Vitamin Z

Vitamin Z were a Sheffield pop/new-wave band formed in 1982 by Geoff Barradale (vocals) and Nick Lockwood (bass, guitar and keyboards). The two had known each other from school but came from very different musical backgrounds: Barradale was a soul fan, while Lockwood was into rock and progressive music, having previously been in a Sheffield prog band called Zenith.

The group initially developed their material without playing many live shows. Their appearance on the BBC's Oxford Road Show helped bring them to the attention of Radio 1 producer Peter Powell, leading to a session and eventually a record deal with Phonogram. Their first single, "Burning Flame", was released in February 1984 and reached No. 80 in the UK, subsequently becoming their best-known song and reaching No. 73 in the US.

The early line-up included keyboard player Richard Anderson, while the band's records involved a considerably larger cast of musicians. Their debut album, Rites of Passage, was released in 1985 on Geffen in the US. Among the musicians contributing to the sessions were Peter Gabriel, Jerry Marotta, Chris Hughes, Neil Hubbard, Simon House and David Rhodes. Rhodes subsequently became a full member of the group.

Vitamin Z had further UK success with "Every Time That I See You", which reached No. 78 in 1985. They also toured in Britain as support to Tears for Fears and later Midge Ure. Their video for "Circus Ring (We Scream About)" was filmed in Istanbul and attracted particular attention because the band were reportedly the first Western European film crew permitted to shoot in Turkey following the country's reaction to Midnight Express.

A second album, Sharp Stone Rain, eventually appeared in 1989, four years after Rites of Passage. By then the musical climate had changed and the record failed to achieve the success of its predecessor. Vitamin Z subsequently disappeared from the mainstream music scene.

Barradale later formed The Wild Orchids and then Seafruit (alongside Alan Smyth - Don Valley and the Rotherhides, later producer at 2fly Studios) and Tom Hogg (Chicken Legs Weaver). He also went on to become the manager of Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys, giving him a second, very significant connection to the city's musical history. Lockwood formed a band Lazenby in the early 2000s.

Key releases

"Burning Flame" — 1984, UK #80 / US #73
"Every Time That I See You" — 1985, UK #78
Rites of Passage — 1985
Sharp Stone Rain — 1989