* En anglais uniquement
Emerging in 1978 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, English rockers
Tygers of Pan Tang employ a muscular blend of melody and might that falls somewhere between
Def Leppard and
Saxon. After debuting in 1980 with the raw, chart-topping Wildcat, the band issued a string of successful LPs with more commercial aspirations and landed a pair of hits with "Hellbound" and a fiery cover of the Leiber & Stoller-penned "Love Potion No. 9." Label disputes ate up the next few years, putting a damper on their ascension, but they returned with a retooled lineup in 1985. The group ceased operations two years later, but officially re-formed in 1999 around guitarist and co-founder Robb Weir, who guided the band through a string of new studio albums, including Animal Instinct (2008), Ambush (2012), and
Tygers of Pan Tang (2016).
Hailing from the tiny town of Whitley Bay in far northeastern England,
the Tygers of Pan Tang (whose name originated from the Michael Moorcock novel Stormbringer) formed when aspiring vocalist
Jess Cox met guitarist Robb Weir at the local pub in November 1978.
Weir, along with bassist Rocky Laws and drummer
Brian Dick, had recently formed a band that combined the lessons of early-'70s heavy metal legends such as
Black Sabbath and
Deep Purple with the do-it-yourself ethos of punk -- an emerging style eventually dubbed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. After much rehearsing and gigging in the surrounding area, the foursome recorded a number of demos at Impulse Studios, whose owners (Neat Records) released their first single "Don't Touch Me There" in September 1979. Relentless touring across Britain followed as the band supported such childhood heroes as
the Scorpions and
Budgie, as well as NWOBHM peers like
Iron Maiden and
Saxon. They also signed a deal with
MCA and entered London's Morgan Studios in June to record their proper debut, Wildcat, which went straight into the British charts at number 18 upon its released in July 1980.
Looking to beef up their sound, the band added virtuoso guitarist
John Sykes just in time for their biggest gig ever at 1980's Reading Festival. Despite this promising start, however, Cox decided to quit the group at year's end, citing "musical differences" and going on to form the short-lived
Lionheart with then-recently ousted
Iron Maiden guitarist
Dennis Stratton. Ex-Persian Risk vocalist
Jon Deverill was drafted to replace him, and the revitalized
Tygers of Pan Tang set to work on their new record. Widely considered their best effort,
Spellbound hit the streets in April 1981 and was followed by another bout of touring, which kept the band nipping at the heels of NWOBHM powerhouses like
Iron Maiden,
Saxon, and
Def Leppard. Things began to unravel when
MCA forced the band to write and record a follow-up in only three weeks, though, resulting in the underrated
Crazy Nights (released in November 1981). European dates in support of
Ian Gillan followed, but guitarist
Sykes quit abruptly to join
Thin Lizzy upon their return to England (he later achieved even greater success with
Whitesnake and
Blue Murder). The band soldiered on with new six-stringer
Fred Purser, whose more commercial leanings were heard on 1982's
The Cage. Heated disputes with
MCA eventually took a toll, and after a brief attempt at self-management, the group decided to call it quits later that year, and a 1983 greatest-hits set seemed to close the book on the
Tygers of Pan Tang. Surprisingly,
Deverill and Dick would resurrect a glammed-up version of the band in 1985 with bassist
Dave Donaldson and guitarists
Steve Lamb and
Neil Shepherd. They released two albums: 1985's
The Wreck-Age and 1987's Burning in the Shade (featuring
Shepherd's replacement
Steve Thompson on guitar).
During the late '90s, a revised version of the group was assembled to play the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. The performance was released in 2001 as
Live at Wacken, while a reissued version of Live at Nottingham Rock City arrived that same year. Prompted by their continued popularity in metal circles,
the Tygers officially reunited around co-founder, guitarist, and sole original member Robb Weir for a series of new studio albums. Animal Instinct arrived in 2008 and was generally well-received by fans and critics alike, while 2012's Ambush saw the group working with producer
Chris Tsangarides, who'd helmed the band's first two full-length outings. In 2016 the band inked a deal with Scandinavian hard rock label
Mighty Music and released the eponymous
Tygers of Pan Tang.
Ritual, the group's second outing for the label, arrived in 2019. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia