At one time this lot was touted in the same breath alongside METALLICA. Indeed, there are early tapes of METALLICA covering SAVAGE songs and an American bootleg METALLICA single featuring the proto-Thrash SAVAGE track 'Let It Loose'. Mansfield's premier Metal act first surfaced in 1976 having been put together by the then 15 year old bass guitarist Chris Bradley, vocalist Chris Gent, guitarist Lee Statham and drummer Mick Percival. This inaugural line-up lasted nine months, in which time they performed just one gig.

By 1979 Bradley had got together a new SAVAGE with his brother Simon on drums, guitarists Andy Bradbury and Andy Dawson. The band debuted on a local sampler highlighting four local acts alongside Mansfield colleagues TYRANT, SPARTA from Hucknall and Sheffield based PANZA DIVISION titled 'Scene Of The Crime' with new members, rhythm guitarist Wayne Renshaw and ex-WILDLIFE drummer Dave Lindley, before landing a deal with Hull's Ebony Records. Lindley was supplanted by former TYRANT drummer Mark Brown and later teamed up with DAWNTRADER.

SAVAGE's first release was a track on the Ebony Records 'Metal Fatigue' compilation album before the single 'Ain't No Fit Place' / 'China Run'. The resultant good reviews led Ebony to finance their classic debut album 'Loose n' Lethal', probably one of the finest British Metal albums ever released. The album displayed a very aggressive punch, razor-sharp guitars and some fine Lynnot-esque narrative lyric writing. Lacking any cohesive management backing the band failed to capitalise on the album's enormous potential and rave reviews despite appearing at many European festival dates, including the Dutch 'Aardschok' event in February 1984 alongside METALLICA and VENOM and French festivals with SORTILEGE, and many a London Marquee date. In fact, SAVAGE would lend direct support to METALLICA's first ever UK concert at the Marquee on 27th March 1984.

With Ebony's inability to satisfactorily promote such a fine debut globally (the album racked up sales of about 25'000, mainly on import) the band fled for pastures new and Zebra Records. The first fruit of this liaison being the impressive 12" EP 'We Got The Edge'.

The excellent reviews continued, quickly followed by the second album 'Hyperactive', which initially sold well. Serious backing and organisation was still sorely lacking however and the band could never break out of the club scene. Nevertheless, SAVAGE recorded a further three song demo tape, 'This Means War', before throwing in the towel.

Dawson, Renshaw and Brown went on to form REBEL with bassist Stuart Corden and ex-NIGHTVISION vocalist Harry Harrison, cutting some very fine demos, but this outfit disbanded without a deal. Corden joined GLORY BOYS as Renshaw returned to his day job at the local Metal Box factory.

After a long hiatus, Bradley formed XL with local Mansfield musicians, guitarists Andy Wilson and Matthew Blick, the latter ex-VALENTINE, and drummer Dave Reynolds. XL recorded a BBC Radio 1 'Friday Rock Show' session with Dawson on stand in guitar but never secured a record deal. Dawson and Harrison forged RED in 1992, this band also including XL's Matthew Blick, bassist Paul Cooper and ex-VALENTINE drummer Mark Allsop. The duo recorded again with CLOWNHOUSE, very much in the Pop Rock mould, before forming a Grunge inspired QUANGO then HUSK. Both these latter acts featured vocalist Harrison, who much later joined WITCHFYNDE.

Bootleg versions of 'Loose n' Lethal' appeared in Europe during 1993 on the Reborn Classics label and in mid 1995 Dawson resurrected SAVAGE to record a new album for Neat Records entitled 'Holy Wars', recorded at Bandwagon Studios in Mansfield, with Bradley and Lindley. Japanese versions of the album had two cover versions as extra tracks; namely UFO's 'Hot n' Ready' and THIN LIZZY's 'Are You Ready'.

The group added ex-STORM TRIBE and XL man Andy Wilson on second guitar in 1996 for live work and would perform their first ever German gig in April at the 'Bang Your Head' festival alongside TOKYO BLADE, GLENMORE and BLIND GUARDIAN. Unfortunately the band could only follow this up with a show in a local Mansfield pub!

However, Lindley departed prior to recording of 'Babylon' in 1996, later playing live with THE LUTHER BELTZ BAND, and in came another erstwhile XL member on drums Richard Kirk. 'Babylon' was again crafted at Bandwagon Studios and featured REBEL singer Harry Harrison on backing vocals. Meantime, 'Loose n' Lethal' finally achieved an official re-release through Neat Metal, the album containing three never before released demo tracks 'No Cause To Kill' and 'The Devil Take You' from 1980 and the 1979 recording 'Back On The Road'. The British Steel label would get in on the act re-issuing the band's 1985 opus 'Hyperactive', this too boasting extra material from the 'We Got The Edge' EP.

SAVAGE recorded a fresh album 'Xtreme Machine' throughout 1998 as Dawson also worked with Wilson and Harrison and drummer Paul Comeroy once more on another project band. When 'Xtreme Machine' arrived in stores it soon fired up the grapevine between METALLICA fans as SAVAGE had cheekily included the METALLICA demo of their song 'Let It Loose' as a bonus track!