Jameson Raid are a British heavy metal band. They are usually considered to be part 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 ...

, following their inclusion on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

's album ''

Metal For Muthas ''Metal for Muthas'' is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The original compilation was ''Metal for Muthas'', released in February 1980. The compilation was a sampl ...

II'', although they were established on the Birmingham circuit as a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band several years before this.

Career

The band can originally be dated back to 1973, when bassist John Ace and guitarist Ian Smith, played together in Spectaté II at the school they attended in

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

. The band members went their separate ways to go to university – aside from Smith who went to sea – at which point Ace formed a covers outfit. When this split, Ace, together with

rhythm guitarist In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

Stewart Harrod, persuaded Smith to return and added the drummer Phil Kimberley. Their first gig took place on 26 August 1975, under the generally disliked name Notre Dame. The name Jameson Raid comes from an incident in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

at the turn of 1895/96. Their

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

Nick Freeman was credited with recalling the event from his school history books and proposing it to the band. With Hoi Polloi singer Terry Dark joining in December 1976, and Stewart leaving a few days later, Jameson Raid's most well-known line-up was complete. Jameson Raid released their first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, the "Seven Days of Splendour" EP in February 1979. "The combination of influences which had given birth to the band’s overall sound was quite difficult to pin down, as there were elements of 70's rock/pop (particularly

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Mott The Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fail ...

), heavier acts such as

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

and the occasional nod towards punk snottiness…" noted author Malc Macmillan, and the three tracks on the EP ("Seven Days of Splendour", "It’s a Crime" and "Catcher in the Rye") illustrated Macmillan’s conundrum in terms of an inability to categorise the band’s sound. Described in ''The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal'' as "cult heroes for the Midland rock circuit… Their music is a poppy form of heavy metal…". The EP was well received and, as

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...

pointed out, showcased "a masterful bit of songwriting throughout these three tracks". The first 1,000 copies came in a white sleeve, with a further pressing of 2,000 in a black sleeve; both featured what Popoff called "a spoofed band history" together with the lyrics to all three songs. In March 1980 the band, along with Magnum, played support to

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

at West Midland venues on the latter's On Through the Night World Tour. In May 1980,

released the second of its ''

Metal for Muthas ''Metal for Muthas'' is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The original compilation was ''Metal for Muthas'', released in February 1980. The compilation was a sampl ...

NWOBHM 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 ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s. ''Metal For Muthas II Cut Loud'', featured the Jameson Raid track "Hard Lines", although the band were unhappy that EMI had, unbeknownst to them, completely

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed the song (which the band had already mixed to their satisfaction) and in doing so pretty much destroyed it. The band were credited as The Raid on this release. Fighting against a tide of apathy, Smith and Ace handed in their notice and played their final gig with the band in Birmingham in July 1980. A second 7" EP, widely referred to as ''The Hypnotist'' but actually entitled ''End of Part One'', was released at this time. Featuring four tracks ("The Hypnotist", "The Raid", "Getting Hotter" and "Straight from the Butchers"), the EP proved to be the band’s vinyl swansong. Kimberley and Dark soldiered on, recruiting guitarist Mike Darby and bassist Peter Green. In 1981 Darby left and was replaced by

The Handsome Beasts The Handsome Beasts are an English heavy metal band who surfaced during the new wave of British heavy metal. Currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity, their album ''Beastiality'' is infamous for being featured on several "Worst album cov ...

founder member James Barrett, who in turn gave way to Steve Makin in 1982. The four-track ''Electric Sun'' demo cassette (featuring "Electric Sun", "Run for Cover", "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Getting Hotter") was made available, but later that year Kimberley and Dark quit and the band was effectively over. During an interview for ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' magazine in 2010, Terry Dark said: "We just seemed to be either a year too early, or a year too late... But whatever the reason things never quite happened for us."
A green vinyl LP titled ''Jameson Raid'', comprising the ''End Of Part One'' EP, the ''Electric Sun'' demo tracks, the ''Metal for Muthas'' take of "Hard Lines" and the unreleased track "Running Blind" from the final 1983 line-up was released as a bootleg and not an official release, although it has become an expensive collector's item. Both of the EPs featured in the 2010 edition of ''Record Collector''.'Record Collector 2010. Page 264. In 1983, Green and Makin drafted in drummer Roger Simms, and with Makin handling both guitar and vocal duties, they tried to resurrect the band as The Raid, but with no great success nor longevity. Makin went on to front several other bands before being invited to appear on the solo album by

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...

, ''The Drums Are Back'' (1992). He joined

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 ...

in 1993. Malcolm Dome wrote: "Jameson Raid are one of the many bands who were definitely contenders for glory during the halcyon days of the new wave of British heavy metal. Sadly, they never quite lived up to their obvious potential". The classic line-up of Terry Dark, Ian Smith, John Ace and Phil Kimberley re-united in 2008, and their back catalogue album, ''Just as the Dust Had Settled'', was released by Shadow Kingdom Records in March 2010. The band played gigs both in Germany and the UK in July 2010. In February 2011 John Ace left the band. They played the Download festival in June 2011 with a stand in bass player before Peter Green, the bass player from 1980 to 1983, rejoined in June 2011. By 2012 first Ian Smith and then Phil Kimberley had followed John Ace and returned to their day jobs. They were replaced by Kalli Kaldschmidt and Andreas 'Neudi' Neuderth from the band Roxxcaliber. In August 2013 drummer Lars Wickett was recruited due to Neudi's live gig commitments with Manilla Road. Jameson Raid have remained active particularly in Europe with occasional gigs in the UK.

Members

Current lineup

*Terry Dark - vocals *Kalli Kaldschmidt - guitar, vocals *Andreas "Neudi" Neuderth - drums, vocals *Luud Tilly - bass

Past members

June 1975 *John Ace - bass guitar, vocals *Ian Smith - guitar, vocals *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals *Stewart Harrod - rhythm guitar, vocals December 1976 to July 1980 *John Ace - bass guitar *Ian Smith - guitar *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals *Terry Dark - vocals 1980 to 1981 *Terry Dark - vocals *Mike Darby - guitar *Peter Green - bass guitar *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals 1981 *Terry Dark - vocals *James Barrett - guitar *Peter Green - bass guitar *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals 1982 *Terry Dark - vocals *Steve Makin - guitar *Peter Green - bass guitar *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals 1983 *Steve Makin - guitar, vocals *Peter Green - bass guitar *Roger Simms - drums 2008 to Feb 2011 *Terry Dark - vocals *Ian Smith - guitar, vocals *John Ace - bass guitar, vocals *Phil Kimberley - drums, vocals 2017 *Terry Dark - vocals *Gavin Coulson - guitar, vocals *Brendan O´Neil - drums *Luud Tilly - bass 2018 till now *Terry Dark - vocals *Eric "Kalli" Kaldschmidt - guitar, vocals *Andreas "Neudi" Neuderth - drums *Luud Tilly - bass

Discography

Albums

*''Seven Days of Splendour'' EP (GBH Records, 1979) *''End of Part One'' EP (Blackbird Records, 1980) *''Just as the Dust Had Settled'' LP (Shadow Kingdom Records SKR030CD, March 2010) *''Just as the Dust Had Settled'' Limited Edition Vinyl LP (High Roller Records HR141, July 2010) *''Jameson Raid Live at the O2 Academy'' Limited Edition Vinyl LP (High Roller Records HR180, June 2011) *''The Beginning of Part II'' Limited Edition Vinyl LP (High Roller Records HRR220, September 2012)

Tracks on sampler albums

*''

II'' (

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

1980) One Track, "Hard Lines". *''NWoBHM Vol. 2'' (1992) One track, "It's a Crime".

Compilation albums

*''Jameson Raid'' (Phoenix Records)

References

External links

Official website

Fan website

Jameson Raid on MySpace.com

Rockdetector.com entry

Metal-Archives.com entry

New Wave Of British Heavy Metal entry
{{Authority control English heavy metal musical groups Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands