Salem (UK band)

Salem (UK)
Salem at Very 'Eavy Festival, Netherlands, 2014
Background information
Origin	Hull, England
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Years active	1979–1983 2009–present
Labels	High Roller Records Pure Steel Records
Associated acts	Ethel The Frog, Mayfair, Innersylum, dEAD ENd KIdS, Heavy Metal Kids
Website	salemband.uk
Members	Simon Saxby Paul Macnamara Mark Allison Ade Jenkinson Paul Mendham
Past members	Paul Tognola Paul Conyers Ricky Squires Oli Davis

Salem is a heavy rock/metal band from Hull, England. The band was formed following the split of the new wave of British heavy metal band Ethel The Frog. Salem recorded three demos and a single in the early 1980s; a compilation album of these recordings was released in 2010.

The band re-formed (aka Salem UK) in 2009 and has since released two new EPs "New Tricks" and "X Rated" EP, and the albums "Forgotten Dreams" (2013) and "Dark Days" (2016).

Salem has also filmed two videos and has played numerous festivals and gigs in UK, across Europe and beyond.

A re-mastered and rearranged edition of the 2010 "In The Beginning ..." album was released in July 2015. New album "Dark Days" has been met with rave reviews and considered one to the top albums of 2016.

Salem was founded in late 1979 by two members of Ethel The Frog, Paul Tognola (singer/guitar) and Paul Conyers (drums), with Adrian Jenkinson (bass) and Paul Macnamara (lead guitar). The first band met up on 2 January 1980 in The Red Lion pub in Anlaby, East Riding of Yorkshire. After a period of song writing and rehearsal, Salem gigged regularly and built a solid following in the Hull area. They recorded their first demo at Fairview Studios, Willerby in January 1981.

Soon after this first demo,Tognola left the band to be replaced by Simon Saxby as the new singer and later in the year by Mark Allison as the second guitarist. With this new line-up, Salem released its double A-side single, "Cold As Steel"/"Reach To Eternity", recorded again at Fairview on 4 April 1982; this considered to be one of the notable recordings from Fairview. Following the interview with Macnamara in the May 1982 Kerrang! (No. 15), the single appeared in the 'local chart' section of the magazine and singles were sold globally. According to the NWOBHM Encyclopaedia, the single is now, "a highly collectable and valuable rarity", and is also listed in Record Collector's "Rare Record Price Guide".