Iggy Pop

Often called the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop created a Dionysian performance style and a variety of street-smart primitivism that made him one of rock's most influential figures when he co-founded The Stooges in 1967. There are few bands in punk (or any sort of left-of-center hard rock) that didn't draw influence from the three studio albums The Stooges released between 1969 and 1973 (especially 1970's 'Fun House' and 1973's 'Raw Power'). After the original collapse of The Stooges, Pop launched a career on his own that was every bit as uncompromising and significantly more diverse, and his first two solo albums, produced by David Bowie (1977's 'The Idiot' and 'Lust for Life') helped blaze a trail for post-punk. Through much of the 1970s and '80s, Pop explored a variety of musical avenues for his iconoclastic world view, but found a successful middle ground between the expressive and the commercially viable with 1990's 'Brick by Brick', which even produced a hit single, "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's). Into the 2000s, Pop sought to blend a new level of social commentary with impassioned hard rock, which climaxed with a Stooges reunion in 2003; along with extensive touring, the revived band cut a pair of new albums, 'The Weirdness' (2007) and 'Ready to Die' (2013). After the end of The Stooges, Pop collaborated with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age for an album that recalled his work with Bowie, 2016's 'Post Pop Depression', and he explored new musical avenues outside the boundaries of rock music on 2009's Euro-pop-inspired 'Preliminaires', the ambient guitar and electronic soundscapes of 2019's 'Free', and an experimental collaboration with composer Catherine Graindorge, 2022's 'The Dictator'. 

Born on April 21, 1947, in Muskegon, Michigan, James Newell Osterberg was raised by his parents in a trailer park close to Ann Arbor, in neighboring Ypsilanti. Intrigued by rock & roll (as well as such non-musical, monotonous, and mechanical sounds as his father's electric razor and the automobile assembly plants in and around Metro Detroit), Osterberg began playing drums and formed his first band, The Iguanas, in the early '60s. Via The Rolling Stones, he discovered the blues and formed a similarly styled outfit called The Prime Movers upon graduating from high school in 1965. When a brief stint at the University of Michigan didn't work out, he moved to Chicago instead, where he played drums alongside the city's bluesmen. 

 

His heart remained with rock & roll, however, and shortly after returning to Ann Arbor, Osterberg decided to form a rock band. This time, he would leave the drums behind and be the frontman, taking inspiration from the likes of The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed and The Doors' Jim Morrison. He tried to find musicians who shared his musical vision: to create a band whose music would be primordial, sexually charged, aggressive, and repetitive (using his early electric razor/car plant memories for reference). In 1967, he hooked up with an old acquaintance from his high school days, guitarist Ron Asheton, who also brought along his brother, drummer Scott, and bassist Dave Alexander, thus forming The Psychedelic Stooges. Although it would take a while for their sound to jell -they experimented with such non-traditional instruments as empty oil drums, vacuums, and other objects before returning to their respective instruments- the group fit in perfectly with such other high-energy Detroit bands as the MC5, becoming a local attraction. 

It was around this time that the group shortened its name to The Stooges, and Osterberg changed his own stage name to Iggy Pop. Using this moniker, Pop became a man possessed on-stage, going into the crowd nightly to confront members of the audience and working himself into such a frenzy that he would be bleeding by the end of the night from various nicks and scratches. Elektra Records signed the quartet in 1968, issuing their self-titled debut a year later and a follow-up effort, 'Fun House', in 1970. Although both records sold poorly upon release, they've since become rock classics, and can be pointed to as the official catalysts for what later became punk rock.

 

 

The Stooges were dropped from their record company in 1971 due to the public's disinterest and the group's growing addictions to hard drugs. Pop's continuous death-defying acts also worried the label, whose decision to drop the band led to The Stooges' breakup the same year. One of the band's more celebrated fans, David Bowie, tracked Pop down and convinced the newly clean and sober singer to restart his career. Pop enlisted guitarist James Williamson (who was briefly a second guitarist for The Stooges before their breakup) and, after the pair signed to Bowie's Mainman management company and relocated to England, they eventually reunited with the Asheton brothers, with Ron moving from the six-string guitar to the bass. 

Signed by Columbia Records and hoping to follow in Bowie's footsteps toward a major commercial breakthrough, The Stooges penned another punk classic, the brutally explosive 'Raw Power'. Pop's plan for The Stooges' third release was equally brutal; he wanted to create a record that would be so powerful, so sonically over the top, that it would physically hurt the listener as it poured forth from the speakers. Although the resulting album wasn't quite that extreme, it came fairly close, with Bowie lending his own contributions as the album's producer. Once again, the album sank without a trace. By 1974, Pop and most of The Stooges had fallen back into the world of heavy drugs, and with their star fading, the band called it quits for a second (and final) time. 

 

After spending a brief spell homeless on the streets of Hollywood, during which time there was an unsuccessful attempt to form a band with Pop and former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Iggy Pop checked himself into the Neuropsychiatric Institute in Los Angeles. During his stay at the hospital, Pop made an attempt at writing and recording some new tunes with Williamson, but when no labels expressed interest, the two went their separate ways. (Completed demos of the sessions would surface on the 'Kill City' release in 1977; they would also appear on the 2005 compilation 'Penetration', which featured a number of widely circulated demos, outtakes, and alternate mixes from the 'Raw Power' sessions.)

 
During his hospital stay, another old friend came to visit him: David Bowie, whose career was still in high gear. Bowie offered to take Pop on the road with him during his tour in support of 'Station to Station', and the pair got along so well that they both moved to Berlin in late 1976, during which time Bowie helped Pop secure a solo record deal with RCA. Bowie had become interested in European electronic rock (Kraftwerk, Can, etc.) and later admitted that he used Pop as a musical guinea pig on such releases as 'The Idiot' and 'Lust for Life' (both issued in 1977 and produced/co-written by Bowie). Both albums sold better than the singer's previous efforts with The Stooges (particularly in the U.K., where Pop was looked upon as an icon by the burgeoning punk rock movement) as Bowie joined Pop on his world tour as a keyboardist. Shortly thereafter, a live album was culled from Pop's most recent tour, titled 'TV Eye (1977 Live)'. It was also around this time that Pop severed his ties with Bowie and struck out on his own.

 

 

Signing on with another new label, Arista, Pop reunited once more with James Williamson for 1979's 'New Values', an album that touched off a string of varied recordings on which Pop tried to reinvent himself as a new waver: 1980's 'Soldier', 1981's 'Party', and 1982's 'Zombie Birdhouse'. Also in 1982, Pop penned his autobiography, "I Need More", a fascinating book of rock & roll excess that chronicled his early years straight up to the then-present day. Despite the flurry of activity, Pop began succumbing to his vices once again and stepped out of the spotlight for a long stretch to sort his life out, during which time Bowie scored a massive hit with a remake of the Pop/Bowie nugget "China Girl" (recorded earlier on Pop's 'The Idiot'). It wasn't until 1986 that Pop resurfaced, signing a new contract with A&M and issuing the Bowie-produced 'Blah Blah Blah', which featured his first U.S. hit single (albeit a moderate one), a cover of "Real Wild Child." Released in 1988, 'Instinct' saw Pop try his hand at hard rock/heavy metal, joined by ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Its "Cold Metal" was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. Pop's first album for Virgin, 1990's 'Brick by Brick', resulted in his first U.S. gold-certified album and Top 20 hit single "Candy," a tuneful duet with The B-52s' Kate Pierson. 

Just as in the mid-'70s when Pop was looked up to by a slew of up-and-coming punk bands, history repeated itself in the early '90s with the emergence of such Stooges disciples from Seattle as Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, etc. Around the same time, a wide variety of bands covered Pop and/or Stooges tracks -Slayer, Duran Duran, Guns N' Roses, R.E.M., and Tom Jones- while Pop issued another fine solo set, 1993's 'American Caesar'. In 1996, Pop attempted to re-create The Stooges' sound and approach with 'Naughty Little Doggie', and enjoyed another hit when the nearly 20-year-old "Lust for Life" was used prominently in the movie "Trainspotting". Throughout the decade, Pop also tried his hand at acting in movies, scoring bit parts in such flicks as "Cry Baby", "Dead Man", and "The Crow II: City of Angels", plus a recurring role on the TV show "The Adventures of Pete & Pete". Although he wasn't involved in it, the 1998 movie "Velvet Goldmine" was allegedly based on Bowie and Pop's relationship in the early '70s (Ewan McGregor's character, Curt Wild, was obviously patterned after Stooges-era Pop).

 

 

With just about every new rock band listing The Stooges as a major influence by the late '90s, Iggy tentatively began looking back to the band's legacy. He personally remixed a newly remastered version of 'Raw Power' in 1997, after the long-lost original master tapes were rediscovered, and Pop moved the album closer to his original vision of a total sonic onslaught. Also released around this time was another Pop/Stooges-related book, the must-read "Please Kill Me: The Oral History of Punk", which recounted The Stooges' career in great detail (featuring interviews with all the band's surviving members). The year 1999 was a busy one for Pop as he was the subject of a VH1 Behind the Music episode, and a new solo album was issued, the laid-back 'Avenue B'. But his more "refined" musical approach was strictly a detour, as proven by his next release, 2001's in-your-face rockfest 'Beat Em Up'. 

After abandoning a promised Stooges reunion in the late '90s, Pop finally made good on his pledge in 2003, bringing Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton aboard to write and record four songs with him for his album 'Skull Ring', and taking the reconstituted Stooges on the road for a short but riotously received tour (with Mike Watt standing in for the late Dave Alexander on bass, and with the set dominated by tunes from 'The Stooges' and 'Fun House'). In 2004, Iggy appeared in Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes". After issuing the January 2005 effort 'Penetration', Pop released the retrospective 'A Million in Prizes: The Anthology', which spanned his entire career and included a 37-track CD, a previously unreleased live DVD, and a round of essays about Pop's legacy penned by notables like Bowie and Lou Reed. Pop released another compilation, 'Where the Faces Shine', the following year.

 

 

Iggy Pop maintained his profile during the subsequent years by appearing on an album by Praxis, singing on the Teddybears track "Punkrocker," performing several Madonna songs at the induction ceremony of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and appearing in TV advertisements for the British insurance company Swiftcover. Back in Ann Arbor, however, Asheton suffered a fatal heart attack in early 2009, robbing Pop of his best friend and plunging The Stooges' career into instability. Nonetheless, Pop released another solo record, 'Preliminaires', that May, taking his inspiration from jazz music and the work of French novelist Michel Houellebecq. In 2010, Pop and the rest of The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Iggy continued to tour with The Stooges (now featuring James Williamson on guitar) throughout 2010 and into 2011, taking time to pursue a couple of solo side projects, including singing with The Lilies and with Ke$ha, plus the 2012 album 'Apres', where he sang French standards (and The Beatles' "Michelle," which does have a verse in French). In 2013, Pop went full-bore with the Williamson-fueled 'Raw Power' era of The Stooges, touring and releasing the 'Ready to Die' album in April of that year. However, after the death of Stooges drummer Scott Asheton in 2014, the band quietly broke up, and the next time Pop set out on a tour of the United States in 2015, it was as a solo artist with a different backing band.

 

 

In January 2016, a surprise announcement from Pop and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) revealed that the pair had written an album together with the help of Dean Fertita (QOTSA, The Dead Weather) and Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys). Recorded secretly and funded entirely independently, 'Post Pop Depression' (Loma Vista) featured the single "Gardenia" and a short supporting tour with live backing from Troy Van Leeuwen (QOTSA) and Matt Sweeney (Chavez). Frequently compared to Pop's first two solo albums with David Bowie, the set was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Music Album category. 'Teatime Dub Encounters', a four-track EP produced by fellow "Trainspotting" soundtrack contributors Underworld, appeared in 2018. Iggy's next solo project found him stepping back from rock & roll; 2019's 'Free' was dominated by trumpet and atmospheric guitar patterns, and included a musical adaptation of Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."

 
A pair of artifacts from Iggy's past would soon surface: 2019's 'The Prime Movers Blues Band' collected unreleased live recordings of the Ann Arbor blues band he played drums with in the mid-'60s, and 2020's 'Live at Goose Lake, August 8, 1970' was sourced from a soundboard tape that captured The Stooges' appearance at the Goose Lake International Music Festival, where they played 'Fun House' in full. Pop stayed busy with European touring and collaborations with a rich variety of artists. Bill Laswell and The Opening Performance Orchestra brought him on board to read the narration for their 2020 musical adaptation of William S. Burroughs' "The Acid Lands". He popped up on a 2021 release from jazz organ master Dr. Lonnie Smith, 'Breathe', adding vocals to covers of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" and Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together." 2021's 'I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground and Nico' was an all-star re-creation of the iconic proto-punk album, and he was matched with guitarist Matt Sweeney for an interpretation of "European Son." A poem Pop wrote after the death of his parents, "Mom and Dad," was an alternately bitter and poignant meditation on life and loss, and classical harpist Lavinia Meijer set it to music for her 2022 album 'Are You Still Somewhere?', with Iggy as narrator. Pop lent suitably histrionic vocals to the reworked version of "Kick Me" that appeared on Danny Elfman's 2022 remix album 'Bigger. Messier'. Pop encountered the work of Belgian composer/violinist Catherine Graindorge, and quickly became a fan, playing two of her compositions during an appearance on BBC Radio 6. Graindorge reached out to Pop and asked if he would be willing to work together. Pop immediately agreed, and together they created four songs, with Graindorge composing and performing the music and Pop writing and reading the narration. The four pieces appeared on an EP, 2022's 'The Dictator', from Glitterbeat Records. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Alaska Y Los Pegamoides

Alaska y los Pegamoides was formed in 1979, after the dissolution of Kaka de Luxe, of which four of its members (Alaska, Nacho Canut, Manolo Campoamor and Carlos Berlanga) were a part of. These four, having realized that the affinity between them was greater and their common interests were completely different from the rest of the band's, which led them to strike out on a different path. In the beginning, they were joined by Poch (who would later join Ejecutivos Agresivos and form Derribos Arias) on solo guitar, and ex-Kaka Javier Hamilton (Javier Furia) as backing vocalist, who would soon go on to Radio Futura. The departure of their first drummer, Álvaro de Torres, who also came from Kaka de Luxe, was caused an ideological disagreement between Álvaro and the rest of the group, who did not want to introduce a drum machine that Alaska had bought for his songs, among other disagreements.

 
They were later joined by two new members: Ana Curra, whom they met at the Pentagrama bar in Madrid, and Eduardo Benavente, who joined after the departure of previous drummer Juan Luis Vizcaya to Ejecutivos Agresivos, who had been unhappy with the inclusion of keyboards. Another departure from the group was that of Manolo Campoamor, who had been their first vocalist. His position was filled first by Carlos and then finally by Alaska, who stopped playing the guitar. Manolo created a new identity, Eddie Neoprene, and tried to form a group with that name to gradually detach himself from the world of music. Still without Eduardo, they participated in the Tribute Concert to Canito (the drummer of Tos, who died in a traffic accident) in February 1980, their first and only concert with a drum machine instead of drums (although two years later they would repeat this for a recording of "Popgrama" by TVE). With this formation, the group recorded their first single, "Horror En El Hipermercado", produced by Julián Ruiz, in 1980. This song became a relative success thanks to its radio broadcast, which facilitated the recording of their second single one year later. 

 

In 1981, their parallel group, Parálisis Permanente, was formed by Nacho Canut and Eduardo Benavente. Their sound reflected the British punk trends of the moment. Alaska and Ana Curra participated, along with Los Nikis, in the Negros, SA project. Ana Curra and Benavente also created another parallel group, Los Seres Vacíos. All these groups released albums in 1982, while Alaska y los Pegamoides were enjoying their most successful period. Before Parálisis Permanente, Eduardo had formed another parallel group, Escaparates. Nacho and Carlos, along with Fernando Márquez, started a new parallel project, called Piernas Ortopédicas, from which songs like "Tokyo" (which the Pegamoides would later record) or "Rendibú en el Hipódromo" (played by The Pegamoides and recorded by Radio Futura under the title "Ivonne") came out.

 
The dissolution of the group became inevitable during from the recording of their first and only album between the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982, which was followed by the departure of Carlos Berlanga. In 1982, two more singles were still released, "La Línea Se Cortó", and "El Jardín". Meanwhile, Berlanga formed Dinarama with his childhood friend Nacho Canut, but The Pegamoides still held out until the end of 1982. Tensions within the group led to its dissolution. Alaska, despite having announced her solo career, ended up joining Berlanga's new project, Dinarama, which would soon be renamed Alaska y Dinarama, and would later become one of the most popular groups on the Spanish music scene during the 1980s. 

Their last concert was on November 26, 1982, at the Yoko Lennon's nightclub in Bilbao. This concert was released on CD in 1997 by Subterfuge along with another CD with several demo tracks that the group had recorded for Hispavox. They would still meet again on one occasion, on March 1, 1983, to perform at the Rockola room, at the 1st Fiesta of Diario Pop, with the absence of Carlos Berlanga, who was completing his mandatory military service period at the time. [SOURCE: UNEARTHING THE MUSIC]

 

The Adverts

With their raw, enthusiastic immaturity, The Adverts were a bright, though short-lived, light of the punk era, distinguished by the fact that their bassist, Gaye Advert, was one of the first female stars of punk rock. After they (barely) mastered one chord, The Adverts began playing at London's Roxy Club in 1976, where they quickly came to the attention of the Damned's guitarist Brian James. James offered the band an opening spot on The Damned's tour and directed them toward Stiff Records. Stiff released their self-deprecating debut single, "One Chord Wonders," in 1977, when the band could still barely play, but when they released their second single, the disturbingly funny "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," the group rocketed into the U.K. Top 20 in a storm of controversy. The Adverts' first album, 'Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts', fulfilled the single's promise, but the second, 1979's 'Cast of Thousands', sounded like they poured all of their musical ideas into their first album; the group broke up the following year. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

Corrosion Of Conformity

One of the first punk-metal fusion bands, Corrosion of Conformity were formed in North Carolina by guitarist Woody Weatherman during the early '80s. In their early years, C.O.C. became known for their aggressive sound, intelligent political lyrics, and willingness to break away from both hardcore and metal conventions. In the '90s, their shift to a more stripped-down, deliberate sound -sort of Black Sabbath filtered through the Deep South- brought them enough in line with the alt-metal Zeitgeist to bring them a measure of mainstream popularity. 

C.O.C. debuted in 1983 with the thrashy, Black Flag-influenced 'Eye for an Eye', featuring a lineup of Weatherman, drummer Reed Mullin, vocalist Eric Eycke, and bassist Mike Dean. They began to build up a cult following with 1985's 'Animosity', but their label at the time, Death, grew tired of their internal instability -lineup changes found Eycke replaced by vocalist Simon Bob- and dropped them following 1987's 'Technocracy'. It took several years for a new lineup to come together -featuring Weatherman, guitarist Pepper Keenan, Mullin, vocalist Karl Agell, and bassist Phil Swisher- but when it did, the result was 1991's 'Blind', a powerful, focused, more metallic record that increased their audience by leaps and bounds. Agell was fired following its success, and he and Swisher went on to form Leadfoot; meanwhile, Keenan became the full-time lead vocalist on 1994's even more Sabbath-esque 'Deliverance', which also featured the return of original bassist Mike Dean. During 1995, Keenan took a short detour into the Southern metal supergroup Down (which also featured Pantera's Phil Anselmo and members of Crowbar).

 

 

Thanks to a shift in popular taste in favor of the ultra-heavy brand of alternative metal, the group had helped pioneer, C.O.C. found themselves with a larger audience than ever before when they released 1996's 'Wiseblood', which continued and expanded their rock radio success. After a lengthy break from recording and a world tour with Metallica, C.O.C. returned with a new album in the fall of 2000, titled 'America's Volume Dealer'. Another break ensued, resulting in the release of the live recording 'Live Volume' in 2001. It wasn't until April of 2005 that the band regrouped for the hard-hitting and complex 'In the Arms of God'. C.O.C. went on hiatus, with the members working on various side projects until 2010, when drummer Reed Mullin rejoined the band, reuniting the 'Animosity' lineup while Pepper Keenan continued working with his other band, Down. The remaining trio began work on new material, and in 2012 released their eighth album, the eponymous 'Corrosion of Conformity', on Candlelight Records. Their ninth album, aptly titled 'IX', arrived in 2014. Shortly after the latter LP's release, C.O.C. reunited with Keenan and began work on their tenth studio long-player, 'No Cross No Crown', which dropped in January 2018. The band announced the death of Reed Mullin on January 27, 2020. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

The Models

Models were a short-lived 1977 punk band formed in Harrow, London, United Kingdom. Band members were Cliff Fox on vocals and guitar, Marco Pirroni on guitar, Mick Allen on bass and Terry Day on drums. This band are sometimes referred to as The Models, but the name on their only official single (and record) is Models.

 
Pirroni and Allen befriended while attending art school in Harrow. When punk emerged in 1976, the first formed Siouxsie and the Banshees, playing guitar, although for brief time. Shortly after that, he and Allen formed a band called The Beastly Cads, who later changed their name to Models. The band only released one single "Freeze" and recorded four songs in the Peel Sessions, before dissolving. Later, Pirroni and Allen formed Rema-Rema, a post-punk band. 

Pirroni later reteamed up with Terry Day, who since then was named Terry Lee Miall, in Adam and the Ants, beginning to work alongside that band's singer and frontman, Adam Ant. Allen went on to other projects, the longest running being The Wolfgang Press on the influential British record label 4AD. After the demise of the band he paired up with Giuseppe De Bellis, to form the experiment project Geniuser. [SOURCE: JOHN PEEL WIKI]

 

Chelsea

Led by vocalist and frontman Gene October, Chelsea were one of the pioneering bands on the British punk scene, with a tough sound and a populist outlook typified in songs like "Right to Work" and "Urban Kids." Thanks to October's tenacity, they became an enduring presence in U.K. punk, and though the band sounded a bit faster and louder on latter-day albums like 2015's 'Saturday Night Sunday Morning' and 2005's 'Faster, Cheaper & Better Looking' than on early efforts such as 1979's 'Chelsea' and 1982's 'Evacuate' (and October's voice showed signs of wear over time), their commitment to the essential rudiments of first-wave U.K. punk never wavered. Chelsea have gone through so many personnel changes that October himself probably has trouble sorting them out, but he's kept the band in front of audiences since the mid-'70s, with a pair of genuine pop stars (Billy Idol and Sting) briefly included in the lineup.

 
Based in London, Gene October formed the first edition of Chelsea in August 1976; he placed an ad in the U.K. music journal Melody Maker looking for musicians, and from the responses he came up with a line-up featuring William Broad on guitar, Tony James on bass, and John Towe on drums. In October 1976, they played their first gig, opening for Throbbing Gristle in London. Eager to create more opportunities for punk bands to play, October persuaded the management of a gay nightspot called Shageramas to book punk bands and change the venue's name to The Roxy. Chelsea would become frequent guests at The Roxy, but the first lineup quickly splintered, with Broad, James, and Towe striking out on their own. The three formed a new group, Generation X, with Broad taking on a stage name, Billy Idol, that would serve him well in the years to come. 

 
Undaunted, October put together another Chelsea lineup, featuring guitarist Marty Stacey, bassist Bob Jessie, and drummer Carey Fortune; Stacey and Jessie didn't last long in the band, and were quickly replaced by Henry Daze (aka Henry Badowski) on bass and James Stevenson on guitar. This version of Chelsea lasted long enough to record the band's first single, 1977's anthemic "Right to Work," and the track was featured in Derek Jarman's film "Jubilee", in which October appeared as an actor. Later in 1977, Chelsea's second single, "High Rise Living," arrived in shops, which documented yet another lineup shift, as Simon Cade Williams (aka Simon Vitesse) took over on bass. In August 1978, Chelsea released their third single, "Urban Kids," which was produced by former Who manager Kit Lambert. The single also unveiled another Chelsea lineup, with October and Stevenson now joined by guitarist Dave Martin, bassist Geoff Myles, and drummer Steve J. Jones.

 

 

By the end of 1978, Steve J. Jones dropped out and Chris Bashford took over on drums; this version of the band would cut Chelsea's self-titled debut album, and stay together for close to two years. The group toured extensively in 1979, opening a string of dates for The Clash and headlining shows with an up and coming act called The Police as their opening act. Chelsea dropped three singles in 1980 ("No Escape," "No-One's Coming Outside," and "Look at the Outside") before a mass exodus left October in need of a band; a short-lived ad hoc version of Chelsea toured the United States and appeared in the documentary "Urgh! A Music War" performing "I'm on Fire." In early 1981, Chelsea returned to the stage with October accompanied by Nic Austin and Stephen Corfield on guitars, Tim Griffin on bass, and Sol Mintz (aka Malcolm Asling) on drums. This edition of Chelsea cut a pair of singles, "Rockin' Horse" and "Freemans," but Griffin quit in September 1981. The group had a gig the next night, so October recruited a fill-in bassist -Sting, a friend since the days when The Police opened for Chelsea. Sting was a bit too busy to join Chelsea full-time, and Paul "Linc" Lincoln signed on as bassist. After the departure of Stephen Corfield, Chelsea continued on as a quartet, and cut their second full-length album, 1982's 'Evacuate'. By this time, U.K. punk was experiencing a revival of interest thanks to bands like The Anti-Nowhere League and The Exploited, and Chelsea found themselves eagerly embraced by fans of these gritty, no-frills acts. However, after a tour of the United States, tensions once again came to a head in the group, and Chelsea broke up at the end of 1982.

 
October briefly launched a solo career, releasing the singles "Suffering in the Land" (1983) and "Don't Quit" (1984), but by 1985 October had revived Chelsea, with a lineup featuring guitarists Tim Briffa and Phoenix, bassist Peter Dimmock, and drummer Geoff Colvill. This edition of the band cut the album 'Original Sinners', while Briffa and Colvill were out and guitarist Jonnie Dee, drummer Mark Rathbone, and guitarist Wally Grip were in when 'Rocks Off' arrived in 1986. October practically started from scratch for 1989's 'Underwraps'; only Wally Grip remained, with guitarist Steve Tannett and drummer Jamie Abethell making their debuts and Paul Lincoln returning on bass. (Former Clash drummer Topper Headon appeared on one track.) Lincoln was out by 1992, when Chelsea released 'The Alternative', produced by Dave Goodman (best known for his work with The Sex Pistols), but another former member, guitarist Nic Austin, returned to the fold, with Mat Sargent on bass and Stuart Soulsby on drums rounding out this edition of the group. Chelsea toured Europe and the U.K. in support, with additional guitarist Rob Miller filling out their sound. Goodman was also at the controls for 1996's 'Traitors Gate', which in its original version featured the severed heads of several noted rock stars impaled on spikes, including one-time band member Billy Idol and friend Sting. (Most copies of the album censored the potentially offensive images.) Between the release of those two albums, October found time to write and record a solo album, 1995's 'Life and Struggle'.

 
In 1999, Gene October reunited the Chelsea lineup that recorded their debut album -James Stevenson, Dave Martin, Geoff Myles, and Chris Bashford- for an American concert tour. This version of the band also played a few festival and club dates in the U.K. in 2000 and 2001, while they later did a string of European dates with bassist Tony Barber of the Buzzcocks standing in for Myles. Stevenson, Barber, and Bashford joined October in the studio to cut 2005's 'Faster, Cheaper, & Better Looking'. Chelsea hit the road again in 2011 with October and Stevenson aided by two returning veterans of the group, Nic Austin and Mat Sargent, as well as drummer Lee Morrell. The group took a fresh batch of songs into the studio to cut 2015's 'Saturday Night Sunday Morning', and remarkably enough, the same lineup was still intact for 2017's 'Mission Impossible'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

The Cortinas

The Cortinas were, initially at least, Bristol's best-known punk-era band; they were the first punk group from the city to attract the attention of the national music press and radio, the first to release a single, and the first to release a major-label album. During their short lifetime, they were the center of a scene that included Social Security, The Media, The Pigs, and of course The Pop Group, who by the end of 1978 had eclipsed all of their Bristolian peers. 

The band formed in 1976, its members still in their mid-teens and attending high school. Featuring Dexter Dalwood (bass), Mike Fewings (guitar), Nick Sheppard (guitar), Daniel Swan (drums), and Jeremy Valentine (vocals), The Cortinas drew on influences ranging from U.S. garage rock and '60s British R&B to glam and pub rock. 

By early 1977, they had graduated from the local circuit to gigs in London, performing at the Roxy during the club's mythical first 100 days. Their brand of stripped-down, accelerated R&B, punctuated with bolshy, shouty vocals, found favor with the early punk crowd and several labels began to express an interest. Eventually, the group chose to sign with Step Forward, owned by Miles Copeland and run by Mark Perry (editor of "Sniffin' Glue" fanzine and frontman for Alternative TV).

 

 

Things began to happen fast: higher-profile gigs followed as The Cortinas opened for Television, Blondie, and The Stranglers; they recorded a session for the BBC's John Peel show; and Step Forward issued their debut single ("Fascist Dictator"/"Television Families"). A second single ("Defiant Pose"/"Independence") appeared at the end of the year. Although the record cover was designed by Hipgnosis, who produced artwork for punk's greatest nemeses (Pink Floyd, Genesis, and ELP), it remains one of punk's most memorable sleeves: A middle-class couple look dismayed and disapproving while, behind them, their teenage son vomits copiously at the kitchen table.

 
The Cortinas ultimately switched to a major label (CBS) and released their debut album, 'True Romances', in 1978. This record signaled a change in direction, away from the fast and loud simplicity of punk toward what would soon be called power pop. Nevertheless, critics felt that the record failed to live up to the promise of the band's first two 45s. One more single followed ("Heartache"/"Ask Mr. Waverly") and The Cortinas split at the end of the year. 

The bandmembers moved on to other projects. Fewings joined Essential Bop. Swan resurfaced in the San Francisco power pop act The Sneetches and later played in The Cuban Heels. Sheppard joined The Spics, The Clash, and then Head. Valentine briefly hooked up with members of the Glaxo Babies and Maximum Joy and later taught in the Department of Media and Communication at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. Dalwood toured with XTC's Barry Andrews and also found considerable fame in the '90s as a painter. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

The Mono Men

The Mono Men were an American garage punk band, based in Bellingham, Washington. Their sound contained elements of grunge (distortion-heavy guitars, sneering vocals), but The Mono Men filtered these through a mimicry of 1960s Washington proto-punk, garage rock bands such as The Sonics. The group was formed by members of another Washington band, The Roofdogs. John Mortensen came from The Dehumanizers and Game For Vultures before joining The Mono Men. The band came together in late 1987. They played shows in Europe, Mexico, Japan, Canada, and the United States. They were featured in the Northwest Rock & Roll documentary "Hype!". Their albums all received generally positive reviews. The band split in 1998, though in 2006, The Mono Men reunited to play a series of concerts called the "Spanish Attack." The band reunited in 2013 to play shows in Bellingham and Seattle in the US, plus a tour in Latin America with shows in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

Gas Huffer

Gas Huffer was formed in 1989 by vocalist Matt Wright, guitarist Tom Price, bassist Don Blackstone and drummer Joe Newton. As befitting their Seattle origins, the band plays rootsy punk rock with equal nods to Neil Young and The Cramps. Debut single "Firebug" was released in 1989, followed a year later by the 'Ethyl EP'. Empty Records signed the band and in 1991 issued Gas Huffer's debut album, 'Janitors of Tomorrow'. Two years later, the band returned with 'Integrity, Technology and Service', but moved to the Epitaph label for 1994's 'One Inch Masters'. The band kicked off 1996 with a salute to their country roots by offering a song to the Willie Nelson tribute album 'Twisted Willie'. Their fourth album, 'The Inhuman Ordeal of Special Agent Gas Huffer', was released less than a month later. Gas Huffer released their third album for Epitaph Records, 'Just Beautiful Music', in the spring of 1998; the group also has a surf rock project called The Del-Lagunas which has released several singles. By 2002, the band had switched labels (Estrus) and had another album ready to go, the Jack Endino-produced 'The Rest of Us'. 'Lemonade for Vampires' appeared through Estrus/Touch & Go in September 2005. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Surgery

Surgery was a scummy, no-holds-barred, blues-drenched post-hardcore band from Manhattan's lower east side that included Sean McDonnell (vocals), Scott Kleber (guitar), John Lachapelle (bass), and John Leamy (drums). Signed to the noisy Amphetamine Reptile label, the band fit right in and made their full-length debut in 1991 with 'Nationwide'. The 'Trim, 9th Ward High Roller' EP followed two years later. They then became part of the feeding frenzy that occurred in the wake of the major label signings of Nirvana and Helmet, and they made the hop to the WEA-distributed Atlantic for 1994's 'Shimmer'. The closest the band got to notoriety in the mainstream sense was when MTV's 120 Minutes program played that album's "Off the A-List" a couple times (not that the band cared). On January 18, 1995, McDonnell passed away, the victim of complications from asthma. Saddened by their loss, the remaining members of the band decided to quit. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Monster Magnet

Retro-rock visionaries Monster Magnet spent much of the 1990s struggling against the prejudices imposed upon image and sound by the alternative rock elite. In fact, it wasn't until that movement's late-'90s decline that the band's dogged persistence finally paid off and their fourth album, 'Powertrip', catapulted to gold sales status on the strength of its massive hard rock hit "Space Lord." In the meantime, Monster Magnet had managed to become one of the most successful and influential bands associated with the burgeoning "stoner rock" movement. And yet their influences span much further than that scene's foundations in '70s hard rock and metal, delving into space rock, psychedelia, and beyond. Since debuting in 1990, the band have released a slew of acclaimed and dynamic efforts, including 'Monolithic Baby!' (2004), 'Mastermind' (2010), and 'Mindfucker' (2018). 

New Jersey native Dave Wyndorf was already a rock & roll veteran by the time he formed Monster Magnet in 1989, having cut his teeth with little-known punk band Shrapnel (also featuring future punk producer Daniel Rey on guitars) in the late '70s before retiring from music altogether. But after teaching himself guitar, Wyndorf began assembling Monster Magnet with a handful of fellow New Jersey natives, vocalist Tim Cronin, guitarist John McBain, bassist Joe Calandra, and drummer Jon Kleiman. Fusing their metal, punk, space rock, and psychedelic influences, the band developed a sludgy, feedback-heavy hard rock sound that helped them stand out from the era's burgeoning retro-rock movement -also counting The Black Crowes, White Zombie, and many others. After releasing a self-titled six-song EP through Germany's Glitterhouse Records, Wyndorf assumed all vocal responsibilities, while Cronin retreated to a behind-the-scenes "conceptual consultant" position -much like that of John Sinclair for the MC5.

 
In the meantime, Monster Magnet had signed with independent label Caroline Records in 1992, and recorded their first full-length album: the very impressive, uniquely dark psychedelic masterpiece 'Spine of God'. The productive sessions also yielded a number of extensive space rock jams that would later be issued as the 'Tab' album in 1993. A video for first single "Medicine" and a support tour with the fast-rising Soundgarden also helped attract powerhouse A&M Records, but even as they prepared to sign with the label, Wyndorf had a serious falling-out with guitarist McBain, who was soon replaced by Ed Mundell. Despite the last-minute change, 1993's 'Superjudge' proved to be a stellar major-label debut -although it did see the band sacrificing some of its rampant feedback in exchange for more clearly defined, muscular metal riffs. Unfortunately, the group's retro-rock image had become highly unfashionable at the time, arriving at the height of the post-Nirvana alternative boom, and the album sold poorly. Under mounting pressure to make their follow-up more commercial, Monster Magnet delivered a decidedly sleeker -though no less space rock-drenched- effort in 1995's 'Dopes to Infinity'. This yielded a Top Ten rock single in "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" and was supported by extensive touring with C.O.C., among others, but the album sold only slightly better than its predecessor. 

 

Finding himself mentally and physically exhausted in the aftermath, Wyndorf exiled himself to Las Vegas to begin composing the tracks that would shape 1998's breakthrough release, 'Powertrip'. By far the group's most straightforward hard rock album, 'Powertrip' channeled all of Sin City's vice, greed, and sex into its hedonistic but surprisingly accessible tracks, and first single "Space Lord" went on to dominate rock radio that summer, driving the album over the gold sales plateau. With new rhythm guitarist Phil Caivano in tow, Monster Magnet then embarked on a marathon two-year world tour, both as a headliner and as support to the likes of Aerosmith, Metallica, and Megadeth. By the year 2000, the band had contributed the track "Silver Future" to the "Heavy Metal FAKK2" soundtrack and completed work on its fifth album, 'God Says No', released in Europe in October. But the group's new American record label, Interscope (which had swallowed A&M in a hostile takeover the year before), inexplicably fussed and messed with the album before finally releasing it domestically in April 2001. Precious momentum and sales were therefore lost to an influx of import copies of 'God Says No' -according to most seasoned fans, already a "difficult," overtly commercial album to begin with- and Monster Magnet soon found themselves rudely dropped. 

Following this unforeseen setback, Wyndorf watched as various bandmembers pursued side projects. Ed Mundell recorded a number of well-received albums with his power trio the Atomic Bitchwax, while Tim Cronin and Jon Kleiman collaborated on The Ribeye Brothers and Gallery of Mites. But, Monster Magnet duly reunited for a short North American tour in early 2002 and, a year later, a new deal with the German SPV label was announced. Recorded in late 2003, the group's sixth full-length album, 2004's 'Monolithic Baby!', would be recorded with a new rhythm section consisting of bassist Jim Baglino and drummer Bob Pantella. In 2005, Phil Caivano left the band amicably, and the rest of the group started recording in L.A. with producer Matt Hyde. Reissues of 'Tab' and 'Spine of God' were released in the meantime, along with a '20th Century Masters - Millennium Collection' disc of their greatest-hits. In November 2007, after a European tour, '4-Way Diablo' was released. In 2009, Monster Magnet signed with metal label Napalm Records, and the next year released 'Mastermind', followed in 2013 by their ninth long-player, 'Last Patrol'. 'Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol' -which was described by Dave Wyndorf as a "reimagined" version of their prior album after being tweaked with "a weird '60s vibe"- arrived the following year. That same spirit informed Monster Magnet's next album, 'Cobras & Fire (The Mastermind Redux)'; it was released in the fall of 2015. Still powerful and unrepentant, Monster Magnet dropped their tenth album in March 2018, the colorfully titled 'Mindfucker', which became their first studio LP to crack the Billboard Top 200 since 2001's 'God Says No'. Three years later Monster Magnet unveiled their first-ever covers album, 'A Better Dystopia', which in reliably eclectic fashion included renderings of songs by the likes of Poobah, Hawkwind, Dust, and Scientists. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Bastards

The Bastards were an American noise-rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, consisting of Anthony Martin (bass, vocals), Joachim Breuer (guitar) and Tommy Rey (drums). The group released an album and several singles in the late 80's. After the band disbanded, Anthony Martin released solo material under the name of Casus Belli. Joachim Breuer later joined Janitor Joe and the Gnomes Of Zurich. Tommy Rey later joined several bands from the Minneapolis scene. [SOURCE: JOHN PEEL WIKI]

 

Sympathy Nervous

Sympathy Nervous is the project of Japanese artist Yosihumi Niinuma. Influenced by both classical and Krautrock he started it in his Tokyo living room in 1979. Through Sympathy Nervous, Niinuma was able to channel his energy into what he loved -building his own synthesizers and speakers from scratch. Through his music created intense proto-techno soundscapes and released several records on the highly coveted Vanity label. He continued to record and self-release much of his work throughout the 80s and 90s. His sound is intelligent and probably the most unique minimal synth to come out of Japan. Exploring dystopian themes, his music is well balanced and beautifully recorded. [SOURCE: SOUNDOHM]