Robert Gordon

Robert Gordon was among the first of the rockabilly revivalists to emerge in the 1970s, and one of the only ones singing the praises of Elvis Presley's primal early work while the King was still alive. Gordon went on to a long career championing the first rock & roll era with a strong, flexible voice that was ideal for the vocal dramatics of rockabilly, and a sense of style that suited the mood as well as the sound of vintage rock. He teamed up with a number of gifted guitarists who helped him make his music sound as authentic as his singing, among them Link Wray, Chris Spedding, and Danny Gatton. Gordon's early work captured him at his most passionate and energetic, especially 1978's 'Fresh Fish Special' and 1979's 'Rock Billy Boogie', while 1981's 'Are You Gonna Be the One' found him embracing a more mature and diverse approach and 2007's 'It's Now or Never', a tribute to Presley, was a latter-day triumph. Gordon returned in 2020 with 'Rockabilly for Life', whose many guests included members of The Blasters, The Stooges, and The Go-Go's.
 

Robert Gordon was born in Bethesda, Maryland on March 29, 1947. When Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" became a smash hit in 1956, it made a tremendous impression on young Gordon, and he became a passionate fan of Presley, Gene Vincent, Jack Scott, Eddie Cochran, and other heroes of the first salvo of rock. As the '50s gave way to the '60s, Gordon developed a taste for soul and R&B as well as rock, but he made no secret of the fact the British Invasion didn't impress him much. He discovered he liked to sing, and made his first appearance on stage when he was 15, performing at a summer camp talent show with his brother. He sang in a number of local bands, including The Confidentials and The Newports, but neither went much further than playing school dances and teen clubs. Later in the decade, he joined the National Guard to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and he got married when he was 19, fathering two children.
 

In 1970, Gordon relocated to New York City, where he opened a clothing store but had little time for music. A few years later, that changed when Gordon and his wife divorced and he began checking out a new rock & roll scene that was incubating at a Bowery club called CBGB. Gordon appreciated the energy of bands like the Ramones and Blondie, and he became a figure on the early N.Y.C. punk scene, joining a band called Tuff Darts. As punk attracted attention in the music press, Tuff Darts became rising stars, and three songs by the band would appear on 1976's 'Live at CBGB', a sampler of bands who played the club. However, Gordon would leave Tuff Darts before they could make an album when producer Richard Gottehrer heard them do a cover of Presley's "One Night" and suggested Gordon make a rock & roll album. 

 

Gordon and Gottehrer approached legendary guitarist Link Wray about joining them for the recording sessions, and Wray, impressed with his authentic rockabilly sound, signed on. Private Stock Records, who had signed just Blondie, struck a deal with Gordon, and his first album, 'Robert Gordon with Link Wray', appeared in 1977. Gordon's retro sound and style generated a buzz, and when Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, the interest in his early hits gave the public a greater taste for the sort of music Gordon championed, and "Red Hot" from the album picked up some radio play. Private Stock brought out Gordon and Wray's second LP, 'Fresh Fish Special' (named for the unflattering prison haircut inflicted on Elvis in "Jailhouse Rock") in 1978, which included a version of Bruce Springsteen's then-unrecorded "Fire." It generated enough attention that RCA Victor Records, Elvis' label, added Gordon to their roster after Private Stock went bankrupt. 

After reissuing his first two albums, RCA brought out 'Rock Billy Boogie' in early 1979; by this time, Wray had dropped out of the band, and British sessionman Chris Spedding took over lead guitar duties. The album fared better than his Private Stock releases, but was something short of a hit, and his second RCA LP, 1980's 'Bad Boy', generated more press than sales. Midway through recording his next LP, the label pressured Gordon to scrap the material and start over with a different producer and backing band, and 1981's 'Are You Gonna Be the One' was a more diverse set with R&B and country flavors along with the expected rockabilly, and was produced by Gordon, Lance Quinn, and Scott Litt, with Danny Gatton playing lead guitar. It became Gordon's best-selling album, and Gatton's stellar instrumental work made him an underground guitar hero; a live recording of Gatton backing Gordon on the "Are You Gonna Be the One" tour circulated among fans and pickers before it was released publicly under the title 'The Humbler'. Not long after the release of the album, Gordon was approached to contribute music to the soundtrack of a low-budget movie about a biker gang set in the '50s, "The Loveless". He ended up also playing a supporting role in the film, which starred a young Willem Dafoe and was the first directorial effort from Kathryn Bigelow, who went on to helm "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty". 

While 'Are You Gonna Be the One' boosted Gordon's audience, he and RCA had a falling out over the budget for his next album, and on the advice of his manager, he cut ties with the label; they closed out his contract with a best-of album, 1982's 'Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die'. A new record deal was not forthcoming, and Gordon stuck to live work for over a decade. In 1989, a concert album, 'Live at Lone Star', was issued by the French New Rose label. The album was released without Gordon's participation or consent, and he responded by working with New Rose to assemble and bring out 1991's 'Greetings from New York', featuring live tracks from his years with Chris Spedding. (These were the first two of a long series of live albums that would appear regularly over the next three decades.) 1994's 'All for the Love of Rock 'N' Roll' featured new songs along with material that dated back to his days with Tuff Darts, and featured their guitarist, Jeff Salen, alongside Spedding and Gatton. The German Bear Family label delivered the 1995 collection 'Red Hot 1977-1981', an overview of his Private Stock/RCA era, and in 1998 they brought out 'Lost Album Plus', a set of rarities including the sessions that were scrapped in favor of 'Are You Gonna Be the One'. 1997's 'Robert Gordon' was a studio set focused on early rock and country material, and 2004's 'Satisfied Mind' was a similar effort that featured Eddie Angel on guitar. 2007's 'It's Now or Never' saw Gordon reunite with Chris Spedding to record 15 songs originally made famous by his hero Elvis Presley. After a recording layoff of 13 years, Gordon came back in 2020 with 'Rockabilly for Life', which included guest appearances from Chris Spedding, Dave Alvin, James Williamson (of Iggy and the Stooges), Clem Burke (of Blondie), Kathy Valentine (of The Go-Go's), and many more. Robert Gordon had been in treatment for acute myeloid leukemia in the last years of his life; he died on October 18, 2022 at the age of 75. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Jayne County

Initially making his name as a prominent scenester during the heady days of the early-'70s New York punk club scene, Wayne County later gained additional renown as rock's first prominent transsexual performer, billing herself as Jayne County following her return to the U.S. from Berlin in 1980. Born Wayne Rogers in Dallas, Georgia (near Atlanta) sometime in 1947, Wayne County assumed his stage name for a production of the Jackie Curtis play "Femme Fatale". County acted in several Andy Warhol-associated theater pieces and from there became the regular DJ at the legendary club Max's Kansas City. Starting in 1972, County performed (in drag) at the club as well, eventually writing and recording a celebratory theme song titled "Max's Kansas City" in 1976 with a backing group called The Back Street Boys. However, County found it difficult to find American labels interested in his trashy, campy, New York Dolls-influenced brand of rock & roll, so he relocated to London just as that city's punk movement was beginning to gather momentum. 

County found a home on the Safari label with a new band, The Electric Chairs, and issued his debut album -also called 'The Electric Chairs'- in 1978. Further albums included 'Storm the Gates of Heaven' and 'Things Your Mother Never Told You', both from 1979; afterwards, County retired to Berlin and emerged as Jayne County, returning to North America in 1980. A 1981 live album, 'Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection', was the first billed to Jayne County, and found her fronting a mostly new version of The Electric Chairs.

 
County was quiet for a while as a recording artist, returning only in 1986 with a self-produced album called 'Private Oyster' (a similar, unauthorized version was later issued under the title 'Amerikan Cleopatra'; in 2017, the two albums were reissued in a two-fer edition). Periodic releases followed in the '90s, some featuring new songs, some featuring reworked versions of past material. In 1996, County published her autobiography, "Man Enough to Be a Woman"; in 1999, she issued a newly recorded version of her song "Fuck Off," retitled "Fuck Off 2000." 2002's 'Wash Me in the Blood of Rock & Roll' was a live album that featured a duet between County and Handsome Dick Manitoba of The Dictators. 2006's 'Wayne County at the Trucks' featured material from a 1974 recording project that was long believed to be lost. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Runaways

Often dismissed during their existence as a crass marketing gimmick, The Runaways have grown in stature over the years as the first all-female band to make an impression playing loud, straight-up, guitar-driven rock & roll. Since all of the members were teenagers (some were still learning to play when they debuted), the band's music was frequently raw and amateurish, but it neatly combined heavy metal and junkshop glam with the newly emerging sound of punk rock. Promoter and manager Kim Fowley's insistence on a sleazy jailbait image for the group made it easy for the press to dismiss them as nothing but a tasteless adolescent fantasy. But in the end, the Runaways' sound and attitude paved the way for female artists to crank up the volume on their guitars and rock as hard as the boys with the rebel-girl manifesto "Cherry Bomb" and the albums 'The Runaways' and 'Queens of Noise'. 

The genesis of The Runaways can be traced to a 1975 Alice Cooper party, where Fowley met teenage lyricist Kari Krome. Fowley was impressed with Krome's streetwise perspective and set about putting together a female band. Krome's friend, guitarist Joan Jett (born Joan Larkin), had been forming a band of her own with drummer Sandy West (born Sandy Pesavento), and Fowley quickly had a trio on his hands. However, it soon became apparent that Krome was not much of a singer, and she was replaced by vocalist Michael "Micki" Steele (born Sue Thomas), who also began learning the bass. As a trio, this lineup recorded a demo titled "Born to Be Bad" in late 1975; shortly thereafter, guitarist Lita Ford successfully auditioned through a trade-paper ad, and Steele left the group (she would later join The Bangles). Cherie Currie became the new lead vocalist, and after an extremely brief stint with a bass player known only as Peggy (which lasted just a few weeks), the band settled on Jackie Fox (born Jacqueline Fuchs), who switched to bass from guitar in order to join the band. 

Thus constituted as an entirely teenaged quintet, it didn't take long for the Runaways to score a record deal; Currie's stage wardrobe (lingerie) and Fowley's well-established contacts made sure of that. After signing with Mercury in February 1976, the band began recording their self-titled debut album, which was released just a few months later. However, it was not greeted well. Fowley was preceded by his reputation for overhyping gimmicky acts, and the sheer number of roles he played in guiding the Runaways' career made him appear a manipulative, Svengali-like figure. Moreover, regardless of whether or not the Runaways were simply a cheap exploitation act (an endlessly debatable question), the entire concept of the band -teenage girls playing their own instruments and singing frankly and enthusiastically about sex, booze, and life on the streets- was simply too discomforting for much of America. Fowley's extensive involvement (some called it near-total control) made it easy for journalists and radio programmers to dismiss the group out of hand as a male-concocted sham; it was also a convenient way to ignore the myriad cultural buttons the Runaways were pushing. 

 

Despite a wave of publicity on Fowley's part, The Runaways just barely scraped the bottom of the charts in the early fall of 1976, around the same time the band played their first gig at the legendary New York punk club CBGB's. The second Runaways album, 'Queens of Noise', was released in early 1977 and fared little better on the charts than its predecessor, thanks to radio's continued reluctance to program the group's music. However, when the Runaways mounted a tour of Japan in June of that year, they were greeted with sold-out arena gigs and rabidly enthusiastic audiences who didn't consider them a joke ("Cherry Bomb" had, in fact, topped the Japanese charts). A concert record, 'Live in Japan', was culled from the tour, but wasn't released in the U.S. 

Despite this taste of success, relationships between some of the group members had begun to fray, thanks partly to substance abuse problems and partly to unconcerned negligence on the management's part. Upon their return to Los Angeles in July 1977, Jackie Fox departed the group; a story circulated that she had attempted suicide on the Japanese tour, though it was later discredited. Before the year was out, Currie too had left, spurred in part by consistent disagreements with Fowley. Jett took over as lead vocalist, and new bassist Vicki Blue was hired for the group's third album. 'Waitin' for the Night' was released at the end of the year, and failed to even hit the U.S. charts. By this point, Fowley had lost interest in the band, and quit as manager early the next year. Jett's unofficial leadership role within the group became more serious, but unfortunately, musical differences were beginning to arise (Jett's punk and glam rock influences clashed with West and Ford's love of straight-up hard rock and heavy metal). One more album, 'And Now...The Runaways', appeared toward the end of 1978, but it was released only in the group's core markets of Europe and Japan (it later appeared in America with a different running order under the title 'Little Lost Girls'). Blue quit the band after their New Year's gig and was replaced by Laurie McAllister, but to no avail; Jett left the group in April 1979, and the Runaways officially disbanded not long after. 

Currie released a solo album in 1978 titled 'Beauty's Only Skin Deep', and then teamed up with her twin sister Marie for 1980's 'Messin' with the Boys'. Jackie Fox went to law school and became an attorney. Meanwhile, West and Ford formed a short-lived outfit of their own, after which Ford went solo and scored several hits as a pop-metal artist during the '80s. An even better indicator that there was more to the Runaways' music than met the eye was the success of Joan Jett's solo career. Jett formed her own band and record label, landed an enormous number one smash with 1982's "I Love Rock n' Roll," and continued to produce albums of tough hard rock into the 21st century. The heavily feminist riot grrrl punk movement claimed Jett as a major inspiration, prompting a re-examination of the Runaways' output divorced from Kim Fowley's marketing tactics. Rumors of a full-band reunion surfaced periodically but never resulted in an actual gig, although the release of a summertime biopic in 2010 -one that starred Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Fanning as Currie- helped rejuvenate interest in the band. In 2023, the British label Cherry Red issued 'Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin 1976-1978', a five-disc box set that combined all four Runaways studio albums and the 'Live in Japan' set, along with an extensively illustrated booklet. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Crazyhead

Crazyhead formed in Leicester, England, in 1986, and were signed to the fledgling Food label. Their first two releases saw quick independent chart success, ‘(What Gives You The Idea That) You’re So Amazing Baby?’ and ‘Baby Turpentine’ both reaching number 2. In common with Gaye Bikers On Acid, Bomb Party and Pop Will Eat Itself, the group was linked with the media-fuelled ‘biker’ or ‘grebo’ rock genre. By the time of their third single, ‘Time Has Taken Its Toll On You’, and the debut album in 1988, their career was in decline, despite later minor national chart success in 1989 with the 'Have Love, Will Travel' EP and "Like Princes Do" on the 'Food Christmas EP 1989'. Enjoying ludicrous names such as Vom, Superfast Blind Dick, Ian ‘Anderson Pork Beast’ (vocals) and stranger still, Kevin, they were dropped from Food in 1989. Their second album, produced by Pat Collier, found them housed on Black records. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

The Stukas

The Stukas debuted in 1977 with a sound that fell halfway between the emerging powerpop and the fast fading pub rock on their "Klean Living Kids" single on Chiswick. It was more of the same on the follow-up, "I Like Sport" EP, this time on Sonet Records. Neither record is said to have captured the energy of their live sound, though this song "Motorbike", from their third, must surely be pretty damn close. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 

D. Clinton Thompson

D. Clinton Thompson is a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Springfield, Missouri. D. Clinton were also key member of The Skeletons and also the core of The Morells. Between all the related side projects, D. Clinton and cohorts have released literally dozens of great discs beginning in 1977. In addition tho their own music as The Skeletons, you might want to check out their work backing Rudy Grayzell, Syd Straw, Clarence Brewer, Robbie Fulks and others. Of late, D. Clinton' bassist Lou Whitney teamed up with The Bottle Rockets for the tribute album 'Songs Of Sam'. But the coolest thing is that in 2000, Springfields's Downtown High School commissioned a mural of the areas music stars for one of their walls, and there in the right corner, big as life, are The Skeletons.

 

2 Timers

2 Timers were an American new wave rock group who formed in New York in late 1977. By early 1978 the group had relocated to London, England. The line-up in March 1978 was: John Warnick (vocals), George Fury (bass), Johnny Jones (rhythm guitar), Audie Willert (lead guitar) and Jim Morrison (drums, former member of Tuff Darts). Notably, their "Now That I've Lost My Baby" single was produced by ex-Gong member Mike Howlett (OMD, Sting, Revillos, etc.), and that's probably why it also sounds very British and of it's era. They self released a second single, "Living For The Week End" in 1979, but that was it for these guys.

 

The Action

The Action were based in Ohio between 1979-82, and featured Mike Purkisher on guitar and vocals (and brother of Lux Interior of The Cramps), Brent Warren on bass and Cliff Bryant on drums. "Get Back To Me" (1978) was the first of three singles, all on the same RadioGram label, followed by 1979's "Radio Music" and 1981's "She's Got My heart", all with the trio patented harmonies ans sense of melody intact. In the late 90's Mike gigged with a band called 3-D, and even spent time as live sound engineer for the only Beatles tribute band officially sanctioned by Apple Records, 1964. Meanwhile Brett and Billy Sullivan have also written songs for numerous artists including Dave Edmunds. More importantly, Brent and Mike backed former Raspeberrie Scott McCarl on his 1997 album 'Play On', bringing it all full circle.

 

The Blackjacks

Formed in 1983 by Thrills guitarist Johnny Angel and Outlets bassist Whitey with Jeff Erna, The Blackjacks were determined to be nothing like the twin scourges of that year, cheesy British synth-pop and poseur "Roots Americana" from former New Wave fops turned Hank Williams freaks. They succeeded and were likely the first of the glam/sleaze/psuedo Stones-Dolls bands of the American stripe, augmented by their former roadie and Nikki Sixx look-alike Rafe Mabry who would become the band's frontman mid-career. 

 

Brought to Homestead Records in 1984, the band released one classic EP titled 'Basic Blackjacks', launching the label that would offer acts including Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Big Black, Nick Cave, The Dogmatics and La Peste. The Blackjacks would later release a full length LP titled 'Dressed in Black' for Throbbing Lobster Records. The track "Dressed In Black" was a massive college and alternative radio hit in the Winter of 1985. 

 

The band performed as a top draw throughout the Boston and NYC club circuit including a pinnacle career moment, performing as the opening act for the touring group The Clash. Despite massive North East success, they disbanded in the late 80's. Johnny started The Broken Promise, Housewives on Prozac and Army of Bozos in Los Angeles, Whitey joined The Nor'Easters, Jeff Erna co-founded the world famous Dropkick Murphys and The Street Dogs and Rafe Mabry also moved to Los Angeles and joined Black Cherry. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 

The Nightmares

The Nightmares were a Garage rock band based in New York City featuring Ned Hayden pre-Action Swingers. They only recorded the 7" single "Baseball Altamont", covered also by Yo La Tengo in the 2006 album 'Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics'. The Nightmeres featured Ed Shanahan (bass), Ned Hayden (vocals and guitars), Phillip Shelley (vocals and guitars), Steve Dansiger (drums) and Tex Lyon (guitar).

 

Regular Guys

The Regular Guys formed in early 1977 as The Victims, regarded as the first punk rock band in the state of Kansas -and certainly the first in Lawrence. But the interest and crowds weren't enough to sustain a scene and by the end of 1978, the punk era was over. After a short hiatus, John Odell, Brad Reid and Mark Gilman of The Victims recruited new drummer John Chiarello, dumped most of the old punk material and exchanged it for "power pop" as the Regular Guys. 

The power pop craze was even briefer than the punk explosion, but it was long enough for Guys to gain a foothold. In late 1979, the band released a four song EP titled 'It's A Secret' on their own National Recording Artist label and things began to look up. The disc contained two songs each from guitarist Mark Gilman and singer John Odell (actually, everyone but drummer John Chiarello sang and swapped off on guitar and bass throughout the Regular Guys' career.) 

Trouser Press magazine (at the time, one of the few national mags to follow indie records -and one of the last to cover powerpop) voted the EP number nine in their top ten records of 1980. But still, without touring, it was hard to gain ground. Mark Gilman soon departed for Los Angeles to make films, including a hit Three Stooges documentary. Mark was replaced by close friend Dave Stuckey, who came with deep roots in rockabilly and traditional country music and brought those styles along with him. It made for an unusual combination but somehow it worked and the 'Guys started venturing away from Lawrence to play shows in Topeka, Kansas City and surrounding areas. Higher-profile gigs included opening slots for The Only Ones and Secret Affair from England, Pearl Harbor and The Explosions, and at one point the 'Guys even supported a minor Irish band called U2. The Regular Guys set obviously drew on surfeit of original songwriting talent, but they added a handful of well-chosen cover versions, including "You've Got My Number" by The Undertones, "I Won't Look Back" by The Dead Boys, "This Heat" by Gen X, "When I Get My Plane" by Todd Rundgren's first group The Nazz, and a couple Jules Shear tunes. 

By this time, the Lawrence alternative scene had its own fanzine ("Talk Talk"), its own local haunt (Off the Wall Hall) and a passel of great local and near-local bands like The Embarrassment, Mortal Micronotz, Thumbs (John Odell was a founding member in '76 and Dave joined them after the 'Guys broke up], The Debs, Smart Pils, etc., and increasingly found itself mentioned in the same breath as other "happening places" like San Francisco and Athens, GA. 

In 1981 the band went back into the studio and recorded 11 tracks across three sessions. Though Odell remained the primary songwriter, there were contributions from all three guitarists as well as guest guitarist/singer Bob Zohn (from The Blue Riddum Band, who was happy for an opportunity to record some of his non-reggae material). "Another Occupation" and "Death " are Brad and Dave playing all the instruments. 

 
Odell's sister Carolyn, a singer-songwriter in her own right, joined the band at the height of their popularity and brought with her a catalog of catchy pop songs. She and brother John did harmonies that hadn't been possible before, which expanded the band's possibilities. It seemed for a time that the Regular Guys might see some national success, but like the old story it just wasn't in the cards. The Regular Guys drew their last breath when Stuckey moved on to Los Angeles (where he worked with Mark Gilman: they collaborated a 1984 Bela Lugosi TV documentary called "The Forgotten King"), Odell moved to New Orleans, and Reid re-focused on his pharmacy career.

 
John and Carolyn Odell live in New Orleans and continue to make music as The Uptights. Mark Gilman lives in Santa Barbara, California and has helmed the old school punk band The DeRita Sisters. Dave Stuckey is in Los Angeles, where he has played with The Cramps, The Flesh Eaters, The Untamed Youth, The Dave and Deke Combo and his own band, Dave Stuckey and the Rhythm Gang. Brad Reid spent a couple years on the country scene (he backed Ronnie Dunn early on), but he's traded his guitar collection and the Hammond for a couple of Harleys for him and his wife. He works as as a pharmacist in Independence, Kansas. John Chiarello is a graphic artist living in Highland Village, Texas and continues playing locally. 

The Beatles Costello

Produced by Joe Pope, founder of noted Beatles fanzine "Strawberry Fields Forever", Boston's The Beatles Costello were a band with a serious sixties bent. They released a 4 track EP called 'Washing The Defectives', which includes covers of "I Feel Fine", "Theme From A Summer Place" and "Out Of Limits". The band was Eric "Slowhand" Rosenfeld (lonesome guitar strangler), Andy Paley (background vocals, rhythm guitar), Jim Freeman (drums), Chuck Chaplin (piano) and Jim Skinner (vocalist). Eric and Andy were members of The Sidewinders, who released a self titled album in 1972, and both were also a part of the 1978 Paley Brothers' first album on Sire. Eric also appears on Erik Lindgren's 'Sells Out', from 2001,but perhaps more importantly that's Eric playing guitar on the Meco hit album 'Star Wars And Other Galactic Funk' from 1977. Andy played guitar with Jonathan Richman's 'Back In Your Life', and also has produced the likes of Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, NRBQ, Candye Kane and Madonna, as well as penning tunes for Solomon Burke, Take 6, Los Straitjackets and The Rubinoos just to name a few. Jim Freeman went on to do reissue production for dozens of albums from Nat King Cole to Sinatra. Meantime Chuck added his 88's to The Pousette Dart Band's 1979 album 'Never Enough', and Jim Skinner became an engineer of some reknown, with credits ranging from TownesVan Zandt's 1999 'Far Cry From Dead' to Jeff Carson's 2001 'Real Life'. 

Chris Moffa And The Competition

New Jersey's Chris Moffa & The Competition referred to their music as "Contact Music" which meant "music brought about by a real need to express some serious social issues". They were compared to The Clash (though they didn't completely agree). The band's music had punk and pop/rock influences. They toured up and down the east coast but soon split up when Chris joined Soul Attack. Chris Moffa & The Competition were Chris Moffa - guitar and vocals, Jim Ohm - drums, and John Lewis - bass. [SOURCE: LOST BANDS OF THE NEW WAVE ERA]

 

Regina Richards And Red Hot

Regina Marie Cuttita, also known as Regina Richards or simply Regina, is an American singer born in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career in the late 1970s as the frontwoman of the new wave band Regina Richards and Red Hot. The band regularly played New York City music venues such as CBGB, Max's Kansas City, and Irving Plaza. With the help of Richard Gottehrer, the band signed with A&M Records. The first single released was titled "Tyger", with "Tug of War" as the B-side. The second single "Don't Want You Back", with "Company Girl" as the B-side, was followed by a self-titled album; the records did not attain mainstream success. Subsequently, she dissolved the group and focused on writing songs for other artists and helping them record demos with Stephen Bray, her former Red Hot drummer.

 

One of the artists who approached them was Madonna, who was trying to secure a recording deal at the time; Regina helped Madonna with vocal harmonies on her demos. In 1986, Regina and Bray co-wrote "Baby Love", initially planning on selling it to Madonna or another artist. Her record label, Atlantic Records, however, requested that Regina sing the song herself. The single reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year and was included on Regina's 'Curiosity album', which also included "Say Goodbye", a song she had originally written with Kenny Rogers in mind. Another song from the album appeared on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart that year: "Beat of Love". 

 

Music publications of the time often commented on perceived similarities to Madonna, and called her the "queen of the wanna-bes". In 1987, she appeared in an anti-drug public service announcement with McGruff the Crime Dog that aired well into the 1990s. In 1988, Regina released the song "Extraordinary Love". It reached #11 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In 1990, no longer with Atlantic, she released her final single "Track You Down". Plans to release an album titled 'Best Kept Secret' the same year were shelved indefinitely. In 1991, Australian singer Dannii Minogue released a cover of "Baby Love" as a single, reaching number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Steve Almaas

Singer/songwriter Steve Almaas rose from New York City punk of the late '70s into a well-respected artist during the '80s and '90s. Almaas wasn't a part of the whole corporate scheme of things, having played in various bands during the decade of big-hair metal and warming synth pop. Born to Scandinavian parents who emigrated to Minnesota, Almaas' adolescent years were spent exploring the Minneapolis post-punk scene, making music with The Suicide Commandos long before the haven days of Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, and Soul Asylum. Beat Rodeo followed in the mid-'80s, shortly after his stint with the alt-country trio The Crackers. Beat Rodeo scored a deal with I.R.S. and released 'Staying out Late with Beat Rodeo' (1985) and 'Home in the Heart of the Beat' (1986), as well as successfully touring across Europe and the U.S. A collaboration with George Usher resulted in The Gornack Brothers toward the end of the decade and a solo career for Almaas was about due. His gigs at the Ludlow Street Cafe in New York City allowed Almaas' tweaking rock to mold into his own creation. 'East River Blues' marked his debut in 1993; 'Bridge Songs' followed in 1995 and 'Human, All Too Human', which featured backing by The Ministers of Sound, was issued in 1998. However, his hometown still shared love for Almaas' original rock posse. In 1996, Minneapolis welcomed The Suicide Commandos in for one reunion show, where the group played to more than 10,000 people. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

The Go

The Go, hailing from Yonkers, NY, were active between 1979-1982 and included Joe Bryo (drums), Tom Conte (guitar, vocals), George Peters (bass) and Kenny Dutch (guitar and vocals). These guys were life long friends and music fans. The started out doing the usual 60's and 70's classics, releasing their sole EP in 1980, engineered by Rob Freeman, known for his work with the Ramones, Blondie and Robert Gordon. Favorites in the NJ / NY area, they got as far as playing CBGB's several times.

 

The Leopards

Showcasing the talents of Dennis Pash and Kevin Sanders and apparently initially a studio entity, The Leopards are simply a lost treasure. 1977's 'Kansas City Slickers' (rleased on their own Moon label, and sounding surprisingly good for a collection that was recorded in the basement of Dennis Pash's boyhood home), found the pair managing to nail Ray Davies and company's magical mid-1960s sound without coming off like mindless clones. 

 

After the release of The Leopards' debut the band relocated to Los Angeles, but couldn't make a go of it, subsequently returning to their native Kansas City. A second shot at L.A. proved equally unsuccessful. In the early-1980s front man Dennis Pash finally moved to L.A. full time where he put together a new Leopard's line-up, recording a series of demos while trying to interest a record label in his wares. Unfortunately in an era of new wave and disco madness, interest in Pash's English inspired power pop was non-existent. Luckily Pash's persistence paid off. Having sent Los Angeles DJ Rodney Bingenheimer copy after copy of a 12 track demo tape they'd recorded, Bingenheimer took an interest in the song "Psychedelic Boy". The resulting airplay caught the attention of the Greg Shaw's Voxx label which promptly released the song as a single. 

 
Encouraged by the single's local success Voxx agreed to finance 1987's 'Magic Still Exists'. Coming a decade after the band's debut, the self-produced LP was every bit as good as the debut. Exemplified by Pash-penned long-standing Kinks fetish remained firmly in place, though this time around he tempered it with a selection of out-and-out rockers and equally enjoyable Paisley underground/new wave influenced numbers. Fun through and through you had to shake your head and wonder why this wasn't a mammoth commercial hit for the band. [SOURCE: BAD CAT RECORDS]

 

Shrapnel

Shrapnel was an American punk and power pop band formed in Red Bank, New Jersey in the late-1970s, when its members were still teenagers. Originating as Hard Attack (named after the second Dust album), the band evolved and changed their name to Shrapnel, which became a militaristic, jingoistic concept band in its first few years of existence. Guitarist Daniel Rey cites the Alice Cooper stage show as an inspiration to develop a "schtick". 

 

The concept drew from singer Dave Wyndorf's strong interest in history, a desire to counter the hippie feeling still present in 70s rock, and memories of childhood games of play acting as soldiers (a practice that the band and manager Legs McNeil continued during the band's formative days). The band and McNeil also conceived of war as a relevant metaphor for both life on the NYC streets, and also for opposition to elements of late 70s culture that they felt alienated from. The band's stage show and lyrics were entertaining and helped them develop a local following, but were also controversial, not least for a masked character named "the gook". The band (and McNeil) had artistic intentions for these elements, such as satirically redefining slang terms that were used by soldiers during World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War. Rey describes the net effect as being a display of "comic book politics", and McNeil provides the perspective that they were all "white liberals", albeit ones that had (to use contemporary parlance) a very un-PC sense of humor.

 

Wyndorf has compared the band's antics in the earlier part of their history to Vaudeville, and has stated that it was amusing to provoke the easily offended. At the outset, Shrapnel wore military uniforms onstage. The band's aesthetic included glorification of war, carrying prop M16 rifles onstage, and stances criticizing earlier anti-Vietnam War sentiment: "Hey, you asshole creep, I bet you were against the war." This satirical but straight faced outlook was criticized, including being labeled as "proto-fascist" by the Village Voice, due to the provocative stage antics, and song titles such as "Hey Little Gook". Although the band gained popularity in the NYC punk scene, they may have "suffered a virtual press blackout because they flirt(ed) with attitudes (which)... the rock press apparently deem(ed) unacceptable even as satire."

 

 

The band played CBGB often, and drew comparison to the Ramones. On April 9, 1979, Shrapnel opened for the Ramones in the latter band's last ever concert at CBGB. The concert was a benefit to buy bulletproof vests for NYPD. The concert was attended by Norman Mailer, who was a friend of McNeil. Shrapnel would soon play at parties at Mailer's Brooklyn home, including one that was attended by Kurt Vonnegut, Woody Allen, Glen Buxton and José Torres. The event was covered by Rolling Stone, with that magazine's Kurt Loder writing "It figures that author Norman Mailer would go for Shrapnel, a New York punk band whose act is derived from endless reruns of the old Combat! series." Vonnegut apparently was particularly impressed; Loder reported that while many guests danced, the author "stood transfixed by the spectacle", and later complemented Rey on the song "I Lost My Baby On The Siegfried Line", saying that it was a "damn good song, lots of feeling."

 

In 1980, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #14 (by Frank Miller and Dennis O'Neil) featured a plot in which Peter Parker goes to see Shrapnel play at CBGB. A super-villain mind-controls the crowd and band, forcing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange to save the day. The comic also contained an ad for Shrapnel's 'Combat Love b/w Hey' 45.

 

By 1983, Shrapnel had softened their image. Michael Alago, who would go on to broker the band's Elektra Records deal (and who would later help major acts including Metallica and White Zombie sign record deals), had replaced Legs McNeil as manager. Gone were the combat fatigues, sandbags, and masked characters, although the band would still use a "bomb" as a prop during their performance of the song "Chrome Magnum Man", to Alagro's chagrin. Wyndorf, always an avid comic book enthusiast, explained that although the song uses war themes (bombs), it is actually a superhero song. He also stated that the band's use of a patriotic star in their imagery was a tribute to Captain America. During this period, the band retired some older material that, while amusing at the time, was written "while drunk" and started to "feel hypocritical". Wyndorf now wrote songs, such as "Hope For Us All", that had explicitly positive messages. This song would appear on the EP that would serve as both their major label debut, and their swan song.

 

 Two Shrapnel songs, "Sleepover" and "Come Back to Me", are used in the 1983 cult film "The First Turn-On!" by Troma Films. Shrapnel released two 7 inch indie singles in 1979 and 1981 respectively, and also had a major label (Elektra Records) 5 song self-titled 12" EP released in 1984, before disbanding in 1985. The members were Dave Wyndorf (vocals), Daniel Rabinowitz, aka Daniel Rey (guitar), Dave Vogt (guitar), Phil Caivano (bass), and Danny Clayton (drums). Wyndorf would go on to co-found eventual gold selling rock band Monster Magnet in 1989 and continues to lead that band 35+ years later. Caivano has also been a long-time member of Monster Magnet and has played in other bands including Blitzspeer and Murphy's Law. Rey has produced over 40 albums since 1987, including for artists such as the Ramones, Misfits, White Zombie, and Ronnie Spector, and served as Joey Ramone's guitarist during his solo career. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

The Now

Hailing from New York City, Jeff Lennon (Geoff "Lip" Danielik), Mamie Francis, Robin Dee and Bobby Ore were The Now. They were playing the Max's Kansas City scene when they signed to RCA distributed Midsong International Records and hooked up with producer Bobby Orlando. An album was "produced, arranged, engineered and concieved" by Mr. Orlando and sold about 200,000 records -enough to warrant a second LP which the band started to record. Then the label literally disappeared from their New York City offices. The band never received a dime and that was the end of The Now. 

 

The band splintered off into various bands but none achieved any level of success. A live disc recorded in 1979 was released on CD. Geoff "Lip" Danielik had 4 bands during 1978-1981 (Alter Ego, Peroxide, T.K.O and The Now) all which did the major label flirting thing but never quite getting to where they all had hoped. Only Bobby O (Orlando, Orefiece) seems to have had a career (quite a major player) in Hi-NRG  electronic dance music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom during the late 1970s and early 1980s. [SOURCE: WHAT FRANK IS LISTENING TO]

 

Quincy

Quincy was a New Wave/Power pop band from New Jersey. They released their first album on Columbia records in 1980 entitled 'Quincy' and an EP in 1983 entitled 'Don't Say No', using the band name Lulu Temple. 

 

The band was started by two sets of brothers, Stephen and Brian Butler, and Gerald and Alex Takach. The brothers had met while going to Haddon Heights High School in New Jersey during the 1970s and eventually forming Quincy, where they started off with an acoustic/electric soft rock sound with 4 part vocal harmonies. In 1976, Quincy did a month long tour of the midwest with Bob Holden on drums. A few months later on Friday August 13, 1976, while playing at JC Dobbs club on South Street in Philadelphia, Alex Takach was mysteriously murdered. 

 

After a short period of inactivity, the band re-emerged embracing the Punk/New Wave movement. Gerald Takach took the stage name Gerald Emerick and the band added Wally Smith (aka Metro) on keyboards. They found their way to CBGB in New York and became a regular fixture in the late 1970s. They were managed by the owner of CBGB, Hilly Kristal and released a single on CBGB Records titled "Can't Live In A Dream"/"Salvation Fantasy". The band eventually signed with Columbia/CBS Records. 

 

The debut album was released to favorable reviews and enthusiasm at radio stations. Shortly after the first album came out, Quincy Jones sued them for using his name. CBS Records did not help the band with the lawsuit. (Both the band and Jones recorded for CBS, and Jones was vastly more powerful than the band.) The band Quincy and Quincy Jones eventually settled out of court. The band then changed its name to Lulu Temple. The settlement stipulated that no mention could be made of the lawsuit in public.

 

After a long battle to release a second record, the EP 'Don't Say No' was released under the new name Lulu Temple. In addition to a new name, the band took on a new musical direction adding horns and percussion and a more layered approach. Without the support of the label and the lack of press, even the band's fan base didn't know of their new record. The band soon split up and went their separate ways in various musical and theatrical endeavors. The Butler brothers eventually founded the band Smash Palace.

 

The Secret

The Secret were an English Punk/New Wave band formed by Benny Leopard (Barry Andrews) and Micky Modern in the mid-70's. Originally a full band, Modern and Leopard were the only remaining members by the time The Secret recorded their wacky self-titled album, a campy over-the-top pogo pop that sounds an awful lot like 70's-era Sparks fronted by a baritone Russell Mael. Micky Modern went on to manage 9 Below Zero and Nik Kershaw. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

White Heat

White Heat was a power pop band from Newcastle, UK active in the late 70s and early 80s. Bob Smeaton, later a Grammy winning producer and songwriter, was the frontman. The group also included Alan Fish (guitar), Colin Roberts (bass), Brian Younger (guitar), and "Little John" Roberts (drums). They made four singles, the second of which -"Nervous Breakdown"- hit #19 on the indie charts, and they released the album 'In the Zero Hour' in 1981. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 

The Classics

"499-2139" was a number aspiring bands could call to submit demos to a then new label, and the number was used as the title of the album made up those songs. The label was Elton John's The Rocket Record Company, founded by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Stephen Brown in 1972, and the LP also included The Lambrettas among others, as The Classics, formed by Mark Thursfield (bass, vocals), Jim Honeywood (drums), Paul Baverstock (lead guitar, vocals), Julie Suffield (lead vocals), and John Wootten (rhythm guitar, vocals). Their "Audio, Audio" is not only a great song, with one of the catchiest choruses you are likely to find, but it's also that great rarity, a UK power pop tune sung by a female. This was also issued as a split single with The Escalators. 

The Cheaters

Once labelled “the hardest working band in Britain” by Radio 1 (over 340 gigs in one year), the Manchester band The Cheaters built-up a massive UK fan base during the early 80’s, releasing three albums and 7 singles, including the airplay hit “Spirit In The Sky.” Signing to the re launched Parlophone label in 81, the band recorded Radio 1 sessions for Mike Read, Kid Jensen, Janice Long, Tommy Vance and Mark Radcliffe (who was a young producer working at Piccadilly Radio). The 4-piece R&B band never troubled the charts, but played just about every live venue in the UK. Apart form their UK following the band built up a massive Scandinavian fan base after the editor of a leading Norwegian music magazine put them on the front cover, proclaiming they were “better than Man United!” During one Scandinavian tour The Cheaters became the first UK band in over 10 years to play gigs above the arctic circle. [SOURCE: BAND ON THE WALL] 

The Jolt

The Jolt were a Scottish band formed in Wishaw, Scotland in September 1976. At the time, Robbie Collins and Jim Doak were clerks in the civil service and Iain Shedden was a music journalist for a local paper. They had known each other from their schooldays at Wishaw High School and had been thinking about forming a band since the beginning of 1975. They started out playing 1960s covers and then sped up their music, playing a mix of punk rock and power pop. The lineup was Collins on guitar and vocals, Doak on bass and vocals and Iain Shedden on drums. The band built up its following playing at the Crown Hotel, Wishaw. They enjoyed moderate success during the punk and early new wave era. They moved to London, England and signed to Polydor Records on a reported four-year deal worth £90,000, making them the first Scottish punk/new wave band to sign with a major label.

 

The first single released was "All I Can Do" in September 1977, before releasing a cover of The Small Faces' "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" in April the following year. However, they flopped, as did the band's sole eponymous album, released in July 1978. Soon after the album's release, the band recruited a second guitarist, Kevin Kay. They had opened for bands such as The Jam, The Saints, Generation X and The Motors. Paul Weller of The Jam became a big fan of the band, and the two bands often collaborated, with The Jolt opening for The Jam, and Weller even wrote a single for The Jolt, "See Saw", released in June 1979 on the EP 'Maybe Tonight'. However, The Jolt were seen as poor copy of The Jam, always in their shadow, and the band split soon afterwards. They were precursors to the mod revival, which ironically came to fruition around 1979. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

The Monks

The Monks were a British pop punk/new wave band, formed in the late 1970s by three former members of Strawbs -Richard Hudson (guitar), John Ford (vocals, guitars, synthesisers) and Brian Willoughby- along with Terry Cassidy (vocals and synthesisers) and Clive Pierce (drums). 

 

Their first album, 'Bad Habits', was recorded and released in 1979 after the success of "Nice Legs Shame About Her Face", which reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was a demo that was not intended for release. It was offered to another band who turned it down before French record label Carrere Records released it in its original form. The album failed to produce further UK chart success, however -the British punk audience turned against the band, dismissing them as inauthentic punks, once it became widely known that they had been associated with the Strawbs.

 

In an appearance on the television programme Juke Box Jury, Johnny Rotten derided The Monks as "patronising rubbish" when reviewing "I Ain't Gettin' Any" and as a poor imitation of the Sex Pistols. The band had more significant success in Canada, pushing the single "Drugs in My Pocket" into the national Top 20. The single was an especially big hit in Toronto, peaking at #4 on the CHUM Chart. The Canadian audience lacked the Strawbs baggage, and, according to Ford, were thus more willing to "take the album for what it was".

 

They dabbled with 1930s-style music in 1980 as High Society, before recording a follow-up Monks album, 'Suspended Animation', which was released exclusively in Canada in 1981. They supported the album with a 21-day tour of Ontario, with the most notable venue on the tour being a show at Toronto's Massey Hall. Chris Parren (keyboards) joined the band for that album, and Willoughby was replaced by Huw Gower during the supporting tour in 1982. 'Suspended Animation' went gold in Canada, while sales of 'Bad Habits' reached double platinum certification in 1982. The band later recorded several tracks for a third album to be titled 'Cybernetic Sister', but the album was never released. A CD reissue of 'Suspended Animation' in the 1990s included six bonus tracks from the aborted recording sessions. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]