Blind Fury

Blind Fury was an English Tyneside hard-rock/metal band behind the 1985 Roadrunner album Out of Reach. They sprung from Satan, a NWOBHM band that made the 1983 album Court in the Act.

Members: Lou Taylor (vocals), Steve Ramsey (guitar), Russ Tippins (guitar), Graeme English (bass), Sean Taylor (drums), Kevin Heybourne (guitar, 1983-84), Pete Gordelier (bass, 1983-84), Dave Hogg (drums, 1983-84)

Background

Blind Fury formed in 1983 in London when singer Lou Taylor teamed with guitarist Kevin Heybourne of Angel Witch. The group also included bassist Pete Gordelier and drummer Steve Coleman.

Taylor previously fronted Saracen, a South Shields band that contributed four tracks to the 1980 Guardian compilation Roksnax. He spent summer 1982 with Satan and moved that September to London. Heybourne previously led Angel Witch and played three concerts with the metal band Deep Machine.

The group recorded “Nowhere to Run” and “Evil Games,” two songs from the Angel Witch repertoire. Heybourne left in December 1983 to revive Angel Witch with Gordelier. Taylor registered the name Blind Fury.

Satan

Satan began as a Newcastle school group led by guitarist Steve Ramsey and classmate Russ Tippins. Ramsey learned guitar alongside Tippins through practice with records. Bassist Graeme English joined from the same school circle with a background in classical guitar. The guitarists developed fast arrangements with two lead parts. Manager Ian Cleary circulated the early recordings and arranged a February 1983 Dutch tour with concert organizer André Verhuysen. Roadrunner owner Cees Wessels offered Satan a three-album contract. The band recorded the 1983 album Court in the Act with former Blitzkrieg singer Brian Ross and former Raven drummer Sean Taylor.

Satan dismissed Ross early in 1984 and recalled Lou Taylor for two April dates in the Netherlands. The singer fronted the group in Geleen and at the Earthquake Festival in Kaatsheuvel. Taylor agreed to return permanently if the four Newcastle musicians moved to London. By June, the four musicians — English, Ramsey, Tippins, Sean Taylor — converged in the capitol.

The musicians sought a new name to separate the band from associations with satanic imagery. Roadrunner rejected their proposed name Raskalle. Taylor checked with the remaining musicians from the earlier Blind Fury group and secured agreement to reuse the name.

Ramsey wanted the singer to participate in the new songs from the outset. The musicians developed the next set of songs with Taylor for another Roadrunner album. Blind Fury entered Touch Sound Studios in October 1984 in Middlesex to record Out of Reach with producer Steve James.

Discography:

• Out of Reach (1985)

Sources

• “Blind Fury — Bringing in the New,” Metal Forces, issue 5, 1984. Contemporary interview with Ramsey and Taylor on the singer change, relocation, name registration, rejected Raskalle proposal, and plans for the next album. (Metal Forces)
• Kevin Heybourne interview, 2001. Firsthand account of Deep Machine, the eight-month Blind Fury partnership, and the return to Angel Witch with the bassist. (True Metal Fan)
• “Satan Laughing Spreads His Wings: The Early Days of Satan.” Interview with Tippins and original drummer Andy Reed, conducted in 2020 and published June 22, 2022; school origins, English’s classical guitar background, Taylor’s 1982 stint, and the Dutch route to Roadrunner. (Axe Crazy)
• Lou Taylor — “Rock the Knight,” part one, February 26, 2017. Saracen formation, South Shields rehearsals, and the Guardian recordings. (Alikivi)
• Steve Ramsey interview, September 13, 2024. Firsthand account of the school partnership and the connections with Ross and Sean Taylor. (Defenders of the Faith)
• Blind Fury — band and discography entry. Early Gordelier–Coleman lineup and two-song demo titles. (NWOBHM Encyclopedia)
• “Out of Reach” — historical archive. April 1984 Dutch appearances and the June relocation, with references to contemporary coverage and the 2005 Snakepit interview. (Satan Archives)
• Out of Reach — original Roadrunner edition. Personnel, producer credit, studio, and October 1984 recording date. (Encyclopaedia Metallum)