Music Style rock

Musical Influences Neil Young

Artist History Started playing guitar at age of ten (1974) when living in Vancouver, Canada with an acoustic guitar which was actually given to younger brother Chris as a birthday present. Moved back to England and got first electric guitar at age of 13 with money saved up from a paper round. Messed around with pals from school in various scratch bands. Did first gig at 16 at The New Crown in South Shields in the summer of 1980 with mates Tony Watson ( vocals), Tony Murray (bass), Bob Tyler (guitar) and Kevin Cooper (drums). Got bitten big style…….. Played one gig with metal band Spartan Warrior at the now flattened Old 29 pub in Sunderland after two years messing about, and finally joined Sunderland punks Toy Dolls in May 1983, playing bass. First 'Dolls gig was Feltham Football Club, Middlesex in June 1983. Played endless U.K toilet tours, two German/ Dutch tours and two great U.S. tours before quitting in Sept 1984. Also made recording debut with the 'Dolls with Cheerio Toodle Pip ( which he co-wrote ) Alfie from the Bronx and We're Mad singles ( all on Tyneside based label Volume Records). Immediately formed what would become Smalltown Heroes the same September after a chance meeting with bass player Tony Roffe in a Sunderland pub.Tony was a mate from another Sunderland group Zulu and the Heartaches (with now T.V. chef Pete Zulu as Front man). Started rehearsing with Tone in girlfriend's bed sit playing Ramones and Undertones covers and messing with half-formed original ideas. Recruited original Toy Dolls drummer Colin (Mr ) Scott on drums and Became known as The Troubleshooters. Rehearsed the music end of things for months as a three piece getting tight and concentrating on two and a half minute pop/punk ditties ( which in 1985 were deeply unfashionable……). Finally decided a singer was needed and younger brother Chris was drafted in, although not immediately……… Brothers being what they are, Chris was given a list of songs to learn. Being Baz's younger brother, he thought he wouldn't have to learn the stuff, but would get the gig anyway. He didn't. There was much mud slinging in the Warne household until the following week's rehearsal when somehow, without his big brother knowing, Chris learned the songs perfectly and got the gig on merit. " I knew he could sing really well 'cos he had his own band" Baz remembers, " but I did'nt want him just thinking he could get in anyway 'cos we were brothers, I wanted him to get in properly y'know, and he did". Began gigging in earnest in the summer of 1985 with their debut at Annabel's Nightclub in Sunderland. Gigged constantly for five months before recording their first demo ( and Chris's recording debut ) at The Studio recording studios in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in October of that year. Got various reactions from record companies varying from enthusiastic to lukewarm, but continued to gig, building up a large local following and specialising in noisy, sweaty packed pub gigs. Kept it up for another year before packing in due to lack of interest from London ( the times being what they were). Joined a local covers group for a year to keep going ( and earning…..) before getting Troubleshooters back together again for another bash. This time the group wrote like mad and recorded several demos before changing drummers in 1988 to the much admired local lad Kevin Scott. This line up lasted for ten years ………… Early in 1989 the band recruited Mancunian manager Harvey Lee, who'd been a fan since running into the band at a gig in late 1988. With his help and enthusiasm a team was formed which secured a publishing deal with Global, London in 1990.The band slogged their guts up and down the U.K. for FOUR more years before signing their management and record deals within months of each other. Management came in the shape of E.G. Management ( Killing Joke, King Crimson, Roxy Music) and recording wise the band signed to Global,Munich. During this time the name was changed to Smalltown Heroes ( actually in 1992) and Baz and Kevin played in another band, The Picture Show with Southend born musician Jon Palmer. This group recorded, as well as playing 40 odd shows in and around the North East. 1993 was a gigging year also, and was most notable for the bands gig at Newcastle City Hall supporting Little Angels. Angels' ask for bands to send in demos to support them on select dates in the U.K. and pick Smalltown Heroes as best tape of all from 950 entries………An accolade which sees them voted by Kerrang readers as one of the top 5 unsigned bands in their end of year polls. April 1995 saw the 'Heroes head out on their first major tour supporting Canadian guitarist Jeff Healy on a ten date British jaunt. Band win many friends and release debut single ' Moral Judgement' on 1st May. Kerrang magazine votes it single of the week, and it's also the world's first ever interactive C.D. Rom single, featuring a band history, video for ' moral', and gig footage etc. It gets a gold award for the most innovative release of it's time……….. Band enter Battery Studios, London, to record debut album 'Human Soup ' on August 1st. It takes a month to do and receives critical acclaim on it's release. The rest of the year is spent gigging and another U.K. tour is undertaken in the winter this time with The Stranglers………. 1996 is another gigging year, with the group headlining their first ever ' proper' U.K. tour. They play Chelmsford, Leicester, Basildon, Stockton, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Norwich, Northampton, London, Canterbury, Southampton and finish in Portsmouth, playing the Heineken Big Top Festival to 5,000 people with The Damned. 1997 starts with their first foreign gigs, in Germany and Holland, playing with…….The Stranglers. A German t.v. cop show theme is recorded during a 4 day session at Arco Studios in Munich in April. A short 8 date U.K. tour is done, and then the band head back to Germany to support German singer/ songwriter Stoppok on a 10 date tour playing 3,000 capacity venues. The band encore for 8 of these gigs, unheard of for a support band…… 1998 sees the band relocate to Munich for two months in Jan/ Feb with Wildhearts/ Paradise Lost/ Pantera producer Simon Efemy and respected engineer Rusty Russell. They record what they consider to be their best music ever, in a brilliant atmosphere, and exploit Munich's nightlife to the full……… A regular haunt is the Atomic Caf� nightclub, a scruffy vinyl only club, and the band love it so much they name their album after it! They also meet up with old mates The Stereophonics here and get shitfaced with a fledgling Travis. They return home triumphant and are convinced this is the one. This is when it all turns to shit for Smalltown Heroes……. During mixing at Jacobs' Farm in Surrey, they part company with Harvey. The new manager Rudy Reed is a feisty southerner who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Together with the band, a more aggressive approach is taken, Record company policies and management company plans dictate an altogether softer tack, and things quickly fall to pieces. The album never comes out, and after (altogether) 14 years, and very nearly 1,000 gigs, the band is over. Getting Baz to talk about this is still difficult………………. It takes until Summer 1998 before another group is even contemplated, and not wishing to go through all that nonsense again, a covers band. Sun Devils is formed purely for their own enjoyment. 300+ gigs and a massive live following later, they've just recorded their first original song demos. Watch this space……….. Also Baz's love for acoustic music ( first started with his old pal Dave Taggart years ago, great fun if you ever saw them………) came back to the fore, and acoustic gigs form a very big part of what he does, playing well over 250 solo shows up to now. April this year (2000) saw old mates The Stranglers call, and after auditioning in London on Wednesday April 5TH , found himself in Kosovo 10 days later playing for the troops of the peace keeping force, one of the highlights of his career so far. Stepping on stage with a band he's long admired was a thrill, and hopes will continue for years to come………

Instruments guitar

Albums common thread, sun devils

Press Reviews Common thread, a whole new concept to acoustic recordings. Baz has exceeded every expectation with this little jewel. It’s acoustic, but not just, it’s complete, the guitars are intense, and the occasional bass guitar, cello, xylophone or piano just complete this masterpiece. I just received my copy, and played it incessantly since my return from the Faith tour 2002. I can’t get enough! My favourite: Dutch Moon. Hehe, well I’ll get to that one… The CD starts with a cover: my friend the sun. Nice little guitar intro, light and carefree, summer breeze like song…Baz’s voice sounds a bit rough, it’s that “bluesy gin drenched throat” again. I love it. As opposed to the original there’s a solo in this song, which complements it perfectly. The chorus is very catchy and makes you sing a long. The guitar is built up from two parts…one rhythmic and one solo, Baz does the backing vocals as well...how you do that when playing solo? Where’ve you been? Was written for the Sun Devils and features on their CD too. This version is very different, without the electric bits, but as a beauty as the “loud” one. If you consider Baz wrote this song over breakfast… A few little electric guitar bits come in anyway, but they’re almost unnoticeable, perfect blend. Not as powerful as the Sun Devils one, but a beauty nonetheless. More dramatic, but less saddening… Rips in my heart: written for the Small town heroes almost 10 years ago, it’s still a song he plays at gigs nowadays. Calm intro, builds up to a heart tearing verse. This song is so full and complete you don’t miss the other musicians, it’s so strange. The guitar chords I’m used to on acoustic songs are mostly very straight forward and on this CD you’ll be surprised as they’re very elaborated and “complex”, nothing’s straight forward here… Dutch Moon: I had decided this would be my favourite before I even heard the song! Just because of the title… And, no surprise, it is…not because of the title though. I love the “radio from the 30’s” voice. It starts of with a, nice and relaxed bass intro, then electric guitar solo’s, background singers. I can barely remember the Stranglers version form Shepherd’s bush, heard the Faith tour version, but I can’t wait to hear the finished product on the next Stranglers release; if it makes the CD that is, I think it should. It is a great (Stranglers) song. Crime in the city, from Neil Young. Another cover. Vocals are pretty “standard”, the guitar isn’t. I tried my hand at it, gave up!…Lots of rhythmic changes, twists and turns, still a very “naked” song. I like the electric guitar bits, love the acoustic bits, wonder how it would sound as an instrumental… Only Women bleed from Alice Cooper. Intro features cello’s, gives a great atmosphere to the song, which I find quite dark and intense. I think it’s another favourite of mine. Again the guitar isn’t from this world. Sounds simple enough, but try and play along!…I’m not sure if so, but somewhere I think I here a piano… after the first, calm verses, the guitar builds up to a very dramatic climax. Of course the lyrics help the song. Very different to the summer breeze like song at the beginning of the CD. This CD just proves what a brilliant and versatile guitar player, singer, songwriter Baz really is. Maaike U. your webmaster.

Location Sunderland, north east - United Kingdom

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