Siege

(c’84-’88) Mark ‘Conquer’ Conker (bass), Tony Castro (drums), Sharon Thompson (vocals), and Les Black (guitar / backing vocals)

Alton based quartet, Siege – not to be confused with the earlier Bridlington band of the same name – was another local New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, although of the late NWOBHM period.

Shortly after forming they released “Demo 84” a 6-song: “Gods of War“, “Anubis“, “Don’t Punish Me“, “Siege“, “He Will Rise“, and “Climax” cassette demo. Shortly after, the band dropped Castro bringing in Ray Lawrence on drums. The band supported Marseille at The Royal, Guildford on 15 November ’84 and headlined at the venue, with Hoax in support, before the New Year.

The Royal hosted the band, as headliners again, on 27 February ’85. That same year saw the self-released “Goddess of Fire” [THM1], a 7″ single on the band’s ‘True Hampshire Metal Records’ label, the B-side of which carried “Don’t Punish Me” from the original demo. This was mastered at Utopia Studios and produced by Ken Marshall. Guesting on keyboards for the single was Rachel Glover; and while the information sheet/sleeve originally listed Conquer, he was replaced on bass by Dave Glover on this recording. In fact, only Thompson remained from the original line-up as Al Stringer had replaced Black on guitar earlier in the year.

Black and Conquer returned at some point and Black was back writing the bands material. They also appeared at the Marquee, London during ’86. It’s reported on various sites that in ’86 the band spent a couple of days recording and mixing four songs: ‘Red Light’, ‘Wait for Me’, ‘How Does it Feel‘, and ‘Wasted Time’, for Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1, in the Beeb’s Maida Vale Studios. But BBC records give a date of 16 January ’87 as the day in the studio with the show was broadcast on 6 February ’87.

A demo cassette single, titled “Wait for Me“, hit the scene in ’87, with ‘Red Light‘ on the flipside. On 13 June ’87, Siege supported Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts at Basins, Portsmouth and while the headliners receive a princely £425, Siege got £50. Siege returned to Basins on 1 July ’87, to headline after Antigua opened. On the 2 October ’87, Siege kicked off that month’s campaign of sound attacks at The Royal Oak, Passfield, then up to Bumbles, London the next night. Basins was visited again on 7 October ’87 for a £60 paycheck and four days later the band were in Birmingham, on 11 October, at The Mermaid. Almost two weeks passed before the bands next appearance at Tunnel Club, London on 24 October, followed by The Royal Standard, London on 27 October, and the Village Hall, Liphook on 31 October ’87. But, by early ’88 the band had disintegrated.

From 2012 onward Lawrence, Stringer, and Dave Glover have made a few ‘comeback’ appearances as Siege that included Brofest IV, the classic rock and metal festival based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, appearing on 21 February 2016 with Martin Turner, Weapon UK, Dealer, Seventh Son, Millennium, Oxym, Omen Searcher, and Satan’s Empire. In 2020, the bands “Goddess of Fire” was included Hear No Evil Recordings’ compilation “NWOBHM Thunder – New Wave of British Heavy Metal: 1978-1986“.

Thompson regrettably passed in 2010 and we are trying to ascertain if this is Sharon-Jayne Thompson who performed at the Football Club, Petersfield and The Queen, Greatham in 1992. Black also appeared in Stone Creed and Dave Glover in The Chase.

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