Heavy Metal Drummer Reprints WW2 Book

New Zealand-born author and musician Lawrence Paterson has recently reprinted his fourth book, Hitler’s Grey Wolves: U-Boats In The Indian Ocean, which originally came out in 2004 and explores the forty German submarines that operated from the Malayan (now known as Malaysian) port of Georgetown in 1943 and served alongside troops of the occupying Imperial Japanese forces.

Paterson, 48, who moved to Enfield in London, to pursue his second career as a heavy metal drummer in 1988, has written 14 books about the German forces in the Second World War.

He explains why he chooses to focus on the German perspective.

Lawrence says: “I developed an interest in war while I was growing up in New Zealand and listened to the stories of both of my grandfathers, who had served in both the first and second world war. One was in the Scandinavian army in the First World War and my other grandfather was in the Royal Navy in the second.

“I always heard how it was the Germans who were the bad guys, I believe it was never quite as simple as that, as there are no good guys or bad guys, they are all fighting for a bad cause. From then, I developed an interest in the German military.”

Paterson is originally from Matamata. He is best known as the drummer for Blaze Bayley and I.C.O.N.

Original article by Rachel Russell, This is Local London, November 8, 2016.