FAQs

ROCKDETECTOR IS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ROCK & METAL WEBSITE.

Mailing Address:

ROCKDETECTOR, PO BOX 7556 COALVILLE, LEICS, LE67 4WR UK

 

WHO IS ROCKDETECTOR?

No, not some corporate giant (surprising how many people think it is!), just your average Heavy Metal fan, Garry Sharpe-Young. What is Rockdetector? Well, it’s an information service really, a place where fans and musicians can learn about Rock music past, present & future. I’m often asked Who? What? Why? So, here we go…

It all started when I was 13. I had hair down to my ass, a dirty leather jacket and Heavy Metal was calling. I’d found a good way to discover new music was to paint album cover designs on friends denim and leather jackets. Not only was it great fun painting RAINBOW’s ‘Rising’ or NAZARETH’s ‘No Mean City’ onto jackets, but it really broadened my musical tastes. What started out as a favour for friends turned into a mini industry and a fascination with album covers. Every time I went to the Castle Donington ‘Monsters of Rock’ I saw evidence of my handiwork.

I did my first album cover at 14. My teenage arrogance had led me to phoning a record company to tell them their album covers were “shit” (exact words…). Rather than slam the phone down they rose to the challenge. First off was the ‘Metal Warriors’ compilation, then SAVAGE’s mighty ‘Loose n’ Lethal’, BLADERUNNER, CHATEAUX, HOLLAND, SAD WINGS, RANKELSON, POWERHOUSE and GRIM REAPER’s ‘See You In Hell’. That was done in 24 hours by the way. I never had time to finish it (Sorry guys!) From there, I started getting other album cover work, like THE EXPLOITED, and was asked by Geoff Barton to do a cover for ‘Kerrang’ magazine. I also did GRIM REAPER’s ’Rock You To Hell’ for RCA. A very nice chap, the respected photographer Robert Ellis, then got me to do some stuff for the SCORPIONS then QUEENSRYCHE. I designed a US tour programme then they used my artwork for the ‘Rage For Order’ album (originally for a pic disc that never happened…). They used my logo on many an album after that. Cool.

My thirst for knowledge of all things Metal led to being asked to write for Ron Quintana’s famous ‘Metal Mania’ Bay Area fanzine, then ‘Aardschok America’. I sent Ron rare JUDAS PRIEST stuff and he sent me demos by some band called METALLICA. By now I was buying crazy amounts of records and going to as many gigs as I could, often 4 or 5 a week. I had to leave college because I had blown all my student grant on vinyl. So I started promoting concerts, putting on bands like GRIM REAPER, BUDGIE, CHARIOT, ANGEL WITCH, SATAN, etc. At one gig Andy Sneap gave me a demo of SABBAT. I did a feature in an American mag on the band, the first, and championed them like crazy. Eventually I got to do an album cover for Martin Walkyier, SKYCLAD’s ‘Wayward Sons of Mother Earth’.

My next move was to the capitol of Heavy Metal – Birmingham. Here I found a job (of sorts) at Light & Sound Design. This involved everything cleaning light rigs, putting together par cans, hauling flight cases to designing stage sets and backdrops for MAGNUM, INXS and PRINCE. Being in Brum meant I could go to more gigs and sit in the corridor at Rich Bitch studios listening to BLACK SABBATH, SLADE, UFO and MAGNUM rehearsing. Here I met UFO’s Pete Way, and moved into his house for two years. That was a very Rock n’ Roll period…

I had badgered Bernard Doe at the holy grail of British Rock mags ‘Metal Forces’ into letting me do some stuff. I was there for seven years. Great times, interviewing just about every band I ever wanted to meet – METALLICA, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, OZZY, SABBATH, PRIEST, BON JOVI, BOC, HEART, AEROSMITH, CRUE, THE CULT, MOTORHEAD… This of course meant I had to go to more gigs. By now my record collection was getting ridiculous.

I was then asked to run a new record company. They had a lot of money but zero knowledge of music, musicians or Rock n’ Roll. Anyhow, I got out four albums, including SAXON, and had good fun arranging tours, signing bands, arranging distribution, setting up studios. Sadly, this came to an end when the powers that be failed to grasp the concept that musicians publishing money belongs to the musician, not the label. Not wanting to see musicians get shafted, I left.

A casual conversation about some obscure NWoBHM bands led me to finding out that the famous Newcastle label Neat Records was inactive and sitting on albums by BLITZKRIEG and CRONOS with no intention of releasing them. After campaigning hard, I got Neat re-activated. Not only did the BLITZKRIEG and CRONOS records come out, but I also A&Red two SAVAGE albums, NIGHTWING, HOLOCAUST, WRAITH and MARSHALL LAW. All these records were released in Europe and in Japan on Pony Canyon. Most importantly, because Neat had been given a new lease of life, it was bought up by Sanctuary.

All through this period I was still going to gigs, still interviewing bands, still buying records. I started up a merch company, supplying metal badges and pendants to bands like MOTORHEAD, IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR, PRIMAL FEAR, CARCASS, BATHORY, IMMORTAL, DARKTHRONE, etc. I also designed and made Rob Halford’s ‘Painkiller’ jacket (It looked better on him than me…) and made personalized, gold plated belt buckles for GUNS N’ ROSES.

It was about this time the books started. Before I knew it I had published a whole swathe of specialist titles on ‘Black Metal’, ‘Death Metal’, ‘Doom Metal’, ‘Thrash Metal’ and ‘80s Rock’. All this was great for my thirst in finding new bands and new music. I then took a year to research a biography of OZZY OSBOURNE’s band, tracking down all the band members and squeezing out every last detail I could. Next was BLACK SABBATH, another year’s work. Tony Iommi rang me up afterwards to say “good job”. Cool. More books are underway…

So- Rockdetector. What to do with all this information? The internet seemed obvious. At the time my tech skills were Neanderthal (they’ve since elevated to Cro-magnon). A database was built, built again, then again (by Cactuslab) and here I am. Every day I added information. Every day someone emailed with more information. Every day my record collection got bigger and bigger…

Very soon, Rockdetector became the world’s biggest Rock & Metal website. What next? An international Rock & Metal gig guide. Now that’s the world’s biggest too! Cool.

Now the practical stuff...

WHAT IS YOUR CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION?

You have to ROCK! It’s that simple. We don’t care if you are 16 or 66, if you wear spandex or studs, if you’re Grind or Glam, Emo or EBM, Metal or Melodic, Punk or Poodle. If you think you Rock, then you fit the bill.

OUR BAND IS NOT INCLUDED. WHAT DO WE DO?
If you are signed - get onto your promotion department. They will have our details. DO NOT send us an email saying "Check out our website". Be pro-active, send a promo pack.

If you are self financing product just send it in to our mailing address. We include ALL submissions onto the Rockdetector database.

MAILING ADDRESS:

Rockdetector, Musicdetector Websites Ltd, PO Box 7556, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 4WR, UK

 

WHY DO WE NEED TO SEND YOU OUR CD? CAN’T YOU JUST TAKE THE INFO FROM OUR WEBSITE?
A number of reasons. The first is to establish a relationship between Rockdetector and band / label which is all important to us as an issue of information credibility. In the past we have taken track listings, release dates and even cover art for releases from submitted e mails, websites and newsletters, etc only to find these change. Sometimes the record gets shelved altogether. Releases often have differing track listings, label information, catalogue numbers and release dates for foreign licenses and re-issues. We include all variations- new releases, licensed releases, re-issues and differing formats. Often we can get a great deal of information from the release itself, such as guest artists, producers, engineers, song credits, etc.

We need to scan in cover artwork as that found on official websites has a huge variance in quality.

Most importantly- we listen to it!

WHAT DO WE NEED TO SEND?
We require 1 x copy of each release by format. A good quality artist photograph and detailed biography. Please remember to include full contact details.  

I HAVE NOTICED AN ERROR ON THE SITE, WHAT DO I DO?
Email us! We thrive on information. The more input the better. Please note that we require a valid contact to verify authenticity.

I HAVE SOME ALBUM / SINGLE COVER ARTWORK THAT ROCKDETECTOR IS MISSING. HOW CAN I GET IT TO YOU?
Artwork images for older or rare releases can be sent by e mail to info@rockdetector.com. The image must be of good quality. Miniumum size 300 x 300.

CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO ROCKDETECTOR?
Yes you can. We are always on the look out for people with specialist knowledge, solid writing skills, dedication and enthusiasm.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION?
Direct from bands, labels, PR companies, contributors and twenty years of information gathering. Many of the major bands included on this site have been interviewed once if not more. For example, the early history of Megadeth is straight from Dave Mustaine. We try to verify as much as we possibly can. We presently receive mailings from over 110 labels in over 28 countries.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DON’T INCLUDE?
We’re pretty liberal here. After all, Rock music is an art form. We draw the line at certain photographic images and political symbols. There are no hard and fast rules. If we find it offensive, or believe it may be offensive to others, it we won’t publish it.

Nothing on this site is intended to offend but we also have to uphold the right to free speech. There are bands and artists that hold particular views that they express through image and lyrics. Views of artists are not associated with Rockdetector in any way. Discretion of inclusion is totally ours.

We also do not include bootlegs or counterfeit recordings. Rockdetector strongly believes in upholding artists rights and seeing musicians get a deserved financial payback for their efforts. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s the labels that are hurting when you rip CDs. You are damaging the artist's career. Buy don’t burn.