MARIA FERRERO

Raiding the family fridge, making out with Lars… the former Megaforce publicist/a&r looks back on her early days with the band

How did you get involved with Megaforce Records?

“I was just a kid, so I’d gotten in with Jonny [Zazula, Megaforce founder] because my neighbour used to buy records off him in their store. I was hanging out in New Jersey as one of the gang, answering phones, doing whatever Jonny asked me to do.”

How did Metallica come into the picture for you?

“Jonny heard their demo and ran out to a payphone. He was raving about it, so asked the band if they would come East [to New York]. They came out towards the end of ’81. They weren’t just a California band now – they’d gone national.”

What were they like when you first met them?

“I made out with Lars! They showed up at my friend’s house and us all being teenagers, we did what teenagers do; drank, then made out! We were on the couch with Cliff and my friend Moira making out next to us, when the rest of the guys came in the room and shouted ‘Pile on!’ and jumped on us. Nobody – except maybe James and Lars – thought this was going to be the biggest metal band in history. I’d steal food from my family to feed them on tour. One Christmas I raided the fridge and drove to this really shitty motel on Route 18 because that’s just what you’d do back then.”

How did the press treat Metallica to start with?

“What fuckin’ press?! The US metal press wasn’t really there yet and tape trading was how the word got out about bands.”

What happened when Metallica signed to Elektra?

“We had a concert at the Roseland Ballroom [in New York] that had Metallica, Anthrax and Raven. After that, Anthrax signed to Island Records – they were going mainstream, no more Megaforce underground – Atlantic took Raven and Jonny signed Metallica to Elektra. The night was legendary; little did we know, Lars had gone to Q Prime management so they weren’t signed to Megaforce anymore, and we’d been dropped as managers. That was a blow; it felt horrible because we were a family that had struggled together to make things happen but then they walked away. At the same time, I think they had to walk away to do what they were going to do.”