Handsome Beasts

Among the New Wave of British Heavy Metal's most contrived outfits, sharing that distinction with Ethel the Frog, the ironically christened Handsome Beasts drew greater attention during their era from vocalist Garry Dallaway's considerable bulk than from their recorded output. That physical attribute appeared in all its glory on the 1981 debut album Bestiality, whose provocative sleeve depicted a nude Dallaway alongside a visibly unsettled pig; the band's actual songs, meanwhile, remained secondary to their tongue-in-cheek stage behavior and sat somewhat outside the prevailing N.W.O.B.H.M. template. Although the group had first assembled in 1972, its 1980 roster—Dallaway, bassist Steven Hough, drummer Pete Malbasa, and guitarist Phil Aston, one of numerous players who passed through the lineup—had spent the preceding years honing a following via regular engagements in Midlands clubs and pubs, where their aggressive hard-rock material, humorous lyrical themes, and Dallaway's robust, soulful delivery consistently won over audiences. Eager to link the act to the surging N.W.O.B.H.M. phenomenon, management established the Heavy Metal label specifically to issue the band's initial singles—"All Riot Now" in 1980 and both "Breaker" and "Sweeties" in 1981—before releasing Bestiality, which featured guitarist Paul Robins. The album briefly entered Kerrang! magazine's "Top 30 Kuts" chart in early 1982, yet soon vanished from view once the label and management redirected support toward other rising artists. Handsome Beasts nevertheless persisted through repeated cycles of dissolution and reformation that extended well into the new millennium, issuing The Beast Within in 1990 and 04 in 2004 while joining occasional nostalgia packages alongside fellow N.W.O.B.H.M. acts such as the Tygers of Pan Tang. Following vocalist Garry Dallaway's death from a heart attack on August 20, 2006, the group continued with Simon Hall, whom Dallaway himself had designated as successor, assuming lead vocals.