The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast

1982 saw the birth of the 80s first supergroup with Asia made of prog legends John Wetton (King Crimson, Uriah Heep, UK), Steve Howe (Yes), Geoff Downes (Buggles, Yes) and Carl Palmer (ELP). They achieved great success with their eponymous first album thanks to the worldwide sensation Heat of the Moment and some Godley & Creme videos that ruled MTV. Asia was the #1 selling record in the US that ye...

Tormato is an album that only hardcore Yes fans seem to know about. Without huge hit singles and a non-Roger Dean cover that many people do not like (including famously some of the members of the band), their 1978 offering often flies under the radar. But thanks to Kevin Mulryne, co-host of The Yes Music Podcast and author of the book Yes - The Tormato Story you can learn the most extraordinary de...

Terry Reid began performing and touring as a professional at 15 in the UK. As a teenager he opened for The Rolling Stones, Cream and Jethro Tull. He was offered the lead singer spot in Deep Purple from Ritchie Blackmore and introduced Robert Plant to Jimmy Page. He's worked and played with so many people over the years but he's been gigging out with George Kapitanelis and his New Jersey based Cosm...

When we heard an advance copy of Rival Sons new album Darkfighter, we were instant fans of the band and desperately wanted to speak to someone about this rocking new record. We were happily obliged by Founder/Guitarist/Songwriter Scott Holiday - Mr. Fuzzlord himself!! Scott joined us from the road in the US ahead of a schedule that will take Rival Sons to Europe, onto some huge festival stages and...

Ronnie James Dio was a legend in the heavy metal community. He first hit the road in the 50s but evolved into a metal god in the 70s with Elf and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. That led to taking over the vocal duties in Black Sabbath on two epic albums in the early 80s, Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules. But Ronnie grew disillusioned with being a hired hand or replacement and decided to form his own band...

April 29, 2023 in Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam saw the first 2nd night (if that makes sense) of Metallica's M72 World Tour - No Repeat Weekend where you get two totally different setlists and 2 different opening acts. On Episode 127 we talked about how the setlist was so killer, there was no way the 2nd night would be as good - but it was still awesome. We talked about how Kirk's sound was off...

Metallica have always been trailblazers in the world of heavy metal and performance. Over the last 4+decades they have entertained audiences around the world and sit on the throne as The Kings of Metal. Though at this point in their career they could coast as a nostalgia act and just play the hits, they are not resting on their laurels. On the heels of the release of their 72 Seasons album, their...

Men at Work hit the big time in 1983 thanks to some great tunes and quirky videos which were all over MTV. Their first album, 1981's Business As Usual, sold over 15 million copies thanks to hits like Who Can It Be Now? and Down Under. But thanks to disinterent from the record company, the band were slow to break in the US. Finally, after worldwide success outside of the US, the album was finally r...

In 1978, the US saw the debut of one of the greatest guitar heroes of all time, Eddie Van Halen, However, across the pond another guitar god was releasing his first record as well - Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. With his folksy songwriting, authentic vocal style and masterful, finger-picking guitar style, Dire Straits 1978 debut showed us what this little band from the north of England were made...

Van Halen were about the biggest hard rock band in the world around 1988. The headlined the Monsters of Rock Tour over Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken & Kingdom Come and had big hits with their 2nd album featuring Sammy Hagar, OU812. On the heels of 5150 which followed the departure of David Lee Roth, Van Halen seemed poised for bigger and better things. But OU812 sold about half of what 5150 sold in...

Marillion never got the memo that by 1983 you weren't supposed to do progressive rock the way Genesis, Yes, Camel and others did in the 1970s. Despite their debut coming during the New Wave era of MTV, Marillion established a style and sound that have sustained them for over 40 years even if it wasn't in vogue at the time. The knock on them in the US is that they sounded too much like Peter Gabrie...

U2 released Songs of Surrender, a new compilation of some of their best songs stripped down and reworked, on St. Patrick's Day 2023. We knew that was coming but what was a bit of a surprise was on the same day they released a documentary/performance via Disney+. Titled Bono & The Edge - A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman, it captures the legendary singer & guitarist without their bandmates...

Iron Maiden are one of the biggest bands in the world, touring the planet in their own customized 747 flown by lead singer Bruce Dickinson. But in 1983, Maiden were still forging their way, trying to solidify their lineup and making their name through relentless touring. After the success of Number of the Beast, the band wanted to take things to the next level and with the addition of Nicko McBrai...

David Bowie achieved a cult following and critical acclaim in the 1970s for his glam-rock, gender bending image and style. He was a huge influence to artists all around the world and is the 9th best selling artist in the UK. However, huge commercial success eluded him, especially in the US. And following the murder of John Lennon in 1980, Bowie decided not to tour and became a bit of a recluse at...

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon turns 50 in March and we want to celebrate this groundbreaking progressive rock album the way we always do - relating our personal stories of discovering the record, the band, seeing them play live, interviewing their members and going track x track. Dark Side is one of the biggest selling albums of all time (50 million+ sales worldwide) and changed the trajector...

In March of 1993, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds) and David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple) were brought together by A&R legend John Kalodner to create a hard rock album in the midst of grunge. They almost called the band Legends or North and South but settled on Coverdale Page to combine Coverdale's raspy vocals with Page's extraordinary guitar work. For Jimmy Page fans who had been...

In 1978, Cheap Trick were much like their friends from KISS - they were working hard on the road, putting on great live shows but their studio albums weren't making much of a dent in the charts. However, thanks to opening for bands that were doing well in Japan, Cheap Trick amassed a nice following there and earned a #1 hit with the studio version of I Want You To Want Me (which didn't chart in th...

Houses of the Holy saw Led Zeppelin grow as a band more than any of their previous 4 albums. After the enormous success of Led Zeppelin IV, the boys used some of their winnings to build home studios which allowed them to flesh more ideas and come to the studio with more robust ideas. John Paul Jones really stretched out the most showing his ability to play funk (The Crunge), arrange string section...

On our show, we often examine bands who make it big on one side of the pond, but for some reason don't hit it big on the other. This week we examine a band that was huge in the US thanks to a hit by a band that was huge in the UK. in 1983, Quiet Riot released Metal Health and, thanks to success of the Slade cover Cum On Feel The Noize, became the first heavy metal album to hit #1 on the Billboard...

It's hard to believe it's been 40 years since U2 released War in early 1983. Though U2 had been gaining ground on their first two albums Boy and October, it was War that set them on the path to superstardom. Buoyed by the big hits New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2 had really found their footing with the help of producer Steve Lillywhite. The Edge was creating amazing melodies and textures...

In 1978, Gerry Rafferty was finally freed from his old record contract with his old band Stealers Wheel, which spawned the big hit Stuck In The Middle With You (which you may remember from a certain scene in Reservoir Dogs). After several years of commuting from his home in Scotland to London to deal with his legal issues, he was finally ready to offer up his first solo album in 7 years, City to C...

Jeff Beck was one of the world's true originals. An innovator of guitar that couldn't be defined by one genre. To pay tribute to him, we examine his career from his time in The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group (with Rod Stewart & Ronnie Wood), Beck, Bogert, & Appice, through the 70s & 80s until today. He eventually abandoned playing with a pick so he could better control the sound of the Stratocaste...

By 1983 Journey had achieved huge success and had finally settled on a stable lineup with Steve Perry on vocals, Neal Schon on guitar, Jonathan Cain on the keys, Ross Valory on bass and Steve Smith on the drums. 1981's Escape would eventually go diamond (10 million in sales) in the US and coming off the tour to that megahit, they needed to bring the goods to follow it up. And did they ever on 1983...

2022 was a great year for our show as we became a part of Pantheon Podcasts, gained an amazing sponsor in RareVinyl.com and welcomed artists and musicians who we have loved and admired for years. On Part 2 of our 2022 in Review shows, we talk about how excited we were to welcome folks we've been fans of for decades like Geoff Downes (Yes, Asia), Carl Palmer (Asia, ELP), Chris Slade (AC/DC, The Fir...

The Wolf & Action Jackson took some time to reflect at the end of 2022 on all the great episodes, guests, concerts and artists we featured on the show this year. With 29 albums reviewed, 10 podcaster/writer guests, 12 concerts reviewed and 9 artist interviews we covered a lot of ground! On Part 1, we look back at the talented podcasters and writers who guested on our show and reminisce about all t...