VARDIS

“For 25 years I never thought about my music. People told me others were influenced by it, but I had no idea until we stepped back onstage.”

“Music is the only emotional and physical time machine.”

“Some people want authenticity, others want AI-sanitised crap — and too many don’t care about the difference.”

“People forget how much we did before the debut. Those songs were forged on the road long before they were recorded.”

“Technology smooths out the imperfections that push music forward. It kills passion and makes recordings sterile.”

“Perfection used to be about performance. Today it’s about software — and that’s dangerous for music.”

“If a musician can’t improvise, the chemistry dies. A trio needs freedom or it’s not rock’n’roll.”

“Vardis are just a loud, heavy rock’n’roll band.”

Vardis in concert 2026:
aug15th Zeeltje Rock 2026 Deest/NL

Few bands embody the spirit of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal as fiercely as VARDIS.
Formed in the late 1970s in Wakefield, the trio broke with expectations from day one:
high-voltage rock, blues grit, punk urgency and a metallic edge collided to form a sound unlike anything else emerging from the NWOBHM movement.
Their debut ‘100 M.P.H.’ – a live album released as their very first statement – instantly marked them as outliers.
Combined with the wild, unmistakable energy of frontman and guitarist Steve Zodiac, VARDIS quickly earned cult status.
After a long break, the band resurfaced in 2010 with new material, festival appearances and a cross-generational fanbase that had never truly let go.
Today, VARDIS are back in focus once more – thanks in part to newly remastered video clips that transform their adrenaline-charged history into crisp modern quality, reaffirming their legacy in heavy metal, hard rock and the early British underground.
Fok ‘bs‘ spoke with Steve Zodiac about lost footage, creative reinvention, the secret behind their stamina – and what NWOBHM really means in 2025.
When you revisited your old video archives for the recent restorations, what emotion surprised you the most: nostalgia, pride, or sheer disbelief?
“The feeling of being there. Time travel, not nostalgia. Music is the only emotional and physical time machine.”
Many NWOBHM bands only gained recognition later. When did you first realise the lasting impact VARDIS had made?
“For 25 years I never thought at all about my music. I never stopped songwriting and always enjoyed it, but threw myself into other work in sound: theatre, education, production. Sound is music, music is sound, there was always a sense of continuity, forward momentum. I had offers to reform the band down the years, and people would give me tapes of Megadeth and say ‘these guys really dig your stuff’, but I was unaware how many people still liked my music. It was only when we played our reunion shows in 2014 that I understood, the whole experience was very humbling as well as enlightening.”
Your debut was a live record, a bold move even today. How has that shaped your identity as a band over the decades?
“All we had known since the mid 70s was how to play live. We had little studio experience when we signed with Logo so it just felt natural and logical to make a live album our first major release. People don’t realise how much we did as a band before that debut album in 1980. Quo Vardis started gigging in 1973, Vardis became a trio of myself, Tony Boulton and Paul Wadkin in ’76, Alan Selway replaced Tony on bass in ’77 then Phil Medley replaced Paul on drums in ’78. That trio cut the ‘100 M.P.H.’ EP in 1979 and we made the transition from semi-pro to pro. All those years shaped that album, the songs were road tested. When I walked away from Vardis in 1986 without looking back, I guess my identity as Steve Zodiac protected and enabled me to build a new life doing other things in the industry. Since reforming Vardis in 2014 the personnel has changed just as much, but the hard work and rock’n’roll ethos has never really changed from the start, it’s built into the music on some level, even if every lineup has brought a different chemistry to it.”
While restoring old footage, what was the most unexpected detail or forgotten moment you rediscovered?
“How tight and fast the band played, especially at such a young age, and that we had already created a unique sound.”
Your early sound blurred the lines between hard rock, boogie, punk spirit, and metal. How consciously did you shape that hybrid approach then, and how conscious is it now?
“I always listened to a wide range of music. My mum played records and radio and sang rock and roll at home growing up, it was always there in the background for as far back as I can remember, so I suppose it must have been a big influence on me.”
What does authenticity mean to you in an era when music often sounds ‘perfect‘ rather than real?
“We all strive for perfection, but in the old days this was subjective based on the performance, and a good producer was paid to recognise this. Unfortunately today this art of production is being lost because we have so many computer technology options. This does two things: firstly it makes striving for perfection in performance less important because technology can shape the sound later, and secondly it smooths the imperfections in sound that push music forward to conform to the computer’s objective technical perfection. This often ‘corrects’ the very essence in the performance that makes the sound recording unique, destroys the passion and feel of the artist, and makes for a sterile recording in my opinion.”
Some early tracks are incredibly direct and raw. Are there songs you would approach differently today or avoid playing live altogether?
“I write most of my songs as country blues tunes on acoustic guitar. Everything beyond that is a different approach. Every performance is a new interpretation unique to that room, that stage, that moment. I’m always open to playing everything I’ve written live.”
How much room do spontaneity and risk still have in your music compared to the chaotic early NWOBHM years?
“I always want every musician I play with to feel they can express themselves. We only rehearse the structure of most songs, but we play live freeform. There are many accomplished musicians who can’t do this, but finding that chemistry in a trio is part of what I enjoy most. It makes every show we play different, dangerous and more fun.”
NWOBHM produced both legends and overlooked underground gems. Where do you personally see VARDIS in that history?
“Vardis are just a loud, heavy rock n roll band.”
If you could pass on only one creative lesson from your career to young musicians, what would it be?
“The performance is the sound. As a creative musician you strive for great performance, as a creative producer you strive for the instinct to recognise this.”
What was the biggest challenge in bringing your vintage footage into the modern era without losing its original character?
“I transferred the physical tapes myself but my son is in charge of the restoration process. He’s very anti-AI so takes the time to restore the years of degradation while staying true to the medium of recording, whether it’s a VHS camcorder or multi camera pro shot TV footage. Thankfully most of the character is in the music itself. The intimate dark sweaty vibes in the old video footage are genuinely how it was. Some people want authenticity, some want AI sanitised crap, and sadly there’s a lot of people who don’t care about the difference.”
You’ve experienced peaks, breaks, and rebirths. What has consistently driven you to carry on and return to the stage?
“Music is the only phenomenon that puts me in the same place I was age 20. The feeling of playing, of performing, is exactly the same. A true time machine.”
What’s one question no one ever asks about VARDIS but should, because it unlocks something essential about the band?
“Why did you want to escape?”
More than forty years after their first roar, VARDIS stand not as a nostalgia act but as a living force in British heavy rock.
With restored video clips, ongoing creativity and a fiercely loyal following, they shine a new light on their legacy – not as a museum piece, but as a foundation that still shakes the ground.
And that’s exactly how they sound today:
raw, honest, and unmistakably alive…
Fok ‘bs’

British heavy metal legend Vardis has presented on YouTube many unseen and restored videos.
Videos of songs like ‘Police Patrol’, ‘Silver Machine‘, ‘Let’s Go‘, ‘Boogie Blitz‘ and many many more…

track-list:
CD1
Out Of The Way
Steaming Along
Paranoia Strikes
Situation Negative (Boogie Blitz)
Red Eye
Dirty Money
Mods & Rockers
Don’t Mess
Shoot Straight
Move Along
CD2
Destiny
The Lion’s Share
Radio Rockers
The Loser
Head Of The Nail
Jolly Roger
Let’s Go Again
100mph (I won’t Go To Hell)
If I Were King
Living Out Of Touch (encore)

Vardis are:
Steve Zodiac – vocals, guitars
Joe Clancy – drums
Roly Bailey – bass

discography:

VARDIS were forged out of Glam, Punk, Heavy Metal, Blues and Rock’n’Roll in the crucible of 1970s northern England.
They are a product of Rock music across three generations:
inspired by the great Rock’n’Rollers and electric bluesmen of the 50s and 60s, learning their craft on the Hard Rock and Punk circuits in the 70s, before signing with Logo/RCA in 1979 and achieving prominence in the 80s as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
Their ferocious musical attack directly influenced the development of thrash and speed metal across North America and Europe, cited by metal giants such as Metallica and Megadeth.
Never losing sight of the melodic sensibilities of their earliest influences, Vardis’ unique heavy groove has endured as truly original.
In 1980 they released the entirely live, classic debut album ‚100 M.P.H.’ that famously ‘GUARANTEED NO OVERDUBS‘, before hitting the road in a brutal touring schedule.
Kicking off with the infamous Heavy Metal Barn Dance alongside Motörhead and Saxon at Stafford’s Bingley Hall in July, Vardis then joined Hawkwind on the 33 date Levitation Tour before embarking on their own 100 M.P.H. tour.
1981 saw no let up, with Vardis recording a BBC Session for Tommy Vance and releasing their first studio album, ‘The World’s Insane‘, accompanied by a tour culminating with the legendary Heavy Metal Holocaust in Port Vale, alongside Ozzy Osbourne and Motörhead.
Ignoring label pressure to be ‘more like Van Halen‘, 1982 saw Zodiac placed in the world’s top 15 guitarists by Sounds Magazine, as Vardis embarked on a UK Tour with Slade and a headline European Tour supporting third album ‘Quo Vardis‘.
‘Quo Vardis‘ pushed the boundaries of heavy music, with saxophone, bagpipes and mandolins alongside collaborations with Squeeze pianist Jools Holland and Status Quo’s Andy Brown.
This led to mixed reviews from the conservative Metal press, while open minded journalists and DJs led by John Peel on BBC Radio 1 championed the band’s sense of fun and experimentation.
1983 – 1985 was an enforced hiatus for Vardis, as a two year legal battle with management precipitated lineup changes and missed opportunities.
Emerging from court victorious but disillusioned, Vardis released the stripped down album ‘Vigilante‘ in 1986 on indie label Raw Power, an indictment of industry use and abuse, before Steve Zodiac walked out on the music business for good.
Nothing was heard from the band for nearly three decades, despite the release of two compilation albums: ‘The Best Of Vardis‘ (1997) and the double CD ‘The World`s Gone Mad: The Best Of Vardis‘ (2002).
In 2014, Zodiac was coaxed out of retirement on social media by the old hardcore and new fans who’d discovered the Vardis legacy.
Vardis toured Europe and released fifth album ‘Red Eye‘ in 2016 through SPV/Steamhammer, cementing one of rock’s most unlikely comebacks.
Vardis have lost none of their unpredictable edge, and 2019 witnessed a triumphant appearance at Leicester´s ‘O2 Academy‘ alongside English grindcore legends Napalm Death that surprised many, proving yet again that their special brand of Rock’n’Roll transcends both genre and time.
Friday 13th March 2020:
the true enormity of Covid19 was not apparent, but an uncanny atmosphere was palpable everywhere.
With live venues still open in England, and rockers from all over Europe assembled on Oxford Street London, Vardis would play.
For two hours, ‘100 Club‘ escaped a troubled World, and the energy forged that night by Steve Zodiac (Guitar) Joe Clancy (Drums) and Roly Bailey (Bass) with a brilliant crowd was captured for a 2021 double live album release on SPV/Steamhammer.
We present to you the Vardis live experience on record for the first time since 1980:
‘100 M.P.H.@100 Club‘, ‘GUARANTEED NO OVERDUBS‘!