Manchester's A II Z (named after the
A–Z Street Atlas) were formed by brothers Dave (vocals) and Gary Owens (guitar), Cam Campbell (bass), and Karl Reti (drums), during the initial excitement surrounding the
new wave of British heavy metal. Immediately signed by major label
Polydor, the group, whose style bore resemblances to
Motörhead,
Sweet Savage and
Weapon, recorded their 1980 debut album,
The Witch of Berkeley, which was recorded in the hall of
Hazel Grove High School, and toured in support of
Girlschool,
Iron Maiden and
Black Sabbath. The tours however failed to aid their record sales, and following the release of 1981's
No Fun After Midnight EP and the single "I'm the One Who Loves You", the band were dropped from the label. Internal dissension had also taken root by this time and the Owens had dispensed with their original rhythm section to work with new bassist Tony Backhouse, who went on to form the band Mad Dogs and Mr Wolf, with Wally Rumsey and drummer
Simon Wright (later of
AC/DC) on that final single. But the quartet's new and more commercial AOR direction failed to bear fruit, and by the middle of 1982 A II Z had dissolved. Guitarist Gary Owens joined the similarly ill-fated NWOBHM band
Tytan. In 1993, Reborn Classics reissued
The Witch of Berkeley as a bootleg CD which includes both singles as well as a four-track demo from
Jaguar. In 2006 Majestic Rock officially re-released
The Witch of Berkeley and also included the two singles and their B-sides. ==Discography==