Heavy Metal Kids

Heavy Metal Kids

Heavy Metal Kids are a British rock group from London, active from 1972 to the present. They are associated with classic rock, glam, glam rock, hard rock and rock, and are described as a 1970s British glam rock band.

Formation and early line-up

The band forms in 1973 through the merger of two earlier groups, Heaven and Biggles. They take their name from a gang of street children mentioned in a novel by William Burroughs. The first line-up before recording includes Mickey Waller on guitar, Ronnie Thomas on bass and vocals, Gary Holton on lead vocals, Keith Boyce on drums, and Cosmo on guitar.

Recordings and label changes

Heavy Metal Kids become the first act signed to Atlantic Records' new London offices after being noticed by A&R man Dave Dee. They record their debut self-titled album in January 1974, with Dee producing and Phil Chapman engineering. Mickey Waller leaves before the band records the follow-up, Anvil Chorus, at Island Studios in January 1975, with Andy Johns producing. Keyboard player Danny Peyronel then leaves to join UFO and John Sinclair replaces him. Cosmo is later replaced by Barry Paul, and the band moves to Mickie Most's RAK Records, where it records Kitsch, produced by Most.

Later history

Gary Holton dies of a morphine overdose in 1985, after which the band remains on hiatus until 2002. The returning line-up at that point includes founding members Ronnie Thomas and Keith Boyce, together with Peyronel and newcomers Marco Barusso and Marco Guarnerio on guitars and vocals. On 8 August 2010, Danny Peyronel leaves and actor John Altman, known for playing Nick Cotton in EastEnders, becomes the new lead singer. Altman is also a friend of Gary Holton and appears with him in the film Quadrophenia. Cosmo and Justin McConville, on guitar, vocals and keyboards, later join the line-up.