Tenpole Tudor were one the strangest and silliest groups on Stiff Records, a label that was known for its oddball clients. Led by Eddie Tudor (born Edward Tudorpole), a former actor who could barely carry a tune, the group played a mixture of punk, roots rock, pop, and British dancehall music, developing a thoroughly entertaining and ridiculous style. Tudor formed the band in 1974 with guitarist Bob Kingston, bassist Dick Crippen, and drummer Gary Long. Before recording the band's first album, Tudor appeared in the Sex Pistols' movie "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", singing "Who Killed Bambi." After releasing a single on Korova Records, the group joined the Stiff roster, releasing "Three Bells in a Row."
Tenpole Tudor released their debut album, 'Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary', in 1981; it sold well, launching two minor singles in addition to "Three Bells in a Row": "Wunderbar" and "Swords of a Thousand Men." That same year, the group released its second album, 'Let the Four Winds Blow', which also performed well. The following year, Eddie Tudor broke up Tenpole Tudor; while he led a Cajun-inspired version of Tenpole Tudor, the rest of the band became The Tudors. After the new incarnation of Tenpole Tudor failed, Tudor left Stiff Records and began performing in jazz and swing bands, as well as returning to acting. New versions of Tenpole Tudor were assembled throughout the subsequent years, although Tudor chiefly focused on acting until 2009, when he released the band's third album. 'Made It This Far' was followed by a national tour, which the frontman deemed "an electronic one-man stadium show." [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Texas native Joe "King" Carrasco has devoted his career to re-creating the Tex-Mex, Farfisa organ rock & roll sound of such '60s groups as the Sir Douglas Quintet and Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs. After playing in a succession of bands around Texas in the late '60s and early '70s, Carrasco founded his band El Molino in 1976 and recorded Tex-Mex Rock-Roll in 1978.
By 1979, he had formed The Crowns and was calling his music "nuevo wavo," playing especially in New York, where he appeared on-stage in a cape and crown. He was signed to the U.K. Stiff label and Joe Boyd's Hannibal label in the U.S., and released 'Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns' in 1980. By 1982, he had moved up to major label MCA for 'Synapse Gap', followed by 'Party Weekend' (1983). He moved to Rounder for 1987's 'Bandido Rock', credited to Joe "King" Carrasco y las Coronas. During the '90s and 2000s, he added reggae and cumbia to his Tex-Mex stew, with releases on Royal Texacali and Anaconda. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
When talking about the late ’70s British pub rock scene, Lew Lewis Reformer stands out as one of those bands with a strong underground reputation. Fronted by Lew Lewis, the group delivered a mix of rhythm & blues and early new wave with a rough, energetic sound that felt very much tied to the live pub circuit they came from.
Before forming the band, Lew Lewis had already made a name for himself playing with Dr. Feelgood, one of the key acts in shaping pub rock. With the Reformer, he pushed that style further, giving the harmonica a leading role in a way that was unusual at the time. His playing came across as sharp and punchy, almost replacing the traditional lead guitar, while his vocals added a raw, slightly chaotic edge.
One of their best-known tracks, “Lucky Seven,” captures the band’s identity pretty well. It’s driven by a tight rhythm section, bluesy hooks, and a slightly unpredictable feel that gives the song its character. The band never reached major commercial success, but their music carried a strong sense of authenticity that connected with audiences who preferred something less polished.
Over the years, Lew Lewis Reformer has built a cult following among fans of pub rock and early new wave. Their place in music history sits somewhere between the back-to-basics R&B revival of the early ’70s and the more aggressive energy that would soon define punk. They may not be widely known, but their sound and attitude continue to resonate with listeners who appreciate that stripped-down, live-driven approach.
Like Dave Edmunds, guitarist/pianist/vocalist Mickey Jupp was a champion of traditional rock & roll during the late '70s, a time when it had been all but discarded. Unlike Edmunds, Jupp wrote the majority of his own material, which updated '50s rock & roll with a tongue-in-cheek irony.
Jupp began his career with the Essex-based British R&B group The Orioles in the early '60s. The band earned a devoted local following in the early '60s, yet they never had the opportunity to record. The Orioles broke up late in 1965 after Jupp was arrested for not making alimony payments to his wife. Three years later, he returned to music, forming Legend, who laid the groundwork for English pub rock of the early '70s. Following the release of their third album in 1971, Legend disbanded and Jupp took another lengthy break from music. When he was coaxed back into performing in 1975 by Lee Brileaux, the lead singer of Dr. Feelgood, pub rock was in its last days yet Jupp was well respected in the scene, since both Ducks Deluxe and Dr. Feelgood had recorded versions of his songs ("Cheque Book" and "Down at the Doctors," respectively).
Jupp released his first solo single, "Nature's Radio," on Arista Records in 1978. The single led to a contract with Stiff Records, who released the "Old Rock 'N' Roller" single and the 'Juppanese' album in 1978; the bulk of 'Juppanese' was recorded with Rockpile and produced by Nick Lowe. Released the same year as his debut, 'Mickey Jupp's Legend' featured material from his previous band. Following the release of 'Juppanese', Jupp joined Stiff's Rail Tour, although he left the lineup before it hit the U.S. because he was afraid of flying. Shortly afterward, he left Stiff Records and signed with Chrysalis in 1979. The same year he released 'Long Distance Romancer', which was produced by 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme; like 'Juppanese', it failed to gain a large audience. Jupp moved over to A&M Records in 1982, releasing 'Some People Can't Dance'. After releasing one more record on A&M, 1983's 'Shampoo Haircut and Shave', he was dropped from the label. Jupp spent the rest of the '80s and '90s touring the U.K., releasing the occasional album on independent labels. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Rumour are best known as Graham Parker's backing band during his heyday, but the band also took a stab at their own recording career. And even though they were overshadowed by their association with Parker and never received much attention for their efforts, they did manage to make three albums of really enjoyable music in the mold of a new wave-ish pub-rock band.
The Rumour consisted of pub-rock veterans Bob Andrews (keyboards) and Brinsley Schwarz (guitar/vocals) from the legendary Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont (guitar/vocals) from Ducks Deluxe, and Stephen Goulding (drums/vocals) and Andrew Bodnar from Bontemps Roulez. The group formed in 1975 as Graham Parker's backing band, recording and touring with him off and on through 1980. In 1977, they signed their own deal with Phonogram and released their debut album, 'Max', the same year. They followed with 'Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts' for Stiff in 1979 and 'Purity of Essence' in 1980, and also worked extensively as one of Stiff's house bands, backing up Elvis Costello on "Watching the Detectives," as well as Carlene Carter, Rachel Sweet, Nick Lowe, and Dave Edmunds. By the end of 1980, lack of real success on their own led to their breakup. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
At Stiff Records, nothing was sacred; often the label's slogans and unorthodox promotion were as memorable as the truly inspired music they released. With teenage Rachel Sweet, whom they marketed as a "jailbait" country singer (and later as a leather-clad child abductor), it would seem that their perverse humor had finally gone too far. One listen to her albums, however, and all questionable images and in-jokes fall into the background; "the little girl with the big voice" made some terrific music, holding her own on a roster that had no shortage of talent.
Akron-born Rachel Sweet began her singing career at age six, doing everything from singing commercial jingles to touring with Mickey Rooney and opening for Bill Cosby's Las Vegas act. Between 1976 and 1978 she recorded a few failed straight-ahead country singles for the local Derrick label ("Any Port in a Storm," "Paper Airplane," and "The Ballad of Mable Ruth Miller and John Wesley Pritchett") and a handful of demos for songwriter Liam Sternberg, who shopped them to Stiff Records. Stiff signed the young singer and debuted her on 'The Akron Compilation'. She recorded her first album, 'Fool Around', with backing from The Rumour in 1978. She promoted the album on the Stiff package tour (The Be Stiff Tour) using The Records as her band. The album didn't sell particularly well, but it did receive a fair amount of critical praise.
The attention was short-lived, though, and 'Protect the Innocent', released through Stiff/Columbia, went virtually ignored the following year. She switched to Columbia in 1981 for '...And Then He Kissed Me', an uneven album that nevertheless featured the Top 40 hit "Everlasting Love," a duet with Rex Smith. After one more album, 1982's 'Blame It on Love', Sweet retired from the music business to pursue an education, returning sporadically, most notably to sing the title track to John Waters' "Hairspray", as well as "Cry-Baby". Her focus later turned to acting. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
While he wasn't one of the biggest names on Stiff Records, Jona Lewie was one of those irrepressible characters who gave the pioneering British indie label its utterly unique flavor. Born John Lewis, Lewie got his start in the early-'70s pub rock scene, playing keyboards for the Sussex group Brett Marvin & the Thunderbolts. Bizarrely, the group enjoyed its greatest success under the Lewie-helmed alias Terry Dactyl & the Dinosaurs, scoring a U.K. Top Five hit in 1972 with "Seaside Shuffle." However, subsequent releases under the name failed to duplicate that success, and Lewie departed the band. He resurfaced on Stiff in 1978 as a solo artist, singing pub rock and new wave tunes in a dry, deadpan, Ian Dury-ish voice. Most distinctive was his simultaneous taste for musical nostalgia (British music hall, skiffle, etc.), as evidenced on several cuts from his debut album, 'On the Other Hand There's a Fist'. Lewie also participated in the 1978 "Be Stiff" package tour (the label's second). In 1980, Lewie scored a Top 20 U.K. hit with the self-effacing single "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties," which, according to legend, was backing vocalist Kirsty MacColl's first session for the label. Lewie trumped it several months later with "Stop the Cavalry," a strange blend of anti-war protest, brass band arrangements, and Christmas sentiment. Surprisingly, the single hit the Top Five and became something of a Christmas standard in the U.K., where it was trotted out every holiday season and featured on numerous Christmas compilations. Stiff rushed out another album, 1981's 'Heart Skips Beat', to capitalize, but lightning would only strike twice, and Lewie issued his last single in 1983. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Jane Aire & The Belvederes was one of several new wave acts discovered in Akron, Ohio, USA, by producer Liam Sternberg, and subsequently introduced to Stiff Records. Jane Aire (b. Jane Ashley, 2 December 1956, Akron, Ohio, USA) recorded initially for the 'Akron Compilation' LP in 1978 and became the first of the featured artists to release a single -‘Yankee Wheels’. Sternberg used a band called The Edge as both session musicians and tour band but renamed them The Belvederes (after a type of turret-like building). The Edge comprised former Damned guitarist Lu Edmunds (later in Athletico Spizz 80, The Mekons and PiL), respected session players Gavin Povey and Glyn Havard on keyboards and bass, respectively, plus drummer Jon Moss (b. 11 September 1957, London, England), who played with numerous punk bands including London and The Damned before finding fame with Culture Club. After the Stiff single, Aire was signed to Virgin Records to record an album that featured the above musicians plus Chris Payne (trombone), Ray Warleigh (saxophone) and backing singers Rachel Sweet and Kirsty MacColl. After marrying the Boomtown Rats’ Pete Briquette in 1980 and assembling a new bunch of Belvederes in Paul Cutler (guitar), Ian Curnon (keyboards), Sam Hartley (bass), Dave Ashley (drums) and former Deaf School saxophonist Ian Ritchie, Aire returned to Stiff to make a further single -a version of Dusty Springfield’s "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten"- in 1982. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
After the split of Ducks Deluxe in late 1975, guitarist and songwriter Sean Tyla didn’t hang around. He quickly pulled together a new outfit, Tyla Gang, carrying forward that gritty, no-frills pub rock spirit but sharpening it with a tighter, more melodic edge.
Tyla Gang came together at a time when the UK music scene was about to explode with punk, but they were still rooted in the pub rock circuit -raw, energetic, and built for small, sweaty venues rather than big arenas. Their sound mixed crunchy guitar riffs with catchy hooks, leaning into rock ’n’ roll traditions while keeping things punchy and modern for the mid-70s.
The band’s lineup shifted a bit over time, but Sean Tyla remained the driving force, both creatively and stylistically. They released a couple of albums that have since become cult favorites among fans of the era, blending sharp songwriting with that loose, live-wire feel that defined pub rock. Even as punk started taking over, Tyla Gang held their ground with a sound that felt like a bridge between old-school rock and what was coming next.
While they never hit massive commercial heights, Tyla Gang earned a loyal following and left a solid mark on the scene. For fans digging into the roots of British punk and new wave, they’re one of those “if you know, you know” bands -an essential piece of the story that connects the dots between the pub circuit and the revolution that followed.
U.S.-born guitarist Danny Adler's Roogalator was one of the fixtures on the London pub rock scene of the mid-'70s, at the same time establishing themselves among the most un-pub-like bands on the circuit. Drawing deep from Adler's own experience on the Cincinnati club circuit of the late '60s, where he gigged alongside (and frequently jammed with members of) R&B legends Dyke & the Blazers and Bootsy Collins' Pacesetters, Roogalator offered an angular, minimalist funk sound which was utterly at odds with the country, blues, and early rock sounds normally heard on the scene. Even Kokomo, up to that point the most authentic attempt at a homegrown funk sound yet unveiled, trailed in Roogalator's slipstream. They, after all, simply followed the lead of the American masters. Roogalator prided themselves in escaping from it and in so doing, created the wholly distinctive blueprint for what would become the Britfunk explosion of the early '80s.
Adler had been resident in the U.K. since 1971, following a brief stint in New York City with Elephant's Memory. His first British band was Smooth Loser, formed with Chris Gibbons and fellow expatriate Jeff Pasternak to accompany Pasternak's brother DJ Emperor Rosco at road show events. The first incarnation of Roogalator formed following Smooth Loser's breakup in 1972 -that same year, Adler also recorded demos with 10cc's Graham Gouldman at Strawberry Studios.
Roogalator Mach I broke up and Adler relocated to Paris to study jazz theory. He returned to London in 1974, where he formed a new Roogalator with keyboard player Nick Plytas. Several lineup changes followed in the months before the band played its first live shows in September, 1975 -the membership finally settled to include Adler, Plytas, drummer Dave Solomon, and former Chilli Willie & the Red Hot Peppers bassist Paul Riley.
Lauded by the local press, Roogalator gigged through the end of the year, their apparently miraculous rise climaxing when they were invited to support Dr. Feelgood at the Hammersmith Odeon. The prestigious show was a disaster, however, and marked the end of the classic Roogalator lineup. Within weeks, both Riley and Solomon had departed, to be replaced (again after several short-lived changes) by drummer Justin Hildreth and bassist Julian Scott, brother of band manager Robin Scott.
Roogalator made their recorded debut in April, 1976, with the Stiff Records classic "Cincinnati Fatback"; their influence on that label's own roster, meanwhile, was swiftly made apparent with the emergence of Elvis Costello -visually a dead ringer for Adler and no slouch when it came to fractured funk himself. Despite such applause, another year elapsed before Roogalator issued a follow-up, when Virgin released Plytas' "Love and the Single Girl." The group then shifted to manager Scott's own newly formed Do It label for their debut album, 'Play It by Ear', in mid-1977.
Essentially little more than an opportunity to preserve the band's repertoire on vinyl before unleashing a crop of new material, the album was well-received but sold poorly. The departure of Plytas added to the group's woes; opting not to replace him, Roogalator continued gigging through early 1978 as a trio, cutting one more single, "Zero Hero," and demoing a second album. But when further lineup changes shook the group that summer, Adler realized the band had reached the end of the line. Roogalator officially disbanded in July, 1978, with many of the songs scheduled for their second album promptly being reworked for Adler's own solo debut, 'The Danny Adler Story'. He has continued recording and gigging regularly ever since. Roogalator's own repertoire has since resurfaced on the 'Cincinnati Fatback' compilation; the title track, meanwhile, is a regular inclusion on Stiff label anthologies. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Table were a punk rock band from Cardiff, Wales, best known for their 1977 single "Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated)". The band consisted of Russell Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass), Tony Barnes (guitars, bass), Len Lewis (drums) and Mickey O'Connor (guitars).
Young and Barnes had been performing together since 1971 in the band John Stabber, and formed Do You Want This Table (later shortened to The Table) in 1972. However, they did not own any musical instruments, refused to tour, and stated that they were not a "real" band and had no future in the music industry. Despite this, they were signed to Virgin Records and released "Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated)", first recorded as a demo in 1975. The single was an NME 'Single Of The Week', rapidly becoming a cult favourite, and subsequently appearing on several punk compilation albums.
Record label pressure saw them reluctantly become a well-received live act. Their uncompromising stance led to disagreements with Virgin, however, and they left, signing to Chiswick Records in 1978 and releasing a second single, "Sex Cells". The band ceased to exist after several line-up changes and a policy of playing increasingly uncommercial and distasteful material. Young's later band, Flying Colours, released a single, "Abstract Art", on the No Records label in 1981. Cardiff band Boy Azooga recorded a cover version of "Do The Standing Still" in 2018.
The Albertos were to the British punk scene of the late '70s what the Mothers of Invention were to America's late-'60s psychedelic movement, arch-satirists and caustic commentators whose satirical assaults were so accurate that a lot of people missed the joke entirely. Certainly it is no surprise today to find such high-octane Albertos punkers as "Kill," "Snuffin' Like That," and "Anarchy in the UK" popping up on sundry otherwise straight-faced punk compilations, while the group's very proximity to some of the era's most hallowed acts has only deepened the confusion.
The band was formed in Manchester, England, in 1973 by vocalists CP Lee and Les Prior, bassist Jimmy Hibbert, guitarists Bob Harding, Simon White, and Tony Bowers, and drummers Ray Hughes and Bruce Mitchell, many of whom had played together in an earlier band, Greasy Bear.
Initially pursuing the same kind of musical hybrid that made cult heroes of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, the Albertos first came to attention as one of the era's most ubiquitous support acts -there was a period when it seemed impossible to attend a show and not find them opening the bill. Neither did they find it hard to find an audience of their own; a wicked parody of Lou Reed's "Heroin," renamed for the headache medicine Anadin, became as beloved as the similarly irreverent Supercharge's notorious Drifters parody, "She Moved the Dishes First." Whereas Supercharge, however, was prone to wander off into less amusing funk pastures, the Albertos remained a sharp comedy team and, having signed with the Transatlantic label in 1975, they concocted a debut single that matched the recently proclaimed superstardom of Bob Marley with the simultaneous success of the movie "Jaws": "Dread Jaws."
A self-titled album followed in 1976, while 1977 saw the release of the masterpiece 'Italians from Outer Space', a creation of almost soap operatic dimensions, and positively littered with some of the band's most accomplished creations -including the two-part title track, an excellent revision of "Old Shep" ("Old Trust"), and "Teenager in Schtuck," a punk parody that set the course for the band's future direction.
The 'Skite' album followed in 1978, but the band's most important release (as a one-off on Stiff in 1977) was the EP 'Snuff Rock'. The four-song 7" was the soundtrack to the band's piece de resistance, a hit musical (of the same name) built around a suicidal rock star named Norman Sleak. Staged at London's Theatre Royal, "Sleak" was a massive success, and set the stage for the band's first (and only) hit single, the Status Quo parody "Heads Down, No Nonsense, Mindless Boogie." But the death of Prior, from leukemia in January 1980, saw the band lose a lot of its edge, while an attempt to launch "Sleak" in the United States foundered on opening night. The play opened the same evening that John Lennon was murdered, and dead rock stars were suddenly not seen as a source of humor.
A second play, "Never Mind the Bullocks", failed to take off and, while the band did enjoy a modicum of success with the U.K. TV show "Teach Yourself Gibberish" in 1982, they broke up soon after. CP Lee is today best known as a journalist, although he has made occasional excursions back into music and stagecraft; Tony Bowers later joined Simply Red; their bandmates left the music industry. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Punk poet John Cooper Clarke was born January 25, 1949 in Manchester, England; he first began performing his verse backed by a local folk group called The Ferrets, but in 1977 signed to the Rabid Records label to release the Martin Hannett-produced single "Psycle Sluts." With his rapid-fire verbal delivery and stinging social commentary, Clarke quickly emerged as the poet laureate of the punk movement, and he read his work as an opening act for groups including the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks; an LP, 'Disguise in Love', followed on Epic in 1978. After supporting Elvis Costello & the Attractions on their legendary "Armed Forces" tour, Clarke scored a Top 40 hit with the single "Gimmix." A live disc, 'Walking Back to Happiness', appeared in 1979, and a year later he released a second studio effort, 'Snap, Crackle & Bop'. While hugely popular as a stage performer, his records sold poorly, and 1982's 'Zip Style Method' was his final release for Epic. While still maintaining a high visibility as a live act, Clarke appeared less and less frequently in the years to follow, spending the better part of the '80s battling an addiction to heroin. (He also spent several years romantically involved with former Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, no stranger to drug problems herself.) By the following decade, Clarke had cleaned up his act, returning to the stage and contributing regularly to poetry journals. From 2000 onward, Clarke remained relevant through various collaborations and pop culture appearances, including a guest spot on BBC Two's "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" and a brief stint as a radio DJ for BBC Radio Six. He didn't release another full-length record until 2016, when he collaborated with ex-Stranglers member Hugh Cornwell for an album of covers titled 'This Time It's Personal'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Born in London in 1958, singer/songwriter Patrik Fitzgerald ranked among the most memorable of the so-called "punk poets." He debuted in 1977 with the EP 'Safety Pin Stuck in My Heart', a collection combining the outrage of punk with a streak of optimism rare for its time and place; indeed, Fitzgerald's sincere attitude and eccentric appearance -commonly, a badge-cluttered blazer, red drainpipe trousers and sandals- set him squarely apart from his new wave brethren, and he was frequently the target of considerable derision from elitist audiences.
Regardless, Fitzgerald soldiered on, issuing the 'Backstreet Boys EP' in 1978. In 1979 he signed to Polydor, recording his first LP 'Grabby Stories' with the aid of the Buzzcocks' John Maher. When neither 1982's 'Gifts and Telegrams' nor 1984's 'Drifting Toward Violence' caught on with audiences, he made an overt bid for commercial success with 1986's 'Tunisia Twist'; when it too failed, Fitzgerald turned to waiting tables at the House of Commons, ultimately moving to Normandy in 1988. Three years later he returned to London, launching an acting career as well as resurfacing for a series of club dates. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Although a product of the New York punk scene, at heart Mink DeVille were a soul band with roots in R&B, the blues, and even Cajun music. The group was a showcase for frontman Willy DeVille (born William Boray in 1953), a native New Yorker who in 1971 traveled to London to form a band; unable to find compatible musicians, he worked as a solo performer before returning to the U.S. and settling in San Francisco, where he founded the first incarnation of Mink DeVille in 1974 with bassist Ruben Siguenza and drummer Tom "Manfred" Allen. After playing in Bay Area leather bars and lounges under a variety of names including Billy DeSade & the Marquis and The Lazy Eights, the trio read a music magazine feature spotlighting the Ramones; duly inspired, Mink DeVille relocated to New York, where they recruited guitarist Louie X. Erlanger. After debuting with three tracks on the 'Live at CBGB's' compilation, the band entered the studio with legendary producer Jack Nitzsche and surfaced in 1977 with 'Cabretta', an energetic, soulful outing highlighted by "Spanish Stroll," a Top 20 hit in the U.K.
After recording 1978's 'Return to Magenta', Willy DeVille dismissed his bandmates (save for Erlanger) and moved to Paris to record 'Le Chat Bleu', a record steeped in traditional French-Cajun romantic ballads -complete with accordion backing- and recorded with session luminaries including bassist Jerry Scheff, saxophonist Teenage Steve Douglas, and drummer Ron Tutt. Dismayed with the results, the group's label, Capitol, delayed its American release for over a year, prompting Mink DeVille to jump to Atlantic for 1981's 'Coup de Grace'. By 1983's 'Where Angels Fear to Tread', Willy DeVille was the sole remaining founding member; after the release of 1985's 'Sportin' Life', he finally jettisoned the Mink DeVille name to continue working as a solo performer. Among his later recordings, the most successful was 1986's Mark Knopfler-produced 'Miracle'; the single "Storybook Love" was later nominated for an Academy Award after it appeared in the film "The Princess Bride". Willy DeVille died of pancreatic cancer in August 2009 at 58 years of age. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Mixing punk energy with new wave sophistication, Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats rode a series of U.K. hits to mainstream success in the late '70s and early '80s. Aside from the single "I Don't Like Mondays," their popularity never quite extended to the U.S., although frontman Bob Geldof became a highly visible figure globally for his humanitarian work; he led the charitable supergroup Band Aid and organized the massive 1985 Ethiopian relief Live Aid concerts, at which his band also performed. The group broke up in 1986, but they reunited in 2013 for a series of tours, eventually releasing their seventh album, 'Citizens of Boomtown', in 2020.
The Boomtown Rats were formed in Dun Laoghaire, near Dublin, in 1975 by Geldof, a former journalist, along with Johnnie Fingers (keyboards), Gerry Cott (guitar), Garry Roberts (lead guitar), Pete Briquette (bass), and Simon Crowe (drums). Originally a pub rock band, they took their name from Woody Guthrie's novel "Bound for Glory". The group moved to London in October 1976 and became associated with the punk and new wave movements. Signing to Ensign Records, they released their debut single, "Lookin' After No. 1," in August 1977. It was the first of nine straight singles to make the U.K. Top 40.
Their debut album, 'The Boomtown Rats', was released in September 1977 on Ensign in the U.K. and on Mercury in the U.S. Their second album, 'Tonic for the Troops', appeared in June 1978 in the U.K., along with their first U.K. Top Ten hit, "Like Clockwork." In the fall, the album's "Rat Trap" hit number one. 'A Tonic for the Troops' was released in the U.S. on Columbia in February 1979 with two tracks from 'The Boomtown Rats' substituted for tracks on the U.K. version.
The band's second straight U.K. number one came in the summer of 1979 with "I Don't Like Mondays," a song inspired by a California teenager who had gone on a killing spree and glibly justified her action with the title line. It appeared on the group's third album, 'The Fine Art of Surfacing', released in October 1979, and subsequently became the band's only U.S. singles chart entry. The album also contained their next U.K. Top Ten hit, "Someone's Looking at You."
The Boomtown Rats released their final U.K. Top Ten hit, "Banana Republic," in November 1980, followed by their fourth album, 'Mondo Bongo', in January 1981. At this point, guitarist Gerry Cott left the group, and they continued as a quintet. Their fifth album, 'V Deep', was released in the U.K. in February 1982. In the U.S., Columbia initially issued only a four-song EP drawn from the album 'The Boomtown Rats', finally releasing the full LP in September, when it failed to chart. Also in 1982, Geldof starred in the movie "Pink Floyd: The Wall".
Columbia released the six-song compilation 'Ratrospective' in March 1983, but rejected the band's newly recorded sixth album, 'In the Long Grass', which was released by Ensign in England. In 1984, Geldof and Midge Ure wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and organized the star-studded Band Aid to record it for Ethiopian relief, resulting in the biggest-selling single in U.K. history. Geldof then went on to organize the two Live Aid concerts, held on July 13, 1985, in London and Philadelphia. His increased visibility led to the belated U.S. release of 'In the Long Grass', but when it failed to chart, The Boomtown Rats were left without a record label. After the group folded in 1986, Geldof launched a solo career with Briquette continuing to collaborate with him, while Crowe and Fingers continued to work on their new project Gung Ho.
In 2005, the band's catalog received the remaster treatment along with a best-of compilation, and in 2013, the Rats officially reunited to tour in support of another anthology, 'Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits'. While Fingers and Cott sat out the reunion, the quartet of Geldof, Roberts, Briquette, and Crowe continued to tour occasionally for the remainder of the decade and eventually returned to the studio as well. Released in early 2020, 'Citizens of Boomtown' was the Rats' seventh studio album and first since 1984. Lead guitarist Garry Roberts died on November 9, 2022, at the age of 72. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Dictators emerged from early-1970s New York City at a moment when rock music was starting to splinter into new, more aggressive forms. While bands like The Stooges and MC5 were already pushing raw energy and rebellion, The Dictators added something different: humor, irony, and a deep love of lowbrow pop culture. Their sound blended hard rock riffs with a deliberately unpolished attitude, helping lay the groundwork for what would soon be recognized as punk rock, even if the label didn’t fully exist yet.
The group was built around core members such as Andy Shernoff, Ross “The Boss” Friedman, and Scott Kempner, later joined by the charismatic frontman Handsome Dick Manitoba. Together, they crafted songs that were loud and fast but also playful and self-aware. Their lyrics stood out in particular, drawing on references to wrestling, fast food, and comic books -elements that felt intentionally trashy at a time when rock often took itself very seriously. This mix of humor and aggression became a defining trait, influencing how punk would later embrace both rebellion and satire.
Their debut album, 'The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!', arrived in 1975 and is now widely viewed as a key proto-punk release. At the time, however, it didn’t achieve major commercial success. The band occupied an awkward space: too unconventional for mainstream audiences, yet slightly ahead of the punk explosion that would soon take shape in venues like CBGB. Subsequent records such as 'Manifest Destiny' and 'Bloodbrothers' refined their approach, leaning into tighter songwriting and a more polished sound without losing their edge.
Although widespread fame remained elusive, their influence grew steadily over time. As the New York punk scene developed in the mid-to-late 1970s, The Dictators were increasingly recognized as a crucial bridge between earlier garage and hard rock acts and the emerging punk movement. Later bands would adopt not just their sonic intensity, but also their irreverent attitude and willingness to embrace cultural absurdity.
The band’s history includes multiple lineup changes, breakups, and reunions, reflecting the turbulent nature of long-running rock acts. Despite these shifts, they have continued to perform and release music in various forms over the decades, maintaining a loyal cult following. Their legacy rests less on chart success and more on their role in shaping a style and attitude that became central to punk rock’s identity.
A crucially important band in the early years of American punk rock, The Dead Boys titled their classic debut album 'Young Loud and Snotty', and they devoted their career to living up to that slogan. Following the example of the 'Raw Power'-era Iggy & the Stooges, The Dead Boys had an unapologetically raw and ferocious attack, though they delivered their sonic blows with taut precision, and they eagerly challenged their audience with obnoxious lyrics, a bad attitude, and the self-destructive theatrics of lead singer Stiv Bators. 'Young Loud and Snotty' was too extreme for mainstream audiences in 1977, but it would become an enduring cult classic, and their reputation as an incendiary live act was documented on 'Return of the Living Dead Boys 1986', taken from a mid-'80s reunion show.
Originally hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, the roots of The Dead Boys lay in the fabled proto-punk band Rocket from the Tombs, led by future Pere Ubu founders Peter Laughner and David Thomas. In 1974, guitarist Gene O'Connor and drummer John Madansky were added to the band's flexible lineup, and in August 1975, during one of their infrequent live appearances, O'Connor brought his friend Steve Bators up to the stage to sing a few songs. Since Thomas was RFTT's lead singer and Laughner would sometimes take the vocal mike, Bators' presence wasn't welcomed by the rest of the band, and their disagreement would factor into their breakup. It didn't help that O'Connor and Bators preferred the more aggressive sounds of bands like The Stooges, the New York Dolls, and Alice Cooper over the artier approach favored by Thomas and Laughner, so they took the opportunity to start a band of their own that would deliver a harder punch. With the addition of Bators, guitarist William Wilden and bassist Jeff Halmagy, they formed a group called Frankenstein, and they recorded a demo tape in October 1975. Frankenstein had trouble getting gigs, and in early 1976, they called it quits. However, O'Connor and Bators began hearing about the new underground rock scene that was taking shape in the Bowery in New York City at a club called CBGB, and when the Ramones played a show in Cleveland, they befriended the visitors. Joey Ramone was particularly impressed with their style and daring, and he helped arrange an audition at CBGB for Frankenstein. Bators, O'Connor, Wilden, and Madansky made the trip to New York. After hearing them play a short set, CBGB owner Hilly Kristal immediately arranged a gig for the group, and he would soon become their manager.
The band settled in New York City, and soon made some changes. They changed their handle from Frankenstein to The Dead Boys, inspired by a line from the RFTT song "Down in Flames," and the members adopted new stage names. Steve Bators became Stiv Bators, Gene O'Connor became Cheetah Chrome, William Wilden became Jimmy Zero, and John Madansky became Johnny Blitz. The band caused an immediate splash in their newly adopted hometown, thanks to Bators' Iggy Pop-esque, audience-baiting antics (he would writhe on the stage, stab his chest with broken glass, and mock-hang himself with his microphone cable), and the group's intense three-chord punk assault. Kristal helped The Dead Boys strike a deal with Sire Records, the label most closely connected with the CBGB scene, and former Goldie & the Gingerbreads singer Genya Ravan was tapped to produce their debut album. With future star producer Bob Clearmountain playing bass on the sessions, The Dead Boys' 'Young Loud and Snotty' was released in October 1977, and for subsequent touring, Jeff Halmagy returned as their bassist, renaming himself Jeff Magnum.
In addition to barnstorming clubs, The Dead Boys landed a tour opening for their hero Iggy Pop in the United States, and flew to England to play a string of shows with The Damned. Though the album received good reviews in publications sympathetic to punk, The Dead Boys soon discovered that outside a few major cities, most American rock fans weren't accepting of punk in general, or them in particular. While the album would go on to be celebrated as a classic, initial sales proved disappointing, and Sire was not happy with the red ink it added to their balance sheet. (The band wasn't entirely happy with Ravan's mix, and the band leaked tapes of rough mixes they preferred that would pop up on bootleg releases.) The group set their sights on their sophomore effort, which was originally to be produced by Lou Reed, with a working title of "Down to Kill". But at the insistence of their record company, eager to convince the band to soften up their sound a bit to produce a breakthrough hit, the group settled on former Cream producer (and bassist for early-'70s Cream disciples Mountain) Felix Pappalardi. The match didn't prove to be a fit, as the former hippie was puzzled by the band's sonic onslaught, and Chrome called former Iggy & the Stooges guitarist James Williamson, begging him to take over the project. Williamson declined, and Pappalardi's mix of 'We Have Come for Your Children' arrived in June 1978. The album spawned another punk classic in "Ain't It Fun" (written by Peter Laughner during his days in Rocket from the Tombs), but the disc sold even fewer copies than its predecessor, pleasing neither critics nor fans. To add insult to injury, the group had to cancel a major tour when Blitz was almost killed after being attacked by muggers in New York City. A series of Blitz Benefit concerts were held at CBGB's to raise money for the drummer's medical bills, and featured appearances by John Belushi and Divine, as well as members of Blondie, the Ramones, and former Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton.
With their record company still pressuring them to dramatically soften their sound and look, The Dead Boys split up in 1979. However, Sire insisted they honor their contract and deliver a third album. The band agreed to a compromise, reuniting to record a live album at CBGB. Bators, making no effort to disguise his contempt for Sire, purposely sang off-mike for the whole show, resulting in an unusable recording. Sire rejected the album; Bomp Records obtained the rights, and after Bators recut his vocals in a studio, the LP was issued in 1981 under the title 'Night of the Living Dead Boys'. Bators arranged a tour to run from late 1979 into early 1980, but the rest of the band chose not to participate, and he assembled a group to fulfill the dates. He would use the same musicians to record much of his solo debut, 1980's 'Disconnected'. The Dead Boys would reunite for the odd show here and there throughout the '80s; a show at the Ritz in New York City on Halloween 1986 was recorded and belatedly released as a live album, 1993's 'Live at the Ritz 1986'; an expanded version would be released by Cleopatra Records in 2024 as 'Return of the Living Dead Boys 1986'.
Bators tried his hand at an acting career, appearing the films "Polyester" and "Tapeheads", before joining forces with ex-members of Sham 69 in the group The Wanderers (who issued a lone album, 1981's 'Only Lovers Left Alive'), and ex-Damned guitarist Brian James in the goth-punk outfit Lords of the New Church, who released several albums between 1982 and 1988. Having relocated to Paris, France, Bators attempted to assemble a punk supergroup, which was to have included Johnny Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone, but it fizzled out before any recording could get under way. On June 4, 1990, Bators died from injuries sustained after being hit by a car in Paris. Meanwhile, Cheetah Chrome recorded with Jeff Dahl of the Angry Samoans, played in a short-lived group with Mike Metoff of The Pagans called the Ghetto Dogs, and teamed with Sonny Vincent of the Testors and Bob Stinson of The Replacements in the group Shotgun Rationale. He also participated in a Rocket from the Tombs reunion, co-founded The Batusis with Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls, and released an album, 'Solo', in 2013.
After Bators' death, a bounty of Dead Boys compilations, live sets, and rarities collections appeared, including such titles as 'Twistin' on the Devil's Fork: Live at CBGB's', 'Magnificent Chaos', 'Down in Flames', 'All This & More', and 'Liver Than You'll Ever Be', in addition to releases by Rocket from the Tombs ('The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs') and Frankenstein ('Eve of the Dead Boys: October 1975'). The Dead Boys' influence on subsequent rock bands continued unabated, as such acclaimed groups as Guns N' Roses and Pearl Jam covered their songs in the '90s and 2000s. In 2017, Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz staged a Canadian tour to honor the 40th anniversary of the release of 'Young Loud and Snotty'. The touring band included guitarist Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz, bassist Ricky Rat, and lead singer Jake Hout, and after coming off the road, the band headed into the studio. Credited to The Dead Boys, their 2017 album 'Still Snotty: Young Loud and Snotty at 40' featured fresh recordings of the nine original songs from the 1977 debut LP. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Flys enjoyed their day in the sun during the first wave of British punk, but like more than a few bands on the scene, they had been incubating for quite some time before the Sex Pistols changed the game in the U.K. music scene. The Flys were less interested in the fast and loud template that would soon become de rigueur among the new groups; instead, their music was moody but melodic with a faint dash of psychedelia and a touch of glam, while owing no small influence to the Mod sounds of the '60s. If they sounded smarter and more polished than their peers in the punk community, their swagger and willingness to play with an impact that hit harder than an ordinary pop band gave them their bona fides as part of the New Wave. A lack of chart success kept The Flys from making a major impact during their four-year lifespan, but the singles "Love and a Molotov Cocktail," "Fun City," and "Today Belongs to Me" would belatedly be regarded as lost classics of early U.K. punk, and their sophomore album, 1979's 'Own', is often cited by fans and critics as their finest work.
Hailing from Coventry in the West Midlands of England, The Flys evolved from a band called Midnight Circus, who specialized in a blend of hard rock and prog. The group was founded by guitarist Neil O'Connor, who wanted to start a band after returning from several months of exploring Europe. O'Connor was studying yoga when his instructor introduced him to her son, David Freeman, who was eager to learn the guitar. Freeman brought along his friend Joe Hughes, and with O'Connor's tutoring, Freeman became proficient on guitar, while Hughes found his niche playing bass. After going through a number of part-time drummers, Midnight Circus found the percussionist they needed when Paul Angelopoulos, originally from Florida, joined the group. Angelopoulos developed a drug habit, however, and a few months after he left the band he died of a drug overdose. Midnight Circus was pondering their next move when O'Connor saw The Clash and was inspired to take their music in a different direction. With Pete King (the brother of the band's manager, Chris King) behind the drums, the band changed their name to The Flys and stripped down their melodies while boosting their on-stage energy. While trying to drum up record company interest, the group booked time at London's Pathway Studios, an affordable eight-track studio where The Damned and Elvis Costello had cut their debut albums. After committing 14 originals to tape, they cherrypicked the best tunes and brought out their debut EP, 'A Bunch of Fives', that was issued by Chris King on his independent Zama Records label in late 1977.
'A Bunch of Fives' attracted the attention of EMI Records (one of many labels that had passed on Midnight Circus' demos), and in January 1978, the label signed The Flys, and a track from the EP, "Love and a Molotov Cocktail," was chosen to be their first major-label single. After touring with the Buzzcocks, the Rich Kids, and John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett, and recording a BBC radio session for John Peel's influential radio show, The Flys set out to make their first album. With Mike Finesilver as producer, 'Waikiki Beach Refugees' was released in October 1978; while the production muffled some of the band's energy, reviews were positive, but "Fun City" and the title track failed to make an impression as singles, and their failure to crack the charts, coupled with extensive touring, led to frequent quarreling between O'Connor and Freeman.
EMI opted to let The Flys cut a second album, but sessions began after Pete King left the group (his brother would also part company with The Flys as their manager). Graham Deakin, who had previously played in John Entwistle's side project Ox and Frankie Miller's Full House, took over on drums, and this time O'Connor and Freeman produced under the collective handle Two Boys Talking. Sounding brighter and more adventurous than the debut, 'Own', which came out in October 1979, was more to The Flys' liking, but while they hit the road in support, EMI chose not to release any singles from the LP, though an odds-and-ends EP, 'Four from the Square', was released the following February to little notice. Like the debut, EMI opted not to release 'Own' in the United States, though the Canadian branch of EMI imprint Harvest Records did release a 1980 compilation called 'The Flys' that featured highlights from both albums. With EMI losing interest in the group and no commercial breakthrough in sight, The Flys disbanded in mid-1980.
Neil O'Connor would go on to play guitar for his sister Hazel O'Connor, who enjoyed chart success in the '80s and starred in the film "Breaking Glass"; Neil would later shift into production work and relocate to Canada. David Freeman and Joe Hughes would team up in the combo The Lover Speaks, and their 1986 single "No More 'I Love You's'" would later be covered by Annie Lennox. Pete King's career was cut short by cancer; he died when he was only 26. With the passage of time, a cult following rose around The Flys' small but impressive body of work; German funny-punks Die Toten Hosen covered "Love and a Molotov Cocktail" on their 1992 album 'Learning English: Lesson One' (with a guest appearance from Neil O'Connor), and Superchunk recorded a version of "Night Creatures" that appeared on the B-side of their "Slack Motherfucker" single, as well as the compilation set 'Tossing Seeds (Singles 89-91)'. In 2019, Cherry Red Records released 'Today Belongs to Me: The Complete Recordings 1977-1980', a definitive collection of their recorded repertoire. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
