Nutz

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orming in Liverpool, UK, in 1973, the initial line-up featured Dave Lloyd (vocals), Mick Devonport (guitar), Keith Mulholland (bass) and John Mylett (drums). Nutz held the distinction as one of the decade's most unnoticed acts. None of their four albums for 'A&M': Nutz (1974), Nutz Too (1975), Hard Nutz (1976; that saw the introduction of Kenny Newton (keyboards)), and Nutz Live Cutz (1977) fared well. The support tours with Black Sabbath and Budgie, nor attendance at the 1976 Reading Festival helped them much to rise out of the musical second-tier.

1980 saw their track Bootliggers surprisingly chosen for inclusion on 1980's Metal for Muthas compilation featuring emerging NWOBHM talent. This lucky break saw Nutz try to cash in on the younger generation, surprisingly by renaming themselves Rage, soon after the compilation's release. This thinly disguised new version started by ejecting their keyboard player, and then recruiting additional guitarist Terry Steers. They would then go on to record three more albums in the form of Out Of Control (1981), Nice 'N' Dirty (1982) and Run For The Night (1983) on the 'Carrere' disco label (same label as fellow NWOBHM act Saxon), before finally breaking up in 1984. The live effort, Tightened Up!: Live In Nothingam 1977, would be released posthumously in 2010.