Cash Folsom In Johnny Prison

Cash Folsom In Johnny Prison

Cash Folsom In Johnny Prison

The Beginning: Lars Ulrich and The Recycler

Twenty-nine years ago, in 1981, a young Danish man by the name of Lars Ulrich placed an ad in Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler, advertising for a vocalist. James Alan Hetfield answered that ad, an event that led to the birth of one of the Big Four bands of thrash metal. “When I met him, he had a crap drumkit and could barely drum. He still can’t!” So said the lead vocalist when he first met the mysterious little Dane.

After a few bands on Hetfield’s part (there were three pre Metallica), an almost non-start (he was coaxed into singing, along with playing guitar) and a line up change, Metallica were born. In April 1983 in New York, as they recorded their debut album Kill ‘Em All, original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was fired due to alcoholism; a “raving maniac” when drunk, he poured a full can of beer into the bass guitar of Ron McGovney, shocking McGovney and causing the band to pack his equipment and give Mustaine a one way ticket bound for Los Angeles – Kirk Hammett was poached from Exodus soon after this.

April 1986, Metallica were touring in Sweden when they lost their bassist Cliff Burton to a bus accident; Jason Newsted was his replacement; he left Metallica in 2001. This, and the following two years, is related in the film Some Kind of Monster. In August 1988, Metallica played the Antrim Forum, a concert that was to become legend amongst those who attended- mostly for the gig itself, but also for the rumours surrounding it (missiles thrown, things said etc). That was 22 years ago, and the fans thought they would never see them on Northern Irish shores again.