Black Mariah

Black Mariah were a well known band on the local rock scene. Played mainly local venues and a short stint on the University circuit. They recorded 6 tracks in a Sheffield studio and they sold these on 'cassette' at gigs along with t-shirts. Their drummer Nick Gill was brother of Pete Gill from Saxon.

The band were active roughly from 1979 to 1985 and were part of the city’s hard rock / NWOBHM-era live scene. They mainly played Sheffield venues and some university circuit gigs, and reportedly recorded six studio tracks which they sold on cassette at shows along with T-shirts. They played in the 1982 Star & Websters Rock & Pop Contest at the old Top Rank/Roxy in Sheffield, alongside many other local bands of the era.

There are also recollections online of them playing the Penguin pub rock nights in the early 1980s before splitting up not long after. The band were part of the broader Sheffield rock scene that included acts like: Haze and  Def Leppard. A surviving mention of Black Mariah appears on the Sheffield “Steel City Rock” compilation archive, which featured several Sheffield metal bands from the early 1980s