Fist "Turn The Hell On"

Fist are an English heavy metal band founded in South Shields, North East England in 1978. Fist were one of the original bands that were considered to be part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The band first formed in April 1978 as Axe, but only recorded one song ("S.S. Giro") under that name. The group reformed in late 1979 under the new name of Fist, soon signing with Neat Records and releasing their first single, "Name, Rank and Serial Number" in April 1980. This single did well with heavy radio rotation and good sales. The single was praised in the pages of Sounds, and bigger things were anticipated for the band as they signed with MCA, releasing a second single and preparing a full-length record for the end of the year. Turn the Hell On was released and the band toured with UFO, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Unfortunately, the LP suffered from a poor mix and MCA did not have any real experience of dealing with metal bands and promoted the band poorly. Turn the Hell On inevitably failed to satisfy the label sales wise and Fist were dropped by MCA in early 1981.

Compilation appearances:

- "Brain Damage" on Brute Force (MCA, 1980)

- "S.S. Giro" on Lead Weight (Neat, 1981) (as Axe)

- "Throw in the Towel" on Lead Weight (Neat, 1981) (as Fist)

- "Lost and Found" on 60 Minute Plus (Neat, 1982)

- "Turn the Hell On" on Metal Killers Kollection Vol. II (Castle Communications, 1986)

- "S.S. Giro" on New Wave Of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited (Metal Blade, 1990)

- "Turn the Hell On" on Heavy Metal Collection (Elap Music, 1993)

- "Turn the Hell On" on Metal Masters (Castle Communications, 1993)

- "Wanderer" on The Flame Burns On: The Best of Neat Records (Castle Music, 2002)

- "The Vamp," "Turn the Hell On" and "Name, Rank and Serial Number" on Keep it True XVIII DVD (Metal Entertainment, 2016)

- "Lost and Found" on NWOBHM Thunder - New Wave Of British Heavy Metal: 1978-1986 (Hear No Evil Recordings, 2020)

- "Throwing in the Towel" on Essential NWOBHM: The Best of Neat Records (Golden Core Records, 2019)

Track list:

Side A

1. Hole in the Wall Gang 03:33
2. The Watcher 04:56   
3. Collision Course 03:53   
4. You'll Never Get Me Up (in One of Those) 02:49   
5. Forever Amber 04:34   

Side B

1. Axeman 03:26   
2. The Vamp 04:05   
3. Terminus 04:59  
4. One Percenter (1%) 02:53  
5. Name, Rank and Serial Number 04:08   

Total time:   39:16  

Recording information:

Recorded at De Lane Lea.