The NWOBHM is generally accepted to have started in the late 1970s with artists such as Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Venom fusing earlier heavy metal sounds with a punk DIY ethic, speed and intensity.
“The old school was fading out and the new school was coming in, that’s why it got labelled as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal,” recalls Holmes.
“Bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, they didn’t die but interest was being created by these new bands; Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon.”
In 1981, Motörhead and Barnsley-based band Saxon, considered early members of the NWOBHM, broke into the top 10 of the UK album charts, signalling the start of the commercial success of the movement.
However, by the mid-1980s many NWOBHM bands, including Sheffield’s Def Leppard, began moving towards a more glam metal and radio-friendly sound which led to the movement’s decline.
“It just faded away through the 80s when different stuff happened and people moved on into different walks of life and that,” says Holmes.