Vardis

Vardis

Vardis were a heavy metal band threesome (originally a foursome) from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene who enjoyed hits between 1978 and 1986. The band was originally formed at Thornes House Grammar school in the early 70's and practiced in the front room of Zodiac's mothers house on Bromley Mount, Sandal, Wakefield. It is thought that Zodiacs true guitaring style came to the forefront when he traded his first guitar (a Jedson Telecaster copy) in for a real Fender Telecaster so he could emulate his hero at the time (Francis Rossi). Their first recording experience was at Holyground Studios in Cass Yard, Kirgate, Wakefied. This was really a converted bedroom of the owner Mike Levon. The first ever track laid down on vinyl was titled Jiving All Night Long with the "B" side titled Stay With Me, both penned by Zodiac. This was followed up with a second record, both cover versions, those being Roll Over Beethoven (ELO) and Don't Waste My Time (Status Quo). Two further compilation albums have been released since their split but no new tracks. Their unique style of raw, energised boogie mixed with 70s glam rock brought them a reasonably long career by heavy metal standards. The band were from Wakefield in England, and consisted of frontman Steve Zodiac (Stephen John Hepworth) on guitar and lead vocals, Alan Selway on bass guitar and Gary Pearson on drums. Alan Selway was later replaced by Terry Horbury on bass guitar.

History

Pearson was recruited to Vardis after replying to an advertisement in the Yorkshire Post – despite the fact he had previously failed an audition to join Vardis. From 1984, Selway was replaced by Terry Horbury (previously of Dirty Tricks). Zodiac was famous for playing Vardis concerts barefoot, because he struggled to concentrate in shoes. His look continued with bare chest, long blonde hair and screaming vocals. Vardis were a well respected live act whose energy and performance levels came out best on stage rather than in the studio. For that reason, their first album was recorded live and duly gained them much popularity.

Vardis were originally named Quo Vardis by Steve Zodiac's mother (Helen Hepworth) after the Roman epic film, Quo Vadis, from the early 1950s, but they later dropped the Quo part to avoid any confusion with Status Quo. However, this was not because they had anything against Status Quo, as Vardis' early gigs were full of Status Quo cover versions. The science fiction connection with Vardis continued as Steve Zodiac is thought to have taken his name from Colonel Steve Zodiac, commander of Gerry Anderson's Fireball XL5 show. Colonel Steve Zodiac was a handsome blonde space pilot of a space ship that patrolled sector 25 of the universe – it is not hard to see why someone would want to share his name, if not his good looks. An alternative explanation is that he took his name from his Selmer Zodiac 100-watt amplifier, which had to be used at full volume to get the distortion and sustain which was fundamental to his sound. Their first gig - a wedding reception at Thornes Working Mens Club - earned them £6. However, it was not long before they were able to command much higher fees. They played the working men's club scene in and around their home town of Wakefield West Yorkshire, originally travelling to gigs in Heppy's mothers Ford Escort together with all the stage equipment including the PA on the roof rack.

Rock entrepreneur Jane Revell, from Windsor, was the key to making Vardis famous. Zodiac saw an advert for a single on her independent label and so sent her a copy of their self-financed debut single "100 M.P.H.". She was so impressed with what she heard, she travelled to Bradford to watch the band live. In her eyes, Vardis lived up to their promise and she negotiated a deal to manage them, initially for one single. That single, "If I Were King", managed sales in excess of 5000. It was recorded at Redball studios in Market Drayton, in the West Midlands. The B-side was produced first and then, when the band were running out of time, they opted for a live version of "If I Were King" which proved to be a very inspired choice. It was always felt that their live tracks were better than their studio ones.

Vardis' debut album, also named 100 M.P.H., on the Redball label, was recorded live and included the tracks "100 M.P.H.", "If I Were King" and "Let's Go". The initial 2000 production sold out almost immediately. These early tracks brought Vardis quite a following due to the band's boogie metal style – a cross between Motorhead and Slade. Once the album had been released, Vardis promptly went on tour, building themselves a major live reputation at venues such as the Bristol Granary, Sunderland Mayfair, the Norbreck Castle and Blackpool. They always worked hard to get their name in the press as often as they could to keep their following going. However, Zodiac was always keen to avoid overexposure when it came to booking Vardis' gigs. For example, they once pulled out of a Durham gig as they had recently played in nearby Sunderland. Zodiac was not just the frontman - but also the brains behind the operation. However, his egomania would soon bring about the downfall of Vardis. Growing tension between management, band members and most importantly fans soon surfaced.

Their second album, released in April 1981 and called The Worlds Insane, featured a cover version of Hawkwind's "Silver Machine", and featured bagpipes played by Judd Lander, making it one of the few heavy metal albums to ever feature bagpipes, (the most notable other example being AC-DC's 'Its A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) featuring bagpipes played by Bon Scott). This brought even more publicity, partly due to the trio appearing naked with the bagpipes for photo shoots. Their link with Status Quo was lengthened with Andy Bown playing keyboards on the album. The album, released on the Logo label, covered 10 tracks from "Money Grabber" to "Steamin' Along".

The third album was entitled Quo Vardis after their original name and included "Together Tonight" and "Boogie Blitz", where Vardis experimented with piano and saxophone. Released in 1982 again on the Logo label, it contained 11 tracks like "Gary Glitter Part 1" and "Together Tonight". However, it was these experiments and concessions to commercial interests that caused many Vardis fans to turn their backs on their once beloved act.

Vardis were a very powerful and physical live act and they were invited to open the Heavy Metal Holocaust music festival in August 198l with acts like Motorhead, Ozzy Osbourne and Triumph. Around 25000 heavy metal fans were estimated to have attended with the PA supposedly reaching new heights of amplification at over 100,000 watts. The festival was nearly stopped by local residents until the promoter offered to send the elderly residents on a day trip to Blackpool to avoid the event. Vardis were later praised for opening the event in broad daylight with little atmosphere – hardly the circumstances Zodiac would have chosen. In 1982 Steve Zodiac was voted one of the top 20 rock guitarists by Sounds readers.

However, Selway quit Vardis after their third album, and the band ended up in a lengthy dispute with their former management.

Vardis' final long player, The World's Gone Mad released in 2001 was a compilation album despite a previous greatest hits album released in 1997. All of Vardis' notable work can be found on this album, and it included all the tracks from the first two albums and part of the third album. The only Vardis tracks that were omitted were done so with good reason - mostly their best-forgotten commercial exercises. The first disc contains Vardis' early singles and every track from the first album including alternative edits of the best tracks. It also features their entire second album but only parts of their questionable third album, Quo Vardis. Whilst their more commercial oriented tracks were omitted, they still found room for tracks like "Together Tonight" and "Boogie Blitz" featuring Zodiac's trademark guitar leads.

Steve Zodiac is now thought to live in London as a music and guitar teacher.

Gary Pearson is living in West Yorkshire and working in the lighting industry.

Discography

Singles and EPs

• "Jiving All Night Long" (Holyground Enterprises, circa 1975)
• "Roll Over Beethoven" (Holyground Enterprises, circa 1975)
• "100 M.P.H. EP" (Redball, 1979)
• "If I Were King" (Castle, 1980)
• "Let's Go" (Logo, 1980) - UK #59
• "Too Many People" (Logo, 1980)
• "Silver Machine" (Logo, 1981)
• "All You'll Ever Need" (Logo, 1981)
• "Gary Glitter Part One" / "To Be With You" (Logo, 1982) - (double A-side single)
• "Standing In The Road" (Big Beat, 1984)

Albums

• 100 M.P.H. (Logo, 1980) - UK #52
• The World's Insane (Logo, 1981)
• Quo Vardis (Logo, 1982)
• The Lion's Share (Razor, 1983)
• Vigilante (Raw Power, LP022, 1986) featuring Terry Horbury
• The World's Gone Mad (Essential, 2000) - compilation album

Compilations

• 1980 New Electric Warriors (Logo)
• 1981 Metal Power (Logo)
• 1990 NWOBHM (Phonogram)
• 1997 New Electric Warriors (British Steel)
• 2000 NWOBHM Rarities (British Steel)
• 2001 Metal (Sanctuary)
• 2002 Rock of Ages (Sanctuary)

External links

• Musicmight
• Photos and links
• NWOBHM archive
• CDs on Amazon.com
• European Tour Book 1981
• Heavy metal charts archive and links