The DoLe were formed by Simon Page in 1977. The original line up was:
Simon Page (Lead Rhythm Guitar), Andy (Lead/Rhythm Guitar),
Paul Vjestica (Drums), and Matt Gillatt (Bass). After a couple of local gigs the band enrolled Peter Howsam on keyboards. Further local gigs followed after which Andy decided to leave. Peter suggested that the band gave his friend Ian "Emu" Neeve an audition on vocals. The audition took place and within a couple of numbers it was clear that Emu was exactly what the band needed.
With Emu the band's local popularity grew with gigs the Key Theatre, The Bull & Dolphin, Focus Club, The Grenadiers Club in March and Peterborough Technical College to name few.
It was about this time that the band came to notice of Roger Slater, owner of the independent record label Ultimate Records. One track that especially caught his eye was "New Wave Love". And so one Saturday morning a makeshift recording studio was set up in an empty house on Eastfield Road in Peterborough by Roger Slater and Adrian Knight. Twelve hours of blood, sweat and tears later, the master tracks for "New Wave Love" and "Hungry Men" were laid down. The double "A" sided single was released in June 1978. The music press liked it, with good reviews from Sounds, Melody Maker and The New Musical Express. The band were now in demand and supported top acts such as 999 at the University Of East Anglia, Radiators From Outer Space at Chelmsford College and Tonight at the Kings Lynn Corn Exchange. Meanwhile the single reached the dizzy heights of number 3 in the NME's independent chart. After a headline gig at Sandpipers Nottingham, bassist Matt Gillatt decided to leave the band and suggested his good friend Jon Cauwood would make a good replacement. But, by late autumn 1978, Jon and Peter both left The DoLe to pursue other band projects.
Now the three remaining members, determined to carry on, needed to find a bassist and a keyboard player if they were to continue. Within weeks, The DoLe mark 2 up and running with Mirko Obradovic on keyboards and Nick Joinson on bass. In addition Nikki Warmisham joined Emu on vocals. Their first gig at Chelmsford football ground was swiftly followed by a local gig at St Barnabas's Church Hall supporting The UK Subs. In November 78 The DoLe supported the UK Subs once more, this time in London at The Last Bastion White Hart in Acton. A month later the two bands should have played the same venue but with The DoLe headlining. Sadly this was not to be as the venue was forced to close down after fights breaking out at an intervening gig. Early 1979 the band recorded five demo tracks at Spaceward Studios Cambridge and supported The Only Ones at Focus Club in Peterborough. February brought a supporting slot for Rudi and Raped at The Bull and Dolphin. The DoLe's final gig came in London, March 1979 supporting The Skids at The Marquee. To play that venue was the dream of every punk band. Sadly the band split shortly afterwards, with its members following various music projects. [SOURCE: BORED TEENAGERS]
With their fractured songs, unexpected blasts of feedback, laconic vocals, cryptic literate lyrics, and defiant low-fidelity, Pavement were one of the most influential and distinctive bands to emerge from the American underground in the '90s. Pavement, along with Sebadoh, were the leaders of the lo-fi movement that dominated U.S. indie rock in the early '90s. Initially conceived as a studio project between guitarists/vocalists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg in the '80s, Pavement gradually became a band during the early '90s. Along the way, their initial EPs and debut album, 1992's 'Slanted & Enchanted', earned a devoted following of musicians, indie fans, and critics. Before long, the group's aesthetics -a combination of elliptic, cryptic underground American rock, unrepentant Anglophilia, a fondness for white noise, off-kilter arrangements and winding melodies, songs that frequently had shifting titles, and literate, clever lyrics- were imitated by underground bands through America and Britain. By that point, Pavement had become an actual band, one with a notorious, acid-fried ex-hippie drummer called Gary Young. Young left the band in 1993 as the band made the move to clean up their sound, if not their sensibility, on 1994's 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'. Their revampment resulted in a near-hit with "Cut Your Hair," but the mainstream decided Pavement were too strange for their tastes and the band decided it preferred the underground, leaving the group as one of the most popular -and the most influential- American indie rock bands of the '90s.
Stephen Malkmus (vocals, guitar) had finished studying history at the University of Virginia and returned to Stockton, CA, when he formed Pavement with childhood friend Scott Kannberg (guitar, vocals) in 1989. Pavement released their first 7" EP, 'Slay Tracks: (1933-1969)', by the summer of 1989. Recorded for 800 dollars at the small local studio Louder Than You Think -which was owned by Gary Young, a fortysomething drummer who appeared on the EP- and released on the duo's own indie label, Treble Kicker, 'Slay Tracks' demonstrated sonic debts to The Fall, R.E.M., the Pixies, and Sonic Youth. While there were only a couple hundred copies pressed of the EP, it managed to work its way to several influential people within the underground industry, including British DJ John Peel. Furthermore, the EP, which was credited only to "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs", became something of an enigma, since it was supported by no press releases or information about the band. By the 1990 release of 'Demolition Plot J-7', the band had begun to forge these influences into its own signature sound. Pavement moved to Drag City Records and added Young as a member during the recording of 'Demolition Plot J-7', but the band didn't perform any concerts until after the 1991 release of 'Perfect Sound Forever'.
During preparation for their first concerts in 1991, Pavement added bassist Mark Ibold and, in order to bolster Young's shaky timekeeping, a second drummer named Bob Nastanovich, who had attended college with Malkmus. The new lineup appeared on the band's first full-length album, 'Slanted & Enchanted', although the group didn't record any of the album as a full band; instead, it was pieced together by Malkmus and Kannberg. Before it was released on Matador Records in the spring of 1992, 'Slanted & Enchanted' created extremely good word-of-mouth praise; before the album was even available promotionally, critics were lavishly praising it in the press. Initially, the band's following was based upon critics and fellow musicians, but soon word began to spread on the street as well. Pavement supported the album with their first national tour, and while it didn't reach many cities, it became notorious for the band's sloppy sound and Young's grandstanding. He would greet the audience at the door, shaking their hands; he would perform handstands during the show; he would hand out salads at the door; he would occasionally collapse drunk. Young was asked to leave the band during 1993; his last release with the group was the EP 'Watery, Domestic', which was released in the fall of 1992. He was replaced by Steve West, a friend of Nastanovich. After West joined the band, the band's early EPs were compiled on Drag City's 1993 collection 'Westing (By Musket and Sextant)'.
Pavement's sound cleaned up somewhat after Young's departure; it was a combination of having a steady drummer and recording in real studios. Some pundits predicted that 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain', the 1994 follow-up to 'Slanted & Enchanted', would be Pavement's breakthrough into the mainstream. To a certain extent, it was. The album debuted on the U.S. charts at 121 and "Cut Your Hair" became a Top Ten modern rock hit and MTV hit. But despite the album's overwhelmingly positive reviews, 'Crooked Rain' simply expanded Pavement's cult dramatically, confirming their status as underground, not mainstream, stars. Following the release of 'Crooked Rain', Pavement recorded sporadically during 1994; Malkmus and Nastanovich also contributed to 'Starlite Walker', the full-length debut by the Silver Jews, which was led by their college friend David Berman.
Pavement returned with their third album, 'Wowee Zowee', in the spring of 1995. More sprawling and eclectic than either of its predecessors, the album proved once again that Pavement were a leader of the underground instead of alternative rock's Next Big Thing. Despite the mixed response 'Wowee Zowee' received from critics -which sparked a Pavement backlash in the press that continued for the next two years- most of the group's die-hard fans embraced the album. The band also landed a spot on the fifth Lollapalooza, which featured likeminded artists such as Beck and Sonic Youth. Though it may have been financially lucrative, the gig proved frustrating for the band; sandwiched in the middle of the main stage's bill, Pavement found themselves playing to fewer people than they might have, had they headlined the second stage.
The group began 1996 with the release of the 'Pacific Trim' EP and spent the rest of the year recording their fourth album with producer Mitch Easter. Released in early 1997, 'Brighten the Corners' was seen as a return to the group's more accessible, 'Crooked Rain'-like sound; it was greeted with positive reviews and debuted at number 70 on the American charts. After extensive touring in the U.S. and worldwide, Pavement took a break for the first half of 1998. That summer, among the bandmembers' off-duty activities, both Malkmus and Kannberg performed solo gigs: Malkmus introduced new Silver Jews and Pavement songs at the two L.A. dates he played with Scarnella (Nels Cline and the Geraldine Fibbers' Carla Bozulich's side project), while Kannberg played drums with Half Five Quarter to Six (an impromptu '80s cover band featuring other San Francisco-based musicians) at a charity event called One Night Stand. Kannberg also started his own label, Pray for Mojo (later renamed Amazing Grease), which featured bands like the psych-pop combo Oranger.
That fall, Pavement regrouped and recorded 'Terror Twilight' with producer Nigel Godrich, whose intricate, polished style graced albums by Natalie Imbruglia, Beck, and, most famously, Radiohead. That group's guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, played harmonica on the album's sessions. When 'Terror Twilight' arrived in the summer of 1999, it won uniformly positive reviews, but its bigger, cleaner sound and lack of any Kannberg songs made it feel suspiciously like a disguised Stephen Malkmus solo album. The 'Major Leagues' EP did feature songs from Kannberg -which he recorded with Gary Young at Louder Than You Think- but this did little to dispel the breakup rumors Pavement had been dodging since Malkmus' solo gigs, in which he admitted that the bandmembers' desires to live outside of Pavement could spell the group's end. He announced that the band was indeed finished at their November 20, 1999, date at the London Brixton Academy: with a set of handcuffs hanging from his mic stand -which he said symbolized being a part of a band- Malkmus thanked Pavement's fans "for coming all these years."
However, the official word from the band and Matador Records was that Pavement were merely on hiatus. But, in the spring of 2000, word got out that both Kannberg and Malkmus were readying solo projects: Kannberg's, named The Preston School of Industry, reunited him with Gary Young; Malkmus' was initially called The Jicks, then rechristened Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and included drummer John Moen, formerly of the Dharma Bums and The Fastbacks, and bassist Joanna Bolme, who had also worked with The Minders. An interview with Malkmus in the November 2000 issue of Spin confirmed Pavement's breakup for once and all. Ibold,West, and Nastanovich also stayed busy during the group's "hiatus": Ibold started his own label, West toured and recorded with his project Marble Valley, and Nastanovich maintained his horse-racing tip sheet Lucky Lavender. Late in 2000, it was announced that Malkmus' solo album -which had the working title of 'Swedish Reggae'- would be known simply as 'Stephen Malkmus', and that he and The Jicks would tour in the spring of 2001 with Elastica's Justine Frischmann joining on as an additional guitarist and Nastanovich as their road manager. Kannberg and his group also began playing dates in early 2001.
Despite the band's somewhat confusing and frustrating end, Pavement helped steer the course of '90s indie rock in a consistently intelligent, unpredictable -and even fun- direction. In late October of 2002, Matador released a massively expanded version of the seminal 'Slanted & Enchanted'. The version contained an astounding 36 bonus tracks ranging from an entire live performance to revealing B-sides. A retrospective double-DVD set entitled 'Slow Century' was welcomed concurrently. Matador then released a similarly expanded edition of 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' in 2004 and 'Wowee Zowee' in 2006, all the more confirming Pavement's legacy as indie rock trailblazers. In 2009, the band announced a series of 2010 benefit shows in New York City's Central Park and the U.K. that evolved into a full-fledged reunion tour in 2010. That year also saw the release of a compilation album called 'Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement'. Following this burst of activity, the band once again went their separate ways. In 2015, they reactivated their archival project with the release of 'Secret History, Vol. 1', a compilation that issued rarities from the 2002 'Slanted & Enchanted [Luxe & Reduxe]' reissue on vinyl. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Vice Creems, originally the Aylesbury Bucks, formed in Aylesbury in around mid / late 1977. They were basically the vehicle for Zig-Zag Magazine editor (and former teenage president of the Mott The Hoople fanclub) Kris Needs (vocals), his best mate Colin Keinch (guitar) and assorted mates from the pub. Following sparodic gigging throughout late 77 / early 78, they made their vinyl debut with a fairly typical punky track "No Passion" on the 'Aylesbury Goes Flaccid' local compilation LP.
Shortly afterwards (June 78) they recorded two tracks "01-01-212" and "Won't You Be My Girl" on studio down-time during a Flaming Groovies album tracking session (obviously due to Needs' connections) which was released shortly afterwards as their debut 45 on Tiger Records (the sleeve lists the line up, in addition to Needs and Keinch, as Nigel Birchall, guitar, Chris Lugmayer, bass, and Martin Godfrey, drums).
Following more gigs (including dates with The Adverts and The Lurkers), on the eve of returning to the studio to record a Mick Jones produced second single, Birchall, Lugmayer and Godfrey quit the band. Jones said "don't worry" and offered to get Needs and Keinch a band for the session, which he did: The Clash's Topper Headon on drums, Generation X's Tony James on bass and Jones himself on guitar (and apparently Billy Idol is in there on backing vocals too). The recordings materialized as a single 'Danger Love / 'Like A Tiger' on ZigZag Records shortly afterwards, with (for legal reasons) Jones credited as "Michael Blair", Headon as "Nicholas Kahn" and James as "Anthony Ross".
The Vice Creems were never able to find a steady line up, and called it a day shortly afterwards but not before a prestigious support slot to The Clash and Ian Dury & The Blockheads at Aylesbury Friars. In all the singles were fairly well received though Needs and the band were never viewed as serious contenders more a journalist playing at being a rockstar.
After quitting Zig-Zag Magazine in the early 80's, and following several years in New York (along with picking up a heavy heroin habit), Needs cleaned up, returned to the UK in the early 90's and has since become a major figure in the UK underground dance scene, both as a DJ and as a recording artist. [SOURCE: PUNK 77]
The Record Players were a british punk rock band formed in 1976 in Margate, Kent. Members were Philip Martin [aka Drohne] (vocals, guitar), Mark Addisson (vocals, guitar), Martin Horn (bass), Gordon Larner (drums) and Hugh Manistre (piano, organ). They released three 7": 'Double C Side' in 1978, '60-7 Inches' in 1979, and 'Money Worries' in 1981, all of them on the Wreckord label. After The Record PlayersPhilip Martin founded Drohne as a project of "hurdy-gurdy toting psychedelia". He has been assisted by Alexi Nonis (cretian lira, jews harp), Geoff Huggins (bass clarinett, sax, early woodwind), Jon Loomes (violin, concertina, additional vocals), plus Brendan Power (harmonica), Tim Edey (guitar and accordion), and Lucy Randell (cajon and percussion).
The Original Sins were a garage rock band that formed in 1987 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The group were known for combining the musical stylings of punk rock, psychedelic rock, and even pop music with their songs. The band released a total of nine full-length studio albums across their entire career before they band broke up in early 1998.
On Friday, April 12, 2019 the band reunited to play at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, PA.
The band emerged in 1987 from the edgy punk scene of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The city was going through a major decline at the time due to the closing of the industrial powerhouse Bethlehem Steel. After numerous unsuccessful attempts at joining bands, guitarist John Terlesky decided to form his own band with Ken Bussiere, a bassist he met through Neil Hever, a WMUH college radio disc jockey who was friends with Terlesky. Later on, the duo would meet keyboardist Dan McKinney and drummer Dave Ferrara, and the quintet would name themselves The Original Sins.
Later that same year, the band released their debut studio album 'Big Soul', which received moderate success within the American underground music scene.
Their independent success with 'Big Soul' continued with 'The Hardest Way' (1989) and 'Self Destruct' (1990), the latter included a photo of Terlesky holding a BB gun next to his head as the cover. Their 1992 album, 'Move' was expected to be a major success for the band, as Peter Buck from R.E.M. helped with the record, but unfortunately for the band, it was not.
After the release of 'Move', Ferrara left the group and would later perform in the band The Reach Around Radio Clowns. To replace him, the band hired Seth Baer on drum duties. Seth would stay with the band until he left for school before the production of 'Suburban Primitive', in which Ferrara came back to perform drums. The band would continue releasing records with Baer, such as 'Out There' (1992) and 'Acidbubblepunk' (1994). Their 1995 album 'Turn You On' was released as a limited edition vinyl record through Terlesky's Bedlam record label. 1996 saw the release of 'Bethlehem', which was released through Bar/None Records, who released their debut album in 1987. The album shows a change in style and tone for the band, focusing much heavily on pop music rather than the garage punk fury of past releases. The album met high praise from fans and critics alike, with some calling it as "the band's greatest achievement". A year after the release of their 1997 album 'Suburban Primitive', the project finally ended after bassist and founder member Ken Bussiere announced that he will be moving to Florida to perform in oldies cover bands. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Orbital, the British duo of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, have crafted a vast catalog of ambitious yet accessible electronic music, informed by a wide range of genres such as ambient, electro, punk, and film scores. They became one of the biggest names in techno during the mid-'90s by solving the irreconcilable differences previously inherent in the genre: to stay true to the dance underground and, at the same time, force entry into the rock arena, where an album functions as an artistic statement -not a collection of singles- and a band's prowess is demonstrated by the actual performance of live music. Beginning their career with the 1990 British Top 20 hit "Chime," the duo released a string of critically praised albums, including the 1993 landmark 'Orbital 2' and 1996's 'In Sides'. The LPs sold well with rock fans as well as electronic listeners, thanks to Orbital's busy tour schedule, as well as their music's frequent inclusion in film soundtracks. As the duo's own music became more cinematic-sounding, they scored films such as "Event Horizon" and "Octane". The duo disbanded in 2004, only to reform in 2009 and release full-length 'Wonky' and soundtrack 'Pusher' in 2012. Following a second breakup in 2014, they returned once again in 2017, releasing 'Monsters Exist' the following year.
The brothers Hartnoll -Phil (born January 9, 1964) and Paul (born May 19, 1968)- grew up in Dartford, Kent, listening to early-'80s punk and electro. During the mid-'80s, Phil worked as a bricklayer while Paul played with a local band called Noddy & the Satellites. They began recording together in 1987 with a four-track, keyboards, and a drum machine, and sent their first composition, "Chime" (recorded and mastered onto a cassette tape for a total production cost of £2.50), into Jazzy M's pioneering house mix show "Jackin' Zone". By 1989, "Chime" was released as a single, the first on Jazzy M's label, Oh-Zone Records. The following year, ffrr Records re-released the single and signed a contract with the duo -christened Orbital in honor of the M25, the circular London expressway which speeded thousands of club kids to the hinterlands for raves during the blissed-out Summer of Love. "Chime" hit number 17 on the British charts in March 1990 and led to an appearance on the TV chart show Top of the Pops, where the Hartnolls stared at the audience from behind their synth banks. "Omen" barely missed the Top 40 in September, but "Satan" made number 31 early in 1991, with a sample lifted from the Butthole Surfers.
Orbital's untitled first LP, released in September 1991, consisted of all-new material -that is, if live versions of "Chime" and the fourth single "Midnight" are considered new works. Unlike the Hartnolls' later albums, though, the debut was more of a collection of songs than a true full-length work, its cut-and-paste attitude typical of many techno LPs of the time. During 1992, Orbital continued their chart success with two EPs. The 'Mutations' remix work -with contributions from Meat Beat Manifesto, Moby, and Joey Beltram -hit number 24 in February. Orbital returned Meat Beat's favor later that year by remixing "Edge of No Control," and later reworked songs by Queen Latifah, The Shamen, and EMF as well. The second EP, 'Radiccio', reached the Top 40 in September. It marked the Hartnolls' debut for Internal Records in England, though ffrr retained control of the duo's American contract, beginning with a U.S. release of the debut album in 1992.
The duo entered 1993 ready to free techno from its club restraints, beginning in June with a second LP. Also untitled, but nicknamed the "brown" album as an alternative to the "green" debut, it unified the disjointed feel of its predecessor and hit number 28 on the British charts. The Hartnolls continued the electronic revolution that fall during their first American tour. Phil and Paul had first played live at a pub in Kent in 1989 -before the release of "Chime"- and had continued to make concert performance a cornerstone of their appeal during 1991-1993, though the U.S. had remained unaware of the fact. On a tour with Moby and Aphex Twin, Orbital proved to Americans that techno shows could actually be diverting for the undrugged multitudes. With no reliance on DATs (the savior of most live techno acts), Phil and Paul allowed an element of improvisation into the previously sterile field, making their live shows actually sound live. The concerts were just as entertaining to watch as well, with the Hartnolls' constant presence behind the banks -a pair of flashlights attached to each head, bobbing in time to the music- underscoring the impressive light shows and visuals. The early-1994 release of the 'Peel Sessions EP', recorded live at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios, cemented onto wax what concertgoers already knew. That summer proved to be the pinnacle of Orbital's performance ascent; an appearance at Woodstock 2 and a headlining spot at the Glastonbury Festival (both to rave reviews) confirmed the duo's status as one of the premier live acts in the field of popular music, period.
The U.S.-only 'Diversions' EP -released in March 1994 as a supplement to the second LP- selected tracks from both the 'Peel Sessions' and the album's single, "Lush." Following in August 1994, 'Snivilisation' became Orbital's first named LP. The duo had not left political/social comment completely behind on the previous album -"Halcyon + On + On" was in fact a response to the drug used for seven years by the Hartnolls' own mother- but 'Snivilisation' pushed Orbital into the much more active world of political protest. It focused on the Criminal Justice Bill of 1994, which gave police greater legal action both to break up raves and prosecute the promoters and participants. The wide variety of styles signaled that this was Orbital's most accomplished work. 'Snivilisation' also became the duo's biggest hit to date, reaching number four in Great Britain's album charts.
During 1995, the brothers concerned themselves with touring, headlining the Glastonbury Festival in addition to the dance extravaganza Tribal Gathering. In May 1996, Orbital set out on quite a different tour altogether; the duo played traditional, seated venues -including the prestigious Royal Albert Hall- and appeared on-stage earlier in the night, much like typical rock bands. Two months later, Phil and Paul released "The Box," a 28-minute single of orchestral proportions. The resulting 'In Sides', became one of their most acclaimed albums, with many excellent reviews in publications that had never covered electronic music. The group scored their biggest U.K. hits with a three-part single of live re-recordings of "Satan" as well as their cover of the theme to "The Saint", taken from the soundtrack to the film of the same title. It was over three years before the release of Orbital's next album, 1999's 'Middle of Nowhere', their third consecutive U.K. Top Five-charting album. An aggressive, experimental album titled 'The Altogether' emerged in 2001, and one year later Orbital celebrated over a decade together with the release of the retrospective 'Work 1989-2002'. With the release of 2004's 'Blue Album', however, the Hartnolls announced that they were disbanding Orbital. After the split, Paul began recording music under his own name, including material for the "Wipeout Pure" PSP game and a solo album ('The Ideal Condition'), while Phil formed another duo, Long Range, with Nick Smith.
Unsurprisingly, that wasn't the end of their partnership. Five years after the 'Blue Album', the Hartnolls announced their live reunion for 2009's Big Chill Festival, as well as a 20th anniversary tour. The collection '20' followed in due course, as did a comeback single, 2010's "Don't Stop Me." In 2012, their eighth full-length, 'Wonky', appeared, with a throwback sound inspired partly by its producer, Flood, and partly by Orbital's sound back in the early '90s. The album also nodded to contemporary styles such as dubstep, and included guest vocals by Zola Jesus and Lady Leshurr. Later in the year, they provided the score for the Luis Prieto-directed film "Pusher". Orbital broke up again in 2014; Phil focused on DJ'ing, while Paul released a self-titled album as '8:58', as well as a collaboration with Vince Clarke titled 2Square.
Orbital reunited once again in 2017, issuing "Kinetic 2017" (an update of an earlier single by side project Golden Girls) and playing a handful of U.K. tour dates in June and July. Another single, "Copenhagen," appeared in August, and the duo ended the year with sold-out performances in Manchester and London. 'Monsters Exist', Orbital's ninth non-soundtrack studio album, appeared in 2018. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Led by the raffish and slightly scuzzy romance-obsessed Peter Perrett, The Only Ones were one of the punk era's most underrated bands. Not as confrontational as The Sex Pistols, as politically indulgent as The Clash, or as stripped-down as the Ramones, The Only Ones played not-so-fast guitar rock that sounded deeply indebted to The New York Dolls and other mid-'70s proto-punks. Singing his intelligently crafted pop songs in a semi-tuneful whine of a voice and backed by a band that effectively combined youthful exuberance with gracefully aging veterans (non-punk drummer Mike Kellie had done time with early-'70s clod-rockers Spooky Tooth, bassist Alan Mair was nearly 40), Perrett was an astute chronicler of the vagaries of modern, dysfunctional love. Despite a career that lasted from 1978-1981 and one certifiable "hit" song to their credit (the brilliant "Another Girl, Another Planet"), The Only Ones became the archetypal contenders that never broke big, despite assurances from fans and critics that they couldn't miss.
Although they split up in 1981 after only three records, The Only Ones, due in large part to "Another Girl, Another Planet," became more influential than one would have guessed. Listen to Paul Westerberg and you'll hear more than a little Peter Perrett (in fact, The Replacements covered "Another Girl"); look at the number of Only Ones releases over the past decade (a half-dozen at least) and you soon realize that a significant cult surrounding the band grew after their breakup. Ironically, it was the posthumous release of the sessions for John Peel's BBC show that, more than any of the proper studio releases, accurately displayed the muscle and smarts of this fine band. There have been many rumors surrounding Perrett's life after The Only Ones, many of them involving an alleged heroin addiction. Perrett did continue to record and release solo projects during the '80s, including a project known as The One in the mid-'90s. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Outsiders were one of the first bands on the British punk scene to commit their sounds to vinyl. Boasting an edgy but decisively rocking sound that was influenced by The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and The Doors, The Outsiders predated many of the bands that codified the U.K. punk sound, which was a blessing and a curse; while their music had a personality that set them apart from the many bands that would follow them, they soon found they didn't sound "punk" enough for fans who jumped on the bandwagon in the wake of the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
The Outsiders were formed by guitarist and lead singer Adrian Borland, who was attending school in 1975 when he decided to put together a group with bassist Bob Lawrence and drummer Adrian James. Originally titled Syndrome, Borland's new trio changed its name in 1976, inspired by the Albert Camus novel "The Outsider". By this time, Borland was a regular at one of London's original punk venues, the 100 Club, and had begun playing out as the first wave of U.K. punk began to spread; one Outsiders show in 1977 was attended by Iggy Pop, who enjoyed the band so much he hopped on-stage to sing with the band. Embracing the D.I.Y. philosophy before many of their peers, The Outsiders began recording at Borland's home, with his father, a physicist and amateur recording engineer, springing for a semi-pro recording setup. After Virgin Records rejected The Outsiders' first demos, Borland's father agreed to bankroll pressing and releasing an album, and in May 1977, 'Calling on Youth' became the first D.I.Y. punk LP released in England, appearing on The Outsiders' own Raw Edge label. Six months later, The Outsiders released a follow-up EP, 'One to Infinity'. While both records were modestly successful, neither was truly a hit, and The Outsiders' eclectic sound didn't always fare well with critics, who questioned the group's punk credibility on the basis of their hair length and occasional use of acoustic guitars.
The Outsiders decided to move up to a professional recording studio for their next LP, 'Close Up', which they once again released through Raw Edge in March 1979, but between a failed deal with another label to issue the single "Vital Hours" and Borland's growing dissatisfaction with the increasingly monochromatic U.K. punk scene, the group wasn't destined to last much longer. Six months after the release of 'Close Up', The Outsiders were history, and Borland had assembled the first lineup of his more ambitious post-punk group, The Sound. The Sound would go on to release five albums and become critical favorites without landing a breakthrough hit before their 1987 breakup. Borland then formed Adrian Borland & the Citizens, performing with them up until his death in 1999. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dave Goodman (29 March 1951 – 10 February 2005) was a record producer and musician, perhaps best known as the live sound engineer for Sex Pistols, and the producer of three of their studio demo sessions. In August 1978 he released a single 'Justifiable Homicide' under the name Dave Goodman and Friends which featured Paul Cook and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, but they could not be named for contractual reasons, although there were a limited number of singles pressed with their names and these became quite rare and valuable. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The new wave/pop act Leyton Buzzards was formed by Geoffrey Deanne (b. 10 December 1954, London, England; vocals) and David Jaymes (b. 28 December 1954, Woodford, Essex, England; bass), with additional members Kevin Steptoe (drums) and Dave Monk (guitar). From playing R&B cover versions on the pub circuit, they changed direction in 1976 after witnessing the new punk movement at the Roxy Club in London. By the following year they had secured a recording contract with Small Wonder Records, releasing the single ‘19 & Mad’, and changing surnames to the likes of Nick Nayme (Deanne) to reinforce their new image. After the single, Monk was replaced by Vernon Austin. After entering The Band Of Hope And Glory contest, jointly sponsored by the Sun newspaper and BBC Radio 1, they won the final at the London Palladium. Their prize was a recording contract with Chrysalis Records. The result was the band’s best-remembered moment, as ‘Saturday Night (Beneath The Plastic Palm Trees)’ saw them appearing on Top Of The Pops, celebrating band members’ former weekend drinking and fighting antics. Shortening their name to The Buzzards, they were unable to capitalize on their early success, though their last Chrysalis single, ‘We Make A Noise’, featured a cover designed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam. The contract-fulfilling 'Jellied Eels To Record Deals' compiled early singles, demos, and radio session tracks. Their final recording was a one-off single for WEA Records titled ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You’, before Deane and Jaymes set up the more successful, salsa-flavoured Modern Romance. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Zounds were an anarchist post-punk band with an altogether gloomier and more polished sound than the abrasive crash'n'bash of their mentors in Crass. Formed in 1977, Zounds was the brainchild of bassist/vocalist Steve Lake, a native of Reading who'd moved to Oxford and lived in a squatters community. The initial lineup included Lake, guitarist Steve Burch, and drummer Jimmy Lacey, and early on was influenced by psychedelia and Krautrock just as much as punk. Second guitarist Nick Godwin soon joined up, and Burch left before any material had been recorded, to be replaced by Lawrence Wood. The quartet spent most of their time touring the free festival circuit until meeting Crass, whose anarchist politics had a major impact on Lake. The group cut a demo and sent it to Crass, in the midst of personnel turnover: Godwin left, and Lacey was shown the door in favor of Joseph Porter. Crass signed Zounds to its own Crass label, and in 1980 issued the band's three-song debut single, 'Can't Crash Karma / War / Subvert'. Crass' Penny Rimbaud, who produced the single, had Zounds use a session drummer on the single, as Porter wasn't quite up to speed technically yet. Another single, 'Demystification', appeared on Crass's former label, Rough Trade, in 1981. Rough Trade also issued the band's first (and only) album, 'The Curse of Zounds', in 1982; its claustrophobic paranoia won generally good reviews, but the record slipped under the radar of most listeners outside the anarchist punk community. Two non-LP singles, the Mikey Dread-produced 'Dancing' and 'More Trouble Coming Every Day', appeared later in the year, amid more personnel shifts. Keyboardist Brian Pugsley briefly became an official member, and Mob drummer Tim Hutton came on as the bassist, with Lake switching to guitar alongside Wood. Exhaustion was setting in, however, and after one more perfunctory EP -1983's 'La Vache Qui Rit'- Zounds called it quits. Lake and Wood briefly reteamed with Godwin in The World Service, but soon broke up. In 1997, Broken Rekids reissued 'Curse of the Zounds' on CD, with their previous singles added as bonus tracks. Lake re-formed Zounds in 1998 with a lineup of bassist Protag (ex-Blyth Power) and drummer Stick (Extreme Noise Terror), and cut a benefit single, 'This Land', in support of Dave Morris, the man sued by the McDonald's corporation for libel. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
