Sweet Savage | |
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Origin | Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock |
Years active | 1979-present |
Labels | Park, Crashed, Neat, SPV |
Associated acts |
Dio Whitesnake Def Leppard Emerald Red Hot Roosters Conjuring Fate Simon McBride Trio |
Members | Ray Haller Marty McCloskey Phil Edgar |
Past members |
Vivian Campbell Simon McBride Davy Bates Jules Watson Trev Fleming Robert Casserly Ian Wilson |
Sweet Savage are a heavy metal band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1979. The band once included former Dio and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell. Since forming in 1979, Sweet Savage have released three studio albums, three singles and one demo.
Considered one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement alongside acts such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead and Def Leppard. However, even though they were often considered among the forerunners of the NWOBHM movement, success eluded them and they disbanded shortly after 1982.
The band reformed in 1984 with a different line-up, but did not last long. Sweet Savage was once again reformed in the 90s, due to Metallica covering their song "Killing Time" as a B-side for their "The Unforgiven" single.
Sweet Savage released a new studio album, entitled Regeneration, in May 2011.
Sweet Savage began with a line-up of Trev Fleming and Vivian Campbell on guitars, David Bates on drums and Ray Haller on bass and vocals. The band gained a support slot for Thin Lizzy on their Renegade tour and supported acts such as Ozzy Osbourne, Wishbone Ash and Motörhead.
In 1981 the band signed to Park Records and released their first single "Take No Prisoners" which was limited to 1000 copies - this single included the song "Killing Time". A self-released demo known as Demo 81 was released at this time, which contained a BBC session of 4 songs.
In early 1983, guitarist Campbell accepted an offer to join Dio and subsequently left the band.
After a year long break, Sweet Savage decided to reform, but without Campbell and Fleming. Ian "Speedo" Wilson joined Sweet Savage on guitar and the band recorded a single with vocalist Robert Casserly, "Straight Through the Heart" and was released on Crashed Records. In 1985, the band recorded their third single "The Raid". After this, Sweet Savage disbanded for a second time.