The Ramblers - The Kids Are back To Rock N Roll (1979)

b/w - Nothing Remains The Same

On my search for info on this German band I've realized that they seem to have been studiously ignored. WHY?

They were formed early 1977 in Hagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany & have given us some great punk / powerpop.

The Band were
Christian Schneider AKA Hartwig Masuch (voc) whilst studying Economics at the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (in 1980 he became Exrabreit's manager)
Frank Becking (guitar) also played briefly with the Stripes (more on them soon) & later with Nena again
Carlo Karges RIP (guitar) later in Exrabreit & Nena
Clemens Domning (bass voc) later in Exrabreit then moved to Berlin & joined Z replaced by Jürgen Meier
Jürgen Hielscher (drums), later replaced by Rüdiger Braune
with help from
Rüdiger Elze (guitars) later in avant-garde bands Hoelderlin & Kowalski

LP's
The Kids Are Back To Rock'n'Roll 1978 - Crystal or BB
Street Heat 1979 - Antagon Musikgesellschaft or Quality or Laser (RCA Oz)
Strange Life 1980 - CBS
45's
Soul Rocking Cock Sucker/You Never Do It Like Everybody 1977 - Hot Stuff*
We Want The World/New York City 1978 - Crystal
The Kids Are back To Rock N Roll/Nothing Remains The Same 1979 - Crystal
Out Of Time/All Those Days 1980 - CBS
Keep On Laughing/Running 1980 - CBS

If there any omissions/corrections please leave a comment

* thanks to Bernd for the info on this7"

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?j0prrja9a3ms9d1

The Teezers - The Best Part Of Breaking Up (1981)

b/w - Rebel

Very nice glam / powerpop sounds covering the Ronettes / Phil Spector classic

Apparently the Teezers were a 3 piece female band who began life in 1974.

Allegedly this 45 was first issued in 1975 !!

The 45 was produced by Keith Marshall of Hello (I've read Rebel is a Hello cover, I'm not sure! but its definitely written by Marshall)

There is an Australian release on Function Recs [MS 509] (no p/s again 1981)

It's been comped twice here & here

Here's a promo photo of them (the hair says 80's to me) - most of the other releases on Arrival records are to do with Keith Marshall as well.
(I'm not really sure if I have a point here! it just seems to me that this record is not as old as some people believe it is)
- Somebody please prove me wrong!!

Want to hear a Disco version of "best part"!!! - Gotta love those cow bells.

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?151b0qfm1814408

Splash - Fear No Evil (1981)

b/w - Gimme Your Body

Following on from the Spare Parts post, here's the 1st 45 from Splash.
The A side is OK but the flip is really good New Wave / powerpop.

The London based band were

Neil Brewer (voc bass) ex Never Never Band
Phil Nunn (guitar) ex spare parts
Bryan Fitzpatrick (drums) ex Never Never Band
Carol Stocker (keyboard voc)

There was also a 2nd 45 on Ramkup Records Modern Women / Hypnotised -CAC 010 (1982) again recorded at Luton's "Quest Studios"

Neil later became Tootle in the kids show Rosie & Jim

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?37l7ffsz2e99p13

Spare Parts - She's A New Kind Of Girl (1979)

b/w - Paint It Black

Great powerpop on the A-side whereas the Rolling Stones' cover on the flip is not the best version I've heard (let's face it there must be 100+ versions out there)

The North London based band (1977 - 1980) were
Phil Nunn (lead guitar voc) later in Splash
Mark Fanthorpe (guitar voc)
Jon Kocel (bass) later in Bleak house
Maurice Hollingsworth (drums) later in Bleak house
Jeff Hammer (keyboard voc) later in Teardrop Explodes

Sounds & scans below

06-03-2012 Sorry no download - it has been suspended by someone from 20th century Fox because of the words "New Girl" 2011 (it seems they are using a blanket anti -piracy law - what's this got to do with them?)

6ix - The Banned From Devon EP (1982)

A1 - Suburbia
A2 - Working Man
B1 - Authority
B2 - Dogs-Body

Cool Ep of D.I.Y. mod/punk from this Devon (Hatherleigh) bunch. (there's 6 of them - can you see how their name came about!?)

Peter S Jones (voc guitar)
Pete Hughes (rhythm guitar)
Alan Jones (bass)
Ross Kingsford (drums)
Sandra Jones (keyboards)
Phoebe Laing (backing voc)

If you like this there is a later 45 (1984) that re-records Working Man & has an even better B-side The Sun Says on "President Records".- [want to hear this, just leave a comment!]

Need more information?
Then read the (slightly larger than A4) info sheet that came with the record (neither of their 45's have pic sleeves)

Finally, my personal favourite from the e.p. is Dogs-body - gotta love the sloppy surf riffs

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?riywx3ke0q23ck7

Shaddowfax - Really Into You (1979)

b/w - Spare Wheel Driver

Another 45 with differing genres on each side.
Really into you is a great Mod / powerpop track which does begin to sound very similar to Bruce Foxton's "Smithers-Jones" (strangely both 45's were released in the same month [August]).
Whilst Spare Wheel Driver resides definitely in the Hard Rock stable

The Band (apparently Shadowfax not Shaddowfax) came from Bradford & were

Matti Unnuk (voc)
Allan Unnuk (guitar voc)
David Fairfax (bass)
Roy Klymenko (drums)

For a bit more info go here

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?amlxg42gfce3793

Pre-Set - Better Day (1981)

b/w - So Superstitious

Another Harlow band from the "Stortbeat" family tree.

The band formerly known as Empty Heads (plus or minus a few members) were

Sean Folan (guitar voc)
Roger Hamlyn (lead guitar voc)
Steve Prytherch (bass voc)
Mark Simpson (drums)

If you recognize the label Airplay it's because both the Pressure Stops 45's were also on it!
(If you see the sleeve for the Pressure Stops 2nd 45 [Bedsitter] there is a poster on the wall for Benny's Night Club - The Stow, Harlow stating: The Pre-Set & Pressure Stops play live Monday 15 December)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?5gt44lp3thhib0z

The Innocents - One Way Love (1980)

b/w - Every Wednesday Night At Eight

(Innocents is day-glo orange on the sleeve)

Great lone powerpop 45 from this London based band.

Josephine Buchan (voc)
Jimi Barber (guitar)
Rolo McGinty (bass)
Paul Bultitude (drums)

Before the Innocents, Paul Bultitude was part of Advertising (who co-incidentally supported Blondie on part of their 1978 UK tour - maybe that's why this sounds like a lost Blondie /de Cylinders / Shivvers track)
Then mid '79 in an unreleased (but apparently recorded) band Tot & the Girls in Room 419. [Tot Taylor (voc keyboard), Jimi Barber (guitar), Gus Goad (bass)]
After the Innocents, he replaced Seb Shelton in Secret Affair & was Gary Wilson in Mari Wilson's Band.
He's also linked to the Jetset / Paul Collins Beat / the Shambles & a multitude of other Mod/pop bands

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?i1zzt1vy77jaz77

The Prats - 1990's Pop EP (1980)

A1 - Disco Pope
A2 - Nothing
B1 - T.V. Set
B2 - Nobody Noticed

Here's bunch of Schoolboys from Edinburgh who formed in 1977 (they all went to St Augustine's Roman Catholic Comprehensive with ages ranging between 12 & 15, I've included a great photo of them in the download from smash hits) & fell apart in 1981

The Band were
Greg Maguire (voc guitar)
Paul McLaughlin (guitar voc)
Jeff Maguire (bass)
Dave Maguire (drums)

They are probably best known for their part on the Earcom 1 12" (Fast Products - FAST9 [1979] the tracks being Bored / Prats 2 / Inverness)

They also recorded a Peel session that aired on 13/09/1979 (Tom Robinson handled bass) - it's here

Rumour has it that Paul Mclaughlin was too scared to tell his mum that he was in a punk band so he used to pretend he was going for tennis lessons!!!

For more info on them go here

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?j10s7bhaf5f2p2l

ReTreads - Reformed & Refined (sort of)

No 45 post today

Just A Plug for Martyn's Blog The Retreads.

Some of you will remember I posted their 45 a while back. Martyn got in touch through the comments & was kind enough to send me the missing poster.

Well here's my turn to return the favour; On November 26th 2010 they had a reunion gig & here's the posted videos of it!

While you're at it, go here to see what else he's done (you'll find loads of goodies to download there) & here to see what he's doing now.

3rd Men - Your So Fashionable (1979)

b/w - The Robot Age

(one-sided bag sleeve) I've been reliable informed there is a back print to this - mine is just missing it! (Does that make it more or less collectable? - Anyone care!!)

I prefer the pop punk of Your so fashionable but if your bag is post-punk then the robot age is for you.

The band were

Andy Levine (voc guitar)
Nick Robbins (bass voc)
Mike Whitford (drums)
Derek "Del" Wilson (keyboards voc)

but words whispered say that only Nick Robbins & the Co-songwriter Nigel Swanston actually played on the record.

Mike Whitford & Del Wilson were also playing with The Citizens around this time [with Tim Cox & later Nigel Swanston]

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?cmk9pg1l8buvroh

Jeep - The Happy Wanderer (1982)

b/w - Do It Right

I guess some of you will know this track (maybe not from there thou') It always puts a smile on my face!

This is Jeep's 4th (of 5) 45's on their own Airport records imprint)

They were from the Hounslow area (West London) & formed in 1978.

The band were
Chris "Kris" Murrell (voc guitar)
Jimmy Bolleaux AKA Alan Stirling (voc guitar)
Roy Hamilton (voc bass)
Kelvin Purcell (voc drums)

Want to gorge yourself on videos by Kelvin Purcell & learn more about what he's been up to?
Go to his you-tube channel

If you're interested their other 45's are
wild rover/lark in the dark – Airport (AIRP 001) 1979
wild rover/lark in the dark – Cobra (COB 9) 1980
heiress on the run/don’t take it away – Airport (AIRP 002) 1980
roger the jogger/trying to forget – Airport (AIRP 3) 1981
factory/factory revisited – Airport(AIRP 006) 1983

Sounds & Scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?z59g272uo0faf3u

Valentine Guinness - Hey Hey C.J.T. (1980)

b/w - When Mandy Calls

Q - What happens when you're only known for you family name?

A - You make some noise (pretty good powerpop sounds actually!)

He was also later the leader of Panic (early 80's band, his ex wife Lulu was a backing singer) The band self released a 45 -
Never Ever Ever / Automatic Men / Midnight 1980

He also wrote a few plays (one that Harold Pinter advised on)

Here's what He's doing now (with Lloyd Grossman (Jet Bronx anyone))

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?sa9wzvmmbsowhr9

Ricky & The Kween Teens - Skate-Out (1977)

b/w - Skateboards & Summertime Funn

Often sold as powerpop (I guess it depends on your definition of powerpop)
It's definitely pop with some solid teenybop /glam / surf beats behind it. No matter the tunes are good, so give 'em a listen.

I've no idea who was behind this "cash-in" on the '77 skateboarding scene but the writers / producers are named as Fame and Fortune [which I'm guessing probably wasn't that forthcoming from this platter!]

45 rev's hints that it may be this guy

sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?i1drcm96qt8z4l2

No Known Cure - Subway (1983)

b/w - Borderline

Good bit of New Wave on this double A sided platter.
I like Subway... but find Borderline, well..... Borderline!

Once again I don't know anything about the band
except the songwriters were McCarthy / Dawson / Herlihy (which would lead me to believe they were Irish)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?6vy42yjg4gwtcev

The Oral Exciters- It's A Holiday (1979)

b/w - Tonight

2 great Mod / Powerpop tunes from this Garston (Hertfordshire) group

There is a pic sleeve (Phil Smee designed) for this but I haven't been able to get my paws on one yet! (from a pressing run of 500, I'm not holding my breath)

On Tuesday 1st July 1980 at the local final of the Herts & Beds Rock Contest (Battle of the bands) held at St Albans City Hall
The Oral Exciters won 1st prize beating
2nd, The Walkie Talkies (Hemel Hemstead)
3rd, Toad The Wet Sprockett
4th, Turbos
5th, Mr E & the Imaginations
6th, The Beez
7th, Late Road Lunatics

The band were

Tim Soul (voc keyboard)
Tonk Fewkes (guitar)
John Walpole (bass)
Garry Hawkins (drums)
Alan Rolfe (keyboard voc)
Nick Walker (sax) - guest player apparently not part of the band


Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?eobald5sl36zzu5

The Photographs - Second Best (1979)

B1 - Seas
B2 - Here I Go Again

Ah, the sound of "Indie Bristol"
Great under -produced 45 (a precursor to Subway records perhaps- even with the flat female vocals Ala The Flatmates)

Names on the label are Hobbs / Matthews / Mills

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?14c5dt1do5zj4v6

Revolver - Revolver EP (1982)

A1 - Sha La La La Lee (Marriott/Lane)
A2 - This Boy/Yes It Is (Lennon/McCartney)
B1 - Can't Let Maggie Go (Dello)
B2 - Oh Pretty Woman (Orbison)

Nice 60's sounding powerpop from this Scottish (Glasgow Area) band, who seemed to start life in 1980 although all of them had played in other incarnations with each other. (Anthem & Playground to name 2 but there's more info here)

The band were

David A Gilmour (voc guitar)
John Williams (guitar voc)
Harry Driscoll (bass voc)
Ray Hackett (drums)
Billy Gilmour (keyboards voc)

BTW - if you go here there are a limited amount of copies of this 45 available (read the general info/members section)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?9odbdzrta3gihad

Electrotunes - If This Ain't Love (1980)

b/w - Bodywork

Sort of ska crossed with the white reggae sounds of the Police.

Sorry I don't know Anything about the band except the songs were penned by Tony Hannaford & the 45 was one of the 9 releases on the EMI subsidiary label for New wave artists cobra label

I have read that Tony Hannaford was the guitarist (Boots) in the 1st & 2nd series of the 70's kids show Animal Kwackers but I'm not so sure it's the same guy!
(BTW some of the others in Animal Kwackers became the Ska-dows)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?d1cxeqhrcvwsih3

The Transmitters - Party (1978)

b/w - 0.5 Alive

Here's the 1st 45 from this Ealing (West London) band. This was released a couple of months (June) after their Debut LP -- 24 Hours - [Ebony Records EBY1002] which was recorded / Engineered in "24 hours" on March 12th/13th - released in May
The sleeve states : We arrived at 9.00AM Sunday Morning, Alan Jackoby (Tape Engineer) at 9.30 To let us in and save the pigeons from more torment, Rob Arenstein (Engineer) Overslept so we started recording at 10.30, Martin Adam took over at 10.00PM and we next saw daylight at 9.50AM Monday morning.... never again!!

The Band were
John F. Quinn (voc)
Mike Lee (guitar)
Vince Cutcliffe (guitar)
Sam Dodson (bass)
Jim Chase (Drums & keyboards)

Following on with their 24 hours theme the transmitters organised a "24 Hours London tour"
Which commenced Midnight 12th July 1978 where they were playing at The Speakeasy then in the morning outside The Rainbow followed by external appearances (on the back of a lorry) at The Roundhouse (1pm), Dingwalls (1.30), The Lyceum (2.30), The Nashville Rooms (4.00), The Hammersmith Odeon (4.30), The Royal Albert Hall (5.30), The Palladium (7.00), The Marquee (7.30) Culminating with an open aired gig in Ealing (10.30)

If anyone can confirm sightings of the above please leave a comment

For more info there's a highly informative myspace

sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?o5d2nrip23vl4kd

Dennis Delight - Kids Today (1980)

b/w - Concequences

Ok this is a Hard Rock band But "Kids Today" with it's fey cockney accent (bear in mind these guys are from Preston) is a great New wave track!

The Band for this 45 were
Frank Halliwell (voc & songwriter)
Greg Slater (guitar)
Kenny "Spiteful" Jones (bass, voc & van driver)
Mick McGreevy (drums)

For info about the band go here

There's a Facebook page here asking if anyone remembers Dennis Delight


http://www.mediafire.com/?mh89f0pssp8wrhp

The Warm - Tired Of Waiting For You (1979)

b/w - Tired Dub

I mentioned this 45 in my previous Warm post & have since had a couple of mails requesting it. So here is the 5th & final offering from The Warm (released at the tail end of '79 in the UK & Portugal)

Yes it's a re-working of the classic Kinks track
(Ray Davies claimed to have written the music on the train to a recording studio & penned the words at a coffee shop during a break in the session.)

From what I can gather The Warm had by now slimmed down to a duo comprising of
Rui De Castro Guimaraes AKA Rui Castrator (voc guitar)
Leo Pennant AKA Leo Penn or Jah Shumba (bass voc) (around this time Leo was NOT performing with Tiger Ashby - see comments)

Rui's still working/living hard in Lisbon & I'm sure would like to stick some memories of recording this in the comments box....

Sounds & scans below
http://www.mediafire.com/?ubd4dw3d8wynqbg

The Thunderbolts - Dust On Me Needle (1980)

b/w - Something Else

Nice Pub rock in the Brinsley Schwarz vein, sometimes ering a bit too close to a "novelty record" but I like it & it's been requested so download & enjoy!!
or don't, it's up to you.

It's actually Keef Trouble backed by members of Brett Marvin & the Thunderbolts (The name change was Stiff Mainman Dave Robinson's idea

The Band were

Keef Trussel (voc bass)
Graham Hine (guitar mandolin)
Malcolm Hine (guitar)
John "Lofty" Randall (drums)
David "Taffy" Davies (keyboards)RIP

There's more info (& dodgy videos) here

If you add Keef Trouble, Graham Hine & Lofty Randall To John Lewis (AKA Jona Lewie) you also have Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs
Keef Trouble also wrote the lyrics for Jona Lewie " You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" which is now an IKEA ad

Sounds & scans below
http://www.mediafire.com/?5xu857zwucxxiij

E.M.F. - Anti-Bellum (1981)

b/w - One Way Girl

Great bit of CND supporting Ska from this Coventry 7 piece.
(Anti-Bellum = to be opposed to war)

Anti Bellum is also on the 1981 RCA "battle of the Bands" LP - which means they were finalists - (Carl Green & The Scene won & Asylum came 3rd if you're interested)

The band were

Donna Elkington (voc)
Sharron Elkington (voc)
Jim Allen (sax and voc)
Dave Gordon (guitar)
Fitzroy Wilson (rhythm guitar)
Tony (Mojo) Morgan (bass)
Leroy Wright (drums)

According to here the Elkington sisters put an add in the Coventry Evening times to see if anyone wanted to start a band & it snowballed from there
Other self penned tracks in their repertoire included "Don't push me","black girl, white boy","cheesed off" & "anorexia"

There's a good homemade video here
& A myspace

Sounds & scans below
http://www.mediafire.com/?71hd8ggcsj87ic0

Blind Alley - Keep Me Hanging On (1982)

b/w - Visions

Nice Cover Versions -- Oh hang on I don't think they are!!

Both these tunes are really good New wave versions of 60's West Coast psychedelia penned by Filipovic & produced by Chas Chandler (Cheapskate was owned by him & Frank Lea)

There's quite a good label discography for Cheapskate here

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?pnvttf6rqwqjtz8

The Pictures - What Do We Want (1981)

b/w - It's All Over

Great New wave 45 with hints of mod/ska (These ears prefer the B-side)

Released June '81 & Produced by Jimmy Pursey (Yes He of Sham 69) although this is in his solo period when he was just joining epic from polydor.

The Songs were penned by
A Palmer & S. Morley

Sadly that's all I've got (I can't find any info in my books or on the internet)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?z6a08uinw3ej369

The Blue Meanies - Pop Sensibility (1980)

b/w - (I'm Not In) Love (With You)

Mentioned yesterday, here's some more glam punk / powerpop

The Band were

Chris Gent (voc sax) see yesterdays post
Tommy Willis (guitar) also in the Regulars
Martin Gordon (bass keyboards voc) ex sparks & Radio Stars
Ray Weston (drums)

With help from
Jamie Crumpton ex Radio stars & New Hearts (guitar) &
Angie (guitar on Love)
Gary Holton Heavy Metal Kids (voc & mike stand removal)
For Martin's memories of the band go here (pretty much a band History)

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?952lysauuzuy3so

Autographs - While I'm Still Young (1978)

b/w - Fabulous

Ok carrying on the chain of my last few posts here's the band that Paul Tully was sticksman for before Speedos / Hollywood Killers.

Others in the band were

Chris Gent (voc sax)
Garry" Raggy" Lewis (guitar) ex the Stukas
Jim Ward (guitar)
Dave Spicer (bass)
Paul Tully (drums)

I suspect a lot of you already know this 45 (it's available elsewhere) but if you don't! get ready for an excellent punk / powerpop / glam sound to fill your ears.
(BTW look out for a different (acetate) version that was made available by LDK a few years back)

The record was released on September 29 a good 2 months after their TV appearance (July 22) on Revolver

Chris Gent later went on to play with amongst others, Radio Stars, Speedometers, Blue Meanies, Secret Affair & the Records.

Sounds & scans below


http://www.mediafire.com/?gwd3mm1mq253mdz

Hollywood Killers - Butterfly (1982)

b/w -Killer Wail

Great 45, (Jim's 3rd under the Hollywood Killers moniker) with both sides being strong mod/powerpop sounding tracks.

The line up is as the speedos

Jim Penfold (Voc Guitar)
Neil Aplin (Guitar)
Duncan 'Kid' Reid (Bass Voc)
Lino Robinson (Keyboards)
Paul Tully (Drums)

Other songs recorded in this session at the Chipping Norton Studios were "Hanaker Row", "Colourful Rain" & "No Joke" (with Duncan Reid on Vocals)

Butterfly was chosen as the b-side for their Spanish release (the A-side being No Joke - which I've included in the download)

If you want more of a History & to listen to some more stuff go here

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?nqcxm4asehubgmc

The Speedos - Killer On The Dance Floor (1980)

b/w - Butterfly

Well here's what I meant yesterday - A different version of Killer On The Dance Floor.

The Speedos are in fact Jim Penfold (Hollywood Killers) making the final move from Hastings to London to start afresh.

The band for the recording were

Jim Penfold (Voc Guitar)
Neil Aplin (Guitar)
Duncan 'Kid' Reid (Bass Voc) ex the boys
Lino Robinson (Keyboards)
Paul Tully (Drums) ex Autographs

The drumstoll on butterfly was filled by Jack Black of The Boys

The B-side which was recorded in '79 @ Gooseberry Studios in ChinaTown, Soho was later re-recorded (1982) & became the Hollywood Killers next release - guess what tomorrows post is!!

* Thanks to modpoppunkarchives for the borrowed sound clip

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?2p1mhibzha0ib81

The Killers - Killer (On The Dance Floor) 1978

b/w -No Surrender

Here's some nice glam/rock/pop from the boys, who penned Video killed the radio star (Made famous by Trevor Horn's later incarnation the buggles
BTW there is also a lesser known {in the UK} version by Bruce Wooley & the Camera Club)

The London based studio only group were
Bruce Woolley (voc guitar)
Trevor Horn (bass keyboards)
Rod Thompson (keyboards)

I have to admit that, I'm posting this so you can compare it to my next post........

Sounds & scans below

http://www.mediafire.com/?76qv1zbz5bo48k8