About

High Treason formed in Luton at the tail end of the 1970s and quickly gained a loyal following thanks to supporting more established New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) acts such as Bleak House as well as The Clientele and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

In 1980, they released their first (and only) single “Saturday Night Special”. From his book “The N.W.O.B.H.M. Encyclopaedia”, Malc Macmillan wrote “As most serious collectors will surely be aware, this release represents a true classic of the genre, with ‘Saturday Night Special’ being an incredibly energetic and catchy number in the general style of Ricochet or Bollweevil, with a decidedly Thin Lizzy edge to compelling guitar work.”  In his definitive work “‘Smokin’ Values: A Headbanger’s Guide To 900 NWOBHM Records”, Martin Popoff awarded the single an 8/10 (a mark typically only obtained by legends such as Motorhead and Iron Maiden), stating, “musically, you’ve got a fast, compressed, tiny NWOBHM, crammed to the brim with characteristic ideas, twin leads, an early Samson exuberance and an almost punky beat”.

Radio support followed after a fan sent the single to DJ Tommy Vance, host of BBC Radio 1’s ‘The Friday Rock Show’, who loved the track and invited the band in to do a session for the show. This led to interest from Chrysalis Records, who sent the band into Denmark Street Studios to do a further demo.  However the band decided to follow a new wave musical direction, which didn’t fit the record company’s ambitions and sadly nothing came to fruition.

In 2007 the band reformed and High Treason’s first ever full length album, “Radio Will Find Me, was released on vinyl via High Roller Records.  The album showed a more melodic approach and quickly sold out before being released on CD via ONR Records.

After further recording, several changes accorded within the band.  Original singer, Barry Fearon, decided to retire and bassist Larry Barbato left to pursue other endeavours. In early 2012, Peter Yeomans and Martin Raggett joined on vocals and bass respectively. Mark Taylor left the band in 2014 due to health issues and replaced by Paul Bailey. The band suffered heartbreak when tragically, original drummer Gary Scarbrow died suddenly in 2014.  Long time friend, Paul Madden, has since stepped in to take over on drums.

In July 2014, producer Gavin Monaghan (Editors, The Twang, Scott Matthews, Robert Plant, Ryan Adams) invited the band to his Magic Garden Studios to record two tracks. High Treason are currently in Smokehouse Studios in London recording their new album with legendary producer Dennis Weinreich (Queen, Supertramp, Blancmange, Wham) alongside friends and guests such as Elliott Randall (Steely Dan) and Ben Matthews (Thunder).  The album is due for release in Summer 2015.