It's hard to believe that during the 1980s, four Wollaston musicians duelled with legends Iron Maiden and Judas Priest for the title of Britain's best heavy metal band. Lead guitarist Brian Tatler, vocalist Sean Harris, bass guitarist Colin Kimberley and drummer Duncan Scott, were Diamond Head - a band who came so close to the big time and touching the millions Maiden's Steve Harris and co made from the golden age of metal music. 
	Their first album, Lightning to the Nations (1980), and Borrowed Time (1982) received wide acclaim and DH toured across Europe with the likes of AC/DC and Black Sabbath.
	Hits like Am I Evil?, The Prince, Helpless and It's Electric, have since been covered by Metallica on their 1998 Garage Inc album and to this day, Lars Ulrich and co remain their biggest fans.
But the strains of recording their third album, the big budget, Van-HAlen sounding Canterbury, and internal problems cuased the group to split in the mid 80s. Band members went their separate ways and Brian went on to form Radio Moscow, a five year project that flopped when they failed to secure a major record deal.
Diamond Head reformed in 1990 and an album, Death and Progress, followed and a tour, including a special guest slot on Metallica's Milton Keynes gig in front of 60,000 people in June 1993. Shortly after, the band split again following arguments over musical direction and Brian now plays for folk rock Quill - a million miles away from his days as a rock magazine pin up and icon for teen air guitarists.
Brian said "I was 17 when I formed the band and I've kept a copy of everything written in a scrapbook - even the first Stourbridge News review from 1979!. I can remember one of our first gigs at the Crispin in Stourbridge. We set up the equipment, went out the back and it was packed. We had to fight our way past all these big bikers who thought we were pushing in, all the time explaining that we had to get to the front because we were the band!
	I keep in touch with everyone and they all live around here. Sean writes songs, Colin's studying for a geology degree and Duncan's a cut glass engraver. When I first saw quill I thought, 'I don't know if this is for me' but I've now been with the band nearly three years and I don't miss the heavy metal thing."