Saracen

Derbyshire's Saracen were a hard, verging on progressive, rock ensemble that became wrongly associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal -- as much due to the timing (1981) of their self-released debut album, Heroes, Saints & Fools, as for their leather jackets and handlebar mustaches. Having said that, the band never tried to overtly latch onto the movement's coattails, and were all fine musicians in their own right, particularly singer Steven Bettney, who possessed a rich and powerful voice. Completed by Robert Bendelow (guitar), Richard Lowe (keyboards), Barry Yates (bass), and John Thorne (drums), Saracen earned an early patronage from influential Friday Rock Show presenter Tommy Vance, who invited them to record a few radio sessions and helped bolster their commercial prospects as they readied new single