#robb weir

With “Gangland”, the Tygers of Pan Tang briskly solidified their place near the top of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal hierarchy, as it took Spellbound’s opening track all of three minutes to sum up everything that was going on in British metal circa 1981.  And while the Tygers had already endeared themselves to NWOBHM fans a year earlier with their debut Wild Cat, this song took things to another level, showing off a more dynamic aggression thanks to Chris Tsangerides’ quickly developing production skills as well as the crucial arrival of both Jon Deverill and John Sykes.  The soon-to-be legendary Sykes didn’t really get a chance to shred here, but Deverill’s swaggering vocals gave “Gangland” added presence and attitude, and quickly made everyone forget that he was replacing the more limited Jess Cox.  The tune was pure NWOBHM: fast, energetic, catchy and fun, it not only set the Tygers on a path to near-stardom, it became a crucial part of their legacy.

Crazy Nights didn’t fully squander the goodwill Spellbound generated for the Tygers of Pan Tang, but it did slow their momentum due to its feeling like an underproduced and somewhat half-hearted retread of its well-regarded predecessor.  This wasn’t entirely the band’s fault: at the commercial height of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and just as they were building a solid head of steam on the road, the Tygers were forced back into the studio by a clueless MCA and ordered to write and record a new album in only 3 weeks, and without longtime producer Chris Tsangarides, who was busy producing Thin Lizzy’s Renegade.  So it wasn’t that surprising that Crazy Nights sounded uneven and haphazard, but the record still contained a few worthy NWOBHM bangers, not least of which was the title track.  “Crazy Nights” largely got by on Jon Deverill’s charisma, though Robb Weir and John Sykes nearly overpowered Dennis MacKay’s sterile and limp production with their swaggering riffs.  In some ways, the song felt like the prelude to a crazy night rather than the soundtrack to one, but a lot of that again comes down to a rushed recording that flattened Brian Dick’s drum sound and didn’t give Sykes enough time to craft one of his famed supercharged solos.  But otherwise, “Crazy Nights” was a fun blast from the Tygers’ best lineup, and was ultimately one last great anthem from the NWOBHM’s creative and commercial peak.  

Photo via From the Vaults. 🐅🌴

THAT METAL INTERVIEW presents Robb Weir of TYGERS OF PANG TANG   (recorded April 2022). Robb speaks of the band's ups and downs as well as the new album 'A New Heartbeat'. He also talks about the band's hardships through the pandemic in Europe; reveals tour plans. Donate to the channel to help create new content! https://www.paypal.me/thatmetalinterv... That Metal Interview Podcast is FREE and ON DEMAND, stream now on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Deezer, Bandcamp. Listen to The #ThatMetalInterviewPodcast​​​​​: https://lnk.to/uj7sH3k4 Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/InterviewThat Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatmetalinterview/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThatMetalInterview Subscribe on YouTube: http://youtube.com/JrocksMetalZoneSupport the show

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Dust by Tygers Of Pan Tang from their eponymous 2016 album

myRockworld – all you need is music – Tygers Of Pan Tang – Robb Weir Interview Interview with the band's guitarist.