Now I would be the first to admit that I know very little about Heavy Metal, nor is it my own choice of music. Though I was lucky enough to see the Kinks live playing You Really Got Me - in the Twisted Wheel in Manchester in the 1960s. But I saw this programme advertised on the BBC and realized that many of you here really revel in this musical genre, and that metal is to you what soul music is to me.

I have reproduced below Stuart Maconie's intro and a link to the programme for all you metal fans. Its part of a series about "The People's Songa"

Enjoy....and please don't criticize me if you think there are mistakes...I am only the messenger (smile).


Pauline xxx


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nwhp7/The_Peoples_Songs_Paranoid_The_Birth_of_Heavy_Metal/


An argument has long raged as to what was the very first Heavy Metal track: Led Zep's Communication Breakdown? The Kinks' pair of singles All Day And All Of The Night and You Really Got Me? What about Link Wray's Rumble? All paved the way, but one track managed to coalesce all of the facets of what was to become Heavy Metal. The track was Black Sabbath's Black Sabbath. And - from the ominous tolling bell, through the guitar's use of the flattened fifth (a dissonant interval that was banned by the medieval church), the horror show lyrics evoking Satan, to the accelerated riff at the end -The track managed to feature all of the elements that would become clichéd, but at the time were new and terrifying.

The track was groundbreaking but it was Paranoid that was to become Sabbath's most iconic - literally thrown together during the final half an hour of a recording session. With its classic Iommi pull-off/hammer-on riff, Ozzy's anguished lyric and its propulsive brevity, it was catchy, despite having no obvious chorus. It's a textbook example of Metal.

This music was very much the product of the UK, but was even more localized than that: it was born in the West Midlands. Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Diamond Head's Brian Tatler have both said the sound of the area's heavy industry - the foundries and metal-works - informed their sound. They literally grew up surrounded by the sound of heavy metal, it was in the air, an inescapable part of the surroundings. Another facet of that industry had a more direct, visceral effect on the music of Sabbath. On his last day of work before turning pro as a musician, guitarist Tony Iommi lost the fingertips on his fretting hand to a steel cutting machine. As a result, Iommi tuned his guitar down three semi-tones (so the strings would be slacker and less painful on his mangled fingers). This low tuning made Sabbath's music all the more gut-churning and gloomy.

Metal is, of course now a worldwide phenomenon. It became hugely popular in California but there's no way Heavy Metal could have originated in LA. The blueprint for Californian metal -arguably created by Van Halen - (originally called Rat Salade in tribute to a Sabs song), was worlds away from the British version. It sounded like sun, sand, surf and sex. Black Sabbath most certainly did not. It was too grim, too industrial: gothic music for a gothic environment. Other British Metal came from equally tough places - Def Leppard from Sheffield, Saxon from Barnsley, Iron Maiden from the East End Of London and Raven and Venom from Newcastle. Of course The Tygers Of Pan Tang bucked the trend coming from picturesque Whitley Bay... but then the cognoscenti would tell you that they were never a proper metal band!

Heavy Metal became one of Great Britain's greatest cultural and financial exports to the world. Def Leppard sold over 20 million copies of Hysteria. Iron Maiden bestrode the globe like a rock colossus (and still do). And not for nothing did Judas Priest title their 1980 album British Steel. The little band from Aston, Birmingham has inspired millions of kids from Alice Springs to Zagreb.
This post was edited by Pauline Smith at June 8, 2013 2:00 PM BST

Nice one Pauline, many thanks for the post, remember seeing Sabbath in Croydon during my druggy days, tripping out of my bounce, having just been to the 1970 Isle of Wight festival at the end of August, and saw Sabbath in November, great days what I can remember of them lol xxx

"Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf . Is the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music .

I remember when Tempole Tudor played at Huddersfield in the late 70's
Saxon's "Biff" (Richard) Byford lived up Manor Rise in Skelmanthorpe (Shat, to the locals), he went to Scissett Secondary School which I didn't live far from.
Thanks for the suggestion Pauline x

I was at the Isle of wight in 70 Jady.... but for some reason, I can hardly remember anything about it!......later had my ears destroyed by Hawkwind at the central London Poly!!... nowadays heavy metal seems to have split into hundreds of sub genre's.....grind, thrash, industrial, death, rap, metalcore, Viking, etc, etc bit like t-girls really!...... I have always seen myself as one of the grind sisterhood! XXX

A
This post was edited by Deleted Member at October 29, 2014 3:49 PM GMT

Very strictly classical & jazz, me! 'Heavy metal' means nothing unless you're referring to the likes of iron; that's pretty heavy isn't it?

Ah missed ya Andrea, there was only about 600,000 people there lol

I remember it being my first festival, and my first exploration into drugs both LSD and Dope

Went down on the Friday after working half day, camped up on Devastation Hill in time to see Taste followed by Chicago 25 or 6 to 4 Great days xxx

my first 2 concerts were monsters of rock 1981
2 August 1981
AC/DC
Whitesnake
Blue Öyster Cult
Slade
Blackfoot
More
Peter Reid
and monsters of rock 1982
21 August 1982
Status Quo
Gillan
Saxon (the first band to appear twice)
Hawkwind
Uriah Heep
Anvil
Tommy Vance (DJ)
This post was edited by diana spencer at June 8, 2013 4:44 PM BST

Ah Dia, loved Gypsy xxx

Wishbone Ash topped the bill at the Buxton Festival 1972 - I just loved them. At the time their guitar riffs had me in raptures. Funny about the Midlands angle - was speaking to someone last night who told me that in the Midlands music was everything.

It was the guys who worked in the 'metal bashing' midlands heavy industries making cars, etc.... that ended up being the metal gods! Ozzy was a brummy as was Iommi!..... Def Leppard were from Sheffield....etc etc!

New Black Sabbath album out shortly (13)

loved all the early metal stuff...tho my musical tastes are wide and varied, I recently got into Rammstein's album 'mutter' (german band)

aw thanx pauline for the link i did miss it and now can listen to it fankuuuuuu

lets FROCK oops i mean ROCK lol xxxxxxxx

im a real heavy metal fan, black sabath and meatloaf are faverates. I to saw the kinks in the 60s, in my case it was the spar theatre at Bridlington, they held a number of all night dances there then were I saw many acts ,,,,the applejacks, the stones , kinks, little Richard, gean vincant and loads more

I'm Lost!xxx

Me too! Completely! x x

Can't beat a bit of heavy metal, Iron Maiden, Black sabbath, Judas Priest....I could go on and on lol. Just a pity not many radio stations play it, all seem to play the same 12 songs over and over again!!

Blue cheer helped start the genre by being one of the loudest groups in the sixties
Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues-rock style, and is also credited as being pioneers of heavy metal (their cover of "Summertime Blues" is sometimes cited as the first in the genre. This is a quote from Wikipedia so overhaul lots of input from many people at the start and I think war pigs is still relevant today by Sabbath.

OK... with being a life long lover of Metal head, better known as " Metal Head"

And on the subject of Sabbath, they never originally called the Music Heavy Metal, some fella literally collared Tony Iommi in the street and said " you guys are heavy Metal "

Anyway, looks interesting, and for other's out then maybe good Documentary's like

" Metal A Head Banger's Journey " " Global Metal " or even " Metal Evolution " which airs regulary on Sky arts...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzMNuGwGW7g

Actually full Documentary is here.. http://viooz.co/movies/5786-metal-a-headbangers-journey-2005.html

It's interesting some sites state the first heavy metal song was..... The Beatles 'Helter Skelter' in 1968. I think The Beatles are sometimes undersold in the creation of the rock era...... xxx

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=aY2bWyiaei4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaY2bWyiaei4

Love my rock and metal - Iron Maiden, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Queen (see 'stone cold crazy' on sheer heart attack), AC/DC, rainbow etc. Especially like to remind non-rock lovers that one of the biggest selling albums of all time is of course 'Back in Black' by AC/DC with, over 50 million copies to date. Just carry on 'livin after midnight' on a 'highway to hell' xxx