Nutz

Formed in Liverpool, England, during 1973, hard rock outfit Nutz came together around vocalist Dave Lloyd, guitarist Mick Devonport, bassist Keith Mulholland, and drummer John Mylett. Throughout the 1970s the group earned a reputation as one of the era’s least memorable second-division bands. Their four A&M releases—Nutz in 1974, Nutz Too in 1975, Hard Nutz in 1976 (which added keyboardist Kenny Newton), and Nutz Live Cutz in 1977—made little commercial impact, while opening slots for Black Sabbath and Budgie plus a Friday-night appearance at the 1976 Reading Festival likewise failed to raise their profile.

Activity had dwindled by 1979, yet the unexpected inclusion of “Bootliggers” on the 1980 compilation Metal for Muthas—alongside early New Wave of British Heavy Metal acts such as Iron Maiden, Praying Mantis, and Samson—prompted the musicians to rebrand themselves as Rage in an attempt to reach a younger audience. This thinly veiled continuation of Nutz (distinct from the later German power-metal trio of the same name) dropped the keyboard player, brought in second guitarist Terry Steers, and issued three further albums before disbanding in 1984.