Geoff Barton
Geoff Barton (pictured with Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton, left) is a British journalist who founded the heavy metal mag Kerrang! and was an editor of Sounds. He joined Sounds at the age of nineteen after completing a journalism course at the London College of Printing. He specialised in covering rock music and helped popularise the New Wave of British Heavy Metal after using the term for the first time (after editor Alan Lewis coined it) in the May 1979 issue of Sounds. In 1981 he edited the first issue of Kerrang!, which was published as a one-off. This was successful so it became a fortnightly magazine. He left the magazine in 1995.
Barton's articles for Sounds which covered the NWOBHM helped to create the sense that an actual movement was taking place, and in a sense helped to create one in the process. He currently works for Classic Rock magazine. Whether or not the NWOBHM was a media-manufactured phenomenon centered around the Kingsbury Bandwagon Pub scene, one cannot underestimate the importance of Barton in popularising the term and the genre.
Rockcritics.com interview with Geoff
73 articles
List of articles in the library
Golden Earring: Switch (Polydor 2344 040)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 12 April 1975
Switch — on and off ...
Peter Frampton: Frampton (A&M AMLH 64512)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 12 April 1975
DON'T BE deceived by the album cover: here, the name "Frampton" is ablaze with colour, and Peter himself, in monochrome, is depicted with guitar, his ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 17 May 1975
Geoff Barton is one of the few ...
Olivia Newton-John: Have You Never Been Mellow (EMI EMC 3069) (36.00)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 7 June 1975
Olivia — mellow and pleasant ...
Olivia Newton-John: Olivia wants it to happen
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 7 June 1975
THERE'S A rather freaky, hairy, heavy music orientated — call it what you will — record shop situated quite near to where I live. Some ...
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 26 July 1975
A PRE-RECORDED tape of Adolf Hitler shouts and jack boot stomps heralded Motorhead's debut concert act London's Chalk Farm Roundhouse on Sunday and, indeed, the ...
Hawkwind, Motörhead: Motorhead: Running In
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 16 August 1975
'Loud, raucous, arrogant, fast, city, paranoid, speedfreak rock and roll. But mainly very loud'. That's what Lemmy says Motorhead's music is. Geoff Barton reports ...
Kraftwerk: Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 13 September 1975
FOR THE past couple of days Kraftwerk had been rehearsing in the pleasant and appropriate surroundings of Newcastle's City Hall. Yet, strangely, for the opening ...
Kraftwerk: 2 a.m. Newcastle Hotel
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 20 September 1975
'We not only try to brainwash people... we succeed' ...
Blue Öyster Cult, Motorhead: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 25 October 1975
SUPPORT ACT Lemmy's Motorhead played the second worst set I've ever seen. The only past concert I can think of that surpasses it, in terms ...
Deep Purple: You Keep On Moving: Shades of Deep Purple
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 13 March 1976
Is this Purple as good as the old? GEOFF BARTON joins the band's 24th tour of America to find out. ...
Ted Nugent: Ted Nugent (Epic SEPC 81196)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 17 April 1976
"BROTHERS AND sisters! I want to see your hands in the air! I want you to get down!" Like the MC5, Detroit rock survivor Ted ...
Van Der Graaf Generator: Now the immortals are here
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 8 May 1976
Geoff Barton wanders around Headley Grange and comes across a man saving the life of a fly ...
Ted Nugent: Survival of the Fittest
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 29 May 1976
Geoff Barton shuddered, any moment the phone would ring and along the transatlantic link line would come the voice of mad Detroit axeman Ted Nugent, ...
AC/DC: The Fastest Knees in the West
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 12 June 1976
AC/DC, outrageous Aussie punk-rock combo, this week start their rampage across Britain under the SOUNDS banner. Are we doing the right thing? Are schoolboys the future of rock and roll? GEOFF ...
Blue Öyster Cult: Agents Of Fortune (CBS S 81385)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 19 June 1976
There's a fortune in Öysters sez seafood-crazy G. Barton, the kid with the plutonium-lined skull. ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Toby Goldstein, Sounds, 16 October 1976
Toby Goldstein talked to Mr Tyler and Geoff Barton went to Canada to check out the band. Who's thoughtful then? ...
Peter Frampton, Gary Wright: Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 30 October 1976
'Do you feel like we do?' YEAH! But don't ask me why, says GEOFF BARTON ...
Van Der Graaf Generator: The Agony and the Ecstasy
Report by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 20 November 1976
ON THE ROAD WITH VAN DER GRAAF ...
Boston, Bob Seger: State Farm Show Arena, Harrisburg PA
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 8 January 1977
AMAZING WHAT a platinum album can do, isn't it? ...
Ted Nugent: The Continuing Adventures Of Loudman Part 3: Ted Tunes Up
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 15 January 1977
FEATURING GEOFF BARTON AS KID REPORTER, STARRING TED NUGENT AS LOUDMAN ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 29 January 1977
How can any band be so special that their VERY FIRST album goes platinum? A suspicious GEOFF BARTON goes to the States to investigate... ...
Golden Earring: Hot Licks from Amsterdam
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 19 March 1977
Our Man In Holland (GEOFF BARTON) pulls his finger out of the dyke and states the case for GOLDEN EARRING ...
Golden Earring: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 2 April 1977
Searing Earring ...
Mahogany Rush: And This Little Piggy Took Too Much Acid
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 25 June 1977
If we tell you that Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush took 1500 trips in a month, you won't be surprised that the tale he tells ...
Rush: A Farewell To Kings (Mercury SRM-1-1184 ) *****
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 10 September 1977
Rush: lords of the Kings ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 11 February 1978
GEOFF BARTON fails to go nuts for 'the first American band to emerge in the seventies that doesn't have a lead singer who looks like ...
Kansas: The State of American Football (Is it Colorado, Nevada or Kansas?)
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 18 February 1978
This is in fact a feature about a rock band by GEOFF BARTON ...
Rush: Black Holes: Close encounters with Rush
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 25 February 1978
CONGRESS THEATRE, Washington DC. A scientific debate is in progress: ...
Van Halen: Van Halen (Warner Brothers import) ****
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 4 March 1978
Van Halen, brand new heavy metal heroes (Oh no. Here we go again — Ed) ...
Wire, XTC: XTC, Wire, the Secret: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 4 March 1978
Shock as Soundsman writes non-metallic rave ...
Whitesnake: David Coverdale's Whitesnake: Penthouse, Scarborough
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 18 March 1978
THE FIRST thing you notice as the band squeezes on to the small stage at Scarborough Penthouse is that David Coverdale still projects. Much much ...
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 30 September 1978
He's also lead guitarist for RUSH and writes songs about the politics of oak trees, shapeless spirits and The Real Truth. Psychiatric care by Geoff Barton. ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 25 November 1978
JAPAN OUTPOSED IN NEW YORK CITY AS WITNESSED BY GEOFF BARTON ...
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 13 January 1979
THANKFULLY, AFTER their last atrocious album Attention Shoppers (ugh! That's worse than Olias Of Sunhillow for an LP title), this fourth Starz disc finds the ...
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 13 January 1979
...RABIN, THAT IS. THE MAN WHO, GEOFF BARTON RECKONS, WILL 'DO A BOSTON/FOREIGNER/VAN HALEN'. (SPARE US — ED.) ...
Kiss: The Timeless Quality Of Platform Boots
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 3 February 1979
KISS' PAUL STANLEY, GEOFF BARTON AND 'PERHAPS THE GREATEST INTERVIEW OF ALL TIME' ...
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 24 February 1979
"Sin after sin I have endured But the wounds that I bear Are the wounds of love..." IT'S A GRIM fact of life that, unlike Casablanca compatriots Kiss, the ...
Ted Nugent: Going Beyond the Threshold of Pain
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 3 March 1979
"A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I WAS TOO LOUD," ADMITS TED NUGENT. GEOFF BARTON LISTENS AGHAST ...
Van Halen: Van Halen II (Warner Brothers K 56616) ***
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 17 March 1979
Van ordinaire (too much, too soon) ...
Journey: Hold The (Balls On The) Line
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 24 March 1979
AN ADMIRABLE PHILOSOPHY. BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO POPULARISE THE JOURNEY BRAND OF AMERICAN AOR IN THE UK? GEOFF BARTON SEEMS TO THINK SO ...
Report by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 19 May 1979
THE NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL: FIRST IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES BY DEAF BARTON ...
Judas Priest: Whips over Walsall
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 26 May 1979
"SEE THIS badge?" asks Rob Halford. Smiling, he points to a narrow shiny, sausage-shaped piece of metal pinned to the left lapel of his leather ...
Def Leppard: The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal — Part Two
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 16 June 1979
BY DEAF BARTON ...
Kiss: Ecstasy in the Garden of Eden
Report by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 11 August 1979
AN UNAPOLOGETICALLY OVER THE TOP REPORT OF KISS IN NEW YORK. BY GEOFF BARTON, OUR MAN WITH THE FRIED FLESH AND SINGED EYEBROWS ...
Saxon: Saxon (Carrere CAL 110)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 11 August 1979
Sheezabigteaza! (And other lyrics of note) ...
Led Zeppelin: Close The Door, Put The Light Out… Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door (Swan Song)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 1 September 1979
YOU'RE PROBABLY not interested in our problems, but I think an explanation is in order as to why Sounds is carrying a review of the ...
Styx: Cornerstone (A&M AMLK 63711)
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 6 October 1979
Styx come up Tramps ...
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 3 November 1979
UP UNTIL now the idea of Samson has appealed to me much more than the actual music. I mean, this a band whose drummer dresses ...
Samson: I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 1 December 1979
DON'T BRING YOUR PET GOLDFISH ANYWHERE NEAR SAMSON WARNS GEOFF BARTON ...
ZZ Top: Deguello (Warner Brothers HS 3361 import) ****
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 15 December 1979
AS A ONE-time Spanish A-level student, I find myself in the privileged position of being able to tell you that 'deguello' means 'slaughter' or 'butchery', ...
Japan: Quiet Life (Ariola AHAL 8010)****
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 12 January 1980
Glitter for industry ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 2 February 1980
Despite the hit single 'Babe' Styx are still Pomp Rock Supremos, Claims Geoff Barton from the USA ...
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 9 February 1980
Plenty good posin' ...
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 1 March 1980
THE LEPPARDS CAUGHT IN AN A'N'R INDUSTRY STRANGLEHOLD. WILL THEY BE THROTTLED? ASKS GEOFF BARTON ...
Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden (EMI EMC 3330)****½
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 5 April 1980
ULP — I can hear them now, sickening snaps echoing throughout the land as HM fans suddenly stop in mid headshake. Ugh, yeah — I ...
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 24 May 1980
...AND WATCH THE SEASIDE PIER SHAKING. GEOFF BARTON REPORTS AS SAXON STORM THE DISNEYLAND SHOWBAR, COLWYN BAY (YES, REALLY). ...
Van Halen: New Boots and (Stretch) Panties
Report and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 28 June 1980
GEOFF BARTON encounters the metal might of VAN HALEN and becomes a victim of the furry ...
Ted Nugent: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 9 August 1980
Going, going, Gonz ...
Samson: The Sound of Silent Thunder
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 16 August 1980
Why did Samson's drummer decline to speak to Sounds? Was it because Deaf Barton had mislaid his hearing aid and he was afraid of being ...
Profile and Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 21 November 1981
Geoff Barton writes his first Rush feature for (count'em) three years and asks, is there life after Maple Leaf Mayhem? ...
Anvil: Hard 'N' Heavy (Attic Records)****½
Review by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 20 February 1982
Hammer and tongues ...
Interview by Geoff Barton, Sounds, 27 February 1982
Do The Rods live up to their name? Geoff Barton gets their measure. WARNING: this feature may cause offence to supporters of Rock Against Sexism. ...
Interview by Geoff Barton, Kerrang!, 3 May 1984
RUSH guitarist ALEX LIFESON has the good grace to talk to GEOFF BARTON ...
Iron Maiden: Don't Fear The Reaper
Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, January 2004
THERE ARE dead bodies lying on trestle tables in the midst of the tangled scaffolding and controlled chaos that represents Iron Maiden's rear of stage ...
Robert Plant: The Secret Life Of Plant
Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, January 2004
It's 1982, and Robert Plant is worried. He's just released his first solo album Pictures At Eleven, and he's expecting a critical slating. Led-free reflections ...
Judas Priest: Pavelló Olímpic, Badalona
Live Review by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, October 2004
Reunited — and it feels so good. Taking their cue from Peaches & Herb's '79 hit, Judas Priest get back together with singer Rob Halford ...
Rush: The Sword and Sorcery Phase
Retrospective and Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, October 2004
Rush had their first taste of success in 1975, when they changed from being a basic hard rock power outfit and became something altogether more ...
Retrospective and Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, March 2006
He turned down Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Meet rock's ultimate nearly man. ...
Review by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, July 2008
GHOSTS OF Abominog. It sounds like a magical incantation by Doctor Strange, doesn't it? You can just imagine Marvel Comics' moustachio'd master of the mystic ...
Fanny: The Untold Story of the original Queens of Noise
Retrospective and Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, September 2015
They may have been overshadowed by the Runaways, but nobody did it quite like Fanny, the original all-girl rock'n'roll band who blazed a trail through the ...
Retrospective and Interview by Geoff Barton, Classic Rock, April 2019
Mock muggings, sexual advances and sweat stains were all part of the Vinegar Joe story – along with some blistering British blues-rock. But one member ...
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