Among the New Wave of British Heavy Metal’s most contrived outfits, sharing that distinction with Ethel the Frog, Handsome Beasts drew greater attention through vocalist Garry Dallaway’s considerable size than through their recorded output. That physical trait was captured on the 1981 debut album Bestiality, whose cover showed a nude Dallaway alongside a visibly confused pig, while the music itself remained overshadowed by the group’s tongue-in-cheek behavior and sat somewhat apart from the prevailing N.W.O.B.H.M. style. Although the band had formed in 1972, its 1980 lineup of Dallaway, bassist Steven Hough, drummer Pete Malbasa, and guitarist Phil Aston—one of many musicians who would pass through the ranks—had spent the preceding years performing in clubs and pubs across the British Midlands, where their hard-rocking material, humorous lyrical themes, and Dallaway’s strong, soulful delivery made them local favorites. In an effort to link the act to the surging N.W.O.B.H.M. scene, management established the Heavy Metal label specifically to issue the band’s early singles—“All Riot Now” in 1980 and “Breaker” and “Sweeties” in 1981—before releasing Bestiality, which featured guitarist Paul Robins. The album appeared on Kerrang! magazine’s “Top 30 Kuts” chart in early 1982, yet interest soon waned as both the label and management shifted focus to newer artists. Handsome Beasts nevertheless persisted, dissolving and reforming under various configurations well into the new millennium; they issued The Beast Within in 1990 and 04 in 2004 while occasionally joining nostalgia bills alongside fellow N.W.O.B.H.M. acts such as the Tygers of Pan Tang. On 20 August 2006, Dallaway died of a heart attack, after which the group continued with Simon Hall, whom Dallaway had designated as his successor, taking over lead vocals.
