Breed 77

by Stewart Mason
Gibraltar, a tiny British protectorate near Spain at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, does not loom large in rock & roll history: prior to Breed 77, the country came closest to rock importance when John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married there in 1969. A little over a quarter century later, Breed 77 (pronounced "breed seven seven"), an old-school hard-rocking metal band in the style of Iron Maiden and other New Wave of British Heavy Metal stalwarts, formed in London when its members moved there after growing up together in Gibraltar. Lead singer Paul Isola, guitarist Danny Felice, bassist Stuart Cavilla, and drummer Lawrence Bautista gained instant notoriety on the small but dedicated U.K. metal scene; by 1998, Breed 77 had already won the Kerrang! Readers Poll as best unsigned band. Signing to the Australian label Albert Productions (best known as AC/DC's homeland label) and replacing Bautista with Pete Chichone, Breed 77 debuted with 2001's self-titled album. Fleshing out their sound with second guitarist Pedro Caparros, they returned with 2004's Cultura. Replacing Chichone with British drummer Adam Lewis, Breed 77 released their third album, In My Blood (En Mi Sangre), in September 2006.