The band, all from a small seaside town of Whitley Bay, formed in 1978 with Robb Weir on guitar, Jess Cox vocals, Rocky on bass and Brian Dick on drums.They quickly built a small loyal following, playing bars and Working Men`s Clubs in the North of England.The band used money gained from these shows to record their first demo at Newcastle`s Impulse Studios - home of the then fledgling Neat Records.Their single Don`t Touch Me There was the label`s first proper release.Selling well, MCA picked up the track and turned it into a minor hit. UK tours followed with Magnum, Saxon and the Scorpions, together with NWOBHM showcases with Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head etc.

The first album Wild Cat was recorded at London`s Morgan Studio in the spring of 1980 and , before embarking on more touring, the band auditioned for a second guitarist to beef up their sound live.John Sykes was picked from the bank of hopefuls, from Blackpool metallers Streetfighter (the same act spawned Merv Goldworthy of FM).
John uprooted to Whitley Bay, his `first` gig was at that year`s Reading Festival. This was infact his second gig with the band : little known is the secret warm-up gig in a small town called Wallsend at the Co-Op rooms, under the name Wildcats.

In August 1980, Wildcat entered the UK charts, peaking at No 18, preceding the band`s first headline UK tour. Sadly, Jess left after the tour in December, forming Lionheart with Iron Maiden`s Dennis Stratton. The band`s replacement was Jon Deverill from Cardiff band Persian Risk, whose first recording fruits was the Spellbound album in the spring of `81. Touring and another album release (Crazy Nights) that year catapulted the band to greater heights.

In 1982 the band leapt from strength to strength: a hit single with Love Potion No.9 was followed by what could have been a severe set back when John Sykes left to join Thin Lizzy.However, an admirable replacement was found in Fred Purser, formerly with punk outfit Penetration.
In 1982 The Cage album charted high, with tours of the UK, Europe and Japan following.

Negotiations with MCA over the terms of the contract renewal fell apart and with it, sadly, so did the band - only for Jon Deverill and Brian Dick to re-emerge and release a fifth Tygers album called The Wreck-Age in 1985. Replacements for Weir, Laws and Purser came in the form of Dave Donaldson (bass), Neil Shepherd (guitar) - (both ironically lifted from the Jess Cox solo band) and Steve Lamb (guitar) (previously of Robb Weir`s offshoot band Sergeant). Neil Shepherd later went on to join Waysted. The album , released on Music For Nations, was well received and a follow-up album was released by Zebra Records in 1987 entitled Burning In The Shade. Sadly, by then, with another label change, more line-up changes and a waning interest coupled with a pretty poor final album, the Tygers were finally put to rest for good.

MCA released a `Best Of` in 1983 and Live In Japan (only available in Japan ) was made available the same year. The band`s early demos were released in 1986 under the title First Kill (Neat Records), then all was quiet until the 90s.

In 1992 MCA re-released all four Tygers albums and a `singles` album (in Japan only).In 1997 Edgy Records released the most comprehensive collection of MCA recordings, putting out Wild Cat, Spellbound, Crazy Nights and The Cage with 20 bonus tracks culled from MCA 7", 12" and compilations. Also in 1999 MCA released another `Best Of` called On The Prowl on their subsidiary label Half Moon Records.

Finally, bringing the story up to date, Edgy Records have re-mastered The Wreck-Age album (October 2000) to CD. Spitfire Records also release the album in January 2001 in America. The Wreck-Age was previously only available on vinyl on Music For Nations in 1995.
Spitfire Records also release Live At Wacken (USA only) in January 2001. This was a 20th anniversary gig by members of the band at the huge annual German festival in Hamburg, 1999.

2001 also saw the release on Edgy of the live Tygers album Live At Nottingham Rock City. Recorded on the Rolling Stones mobile in 1981, the line-up was Jon Deverill (vocals), Robb Weir/John Sykes (guitar), Rocky (bass) and Brian Dick (drums).

Look out, too, for a re-release of Burning In The Shade : to CD for the first time on Lemon Records, a Cherry Red offshoot label (summer 2004).