil "Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). The form "talk of the devil" is also in use in England. It is used ...

'' tour with

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replacing Randy Rhoads on guitar after his untimely passing in a plane accident on the U.S. tour, and with

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

on bass. Bridgwater played the keyboard solo on the Hell's Belles single ''Barricades'' and the synth parts on album track ''Strangelove'' and ''Looks Like Love'', which Metallica's James Hetfield used Quigley's lyrics from that song using them in a similar slow-paced section where both sing 'sleep with one eye open' in Metallica's multi-platinum-selling track 'Enter Sandman' on their Black album. Metallica's Hetfield, Ulrich and Burton and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine all had been long-time Discharge admirers in the early days, and used to go to Discharge gigs in the US in the early 1980s, and had subsequently recorded two of Discharge's songs for their Garage covers album work. Discharge's Cal (Kelvin Morris) also later 'borrowed' Paul Quigley's 1986 'Overload' song title in no less than two other, subsequent album tracks: 'Fantasy Overload' from the Discharge album 'Shootin' Up The World' in 1993, and, 'Hype Overload' on the 'Discharge' 2002 album, such was the influence of Paul Quigley's lyrical symbolism. Soon after the release of the first album in 1986, Holder left the band and was replaced by bassist Jon Archer in late 1986. This line-up dissolved as a working band shortly thereafter.

2000s – HellsBelles

Paul Quigley reformed a new band called 'HellsBelles' (one word, no apostrophes) in 1998. HellsBelles released two new singles in 2011, "Abyssinian Demesne" and "(Why Did They Kill) Joe Hill", "Gone but Not Forgotten" in January 2013.

Current members

*Paul Quigley 'The Belle Lord' - vocals, guitars, keyboards *Caddavirr - bass *O'Jeopardoso - guitar *St Eval Denies - drums

Original members

*Paul Quigley - vocals *Peter "Pooch" Purtill - guitar *Garry Maloney - drums *Gareth Holder - bass

Other members

*Anthony "Spiv" Smith - drums *Jon Archer - bass *Lyndsay Bridgwater - keyboards (on LP ''Hell's Belles'' - ex-Ozzy Osbourne, Blizzard of Oz, Budgie)

References

External links

HellsBelles official website

HellsBelles on Reverbnation

HellsBelles on Twitter

- HellsBelles on facebook
{{Authority control English heavy metal musical groups English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1984 New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups Castle Communications artists