Rick Brindle

  The army called them pads brats, the air force called them scaley brats, and I'm sure the navy had a name for them as well. They (we, and I suppose, I) were the children of military personnel who lived of forces housing estates around the world, but in the 1970's and 80's (my era), that meant Germany, Cyprus, and various back of beyond godforsaken nowheres in the UK.  If you got the overseas deal, you were seriously quids in, but it came at a price that you probably didn't realise at the time. And at the time, I thought it was a great way to live, because let’s face it, as a forces child in Germany in the 1980’s, was that privileged or what! Moving from one garrison town to another was no big deal at all, any disruption was kept to an absolute minimum, it was heavily subsidised, the schools were uber well resourced, with the same examining board in every school for ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels. Well-resourced, that is, with everything except the transport. The bus in the pictur

  Even now, over 40 years after it was made, This is Spinal Tap remains a landmark. What's also overlooked is that their music is actually quite good, although the lyrics are a bit of a piss-take. But then again, have you listened to some early Whitesnake lately? The film really pokes fun at metal, and many bands claim that the film was written about them. I roar with laughter every time I watch it, it validates my love of metal, and constantly spurs me on to improving my Cold Steel novels. Cold Steel on the Rocks We Are Cold Steel Cold Steel and the Underground Boneyard It's Not For Everyone

Cold Steel and the Underground Boneyard , the third book in the Cold Steel trilogy, is free to download from Amazon for a limited time. Get your free copy now! Their new album has just been released.  Their previously cancelled Spanish tour dates have been rearranged, with the female trio and Spain’s biggest metal band, Damas Infernales, supporting. Cold Steel’s biggest asset though, is Johnny Faslane, their brutally talented manager. But even Johnny can’t fully eliminate Cold Steel’s innate ability to spectacularly destroy their prospects, and even before their second concert ends, the tour is scrapped after an ill-advised trip back to the eighties, and the band are put into creative deep freeze by their record company. Only an unprecedented event and a lot of money can possibly turn their fortunes around. Like a five hundred year old treasure hoard that a long dead pirate once offered in return for his life, treasure that has never been found. Cold Steel find a vital clue that gives