It saddened me yesterday to learn of the death of Tommy Vance.
For those of you outside the UK, Tommy was the voice of Heavy Metal for years over here mainly with the Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio One. I can honestly say, as Im sure many can, that I probably wouldnt be in the music business now if it hadnt been for both Tommy Vance and Tony Wilson at Radio One.
It was back in Jan 87 when my phone rang and I had Tommy quizzing me about my old band Sabbat just after wed recorded the session for the Friday Rock Show. All wed done by that time was a £10 demo, but they both liked it enough to give us a break.
I used to listen to the Friday Rock Show religiously, taping all the good bits and it was a surreal experience when this voice that was so familiar to the general British public was on the other end of the line.
Off the back of this, we got signed, saw the world, did the band thing and I ended up taking the more sensible route of production.
Thankfully, I got the chance to thank Tommy in person for his belief and support in helping us (and many others) take our first steps within the music world.
Friday nights were never the same after Tommy left the Rock Show and I genuinely feel weve lost another great pioneer of the British music scene. It puts a smile on my face thinking of him taking on 80000 people at Donington, wearing a crash helmet ,dodging the mud and missiles to announce the bands. He was a true believer in metal and his passing is a very sad loss indeed.
For those of you outside the UK, Tommy was the voice of Heavy Metal for years over here mainly with the Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio One. I can honestly say, as Im sure many can, that I probably wouldnt be in the music business now if it hadnt been for both Tommy Vance and Tony Wilson at Radio One.
It was back in Jan 87 when my phone rang and I had Tommy quizzing me about my old band Sabbat just after wed recorded the session for the Friday Rock Show. All wed done by that time was a £10 demo, but they both liked it enough to give us a break.
I used to listen to the Friday Rock Show religiously, taping all the good bits and it was a surreal experience when this voice that was so familiar to the general British public was on the other end of the line.
Off the back of this, we got signed, saw the world, did the band thing and I ended up taking the more sensible route of production.
Thankfully, I got the chance to thank Tommy in person for his belief and support in helping us (and many others) take our first steps within the music world.
Friday nights were never the same after Tommy left the Rock Show and I genuinely feel weve lost another great pioneer of the British music scene. It puts a smile on my face thinking of him taking on 80000 people at Donington, wearing a crash helmet ,dodging the mud and missiles to announce the bands. He was a true believer in metal and his passing is a very sad loss indeed.
