On Saturday 25th of October at our Open day at Wolverhampton Art Gallery we have some special guests in conversation with Kerrang! Radio DJ – the legendary Johnny Doom, a stalwart of the Midlands Metal scene.
Jim Simpson 12am – 1pm in conversation with Johnny Doom
Jim Simpson
Birmingham-based Big Bear, so called after the nickname given to Simpson by legendary DJ, John Peel, runs one of the oldest independent labels in the UK, specialising in jazz, blues and swing artists, although it has also been successful in other music genres.
Jim is the unsung hero of Heavy Metal, he ran the progressive club, Henry’s Blueshouse where he inspired Robert Plant, Jon Bonham, Judas Priest and a plethora of others all of whom came see the legendary American Blues artists Simpson programmed back in the day.
He managed Sabbath for their first three albums, which included the seminal ‘Black Sabbath’ album, then Paranoid and Master of Reality.
Digby Pearson, Earache Records founder 2pm – 3pm in conversation with Johnny Doom
The label has made its name releasing some of the most brutal albums of the past two decades. Earache has been home to such outfits as the legendary Napalm Death and Godflesh as well as a host of other extreme bands. Earache’s artists have set the standard for cutting-edge, uncompromising music.
But just as inspiring is the story of how it came to be. Nowadays, internet wizardry or a truckload of cash can be a band’s best friend, but in the early days, Earache had neither. All it had was one man; founder, patriarch and self-confessed obsessive, Digby ‘Dig’ Pearson.
Dig built Earache the old-fashioned way – through word-of-mouth, determination and an unswerving belief in his bands, though his outlook on the last two decades is a tad modest under the circumstances.
Wolverhampton Art Gallery – Open Day Saturday 25th October 10am – 4.30pm
Free Event – refreshments provided – all welcome