Signing On For The Devil - The Rise of Steel City Rock - 10th anniversary collector's edition

This collector's edition of 'Signing On For The Devil - The Rise Of Steel City Rock' comes with an exclusive cover and is personally signed by the author. Only 100 copies will ever be issued - last few copies left!

The 10th-anniversary edition of 'Signing On For The Devil - The Rise of Steel City Rock' is:

* Fully updated

* includes scores more rare pictures and memories

* has additional ten-plus pages.

Read what others are saying:

Pete Gill, former drummer with Saxon and Motörhead, said: “Signing On For the Devil truly captures the raw excitement of the rock scene in the late seventies and early eighties. I had the privilege of being behind the drum kit with Saxon and then Motörhead and it was great to see bands like Def Leppard and Panzer Division following in our wake. The heavy metal scene was very strong in South Yorkshire at that time and Neil Anderson captures it in his own unique style.”

Shane Baldwin, Record Collector magazine, said: “Neil Anderson deftly deliver’s the story of Sheffield’s rock scene via interviews with musicians, promoters, fans and others who was active at the time. The presence of metal giants Def Leppard pretty much go without saying, as do Saxon, who really kick-started the city’s prominent involvement with the '80s NWOBHM boom. What may not be quite so obvious is that both Saxon drummer Pete Gill – who started his career in The Glitter Band and later showed up in Motörhead – and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson are also of Sheffield stock. A worthy addition to bookshelf.”

The Bailey Brothers said: "We are in no doubt that the books Neil Anderson has released over the past decade are an important source of research, both in terms of the local music scene and heritage of the city. Although they have input from many celebrities, they also have additional contributions from the fans. They share photos, stories and re-live those cherished memories. The books are both entertaining and informative at the same time. It’s always a privilege for the Bailey Brothers to be asked to contribute and remain part of the history of this amazing rock scene, the city and its people."

Sheffield Telegraph: "Our city is renowned as one of the UK's highest producers of quality rock'n'roll. This book gives you an idea of exactly why." 

About the book: 

The rise of punk dealt a body-blow to rock music in 1976. Arduous guitar solos, long hair and songs about wizards were suddenly about as aspirational as flared trousers.

Heavy rock went underground and it was down to the die-hards to fight its corner.

One such group was Shirley Freeman and her Penthouse Action Committee. They staged gigs by Def Leppard – at that point virtually unknown - and Sheffield metal stablemates Rokka and helped prove the demand for the all-conquering Rebels venue that arrived a few years later.

Saxon (formerly Son of a Bitch) were already making headway in nearby Barnsley with Sheffield’s own Pete Gill on drums.

But no one could have predicted the unrivaled success of Def Leppard, a band that became, and continue to be, one of the hottest properties in the USA.

Bruce Dickinson, from nearby Worksop, helped turn Iron Maiden into one of the biggest forces in the heavy metal universe and a pair of former miners, the Bailey Brothers, became two of the most influential voices of the movement right across Europe as well as becoming widely recognised as the originators of the ‘air guitar’ phenomenon.

There might have been looming nuclear war and three million on the dole in the mid-1980s but you’d never have known it if you’d entered Olga Marshall’s sprawling Wapentake rock bar or the nearby Rebels rock club.

‘Signing On For The Devil’ is Neil Anderson’s story of Sheffield’s rise to its position as an eighties heavy metal epicenter, how the movement started and how its rock scene still thrives today thanks to a new generation of bands like While She Sleeps and Bring Me The Horizon.

• Guaranteed to bring the memories flooding back!
• Packed with scores of photos, rare memorabilia and more.