Wolfbane were formed by Jem Mills, Derrick Hocking and Phil Urquhart in the mid 1980s. They covered songs by Iron Maiden and Metallica to name a few, as well as a large amount of original material.
I joined the band in the spring of 1986 when Jem left to join another local band 'Ashmata'. Jem was to learn the error of his ways later that year when the new Wolfbane blew Ashmata off the stage at the local battle of the bands concert held in the Salisbury Arts Centre.
The two pictures on this page are from my first gig with the band in the Fountain Inn at Whiteparish. The reason we all looked like we had been working out was because the gear we used to take with us was so heavy. In Graham's case, he never used to lift anything.
The line up in the picture above, from left to right is as follows: Derrick Hocking - Guitar, Walter Eddowes - Guitar, Graham Andrews - Bass, Phil Urquhart - Drums, and Chris Moon - Vocals
Wolfbane played a number of good and bad venues from The Salisbury Arts Centre to The Joiners Arms Southampton, Tents (The Custom Car Show where we were shot at) various pubs and the odd pig sty.
Totally Professional
Being totally professional we even had business cards printed (mainly because Derrick worked at a printers). Over a period of 18 months the line up changed, with Graham Andrews being replaced by George Lennon on the bass, and myself taking over the singing duties after Chris Moon left.
The Wolfbane days consisted of wearing blue and white striped trousers, t-shirts with the sleeves cut off, drinking Brown and Bitter, lugging Marshall stacks about and Graham Andrews always borrowing my brothers bass.
Phil Urquhart was to become the drummer in a majority of the bands I was to get involved in. This was mainly because it seemed good policy to keep in contact with someone who usually owed me money. In addition to this, Phil was also a really good musician, and more often than not the best drummer in the band.
Wolfbane used to practice at a variety of places around Whiteparish and Salisbury, from Britford Hall, the Village Hall and Youth Centre both in Whiteparish.
This period also generated the largest number of dodgy reasons not to practice, Derrick being the most inventive, using variations of the "I can't practice because I've got to either mow the lawn, or get my dad some nails.
However, for the most part Wolfbane was an enjoyable experience. We got to test out a new studio complex at TVS studios Southampton, thanks to Phil's dad. This provided us with a professional video, which to this day Phil claims he has but like his wallet has never been able to lay his hands on it.
We played some great gigs and laid the foundations for some lasting friendships. Wolfbane were heavy metal, we had the van, the gear, the attitude and debts.