Ethel the Frog -

Ethel the Frog was an English heavy metal band that released a 1980 self-titled album on EMI.

Members: Doug Sheppard (vocals, guitar), Paul Tognola (guitar), Terry Hopkinson (bass, vocals), Paul Conyers (drums)

Background

Ethel the Frog formed in 1976 in Kingston upon Hull, where singer–guitarist Doug Sheppard and guitarist Paul Tognola teamed with bassist Terry Hopkinson and drummer Paul Conyers. They took their name from a 1970 Monty Python sketch in which a BBC documentary program (Ethel the Frog) recounts the fictional criminal exploits of brothers Doug and Dinsdale Piranha and their battle with a giant hedgehog known as “Spiny Norman.”

In 1978, Ethel the Frog issued a rocked-up cover of the Beatles classic “Eleanor Rigby” on self-press Best Records, backed with the Sheppard original “Whatever Happened to Love.”

“Eleanor Rigby” appears on the 1980 EMI release Metal for Muthas, a compilation of acts aligned with the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), including Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Praying Mantis, Samson, and Sledgehammer. EMI signed Ethel the Frog and re-released “Eleanor Rigby” as a promo single, backed with the group-written “Fight Back.”

Ethel the Frog

Ethel the Frog released their self-titled album in 1980 on EMI. It features “Eleanor Rigby” and its two b-sides plus seven Doug Sheppard originals, including “Don’t Do It,” “Fire Bird,” and “Why Don’t You Ask.” Terry Hopkinson plays six-string Fender bass.

Ethel the Frog opens with a fuzz-drenched rework of “Eleanor Rigby” that reimagines the original’s staccato tension as a snarling, riff-based push. “Apple of Your Eye” shifts between clipped chord pulses and brighter refrain phrasing, while “Fight Back” charges forward with a more percussive vocal delivery over quickened guitar figures.

“Fire Bird” closes the album with layered guitar harmonies and a shadowed atmosphere, stretching into more expansive pacing before snapping back into double-time thrust. Mid-album tracks like “Staying on My Mind” and “Bleeding Heart” pull back into boogie-inflected looseness, building from simple rhythm patterns while bending tempo at the breaks. Throughout, the arrangements favor brief instrumental surges, sharp rhythmic pivots, and alternating vocal leads that cut through the mix with dry, unvarnished presence.

A1. “Eleanor Rigby” (3:17)
A2. “Apple of Your Eye” (4:30)
A3. “Staying On My Mind” (4:31)
A4. “You Need Wheels” (3:22)
A5. “Bleeding Heart” (4:24)

B1. “Fight Back” (3:17)
B2. “Don’t Do It” (2:48)
B3. “Why Don’t You Ask” (4:01)
B4. “Whatever Happened to Love” (3:59)
B5. “Fire Bird” (7:28)

Sheppard produced Ethel the Frog, which features a cover illustration by David Dragon, whose artwork appears on early seventies releases by Jan Dukes de Grey and Leaf Hound.