My name is Glynn Lowrie and I am a 44 year old tram driver from Sheffield.I got into FM thanks to a schoolmate and had given up hope until the Firefest reunion,which I attended(I`m on the DVD if you don`t blink).Lots of my fave bands are retired/dead(Lizzy,Thunder etc)and I have had to trawl HMV for new stuff.I like the Donnas,Heavens Basement and Dragonforce and am going to see Skin and Skunk Anansie on their reunion tours.I saw FM support Quo at Sheffield Arena and stunned the faithful by singing all the words while they sat arms folded!Thought I`d better introduce myself before I got thrown out of the FM Premier League for being an imposter

HOLA I'm STU from Hebburn tyne & wear,
i am a 40 year old upholsterer who is sick of factory work and im going to have a go at care work.
lived in spain for a few years but my mrs. got sick of the heat so we moved back to uk in 2006.
found out about the frozenheart website while in spain so got quite a few c.d's sent over from townsend records.
First saw F.M. in 85' at the Newcastle city hall supporting Gary Moore and was blown away by them.
Went out at found frozen heart 12" and that was it (hooked)
seen then loads of times at the city hall/mayfair and riverside.I remember once getting bored watching magnum so went into the bar at the city hall and the guys were there,
after building up some courage i went over to ask for autographs but it was no bother to them, Pete even telling me his middle name was Stuart.[:)]my musical taste has changed a lot over the years but i will always be a F.M. fan.

This is a really cool thread (is this the right term?) I'm loving it! More please![8-)]

Oh alright then as you asked Pete!!!

I'm Craig, 39 years old originally from Altrincham in Cheshire and now in Toronto, Canada via Burnley, Hemel Hempstead, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Hemel Hempstead (again) and a small village in Suffolk between Colchester & Ipswich.

My first experience of FM was at Hammersmith Odeon on either 27th or 28th September 1985 (thank god for the internet on that one). At the time I was 15 and spotted the date in NME about a week before the gig. I asked a mate, Darren, if he was interested in going – he was. The things that stood out for both of us were the vocals, the harmonies and the lead singers spangly blue Strat shining straight back at us two rows from the back of the circle in Hammy O, that and the wonderful Phillip Lynott performing with Gary Moore that night, the only time I ever saw him live.

Roll on a few months to the following Spring and I heard by chance a song on Radio 1, That Girl. I thought I recognised it so tracked it down in my local independent record store (remember those?) and low and behold the journey was just starting. More scanning of NME / Melody Maker etc showed that FM were playing at The Marquee on Wardour St. in the very near future. Darren and I headed off to see if the band we thought were pretty good in support were any good as a headliner. Over the next 12 – 18 months Darren I must have seen the band at The Marquee more times than I care to remember, including Xmas gigs and the live recording of Let Love Be The Leader which was released as the B-side to the studio track. We even went to the British Music Fair just cos Pete was appearing on one of the stands!

As the band progressed onto The Astoria, so did we and the band of us that went to see the boys grew from 2 to 4. Hammy O’ on the Tough it Out was the peak that ‘our’ band were just about to make it. Then Chris left. I went off to college in Coventry.

I saw the band after Andy joined a number times though never as much as I did in the ‘early days’. This is no detriment to the music the band were producing or Andy’s style – I always loved his playing and the little added touches he brought to a show. In 1995 I married Erica and our first dance was Closer To Heaven. Bloody marvellous tune!
Roll forward a few years, the band had gone their own ways, I found the So! site set up by Dave T and from there got ‘chatting’ to Toni & Paul –I have no idea when this was, maybe 1999 / 2000???

So! came and went and Ant’s site at Frozenheart.co.uk was the place where FM band member news was available. When Ant was debating what to do with the site he offered it to me to look after – something I’ve neglected recently but I will try and kick it into some sort of shape before the new album is out.

I took the site on and within 3 months the first Firefest gig was announced – I had Kieran on the phone telling me FM were playing, the news was unbelievable. As a result of being involved in the site I also got the odd call from Pete, something I do miss, since we’re now in Canada and also started to speak to Dave T and Ant more often. One of the bonuses of being involved in the site was that Kieran asked me to see what the interest was in a Meet & Great at Firefest. I gave him the names and he drew them out of a hat with mine and my wife Erica’s names a certainty on the list!

The great part for me that night was meeting the boys properly for the first time ever, except for Pete. They all knew who I was and who Erica was, something which surprised me but didn’t surprise me. I always got the impression that the band were a decent bunch and this proved it and more. The night was just amazing and we even managed to sidle our way to the front row for the gig. Seeing the faces of others around us and more importantly the band themselves was more than worth the entrance money and it took me right back to ’86 & ’87 when I used to get on the front row at The Marquee with Darren. The saddest part for me that night was not having Darren there, he’d passed away the year before after complications following a heart transplant a number of years before that. At the after show speaking to the guys was just the icing on an already perfect cake. The fact they so obviously enjoyed themselves was evident and here we are today … anticipating more of the same.

I also set up the band’s MySpace page – which really needs some new music on it Pete!!!!!! – which I try and keep on top of when things allow. I do because I love the band and what they’ve done over the years, go bless ‘em and long may it continue!

I really wish I could be in Nottingham in October but finances just won’t allow it – I just hope I get to see FM again!!!!

Can i suggest that this thread is pinned at the top of the board[8-)]

Here goes then. 49 and counting (thankfully) work as stage manager for er .....er.... FM, that's it, FM.

Live in Redhill Surrey, with Ali who also organises the Merchandise on gig days. Bit quiet recently, but soon to get busy?!

First contact with the band was when a mate lent me Takin' it to the Streets in god knows when. Then bought the back catalogue. Saw them prob half a dozen times before the split. Never met any of em but my old mate Jem had became keyboard player.

I've known Jem since 1977 and gigged with him a couple of bands I was in and also 'roadied' for Tobruk in the early days.

When Firefest 4 was announced he asked me down to a rehearsal studio in west London to see if I was interested in helping him initially. (he does have a rather large collection of keys. It fills a whole room in his West Country mansion). Got the keyboard tech job, which morphed into bass tech as well(thats my instrument of choice)and now because I'm a bit of a list maker and don't forget much, thats morphed into stage/tour/dogs body manager. I also take quite a few of the promo and live stills for the band as well.

Really wierd when I met them at that reharsal, as it was a bit like have your own private gig........ Great bunch of blokes, the most unpretentious, underrated and talented I've ever worked with. Steve Church

Nice to see you on the site Steve!
Keep looking in[8-)]

I'll never forgive you for the Razorblack you tube entry..........MDC

Afternoon everyone,
Rich here from East Yorkshire,
Married to Karen (just had our 25th anniversary!). Becky & Hollie (and Sid the dog) complete the troupe. I’m also Manager of Holme Rovers in the FM league. I work it the cut & thrust of the retail shopfitting industry, drink too much wine, play guitar and am just about to try & set up a little Apple based recording facility, aiming to digitally capture years worth of musical idea’s stored up inside the old grey matter that are just waiting to be unleashed. (well that’s the plan, but ask me again how its going in five years time!)
I first discovered FM when an airing of the “That Girl” video (anybody remember “The Power Hour” TV show?) awoke me from my snooze in the early hours of a Saturday morning after a Friday night out on the beer.
I went out the same day and managed to acquire a copy of “Indiscreet” on cassette from “Our Price” in York, the vinyl copies had sold out. Played it to death, well, until “Jaws 3”, (pet name for the cassette player in the Ford Capri) had chewed it up once & for all. A couple of weeks later I managed to get hold of a copy of the album on vinyl & the rest is history. I think I’ve got just about everything that was ever released, a feat I am really proud of considering we’re talking the internet / Ebay era’.
My FM collection was built up from trawling the Record Fairs & spotting traders adverts in Record Collector magazine. I remember genuine excitement when I spotted something rare, for example; the Jap CD imports of “Paraphernalia” & similarly a promo copy of ”Aphrodisiac” (single sheet cover but with three unreleased bonus tracks, WOW!) or being on holiday in some remote area of France & finding a promo CD single of “Closer to Heaven”, sandwiched in-between Val Doonican’s Greatest Hits & by coincidence, Romeo’s Daughter’s first album also on CD, (naturally I bought them both, Val & Romeo’s!). I wasn’t always so lucky though and there was genuine dis-appointment when I paid £30 for another rarity that turned out to be them bloody Prog. Rockers from Canada! Oh well!
We first saw the band live supporting Bon Jovi in Leicester, followed by a gig at the “Central Park club” in Burton a couple of weeks after. A tight little venue that, I think Pete nearly knocked himself out on a low Air conditioning cassette sited just above the drum kit & Chris fell over backwards but still managed to keep playing his Flying Vee throughout the misdemeanour! From this point on Karen & I were hooked and travelled many miles to see the band a.
We didn’t realise until a long time afterwards that Steve & Chris were in Wildlife and we’d seen them supporting Michael Schenker at Sheffield City Hall in ’83. I think I’d probably seen Mr Jupp previously beating the skins for Samson, who I managed to catch regretfully only on a couple of occasions, the most memorable being a gig in York 1979 / 80? (To promote their “Survivors” album with a certain Bruce “Bruce” Dickinson on vocals). Are the rumours true that Pete Jupp was alias Thunderstick??!! (Joke!)
I’m starting to waffle now! This is turning into the longest essay I’ve written since I left school. So, moving swiftly on……
I was over the moon to drop on to the Frozen Heart website a few years ago (yes, embarrassed as I am, I’ll admit to being one of the contributors to the “your own work” page!) and I have much admiration for all those who kept the FM flame burning on this & the SO! Web sites. I think that the FM Official site is top dollar especially the Forum, which continues to be entertaining.
I made it to Firefest in 07, Winstanley College earlier this year with Becky, my eldest daughter, who is also a fan (well both daughters had no chance really as they were weaned on FM from birth). I have my tickets safely in hand for this October’s show & I can’t wait.
Really looking forward to the release of the new album, a Winstanley dvd? & a tour? (not greedy then?)
Here’s hoping that their continued hard work brings the guys the further the success that they rightly deserve.
R.