The Sinyx

The Sinyx formed in the Summer of 1979 and played their first gig at the Focus Youth Centre in early 1980. The bands first line up consisted of Alien on Vocals, Paul Brunt on Guitar, Auntie on Bass and Vints on Drums. The bands name was based on the name of the ancient Greek movement of anti-societal rebels 'The Cynics'. They quickly attracted a fervent local following amongst the regions Punks and Skins, and began playing concerts further afield with groups sharing a similar outlook, including The Epileptics, Flux of Pink Indians, The Eratics and local band The Icons. 

A seven-song demo tape was recorded on the 01.03.80 at the Elephant Recording Studios, Wapping, with tracks drawn from their current set. Crass chose one of the tracks -"Mark of the Beast"- for inclusion on a compilation of Punk bands called 'Bullshit Detector Volume One' which was released that same year on their label. Also that year, a second demo was recorded by the band on the 06.09.80, but was never released. 

Following the release of 'Bullshit Detector Volume One', the band embarked upon a period of solid gigging, but all was not well in The Sinyx camp, and in late 1980, a reshuffle of the band personnel occurred. Alien continued singing, whilst Auntie switched to Drums, and new members Filf and John Edwards (both ex-Icons) joined on Guitar and Bass respectively. This line up quickly established a newer, slowed down and more intense sound and set about writing new material. The band often organised their own gigs and played many concerts in and around London and the South-East during this period, and later in 1981 the band went into Spectrum Studios in Southend and recorded four tracks for what would later be released as 'The Black Death EP' on the Reality Attack label. 

The record did well in the Indie / Punk charts and consolidated the Sinyx's growing position within Punk circles. Upon its release however, the band, repeating a familiar pattern, had another line up change. Alien remained on vocals, and Auntie, the other Sinyx co-founder, switched to Guitar. John Edwards moved on to Second Guitar, and new members Andy Whiting played Bass, and Steve Pegrum (of the Kronstadt Uprising) played Drums. With an intense period of rehearsing the old set and writing new numbers occupying the first couple of months of 1982, from March 1982 onwards the band set about gigging with a renewed fervour and their best sounding set to date. The band debuted the new line-up at the Forest Gate centre on 26.03.82, alongside The Mob and Rudimentary Peni. More concerts followed, a highlight of which was their performance at the Centro Iberico, in West London with The Mob on 01.08.82.

However, after a concert at the Moonlight club in West Hampstead, London, with Rudimentary Peni and Riot/Clone on the 11.09.82, founder member Alien left the band, feeling that they had achieved all they set out to do, with Drummer Steve Pegrum leaving not long after also. The band did continue on with other members until 1985 (namely Vocalist Mark Bristow whom had sung briefly with The Sinyx before, as well as The Sickies, and Donald Frame on Drums whom had played with Anorexic Dread) and played a few concerts, but essentially this marked the death-knell of the band and the end of The Sinyx. 

Auntie formed Sonic Violence with Andy Whiting (Whom also contained Murray Blake ex-Kronstadt Uprising). Alien formed The Provisional Southend Poetry Group with local colleague Ian Fry, before moving into writing. Vints went on to play in The Nihilist Corps and K-Mosaic, Filf went on to play in The Kronstadt Uprising, John Edwards played Bass in Allegiance To No One / The Cat Jugglers, and Steve Pegrum continued with The Kronstadt Uprising before forming The Ghosts of Lovers and The Hearts of Darkness. Paul Brunt is currently MIA. [SOUTHEND PUNK ROCK HISTORY]