Born in London in 1955, Londoner Gary Holton (22 September 1952 – 25 October 1985) was a child star with the Sadlers Well Opera Company, and a graduate of both the Old Vic Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Just 17 when he joined the touring company of Hair, in 1972, it was there that he began making the contacts which would serve him in such good stead when he left, two years later, and formed the Heavy Metal Kids with Mickey Waller (guitar), Danny Peyronel (keyboards), Keith Boyce (drums), and Ronnie Thomas (bass).
A raucous blend of streetwise rock, reggae, and balladry, permanently wrapped up in a Dickensian image of street urchin chic (homage to another of Holton’s childhood gigs, playing the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver), the Heavy Metal Kids cut two albums, with their eponymous debut ranking among the finest LPs of 1974. Certainly the follow-up, Anvil Chorus, could never match it for sheer maverick brilliance, and Holton quit the band in late 1976, amid a tidal wave of drug-tinged accusations. He was always a drinker, but drugs brought a new, and troubling, influence into play. Friends blamed the American tour, where the very nature of the venues where the Kids were booked lent themselves to such introductions, but whatever the cause, the rest of the group couldn’t deal with it.
Holton spent the next two years cleaning up and concentrating on his acting career again; by the time he rejoined the Heavy Metal Kids in 1978, he had landed roles in both the disco movie Music Machine and the upcoming film
version of the Who’s Quadrophenia epic. The band’s rebirth, however, was doomed. The group played a string of increasingly disheveled gigs around London, then retired to the studio with producer Mickie Most, to record theirmuch delayed (and mostly disposable) third album, Kitsch. The band then broke up.
Holton continued to record sporadically, most frequently alongside Casino Steel of punk power poppers the Boys. He also played a handful of gigs with the Damned (subbing for an absent Dave Vanian) and was one of the leading contenders to replace the late Bon Scott in AC/DC. But he was more interested in acting again, taking well-received roles in the movies Breaking Glass and Bloody Kids before finally grasping stardom in 1983, as Wayne in British TV’s Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. A light drama conceived by Quadrophenia director Francis Roddam, the weekly episodes of Pet established Holton as a British household name. He returned to the stage, in the London cast of Pump Boys and Dinettes, and was just completing the much-anticipated second series of Pet when he died from a drug overdose on
October 25, 1985. He left behind him one of the most enduring characters in British TV history, some truly memorable movie roles — and one of the greatest unknown albums ever made. (by Dave Thompson)
Stein Groven (born 1952), known by the stage name Casino Steel, is a Norwegian keyboardist and vocalist. He has played in several different rock, punk and country bands and line-ups in Norway, the UK and the US, and has released several solo albums. He was inducted into the Rockheim Hall of Fame in September 2021
At the age of 18, he moved to London, where in the 1970s he was a member of the punk rock bands Hollywood Brats and later The Boys, which is still active. In Norway, he first became known for his collaboration with Gary Holton, with whom he released four albums in the early 1980s. In 1983, he began collaborating with Claudia Scott and Ottar “Big Hand” Johansen in the country trio Claudia / Big Hand / Casino. The trio released three discs. They won the Spellemann Award 1985 in the roots & country category for the album Oh Yeah! and were nominated for the Spellemann Award 1984 in the country & western category for Fools Never Learn. His collaboration with Claudia Scott continued throughout the 1980s, first as a duo and then in the band CCCP, which also included Carlene Carter and John Payne. In 1990 he released his first solo album, Casino Steel. The following year he started the record label Revolution Records. In 2007, he started The Last Rock ‘N’ Roll Band with Honest John Plain from The Boys, among others.
He received the veteran award at the Gammleng Award 2019 and was nominated for the Rockheim Hall of Fame in 2018 and 2019 before being inducted in 2021.
In 2002, he was sentenced to 120 days in prison for gross financial fraud in the so-called GramArt case. The case received considerable media attention, with a number of well-known Norwegian musicians participating as witnesses. (wikipedia)
Heavy Metal Kids disbanded shortly after “Kitsch” was released but Gary was keen to keep on making music. After the chance to front AC/DC when their front man Bon Scot sadly passed away went begging, Gary’s chance to continue to make music was with his friend Stein Groven. Gary had met Stein, better known as Casino Steel, in 1974 when they both played at London’s famous Speakeasy club – Gary with Heavy Metal Kids and Casino with The Hollywood Brats. They walked in the same musical circles and also shared Laurie O’Leary as their manager. They instantly bonded and began drinking together on a regular basis but it wasn’t until 1980 that the idea of “Holton and Steel” was born.
Originally calling themselves “Lip Service”, Gary and Cas began on the live London club circuit, regularly playing the famous “Dingwalls” club. Cas suggested to Gary that to concentrate on their music career it would be better for them to leave the bright lights of London altogether and to record material in Stein’s native Norway.
“We basically just wanted to get away from the circus,” remembers Cas, “people were dying left, right and centre and we were both struggling with alcohol addictions and he was into some drugs. I was a wreck, and so was Gary, so we agreed to escape together. I said that I knew some people in Norway so let’s go there and get away from all the craziness.”
As 28 year old rockers, Gary and Cas thought they were already too old, but Cas’ plan worked and “Holton and Steel” drew massive crowds to their live gigs and their breakthrough came with their punk-country version of “Ruby (Don’t take your love to town)” and several singles including “Listen”, “No Reply” and “Runaway” were also released.
You have to get used to the very special sound of this LP. But then it’s a really good album that’s fun to listen to.
And Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town) was a very big hit in Norway. “Cockney” country rock !
Personnel:
Stein “Casino Steel” Groven (keyboards, vocals)
Gary Holton (vocals)
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Gunnar Andreas Berg (guitar)
Eunan Brady (guitar)
John Chivers (drums)
“Bored” Fredriksen (guitar, banjo)
Ivor Gaffy (unknown)
Bjørn Nessjø (bass)
Bård Svendsen (keyboards)
Geir “Animal” Waade (drums)
Carl Haakon Waadeland (drums)
Jon Petter Westerlund (guitar)
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Trondheim Symphony Orchestra
Tracklist:
01. I’ll Find It Where I Can (Clark/Arsdale) 2.57
02. Gary’s Song (Groven) 2.41
03. Runaway (Crook/Shannon) 2.58
04. Thinking Of You (Conway) 2.48
05. Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love To Town) (Tillis) 3.05
06. Goodnight Irene (Lomax/Ledbetter) 3.09
07. Almost Persuaded (Sherill/Sutton) 3.06
08. B-17 (Groven/Matheson) 2.46
09. Good Ol’ Gary (Groven) 2.16
10. Jimmy Brown (Groven) 3.48
Holton was found dead by his fiancée Jahnet McIllwain in his bed on 25 October 1985. He had died from an overdose of alcohol and morphine, with traces of diazepam and cannabis in his system. Pathologist Rufus Crompton said during his inquest at Hornsey, North London, that he would have been drinking less than half an hour before his death, and that the morphine would have made him unconscious within a matter of minutes.
Holton had a blood alcohol level of 199 mg and a morphine level of 0.8 mg per litre (0.5 mg per litre is considered invariably fatal).[7] He had been a drug user for several years after experiences through the music scene and was addicted to heroin, a habit he had quit some time after the first series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet had been broadcast. He was considering setting up a clinic to help others with their addictions.[citation needed]
Holton had considerable debts and had two bankruptcy orders totalling £61,000 over him. These debts were partly due to his not having paid tax since 1979, and also having a mortgage of £48,500 on his flat in Maida Vale, London. (wikipedia)
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