Lucy

Lucy were an English punk band featuring Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. The first line-up of this band in 1976 featured lead vocalist Paul Mewse, guitarist Phil Collen, bassist Peter Ferris and drummer Len Foster. This line-up recorded a demo tape at De Lane Lea studios but no singles, the highlight being an appearance at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street supporting Nutz from Liverpool. The second line-up of this band introduced Pete Webb on bass and recorded and released two singles. After Lucy, Phil Collen went on to the band Tush. Phil Collen and Pete Webb later played together in the band Dumb Blondes. Reportedly, Pete Webb later rehearsed with Girl briefly, between the time of Mark Megary and Simon Laffy, but never recorded or played live with them. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

Machines

If you think of Southend you probably think of Eddie and The Hot Rods, Dr Feelgood and that whole Canvey Island R'n'B thang. But think again. The spirit of The Stooges and MC5 was alive down there too, and when The Sex Pistols arrived to give music a much needed kick up the butt Southend soon had The Machines as well (though not to be confused with the similar sounding Machines from Coventry). 

Formed in 1977 by guitarist Nick Paul they played The Roxy and Vortex in the twilight of those venues popularity and even blew The Damned off stage one gig at the City Of London Polytechnic. In all fairness though The Machines were not major league players, but they had the spirit and drive, like so many, for one maybe two singles. 

In fact The Machines produced one single on Wax Records in April 1978 - the 'True Life EP' A searing slice of punk that is both essential and collectable. The back sleeve reads 'Recorded in 1/2 hour at 8 quid an hour' Classic punk stylee! Like so many others the band also received zilch for their efforts. [SOURCE: PUNK 77]

 

The Valves

The Valves were a punk rock band from Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the early British punk bands, they were chronicled in Henrik Poulsen's book "77: The Year of Punk and New Wave", and featured Dave Robertson as 'Dee Robot' on vocals, G. Dair / Teddy Dair a.k.a. Gordon Dair on drums, Gordon Scott or 'Pada' on bass guitar and Ronnie Mackinnon on guitar.

 
The Valves released three singles and then broke up in 1979. They reformed for a one-off gig in Edinburgh 21 December 2013. In 2015, Ronnie, Pada and Gordon joined up with Joe Donkin, of The Cheetahs and Gordon Mackinnon, on keyboards. They are currently touring under The Valves name, playing material from The Valves, The Cheetahs and new material. Dave/Dee now lives in Belgium. In 2020, they self released a retrospective LP, entitled 'Better Late...' of material from 1977/78 and live versions of the singles from the reunion gig. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

X.S. Energy

X.S. Energy was a fine band from Lincoln producing two singles on Dead Good Records. The first one, '18 / Jennys Alright / Horrorscope' (1978) and the second from 1979 'Use You / Imaginary'. The latter is the pick: midtempo punk riffery with catchy chorus. Pop punkish with sung, as opposed to shouted or sneered, vocals. Worth getting. Members: Freddie Voltage (Guitar/Vocals), Max Headroom (Lead Guitar/Vocals), Nicky Teen (Bass/Vocals), and Mark Up (Drums). [SOURCE: PUNK 77]

 

Carnival Art

The slightly bent guitar rock of L.A.'s Carnival Art took its lessons from the demented Pixies. Consisting of Michael P. Tak (vocals, guitar), Ed (guitar, vocals), Brian Bell (bass, vocals), and Keith Fallis (drums), Carnival Art released their debut LP, 'Like Nobody Business', in 1989, followed by 'Thrumdrone', in 1991. Signed to Beggars Banquet, Carnival Art weren't heavy metal enough to jump on the grunge bandwagon in the early ‘90s, and they were too weird to for pop audiences; caught in limbo, the band recorded three albums of off-kilter alternative music that were ignored and then faded into obscurity. Carnival Art broke up soon after their third full-length, 'Welcome to Vas Llegas', and a subsequent EP, 'Blue Food and Black Sparks'. A cover of "Cold Ethyl" appeared on an Alice Cooper tribute CD a year later, but Bell had already formed his own group, The Spacetwins, by then; he later joined Weezer. In 1994, Tak recorded 'Pretty Little Lonely' as Michael Petak. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Ripe

Ripe was an alternative rock/shoegaze band from Melbourne, Australia. They released two albums, 'Filterfeed' in 1990 on Polyester Records and 'The Plastic Hassle' in 1993 on Beggars Banquet. They split up shortly after 'The Plastic Hassle'. Two of the members, Mark Murphy and Katie Dixon, formed a new band, Moondriven. In 2006, Mark and Katie reformed under the Ripe name with some additional members. They released an EP, 'Galaxies And Stars', on Timberyard Records and did some touring. However they disbanded again in 2007. [SOURCE: THE VOGUE]

 

Electronic

One of the first supergroups from post-punk Great Britain, Electronic is the on-off project formed by New Order's Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, former guitarist of The Smiths. The duo released "Getting Away with It" in December 1989, with both Sumner and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys on vocals. The single just missed the Top Ten in England, but was the end of Electronic for over two years; Sumner and Tennant returned to their respective groups while Marr played on albums by The The and Billy Bragg.

 
Electronic's sophomore single "Get the Message" finally appeared in April 1991, and an eponymous debut album followed in June. The non-album single "Disappointed" was released just over a year later. Sumner then returned to New Order to record their sixth album 'Republic', while Marr returned to his sideman role with The The and The Pretenders. The duo reunited to record again -this time with help from former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos- and released 'Raise the Pressure' in July 1996. Newly signed to the Koch label, Electronic issued their third full-length 'Twisted Tenderness' four years later. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Revenge

Revenge was New Order bassist Peter Hook's critically maligned and commercially rebuffed side project. Exhibiting a sleazy image -the band's first album 'One True Passion' featured provocative shots of scantily clad women- and a noisier sound than New Order, Revenge was Hook's attempt to divest himself from his accomplishments with Joy Division and New Order. However, Revenge didn't have Joy Division's grim intensity and intellectual depth or New Order's smooth amalgam of rock and disco; instead, the group was unfocused and self-indulgent. The throb of Hook's trademark basslines -so distinguishable on Joy Division and New Order records- was nixed for less tuneful grooves. Formed in the late '80s by Hook, Dave Hicks (guitar), and Chris "CJ" Jones (keyboards), Revenge debuted with a live performance at a London bondage party in January 1990. 'One True Passion' was also released that year. Seeking controversy, the video for "Pineapple Face" was banned because Hook adorned his neck with a chastity belt. Hicks was eventually replaced by the band's touring bassist, David Potts, and the band recorded the EP 'Gun World Porn' in 1992. As with its predecessor, 'Gun World Porn' was ripped to shreds in the press. After Revenge broke up in 1992, Hook returned to New Order. In 1997, Hook collaborated again with Potts as Monaco. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Tunnelvision

While in their late teens, Blackpool's The Pose formed to perform punk covers. Chris Anderton (guitars), Tony Ashworth (drums), Chris Shea (vocals), and Paul Swindles (bass) met each other in school and started playing gigs with a clutch of Buzzcocks and Clash songs in their repertoire. Within a year, they started writing their own material and decided to change their name to Tunnelvision. 

After writing a few songs, Shea exited, leaving Anderton to take over on vocals. Eventually enlisting Andrew Leeming to take over on guitar, a gig with their friends, Section 25, in September of 1980 impressed Factory bigwigs Rob Gretton and Tony Wilson. Agreeing to release a single on their label, the band set about recording a four-song demo before cutting their official debut release. (Just after recording it, Swindles left for a proper job. He was replaced by Ian Butterworth.) Infamous producer and Factory associate Martin Hannett remixed two of the demo's songs, which became Tunnelvision's lone single, 'Watching the Hydroplanes'. As with most post-Joy Division records issued in the early '80s by Factory, the single was cast off as being second-rate Joy Division. 

Yet another four-song demo was recorded before Leeming departed. Drummer Ashworth ditched his drum kit for a guitar, and the trio continued playing live dates with a drum machine. Opting to try things out with another live drummer, the band called it quits after one rehearsal as a quartet. Former members splintered off into other short-lived bands, including Vee VV (Anderton, Butterworth) and Cat Noise (Shea, Swindles). In 1998, Les Temps Modernes released 'Guessing the Way', a compilation of the band's single, two demos, and live material. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Marcel King

Marcel Neville King (4 Jan 1958 - 5 Oct 1995) was the youngest member with soul/funk/disco outfit Sweet Sensation. Formed in Manchester in 1971 (as Sensation) the octet won the New Faces talent competition and their second single release "Sad Sweet Dreamer" topped the UK charts in September 1974. Sweet Sensation disbanded soon after failing the British finals for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1984 King teamed up with Donald Johnson (of A Certain Ratio) and Bernard Sumner (of New Order) to release one of Factory's finest moments -the one-off single 'Reach For Love / Keep On Dancing' (FAC 92). A massive dancefloor filler in The Hacienda "Reach For Love" unfortunately never gained commercial success. Marcel King died in 1995 from brain haemorrhage.