On This Day 16/02/1984 Diamond Head

On this day, 16 February 1984, heavy metal rock band Diamond Head played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club on the band’s Canterbury Tour.

Formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band was part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement and is acknowledged by thrash metal bands such as Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.

Their first MCA album, Borrowed Time, featured a lavish Rodney Matthews-illustrated gatefold sleeve based on the album's Elric theme and was the most expensive sleeve commissioned by MCA at the time.

The album was somewhat successful commercially, climbing to No 24 in the UK Albums Chart.

The band were able to perform a full-scale UK tour at premier venues such as London's Hammersmith Odeon.

The band tried a more experimental sounding follow-up to Borrowed Time, tentatively titled Making Music which was re-named Canterbury in 1983.

The initial success of the album was stalled as the first 20,000 copies suffered vinyl pressing problems, causing the LP to jump. It made number 32 in the UK Albums Chart, and it was noted that the album cost more to make but sold less.

Diamond Head were invited to open that year's Monsters of Rock Festival and, for the first time, toured Europe as special guests of Black Sabbath. On 1 January 1984, MCA did not pick up the option for a third album.

Diamond Head re-convened in a purpose-built studio in Stambermill , West Midlands, to record their next album. It was never finished, and the band fell apart in early 1985.

Many reasons have been cited why Diamond Head never achieved significant commercial success, focused mainly on their change in musical direction with Canterbury and their delay in obtaining a record deal.

Once they did sign to a major label, MCA proved to be the wrong label, forcing the band to sound more commercial. Also, while successful bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard were managed by established music management, Diamond Head were managed by Reg Fellows and the lead singer's mother, neither of whom had managed a band before.

In addition, though many of their NWOBHM brethren toured the United States in the 1980s, Diamond Head did not set foot on US soil until 2002, performing one show at Metal Meltdown IV, New Jersey.