TRIBUTE TO COZY POWELL BY PUNK ROCK LEGENDS

A punk super group has been formed on South Tyneside and Wearside to pay tribute to one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. Decca Wade from Jarrow, drummer of the Angelic Upstarts has teamed up with Sunderland based Cockney Rejects guitar hero Tony Vanfrater and ex Red Alert bass player Tom Von Spencer (both from High Barnes) to record an updated version of Cozy Powell’s “Dance with the Devil.” The ex-Rainbow and Black Sabbath drummer was a personal friend of Decca Wade and taught him how to play parts of the complicated drum patterns that made up the song that made number three in the charts in 1974. Cozy Powell sadly lost his life in a car crash near Bristol in 1998. Ex- Whisky Priests and Toy Dolls drummer Nicky Buck from Peterlee approached Decca Wade to record the tribute to Cozy Powell. “I’ve always admired Cozy’s work and wanted to show the music world that punk musicians can really play their instruments,” he said. “This version is possibly even more technically complicated than the original and it sounds modern and fresh, I’m delighted at the way that Decca and the band have recorded this single.” Decca has named the band the Moscow Mules after a famous cocktail drink. “We’ve shown that we’ve still got the drive and enthusiasm to produce a potential hit single after all of these years in the business,” he said. “The song cuts across all musical genres and will appeal to rock, punk and even dance fans. I really believe it is the best track I’ve ever recorded.” Sponsorship for the single has been given by Ashington based business GSP (UK) Ltd who supply flowrapper machines for bakeries and food processing plants. MD Kevin Donnelly explained why he offered his help. “I knew Decca when we were younger and always admired his drumming style,” he said. “When I heard that he was looking for help financing the single I decided to help as Cozy Powell was a hero of mine too, it’s great to be part of something that could be a major hit.” Community radio station Radio Northumberland (www.radionorthumberland.com ) will be exclusively playing the track on Monday 17th September at 10pm in a special documentary show about the making of the record. New Wave presenter, Keith Newman was delighted to have been able to be in the studio with the band. “The track is awesome and Decca has said that it is the best record he has ever made. I ‘m privileged to be able to give it its first playing and hope everyone tunes in on Monday to listen”