Mark Tornillo has been in and around heavy metal for longer than most of us have been alive. The man has taken Accept back from the brink of destruction and fronted the band T.T. Quick. He joined the Talk Louder podcast that’s hosted by Dangerous Toys and Watchtower lead singer Jason McMaster and “Metal Dave” Glessner. On the podcast, he regaled a story about how he fronted for most of the members of Iron Maiden in 1983.
“[My pre-Accept band] T.T. Quick, we had a steady Thursday night at L’Amour [legendary club in Brooklyn]. We played every Thursday night. We were the headliner — doing six, seven hundred people on a Thursday night. Not too shabby; it was respectable. [Drummer] Glenn Evans was in the band at that point. The EP hadn’t come out yet. It had to be ’83, I’m gonna say. And one of the [L’Amour] owners, Mike, comes into the back, into the dressing room, and he goes, ‘Hey, the guys from Iron Maiden are here. They wanna know if it’s okay if they hang out in the dressing room.’ And we were, like, ‘What?’ Like we were gonna say ‘no.’ I was, like, ‘Yeah, of course. Tell ’em to come on back.’ And, of course, we had a party going on back there. It was 1983. What do you expect? So they all come back, hung out.
And we asked them, ‘Do you guys wanna play?’ [And they said], ‘Nah, we don’t wanna play.’ The opening act was on; I don’t remember who it was. So, changeover, they’re still hanging in the dressing room. We’re getting ready to go. And we go on. And we must have played about five or six songs, and my guitar tech goes, ‘Hey, come here. Come here.’ I’m, like, ‘What?’ ‘They wanna come up and play.’ ‘Tell ’em to come on and have a play. I’m fine with that. Great. Tell ’em after the next song.’ ‘Okay.’ We did the next song. And they’re starting to walk up. We’re starting to walk off. I’m gonna introduce the band. And the crowd knew they were there. And the swell in the crowd just went from ‘Aaahhh’ to ‘Ooooaaahhh.’ You couldn’t miss [Maiden guitarist] Dave Murray walking out on stage, and [Maiden bassist] Steve Harris. So I’m getting ready to introduce the band… Actually, I’m trying to remember how it went.
And I have a cassette recording of this; my soundman, brilliant that he was, had the foresight to push the ‘record’ button on a cassette. I think I walked off before I introduced them ’cause I figured they didn’t need any introduction. And as I’m walking off, Steve Harris just grabbed me by the shoulder, and he goes, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m gonna [get off and watch you play].’ And he goes, ‘Bruce [Dickinson, Maiden singer] isn’t here, mate. You’re singing.’ I’m, like, ‘Okay.’ He goes, ‘What are we doing?’ I go, ‘How about ‘Wrathchild’?'”
Tornillo went on to talk about how he felt following the performance.
“I lost my shit, man. I didn’t sleep for three days. The adrenaline flow was just [off the chart]. The crowd just lost their frickin’ minds. And then we [T.T. Quick] had to finish the show. It was, like, ‘Oh my God. How do we top that now?'”
These kinds of stories are fascinating to hear because they’re fleeting moments in time that end up being an awesome story down the line. I’m sure Steve Harris and Dave Murray don’t think it’s any big deal, but for the people in attendance and T.T. Quick, it’s a hell of a moment. It’d be awesome to hear the recording from that night if it’s possible.
Accept announced recently that they’re working on a follow-up to their absolutely smashing 2021 album Too Mean To Die. It should be out later this year or next year.
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Source: Talk Louder Podcast
