วีดีโอ

Good

Nice 👍

Voltando na linha do tempo um Resgate. ✨🌠 🛸

Will you be uploading more from this album? 🙏

Nice ALL best my brother ✊💪🤘

Bigger than savatage and sanctuary put together! Amazing

Wow! This puts the whole nwobhm scene to shame!!

Nice channel. Youre always fighting tô Keep the fire burning. Respect.

Cool!

Great stuff!

Nice work... ALL best ✊💪🤘

Thanks for sharing this 🤘

Not bad. Reminds me of Judas Priest on Rocka Roller, but a softer style.

Lyrics I see the blue sparkle of your eyes The wind blowing your golden hair I wonder if I’m seeing clearly now Or is it a vision I can see there But no there’s a woman stands in front of me And I know that all I see is true And somewhere out along the line Oh I’m a coming for you Yes I’m coming for you and I hope All the stories that tell are not true And I know just what they’ll say They’ll say beware stay away Your kind of life is not right for me I can’t understand the things that you do My mind won’t adjust to the way that you think And I always seem to be losing you Your tantalising smile your bewitching all the while ‘though I get closer day after day I know that you’re out there Somewhere and I coming your way These lies I would tell I would even burn in hell I would fight any army to through to you I would wait a thousand years I would cast away my fears in fact There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do Time is irrelevant ‘cos I’m so Persistent and maybe someday I’ll get there And now I really see the blue Sparkle of your eye and your golden hair You sent me spinning Just as I thought I was winning I feel as though I’m lost inside a maze I’ll keep on trying even though It means me dying but I’ll get through To you just one of these days And I know you’ll be there With your penetrating stare and your life Will be oh so cold I won’t have to worry nor will I have to hurry ‘cos I know you’ll always be there

Art attack brought me here

Amazing!

I think this is one of the best songs ever.

Melodic "metal" or just hard rock at its best.

Now this is a fucking Art Attack !!!!

Que belleza, me suscribo al canal por estás bellezas. Saludos desde el sur de Chile 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

banger

Great track! Saw them open for Whitesnake in 1979. They should have been more famous. Pity.

Great Stuff !

Loved Marseille

Es un temón que injustamente, no trascendió.

Froggey singing

<3

Marseille = <3

Awesome band

I can't believe you have this posted!! I got this from a friend in Aschaffenburg, Germany (early 80s). I was pretty bummed that he took the album back. A few days before returning to the states (fall of 86) I went into a downtown record shop that I'd NEVER been in & FOUND a copy of this!

What a great track, amazing band!

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Merseyside's popular MARSEILLE turned out to be a pretty prolific recording act once they finally got going properly, but they were actually old hands in the business by the time the NWOBHM thing really kicked off. There seems to be a fairly widely-held belief that the musicians were initially brought together to establish an outfit who would primarily be involved with composing music for film scores, but I suspect that comparatively little credence can be attached to such tales. In truth, the group was conceived in 1976 (emerging from the ashes of a schoolboy band rejoicing under the not-entirely-unique identity of AC/DC), and they did, admittedly, become associated with the French soundtrack company Varèse International the following year, supposedly having been commissioned to record some cheery songs for a ribald European film (which had, strangely enough, been com pleted a good two years previously) entitled The French Way'. In due course, the label threw together a seldom-seen 12" EP (housed within a very plain, stickered cover) featuring the title track (credited as "Do It The French Way"), "Not Tonight Josephine" and "She Gives Me Hell", three risqué rockers in the 70's-influenced style of PET HATE or URCHIN, with more than a hint of SLADE and the SMALL FACES to them. It wasn't NWOBHM by a long way, although the group would, like many others, be roped into the movement in years to come more by serendipity than through playing any particularly strong role in its development. In 1978. MARSEILLE (their debut was credited to MARSEILLES, although I suppose this might have been a mistake) were signed by the Mountain label (home of NAZARETH) after triumphing in a national talent contest, and so the lads were soon being groomed for promotion as the next big thing in the rock world. A couple of singles (The French Ways and Kiss Like Rock & Roll) were duly trotted out as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, as was a limited white-label promo 12" which served to introduce the group to the DJ's and journalists of the day. The band were encouraged, supposedly by their label and management, to deliver a long-player in the general manner of their formative releases (Mountain tended not to acknowledge the existence of their debut 12", and pretty much presented themselves as their first label), although MARSEILLE were now tending to write somewhat heavier compositions with far less juvenile lyrics, and reports of their powerful live performances (supporting the likes of WISHBONE ASH, UFO and GILLAN) had already begun filtering down to a rapidly expanding fan base. Nevertheless, the debut album (Red, White And Slightly Blues) was recorded and pressed up in due course, alt hough the lads were less-than-satisfied with the outcome, and few copies actually made it into the shops as a result, as Paul Dale explained: We also had a bit of bad luck in a couple of studio sessions that we did. We made an album which was produced by Leo Lyons but it was so terrible that we scrapped it (Ref: Teenage Depression, Issue 10, 1979). Now, withdrawing your first album is hardly the ideal way to kick off a career, but things weren't actually as bad as they originally see med. In fact, the outfit wasted little time before attempting to salvage the situation, and were soon back in the studio to record an official debut long-player. Sessions for MARSEILLE'S first proper LP began in the early months of 1979, and the group hoped to have a finished product by the time they went on tour with JUDAS PRIEST, although things took considerably longer than they anticipated, and it was much later in the year before the eponymous long-player was ready to hit the shops. The release tied in with yet another series of gigs, a support slot with WHITESNAKE, and this novel collection of songs proved to be considerably more representative of the band's style. The album (many copies of which were, incidentally, presented with a free copy of the otherwise unavailable Red, White And Slightly Blues saw MARSEILLE moving into more substanterritory, with some distinct similarities to the melodic rock/metal disposition of MOTHERS RUIN, FRENZY and TOBRUK, and the record was soon selling in healthy quantities through out the land. Tracks such as "Rock You Tonight", "Some Like It Hot" and "Armed And Ready showed a confident move in the right direction, and the LP was promoted by further 7 releases in the shape of Bring On The Dancing Girls and Over And Overs, both of which helped their cause by performing admirably throughout Europe Things now seemed to be going fairly well for MARSEILLE, and, after a further single (based around the offbeat "Kites", by SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND) in the early months of 1980, their label finally stumped up the readies for an extensive tour of the States with BLACKFOOT and labelmates NAZARETH. Although the jaunt went swimmingly, however, the lads arrived back home to discover that Mountain Records had gone into liquidation while they were away! Needless to say, their already-made plans to record a further LP were immediately laid to waste, not only that, their equipment remained stranded in America and the musicians were unable to retrieve it, so this unfortunate chain of events was to prevent the band members from undertaking any further musical activities for a considerable time. In the event, they gradually drifted apart and began working with other local outfits (most notably, their vocalist established his own venture, the PAUL DALE BAND), although there was never a point at which MARSEILLE officially disbanded. By early 1982, however, it appeared that their financal and personal situations had now improved significantly, and the majority of the original members decided to have another crack at the big time. Neil Buchanan, Keith Knowles and Steve Dinwoodie drafted in new guitarist Mark Hay and completed the line-up with vocalist Sav Pearse, formerly with local hopefuls SAVAGE LUCY. In due course, they hooked up with a different management company, and soon began to get their career back on track. After getting back into the swing of things with some low-key gigs and a brand-new demo featuring a selection of never-released material such as "Raise Hell", "Yesterday's Hero" and the unfeasibly superb "CC Riders", the latter illustrating a new-found ability to rock it up in best BLACK AXE or CRUCIFIXION fashion) MARSEILLE were scheduled to make their vinyl comeback with a much-heralded three track EP due to be released in the early months of 1983 on Next Records, a label owned (conveniently enough) by their recently-acquired manager. The tracks selected for inclusion were the all new Till It's Gone". "Open Fire" and "We Got Rock'n' Roll", although, strangely enough, this release never actually came to fruition. In the long term, the outfit decided to hold out for a better deal, and the much-anticipated offer from Ultra Noise) finally came their way in the early months of 1984, by which time Mark Hay had handed in his notice and been swiftly replaced by another former SAVAGE LUCY member, Mark Railton. Even before the group were able to start work on their comeback album, however, the ambitious Neil Buchanan had also flown the coop in order to move into television work (he's still there, incidentally, presenting a popu lar TV show for kids called 'Art Attack), after which the MARSEILLE lads elected to continue as a slimmed-down quartet rather than waste any further time looking for a suitable replace ment Their new album (»Touch The Night) appeared a few months later, and saw the revived outfit operating in a highly competent and polished style of melodic rock, evoking comparisons with the likes of CHROME MOLLY, DEF LEPPARD and ALKATRAZZ, some stand-out tracks including excellent opener "Crazy", "After The Fall" and "Open Fire". Sadly, though, when it came to choosing a single to promote the release, Ultra Noise plumped for one of the album's weaker cuts, Walking On A High Wire", and it failed to storm the charts in the manner they had anticipated. Within a fairly short space of time, therefore, MARSEILLE (who had recruited second guitarist Toby Martin before the end of the year) were released from contract (Ultra Noise actual by ly went into liquidation in the spring of 1985) and vocalist Sav Pearse soon deserted the sinking ship, hooking up with Dutch act HIGHWAY CHILE for a short time. Although the remaining four members initially believed that they would be able to carry on without their departed frontman (they toyed with the notion of adopting a few identity and reinventing themselves as a musically-different proposition), the lads soon lost the will to continue, and MARSEILLE, having suffered more than their fair share of misfortune and disappointment over the years, finally called it a day for good, with none of the former members (with the exception of Toby Martin, who went on to join SHOGUN) making a significant further impression on Britain's rock scene at any stage thereafter.

Vergüenza ajena

Que grupazo y que temazo....Aguante el Metal !!!