Jameson Raid (band)
| Jameson Raid | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Notre Dame (1975) The Raid (1983) |
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock |
| Years active | 1975–1983, 2008–present |
| Labels | Shadow Kingdom Records |
| Associated acts | Judas Priest, Slade, Hoi Polloi, Handsome Beasts |
| Website | http://www.jamesonraid.eu |
| Members | Terry Dark Kalli Kaldschmidt Pete Green Lars Wickett |
| Past members | Ian Smith Terry Dark John Ace Phil Kimberly Mike Darby Peter Green James Barrett Steve Makin Roger Simms Paul Britton Stewart Harrod Andreas "Neudi" Neuderth |
Jameson Raid are a British heavy metal band. They are usually considered to be part of the new wave of British heavy metal, following their inclusion on EMI's album Metal For Muthas II, although they were established on the Birmingham circuit as a hard rock band several years before this.
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. 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 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 at the turn of 1895/96. Their roadie 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, 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 and Mott The Hoople), heavier acts such as Thin Lizzy 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 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.
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