Biography

After getting together at Scitz's house for a couple of jam sessions and getting some lads together, first practices were at Hagar's (bass player Mark Wroe) house in Wortley. His parents were the only ones who would allow a full band set up cos they went out on Fridays. Line up was Scitz, Me, Hagar and Podge (Paul Richardson) on drums. Band name at this point was Teacher's Pet, a name that as far as I can remember we never actually gigged with.

First gig was in the summer at Ingbirchworth Methodist Chapel with me, Scitz, and occasionally Podge sharing vocal duties. Charged everybody an entrance fee, but because the gig was a disaster, breaking strings that we couldn't afford to replace, we had to have a second gig and let everybody in free. Went under the name of Grave Violator, and the set list comprised of Metallica, Anthrax,, Megadeth, Motorhead, AC/DC, Twisted Sister, Saxon, and Judas Priest covers, and maybe 6 originals (Gangfight, Take The Risk, Die By The Fist, The Martians Are Coming, and Grave Violator are some I remember) written by me and Scitz.

Because John was in two bands at this time, and the other band was busier (and better), he quit. Went three piece with Scitz on bass, abandoned original material, and changed musical style. This was when we change the name of the band to The Badgers.

Due to our changing influences, and because it proved simple to play compared to the heavy material, we moved to playing covers by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, The Ramones, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Buzzcocks, Kinks - but mainly due to Scitz the Motorhead stayed. Gigged every now and then but vocals were weak. Instead of recruiting a singer, we added Jim (James Bowling) to line-up on rhythm guitar. His laid-back style meant an enjoyable time but still not many gigs.

Most prolific time for The Badgers with Andy organising gigs himself or through various agents. First pub gig with this line-up, as far as I know was at Rose & Crown in Darton, and was a gig that we played at least once a month for ages. Played gigs all over north of England, with visits to Germany twice. I'd say we played around 80-120 gigs per year over this time. A lot of this material (both covers and originals) was recorded using various equipment that we had access to.

April 1997 was when Steve Green left, we were all knackered by this point. Had a couple of months off until Scitz invited Gaz along to rehearse. Didn't take long to get back gigging, but after a couple of months, Andy left to go solo.

A few months after this Jimmy turned up for an audition. He got the job on the basis of knowing Twist & Shout, which he'd been practicing at karaokes. Also did Mustang Sally which nobody knew apart from Jimmy, but we made it up on the spot and it's stayed ever since.

E.P. is launched on May 14th at Penistone WMC - shifts about 100 CD's. Sent copies out to everybody we could think of, with best response being from Yorkshire Post saying "Think Eddie Cochran playing the Sex Pistols and you have punk leanings crossed with rockabilly" and receiving a 3* rating from the review.

1st January - after a successful (and our best ever paid) gig on Millennium night, Scitz performs his last gig at the Wagon & Horses on New Year's Day.

Following a few months spent regrouping, Andy Neesam (bass), and Andy Gregory (rhythm guitar) join the band. After a lot of rehearsing, Andy Gregory performs 3 gigs and leaves. Mick, a workmate of Andy Neesam, joins on rhythm guitar.

Performances continue in and around Barnsley. During this period Deano, who had initially introduced Andy Neesam to the band, begins filling in occasionally on rhythm guitar due to Mick's pre-existing commitments with his other band Metalworks.

After Andy Neesam proves to be increasingly unreliable and is sacked, Mick moves over to bass, and Deano takes over full time on rhythm guitar.

With the exception of a period during 2005 when Jimmy briefly left the band (which saw the recruitment of Johnny Wilson for one gig, and a brief name change to The Thieves), the band has continued to gig regularly in and around the Barnsley area, and is looking forward to doing so during 2006.