British Steel: How British Heavy Metal Conquered The World - Episode 1

Heavy metal fan Justin Lee Collins tells the story of the British pioneers who drew up the blueprint for "the Devil's pop music". Metal gods like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Motorhead and Iron Maiden, whose vast record sales and enduring influence have made heavy metal the global music phenomenon it is today. In the first programme, find out how heavy metal music started right here in Britain over 40 years ago. Black Sabbath have to take the accolade for being the originators, when they rose from the fiery furnaces of the industrial West Midlands. Their doom-laden rock was the complete antithesis to the hippy movement of the late 60s and the four Brummies soon conquered the world with their monster riffs, dark lyrics and an appetite for rock 'n' roll excess. Equally as important were Deep Purple, a five piece band of exceptional musicians whose all-out hard rock music laid down the foundations for all heavy metal bands since: high pitched screams, heavy guitars, a battery of drums and enough testosterone to power an army. And if that wasn't enough to kick-start a heavy metal revolution, Justin reveals how the arrival of Judas Priest a few years later, would confirm the UK as the epicentre of all things metal.