by Ian Carroll
Mid nineties, the hardcore/ thrash/ macho thing was happening, circling us (TV) like Apache Indians around a small gathering of fun loving cowboys. This didn't affect us in the slightest; in fact it made us more stubborn about writing pop songs, not only with infectious hook lines, but with longevity too, (as we have recently proved).
So when we played on stage at Donington in between Slayer and Pantera it was quite a feat winning over the audience to the point of them all singing "doo wop" and waving their tattooed arms in the air! Think we got away with that one.
Another time we hijacked several golf buggies and rampaged the Donington site, picking up punters here and there, turning them over now and then (buggies not punters). Needless to say there was a Wildheart or two involved as well!” Mark Yates (Terrorvision – Guitar)
“When Skin was asked to play in 1994 it was a dream come true. The adrenaline was so high at the time I don’t remember much about it, but we filmed our video to ‘Tower of strength’ at Donington so when I watch it, you kind of relive it.
When I was thirteen, my sister ran the ZIGZAG club, a venue that held about a thousand people. One particular evening a band called Girl headlined, and at soundcheck there guitarist let me play his Les Paul, and stand on stage and play through his Marshall Stack. That guitarist was Phil Collen, now With Def Leppard, and that day changed my life.
In 2009 Def Leppard are headlining and Skin will be playing on the same stage, same day. Unbelievable.”
Myke Gray (Skin – Guitar)
“Donington was an unforgettable experience for me.”
Bobby Hambel (Biohazard – Guitar)
“There was no festival in 1993, I cannot for the life of me remember why it was not held as it was originally planned, we were now starting to worry that all was not right in the camp and that our beloved fest would soon come to an end. This festival had for so many years been an exciting regular part of our lives that we assumed that it would be with us forever.
‘94 was the first time that the organisers would be experimenting with a second stage, I looked on this idea mostly positively as it could cut out waiting times between bands and allow us to see twice as many. On the minus side, if you wished to see all or most of the bands on the second stage it would limit time for wondering around the stalls, queuing for beer/ toilets etc.
‘94 was also the first time that the fest had been held in any other month than June, I did not particularly like this idea as it meant that the headliner would not be playing the majority of their set in darkness, I do not know why it changed but it sucked in my opinion.
We arrived late this year due to not being too bothered about the first few bands on and also bad traffic on the usual approach roads around the airport, in fact we arrived just in time to see Biohazard being kicked off for allowing the crowd to invade the stage, I believe they managed two songs before the organisers intervened. I cannot say I was too upset with this outcome as I was not and am never likely to be a fan of theirs.
Biohazard were on the new second stage, this was obviously a lot smaller than the main stage and was located at the back of the arena to the left, an ideal location which did not take long to walk too if you were standing at the back or right side of the main stage.
After watching another brutally efficient display from Pantera which was not too dissimilar to their last several years earlier, we headed back to the second stage to catch Skin. My most vivid memory of Skin’s set is of the two six and a half foot ‘Hair Bear Bunch’ look-alikes that kept blocking our view despite us trying to move out of the way, this did not totally ruin the set as the band played a good sing-along set which included good time ditties such as 'Look but Don’t Touch', 'Tower of Strength' and their slightly changed cover of EMF’s 'Unbelievable'. Skin didn’t seem to last too much longer, they produced at least one more album (may have been two but if so I did not hear it) then just seemed to vanish from the scene. Skin reformed to play last years Download and I was surprised by the amount of people who could not remember them, even stranger was that two of them had been standing with us watching them during their ‘94 performance, memories and fish spring to mind.
Next up were Brazilian Thrash giants Sepultura, none of our group had gotten into this particular take on the genre so the unanimous decision was to take root at the back of the arena and fill our faces. Max and his troupe seemed to go down well and they seemed to be doing what they did well enough but it was just not for me, I could appreciate them musically but have never been a fan of those bands that utilise the Growl/ Grunt/ What the hell is he going on about approach to the vocals.
Not too impressed with the late afternoon lineup of Terrovision and the Wildhearts (who I now love), we decided to make the traditional wonder around the stands. Food stalls have never been a highlight of any festival but I remember them as being worse in the ‘80’s and ‘90's, the variety was poorer than now but the prices were equally as extortionate. If we could get away with it we never purchased any food from these rip off merchants which was not too bad a ploy with a one day event as long as you took adequate provisions. The other stalls also had less variety on offer than there is today. Whereas you can now buy anything from a skull on a stick to an inflatable three piece suite, then there was not much more on offer other than the stalls selling Official MOR and Band tour T Shirts and the odd stall selling flags, posters or non souvenir shirts.
Extreme were an odd choice for special guests on the bill that day; they had risen to a fairly lofty level with their 'Pornograffitti' album but had also driven everybody mad with the 'More than Words' acoustic ballad that seemed to be played everywhere you went, the last straw for me was hearing it in a DIY shop one day. So, as the early evening sun shone, Gary, Nuno and the boys tried their best to get a reaction out of a crowd that had largely been listening to harder edged stuff all day. I didn’t mind them too much and I thought that they put in a decent energetic performance of some of there harder, funkier tracks like 'Decedance Dance' and 'Get The Funk Out'. That was all ruined of course when they got their stools out for a tortuous version of the dreaded 'More than .........', they lost the crowd completely from then on but gained plenty of plastic receptacles from the ‘boo boys’. They were an odd choice for special guests and were always going to be battling against the rabid Sepultura and Pantera fans.
Aerosmith were of course excellent, treating us to the usual greatest hits set with a smattering of tracks from their current long player 'Get a Grip'. It was an exactly what it says on the tin set, Steven danced, twirled and jumped, Joe created his usual cool poses whilst playing faultlessly and the other boys did as they do best, play well but not wonder from their spots very often. I enjoyed it and everybody around us also seemed to also. Aerosmith were at the height of their commercial success and a good choice for headliner, it’s a shame they started to lose the plot not long after.
Overall ‘94 had its high points (Aerosmith and 2 stages) and lows (June date and not the greatest line-up) but it was still a great day out and I would not have missed it for the world.”
Roger Moore (Glinton, Peterborough)
“The festival was moved from its usual mid August slot to early June. This didn’t improve the weather any….it was bitterly cold.
There were also two stages this year.
On the smaller stage both Cry of Love and Skin both impressed. Skin released their set on a series of CD singles shortly after the show.
Aerosmith returned to headline the main stage. Although not as good as their support slot four years earlier, they still put on a solid show. Due to a lack of late trains home (we were using this option once again…the gang was now down to two stalwarts) we had to miss the last portion of Aerosmiths’ show. We could see the fireworks in the distance as we travelled down the Derbyshire country lanes towards the station.
Extreme were OK, but not as good as I had witnessed at the NEC at couple of years earlier.
Other bands such as Pantera and Sepultura were in
my opinion amongst the worst bands ever to perform at Donington. The ‘new’ Donington crowd seemed to think otherwise though and they both went down well.
The future didn’t look too good through my eyes.”
Paul Hartshorn (Chesterfield)
“I have been attending Donington since 84 but something different from the usual carnage occurred in 1994.
Myself and some friends had been watching a very enjoyable set from the band Cry Of Love on the second stage and decided to chill out at the rear of the main arena when Kelly (?) the lead singer of COL walked by so we called him over for a chat and to congratulate him on a good set.
Kelly sat down and chewed the fat for a while and then noticed one of our group, a mad man by the name of Eastie, was chugging away on a 5ltr drink container full of a dark sticky liquid. Kelly decided he would ask Eastie for a swig, Eastie duly obliged and told Kelly it would put hairs on his chest. Unbeknown to Kelly the dark sticky liquid was a mix of vodka, southern comfort, whiskey & jack Daniels! Kelly took a good swig, his eyes went as wide as dinner plates his skin turned green and foolishly he tried to stand and walk off nonchalantly........ hence the never forgotten sight of an American rock singer staggering sideways down the hill making excuses that he had to meet someone back stage!
Hilarious and one of many fond memories of the Monsters of rock.”
Simon Rucastle (Carnforth)
1995
Metallica,
Therapy?, Skid Row, Slayer,
Slash’s Snakepit, White Zombie,
Machine Head, Warrior Soul,
Corrosion of Conformity
This year the second stage had disappeared and the festival had another name; instead of MOR it was re-named by the headliners Metallica as 'Escape From The Studio' as they were taking a break from the studio, whilst recording 'Load'.
First on was some 'old school thrash' from Corrosion Of Conformity, favourites of Metallica and then followed by the whacked out ‘Acid Punk’ rock of Warrior Soul.
Machine Head made their first of many appearances at the Donington site and left quite an impression on the people who caught all of their set. This was a band that had ‘staying power’ and are now headlining arena shows in their own right across the UK, 15 years later.
The eerie 'horror metal' of White Zombie would have always been a popular choice on the day; the return of Rob Zombie is still eagerly awaited and the Download festival forums are always full of people requesting that Rob plays every year. White Zombie made the most of their short trip to the UK and played Donington on the Saturday, following it up with an appearance at the Reading Festival on the Sunday.
The return to Donington by Slash was a popular choice to watch in the mid afternoon slot and was a lot less eventful than the Guns N' Roses appearance in 1988 when the crowd disaster had struck. Slash's Snake Pit was a bluesier band and really just a vehicle for the guitar skills of Mr Hudson himself. Slash would return again in 2005 & 2007 with Velvet Revolver, a more popular band and a proper group, including Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots on vocal duties.
Slayer made their 2nd appearance in the same spot on the bill as they had occupied 3 years before. Slayer did exactly what it said on the tin, thrash, thrash, quality thrash.
Skid Row were back again this time one position below the guest slot , but still an incredibly popular choice, with an extremely vigorous and energetic performance. Sebastian Bach was still with the band and when they lost him the main focus of the band was gone, though the amazing songs were still there as a testament to their once greatness.
Therapy? had now risen to the 'special guest' slot and even had a cello player, something that wouldn't be seen at Donington until the debut of Apocalyptica in 2003.
Metallica were back to headline the festival for the first time and they were now a band that was unstoppable and musical world domination seemed to be the name of the game.
Playing some of the most precise thrash that had ever graced the stage at the festival, Metallica were such a popular choice most of the people in attendance.
Metallica would be back to headline for the 2nd time in 2004, followed by their 3rd slot in 2006.
So, another Monsters Of Rock had finished, but we didn't know that the following year would be the festivals Swansong; the end of an era, the end of the line, final orders etc. Monsters Of Rock was coming to an end and a much needed different brand of festival would be needed to fill the gap, this would happen with the beginning of Download in 2003, 8 years later.
“Metallica headlines Donington 1995!!!
We were in the middle of the recording of ‘Load’ and took a break from the studio to come over and play Donington. I think we played a warm up show underneath the Astoria, in the Astoria 2; it was the first time that we played a couple of the songs that ended up being ‘Devil Dance’ and ‘2 x 4’ that ended up on ‘Load’ and ‘Re-Load’.
It was great to get out of the studio and it was obviously great to headline Donington. It was a very relaxing day; I remember that whenever we played Donington, we were always wound up and nervous and kinda all over the place, but I remember that there was a really calm atmosphere backstage. I remember that we were just hanging out talking to Sebastian Bach and Kerry King and it was just a really effortless day. Everyone was in a good mood and there were no dramas.
We opened up with ‘Breadfan’ and we played two new songs and we got do a full 2 ½ hour set; it was an incredible day.
Afterwards we went for a ‘piss up’ down in Birmingham at Edwards Number Eight club. I remember that all the Metallica guys, the Skid Row and Slayer guys ‘caravanned’ down to Birmingham; we were off the freeway, or the motorway as you call it and we had all been drinking beers and everybody had to piss. We literally stopped somewhere outside of Birmingham, it could have been Wolverhampton or somewhere and the guys from Slayer, Skid Row and Metallica got out and all just started ‘peeing’ on some guys lawn. We were standing there at 2 o’clock in the morning on the way to the ‘After Donington Piss Up Party’ and we were all pissing on some guy’s lawn in a suburb of Birmingham, it was quite funny.”
Lars Ulrich (Metallica – Drums)
“Metallica were playing Donington as a ‘comeback gig’ and they’ve got a more hardcore fan base that like Metallica and nothing else, so it was a lot more difficult for us.
We had a cellist onstage with us at this point, as we’d brought out ‘Infernal Love’ it had gone Gold and sold a lot of records and we were second from top.
I remember the first half of the set was a lot more difficult because it was Metallica and they weren’t really ‘indie friendly’ and we were in that cult kind of thing, straddling both camps.
It came to opening for Metallica and we’d sold all these records around the world and we opened with the cellist onstage and the Joy Division cover of “Isolation”. I remember being conscious for the first few songs that this could go either way.
There was a hardcore of Metallica fans down the front giving us really bad looks. We kind of managed to pull it off towards the end, but it was a lot more nerve-racking than ‘94. People who were fourteen or fifteen absolutely loved it.
I think a lot of the ‘old guard’ had been put out of joint by the like of ‘Troublegum’ and Faith No More, Helmet and Grunge and the fact that we had short hair.
I do remember that it got a lot more corporate for us and we had a big promotional tent backstage and we were whisked ‘from pillar to post’ doing lots more interviews, but at the end of the day the gig was still fantastic.”
Andy Cairns (Therapy? – Vocals/Guitar)
“WAKE UP!!!! You’ve got five minutes to get on stage!” was the first thing I heard that day.
We had fallen asleep in the tour bus late the night before, and no one had bothered to wake up me or Rob that morning at Donington. Although we were in the middle of the line up that afternoon, it was afternoon, and time to perform. We threw on some clothes, and were immediately whisked on stage –
no coffee, no warm-up, and only the biggest, most important show ever! Talk about an adrenaline o.d. – waking up to so many thousands of people – it was amazing!
We had the unusual title of being the first band ever to play Donington and Reading back to back, which many bands would covet but made us extremely nervous. What if the metalheads thought we were too alternative, and vice versa at Reading? We had heard nightmarish stories about how the British fans might react – bottles of piss hurled at you, sharpened coins, you name it. It was nerve wracking, walking out on to that stage. Especially jolted awake just seconds earlier.
Of course the crowd was fantastic, and it definitely is in the top 3 White Zombie shows ever. Someone recently showed me footage of us that day, and it looks as crazy as I remember it. Besides the pleasant shock of 80,000 fans going nuts, my next strongest impression was the sharp pain in my ribs: the stage seemed as big as a football field, and we were doing our normal stage thing of running back and forth like nuts. I was completely winded by the middle of the first song, but had way too much adrenaline to slow down.
Afterwards I found out I had personally garnered another title that day: “2nd Female to Grace the Stage since Doro”. I’m sure there have been many more since me, but it was a newsworthy at the time, and I suppose I was the only female musician there that day. That seems weird now, but at the time it was normal.
After our performance we met Kirk from Metallica, and he invited us to stop by his private tent for Martinis later, which was very cool of him. Next thing you know Skid Row are on stage, and Bas is kicking ass! He owned that day; I have never seen someone so “on” and working a crowd like that. The last thing I remember was watching Metallica from the wings, finally evening, outdoors, lights, action, amazing. A perfect day, if only there had been coffee and breakfast!”