My mate Gary Steadman was in Eater (guitar) he went on to join Classix Nouveaux, who he is still with. He was in Flock of Seagulls for a bit also. Thanks Jim, brilliant again !
I'm from Portugal; in 77, at 14, I was after all the info available on the press of the time. There was only a good national mag, which provided little account of what was taking place in the UK, but then things changed. We owe it to António Sérgio, a local EMI's A&R , label manager , record producer and radio announcer/show director, who not only began playing early UK76 Punk on Portuguese airwaves, late at night already in late 76, on Rádio Renascença (the official Catholic station!), but also had the nerve to organize a Punk compilation with Brit bands at the end of 77, with most tracks licensed, with a single Pistols track (GSTQ) that would bring major problems. Around 400 lps were issued and then the whole batch was apprehended and destroyed , with a few albums still being sold, now at around 250 euros on Discogs. It became a legendary record here among early Punk devotees. Yes, António Sérgio, was still working for EMI and he wanted to include a Sex Pistols' track on his own ''New Wave / Punk 77'' (official title) compilation album, and that was absolutely VERBOTEN. As a result, he was sacked from ''Valentim de Carvalho/EMI'' (Lisbon), being set ''free'' for better and bigger adventures you should read about online. Look for the ''UIVO'' documentary, here. And why am i commenting about the record? Because it was only on that compilation that i heard EATER for the first time ( 2 tracks - Outside view/ Thinking of the USA), and i was glad to know their drummer was my age, an argumentation used to ''dignify'' my incipient musical punk ''talents'' before my parents...
I think Malcolm Owens death kinda makes The Ruts bullet proof, The Crack is a perfect album, and Staring at the Rude Boys is one of the greatest songs ever written. And the legacy can never be tarnished by diminishing returns. (Though West One (Shine on me) shows they potentially could have hit even bigger heights)
I would say The Ruts actually made it big, they have an incredible amount of success and they are still packing the punters in today. The Ruts are a step above anyone else on this list in what they achieved
I never really got XTC, but I've got friends with impeccable taste who loved them. These friends are way more into jazz/prog than punk and insist that XTC were not a punk band.
@@davidmorgan6896 I kinda think XTC have elements of punk/prog/jazz and even pop and they're all the better for it. I like XTC but people who love them...really really love them.
It doesn't matter. Go into a local bar or deli and ask about XTC: you'll be met with a sea of blank faces, but ask about Prince, or Alice Cooper, or Frank Sinatra, or Jerry Lee Lewis aor even Talking Heads, and most people will know who you're talking about. That's the difference between "having a few hits years ago" and being HUGE. But please keep watching and commenting!
My top band from that period that should have been massive was Punishment of Luxury (Punilux). Savage, sweet and hilarious. Like if John Cooper Clarke had joined Motorhead. Did that jellyfish ever get his Blue Peter badge? We will never know.
Any band that takes their name from a Giovanni Segantini painting is fine by me! Great comment: thanks for sharing your views. I'll reacquaint myself with Punishment of Luxury. Thanks!
I ended up as a teacher working alongside Brian who was lead singer of punilux..great bloke..I never got to see them live but I know they still did gigs up until 7 or 8 years ago
The Punk bands I was in (in 1977) supported XTC, I'm from Swindon too. Jim, regarding their manager, he was without doubt the biggest arsehole i've ever met in the music business, & i've been gigging for 47 years. They were a great band, it's a shame that just as they were about to become big stars, Andy had his breakdown.
Sad to see the omission of The Adverts on this list. TV Smith's lyrics are urban poetry, and the band, as ramshackle as they were, could've been huge considering the leap between Crossing the Red Sea and Cast of Thousands. To me, they represent the definition of classic English punk.
They were the greatest. And even Tim Smith´s solo performances range for me way above a lot of concerts by other "full bands" that I have seen. Lively, toxic and extremely likeable and intelligent. I still remember how once a string on his guitar broke during the gig; he smiled, said "excuse me a second", jumped from the stage in a sudden leap, made his way right through the (packed) audience to the backstage (which is at the other end of the place and up a narrow staircase there) and was back in less than about three minutes with a bundle of strings which he then quickly sorted out, blitzfixed the guitar and ONE TWO THREE go for it again. Sometimes talked a bit with him after his gigs (was at a lot), he´s really a one of a kind nice person.
The Adverts were great and I am a big fan of Tim Smith and the others. But this is just one video. Lots of great bands, (hopefully) lots of videos! Thanks for taking part. Cheers!
I used to hang out with The Lurkers back in the day and they drank in the pub I used to promote in (The Cock, North End Road, Fulham) and I booked them for several gigs, but I'm pretty sure even they didn't expect to be HUGE, up there with the Stones and Elton John (God forbid!!). Thanks for taking part. Cheers!
I saw the Slits & The Ruts, never saw Eater (Wish I had). Never heard of The Wasps. Never rated XTC. Too pop for my punky lugholes. Still not sure about ATV, all these years later. I had their first album, but always preferred bands like Slaughter & The Dogs.
My mate is Bri Grantham, the drummer from Slaughter. He's told me some cracking stories...His Morrissey one is piss funny. He auditioned for them once and sat cross legged and barefoot while singing. Bry threw a drum stick at him and said, "Get up you soft cunt"...lol
I know exactly what you are saying and most of my friends would share your views. Personally, I have a weakness for the quirky. Haha! Thanks for sharing that: you should start a video channel and spread the word… 😎
The Slits' first Peel session remains the best I've ever heard. When "Cut" finally came out, I couldnt have been more disappointed - good enough, but the edge had vanished in a haze of weed
I kind of agree with you, though Cut had some great moments (such as 'Newtown').I always preferred to catch them live and I think Dennis Bovell was almost making a Dennis Bovell album with Cut. Cheers!
Good stuff Jim ,quite liked XTC though like you said I wouldn't call them Punk but the real contenders in your mix for me was the Ruts ,a cracking band ,it was terrible the way it played out ,it's great Ruts D.C are still strutting their stuff
That's very kind of you to say so. Thanks! I agree with most of what you say. All the bands I mentioned were great and deserved more recognition. Eater was so far ahead of their time, especially when you realise they were barely into their teens, it's frightening. XTC and the Ruts aimed for the stars, but circumstances prevented them from reaching superstardom. I could go on… 🤓
Here in Canada, XTC had their official North American fan club in Barrie Ontario of all places--it was called The Little Express and operated officially from '83 to 2000. Before that it was unofficial hehe. XTC got plenty of radio play with "Making Plans for Nigel" in 1980, "Senses Working Overtime" in '82 and "Dear God" in '86/'87. But, true, they never got big where it really counts for the mega money, the USA. Although, I recall a 1987 Andy Partridge interview when he said they made some pretty good coin from the "Skylarking" album. So, hopefully that set them up somewhat nicely. I liked their alter-ego psychedelic band, The Dukes of Stratosphear, too.
Great comment - thanks! There's a lot more to XTC and Andy Partridge than I could share in this video. Maybe they deserve one of their own in the future?! Cheers!
You should have pointed out that Mark Perry started Sniffing Glue Fanzine in 76 which was also the starting point for Danny Baker into journalism , radio , TV and Daz adverts.
Good point! But you already knew that, as (I would guess) did most of the people who know anything about ATV, and, to be fair, editing a magazine (even as ground-breaking as Sniffing Glue) isn't really relevant in a discussion about musical talent. I don't think so, anyway… Danny Baker? I didn't even point out he was Hilda Baker's bastard son. That's how negligent I am! 😄 Thanks for taking part. You're probably right, and I'm wrong - except for Danny Baker, of course. He used to steal records from the record shop that employed him. Shocking fellow… 😇
I didn't forget them: I was a bit of a fan back then, but they were not British, so I dare not include them (you have no idea how many comments I'd get!)… 😄
Enjoyed this. Think one of the reasons most punk bands never make it big, especially in the US, is that it’s so hard to stay fresh & sustain the level of rebelliousness, fun, even integrity that “punk 101” requires without “selling out” (whatever that means). So most of it remains underground. After all, as one person said, ‘the apocalypse is only coming once’.
I am not being nasty! But I was an Hardcore Punk, into Crass, DK, Conflict, Discharge, and we used to call them groups you have mentioned 77rs, but now I am older I do respect them. Thankyou Jim.
No, well spotted. There are a lot more I didn't mention too. I've got to be selective and with all the best will in the world, I could never see Patrick selling out stadiums and hosting his own BBC-1 prime time poetry show. I'll make other videos about great talents but that was about Punk bands who could have been HUGE> Cheers!
Incredible, just pause this at 5:25... that line up for the Roxy... imagine living in London then, night after night going out seeing these bands... and that's just one venue... I was only 2 years old in January 1977... I love the scene now based around the Windmill and associated venues, but this would have been the greatest time to be old enough to go out for me...
Yes, it was a great time to be alive and a music lover. There were over a hundred pub and club venues operating in London at the time, mostly with live music seven nights a week. We didn't realise how lucky we were! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Sorry to contradict you Jim but XTC are huge (in retrospect) Their dear God track propelled them into the stratosphere on the American alt college circuit, people want them back and are obsessive, there is the only if, Mr. Partridge would play on stage again and talk to Mr. Moulding. In my humble opinion Partridge and Moulding are up there with Difford and Tillbrook, Lennon and McCartny Jaggers Richards and the brothers Davies for Englishness. They may not have made it star wise but their shadows are enormous.
Haha! I agree: as far as musical greatness goes, there's hardly any greater star than XTC. But as far as TH-cam goes… 😄 Thanks for a great comment. Much appreciated, and thanks for watching, too. Cheers!
Yup, I was gonna post that XTC were rather big for not being big & they had commercial success with Making plans, senses working etc. Come to think of it they were always touring and always filled those smaller venues back in the day. I tend to think of them closer to pop than punk. I saw Magazine support them, along with pre supports of supports 😂. I still look back as Magazine being a highlight gig of the era. Cheers!
I thought you might include Penetration, who were electric live. Saw them at the Marquee in 78, at the height of the disgusting spitting fad. Pauline Murray threatened to walk off stage if it didn't stop. I remember thinking I would walk off anyway. That really was revolting.
@@JimDriver Interesting, considering their debut was NOT released Stateside (at least not at that time)! Even the punk-friendly Sire Records (Ramones, Dead Boys) wouldn't take a chance on it- probably because their name - and album title- was to extreme even for them! (Sire did release Sham 69's debut in the US- it was not successful here!) Their second album "Bite Back" was pressed here, but by then they'd altered their moniker to Slaughter.
It was like an explosion of talent. I think the Punk and DIY movements (subtly different but with roughly the same goals) gave ordinary kids the inspiration to try and form a band and make music for themselves. A great time! Thanks for taking part.
The ultimate shoulda-made-it-bigger punk band are surely the Buzzcocks. Within their bubble they were big, but never translated into mass market appeal in spite of some classic pop love songs. Punk was more of an albatross than a dove for Pete Shelley. RIP chuck.
You make a great point. A lot of people don't;t realise that the difference between a "successful" Punk band like Buzzcocks and a successful Rock band, such as Queen is immense. It's thousands of percent different, although they were all on TOTP lots… Cheers!
@@JimDriver The difference is bands who are grateful for a record deal, and bands who can say we'll take our custom elsewhere, ta very much, with no shortage of contracts awaiting their signatures. Buzzcocks are one of those highly influential groups on subsequent eras and bands, who never gained enough traction to call the tune (pun intended). Queen on the other hand.. £££
🧡 Great stuff 🧡 Un. To me, The Slits, were and always will be *HUGE* Deux. Wire...Wire...Wire...now they should have been *HUGE* I believe Pink Flag to be the purest punk album ever made. Trois. ATV included Jools Holland on their 1977 single 'Life after Life'. Quatre. XTC were *HUGE* Cinq. Fun(ish) quiz. Name the Wire song with the French ramones style 1,2,3,4 count in? Name the crap song with the 'Unos, dos, tres, catorce' Ramones style '1,2,3,14' count in?
Great Vid ,Jim!!! My personal favourite that never made it was ,Red Beat (on Malicious Damage) who had as members two of the Jones brothers, the third brother was ,Howard Jones, who very much did make it.....Well done on the growth of your channel!!! All the best....👍811
Thanks very much for the kind words. I really do appreciate it and thanks for sharing your thoughts to our little "community". Great info, thanks! PS the growth of my channel took me very much by surprise but I'm really enjoying the extra traction and buzz!
@@JimDriver Just checked on tinternet.. He was and Madness covered a track of theirs for One Step Beyond .. Dragged it out of the back of my memory 😎👍.. Great vids of yours by the way 👏👏👏
The Ruts and Alternative TV both great bands. I think the Ruts could have got very big if Malcolm hadn't died. I tend to agree with you about ATV, Mark Perry mostly just did what he wanted and it was never very commercial , but The Image Has Cracked is a great album that often seems to get overlooked.
Thanks! I agree with just abouyt every word you say. I rememebr seeing an interview with Mark back in the day where he said if he realised he was becoming rich and famous, he'd change course and have a rethink! Haha!
I think that their first LP "The Image Has Cracked" ,1978, is one of the most significant albums of the first UK Punk wave...full of ideas! Like Wire and The Fall , ATV really started with a burst of surprising and unconventional creativity.
Prefer Punishment of luxury and Wire. If you can have Ruts I can have Dept s. Prefered xtcs psychedelic alter ego. The Slits were to music what Albert Tatlock was to heavy metal. Eater were just schoolkids and it showed. My favourite bands were Anti nowhere league and Killing Joke. The Saints should have been massive yes I know they weren't English.
Quite right! We're all different, and I freely admit that my choices are partly dictated by where I was at a particular time and how I was feeling. I do get that. But I love sharing my experiences and tastes on this channel. Thanks for joining in!
@@JimDriver And that´s what was the real great thing about Punk right from the beginning. It´s a mindset, not a style of music (at least for me it always was - my music taste was always extremly diverse). And, your vid says "6 bands..." - - you inevitably have to make SOME choice for 6 bands! You just animated everybody here to think of what their choice would possibly be for that. How could anyone sane really criticise your choice - that´s why it is your choice, isn´t it?
Ruts4Eva! … XTC had a pretty solid following on college radio in the States … I remember cueing up Nigel followed by the first REM EP back in the day … ‘course nothing really beats the Subs “I Live in a Car” as under-rated punk noise …
I have seen Ruts DC a lot of times. But only the Ruts once. Wolvo Civic Oct 1979. If nobody had died, the Ruts would have headlined big festivals like Rebellion, Academy In The UK, North East Calling and Brixton Academy Fuck Reading.
Great band! My "surprising fact" is that Glenn Tilbrook from Squeeze played guitar on their demo, but if you;ve already seen my video, you'll know that already. Thanks for sharing that!
I would agree that The Only Ones weren't really Punk. They had a Punk leaning due to Perrett's voice and vocal delivery but the music covered many styles. They were one of my favourite bands at that time and I do agree that they should have been huge but I believe Perrett'.s drug use probably put pay to that.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It is always gratifying to connect with fellow Punk enthusiasts who appreciate the Ruts and Malcolm Owen's incredible talent. Thanks again!
Hi Jim. Interesting roundup. I agree with you about XTC. Great musicians and really original ideas. They could really do the business live and didn't sound like anyone else.
I saw XTC at my local Poly touring their 1st album. This was about early 78 and they were very good. Another band around this time at the same venue were The Vibrators. I always thought they should have been bigger than what they were.
The Vibrators were great and Knox and the chaps were a regular attraction when I was running The Cricketers, but I could never see them playing stadiums and earning double-platinum albums, great as they were. Cheers!
Ive just commented on another video of yours, a friend of mine was in a one hit wonder punk band, his name is Anthony ( Tony ) Dent, from the Epping forest area.
I have to admit to having forgotten the Wasps but liked all of the others. The Slits were one of the best live bands I ever saw. The Ruts early Peel session was stupendous.
Thanks.: I totally agree with all you say! I am with you 100% on The Slits and I was very disappointed that none of the live clips I could find reflected just how amazing they were on stage. Cheers!
Indeed! Thanks for sharing that. As a veggie, I was a bit non-plussed by the dead pig's head they bought from a butcher's shop for every gig but I realise that was them trying to shock. But hey-ho, they were the business!
What about UK Subs, 999. Penetration, Vibrators, UK Decay, Spizz in all their forms, Ignerents, Wasteland, Alberto y lost trios paranoias, Splodgenessabounds
Those are mostly bands I've been associated with in one way or another and most have been mentioned in my videos or probably will be. None of them were ever going to be HUGE in my humble opinion. The joy of this is that I make my choices and anyone can contradict me or make a video of t eir own. I love this friendly controversy, btw, keep it up and please keep watching. Cheers!
Don't get me wrong, but I still think it's a shame that Skrewdriver didn't bang out some more classic 77 punk like they did on their first album instead of ending up like a farce. Good example of how politics can ruin a band.
My own view is that Ian Stewart had a poisoned mind and I can't really listen to anything that cam out of it with any empathy. That's probably my failing… I get where you're coming fromL thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@@JimDriver Yeah, it's hard to seperate the man from the music but I feel the same about Michael Jackson these days 😃 Anyway, some more underrated punk bands: The Depressions and The Drones.
When i was 17 I ended up in strangeways and the guy in the next pad had Screwdriver tattooed on his forehead, i used to wonder why anyone would have that for a tattoo ⚡ I eventually found out it was a band 🍺🍻😜
You make a great point! XTC had a unique sound that set them apart from the Punk scene, but back then, they chose to be associated with what was happening and the movement in general. Andy's stage fright definitely added an absorbing layer to their story.
These kinds of videos are always a bit weird. If you've had to head into that part of the scene for a while you go "Wasn't The Slits huge?" I mean, they even had Neneh Cherry? 🙂
I'm not sure The Slis were ever HUGE or anywhere near the level of acts like The Beatles, Elton John or The Rolling Stones. But your opinion is as valid as mine and thanks for sharing it. Cheers!
@@JimDriver No, you're totally right. It's just I have had my head in 70s and 80s punk for so long my first thought is that everyone else should know the band I know of 🙂
Yes, although The Fall started in Manchester in 1976 or 1977, they only really came into my radar in the 1980s. They definitely deserve a video of their own! Cheers!
Great video Jim. How about Magazine? Were both Punk and Post Punk. Any band with John McGeoch and Howard Devoto surely should have been huge? As you know they ended up skint. Also the Only Ones? Punk and Post Punk. Like you say a 3:42 they were also hitting the Herring.
I'd liked to have seen one of the most underrated punk bands of the day get a mention, and that's London. Brilliant live band and the one lp and three singles they made were fantastic.
I always thought XTC did make it pretty big? They were certainly too musical to have been considered punk. More New wave? And I agree about the Ruts (although now that I have swapped out old England for New England DC means ‘District of Columbia’ to me these days). Great band!
In Australia, and I thought they were big. Generals and Majors and Senses Working Overtime got plenty of airtime. Certainly not punk on those tracks. I wouldn’t have called their earlier hit Making Plans For Nigel a punk track.
It's all about degrees, isn't it? Just about everybody you mix with will know who Elton John is, or The Rolling Stones, or Queen, or Abba, but ask about any of these bands (including XTC) on this video and you'll be lucky if one in ten or one in 20 will have heard of them.
All great bands. My favorite by far is XTC. I love all of their albums. They covered so many different styles/genres and yet made them all their own. They were an incredibly consistent band. Yeah, they should've been as big as the Police or at least REM, but Andy's mental health issues coupled with bad management kept that from happening.
XTC truly was a remarkable band with a unique sound and incredible range. It's a shame circumstances prevented them from receiving the recognition they deserved! Thanks for sharing your views. Cheers!
You could of picked 999, slf, the vibrators ,generation x, slaughter and the dogs , the adverts and many more but you pick xtc for fucks sake , they were closer to prog rock than punk.
Slaughter is a great shout, I only watched this to see if they got a mention. I was in a band with Bryan Mad Muffet Grantham around 2006. A few years back he asked me if I'd play bass in Slaughter2 fronted up by Ed Banger of The Nosebleeds fame, then Covid came about and it didn't happen. Little fact, Slaughter and the Dogs were Jonathon Ross' favourite band at the time. He said it on a punk doc he did years ago..
I could have but I didn't. That';s the joy of having my own TH-cam channel. You should start one and share your thoughts and tastes to the world: it's easier than you think. (I'm being serious btw!!) We all have different ideas and tastes. Cheers!
Totally agree on the Wasps! Other great melodic British punk era bands that should have had chart success : The Tights (two great singles!) , Wire (now revered but always ignored), Subway Sect, Penetration (Danger Signs had top 40 written all over it), The Drones (only big in Manchester) , The Flys (Love and a Molotov Cocktail should have been a hit) and The Boys.
I'd love to hear more about your experiences with Here & Now! ATV more than any other band reflected the true experimental nature of punk. Band members Alex Fergusson & Mark Perry never get the credit they deserve (one example is the 1980 Snappy Turns album by Mark Perry, a 'Britpop' masterpiece before its time).
Thanks! I'll make sure I do a Here & Now video soon. There are snippets of my time with them scattered through most of these videos. Totally agree about Mark and Alex. Cheers!
XTC were never punk and how can you say they didn’t make it, formed 1972 finished 2006 and big in the US, multi award winning, 14 studio albums. And EXTC are touring now. Wish I could be such a failure.
We're all entitled to an opinion, even me. I'd recommend you should start up a TH-cam channel and share your opinions and experiences with the world. I think you'll enjoy it. In the meantime, please keep watching mine. Cheers!
XTC took their name from the fact that all new cars registered in Swindon were designated number plates beginning with XTC. The movie quote "I'm in ec-sta-sy" resonated with Andy, because he lived in Swindon. So DVLC area XTC," and the pronunciation "EC-STA-CY" gave Andy enough of a synchronous / causal relationship to call his band "XTC". (Pronounced X-T-C)
You reminded me of a story in the 80's. As teens, we had been at a friends house and at about 11.30 pm, we left to go home. On my friends car there was a pigs head on his bonnet, which totally shocked us and made us all burst out in laughter. There then became a discussion on who was going to remove the pigs head? Everyone was like 'I'm not touching it', so we all just got into the car. I was sitting in the front seat and said to my friend, "Just floor it, the pigs head will roll off', so he did just that. Instead of rolling off, the pigs head shot onto his windscreen, like a horror movie scene, with all of us screaming 'AHHHH!!' in jest, as the pig stared at us. My friend swerved side to side trying to shake it off. It was only when he took a corner that it eventually rolled off. 😅 For day we wondered, who would put a pigs head on my mates car? Then a few days later, I found out that the Angelic Upstarts had been doing a Gig at the 'Old Twenty Nine' and someone drunk at that gig, must have carried the pigs head from that gig for about 3 miles, to only then randomly dump it on my mates car. 😂
You could go on all day, naming different bands. Swell Maps, The Shapes, Slaughter & the Dogs, The Raincoats, Punishment of Luxury, SLF, Pseudo Existors, Dangerous Girls, and you could just keep going and going, remembering it's still all subjective...and to be fair, quite a lot of these bands, including the ones you mention, did make it quite big, albeit not mainstream, but that was the point, wasn't it?. Out of the ones you mention, I love ATV, very creative and Mark Perry very much underrated. I love their singles and 'Life' is a punk classic. Still got it, thank goodness. ..and, RUTS, well they really were in a different league to the 3-chord brigade (no disrespect, cause I love them too). No, RUTS were fantastic musicians, head and shoulders above and they wrote very powerful songs, that have stood the test of time. I count myself lucky at having seen Ruts four times back in the day and they were amazing live and their records were really good too. Always well produced and very powerful. TBH, I think Ruts probably were the best punk band, and it would have been interesting to see where things would have gone, if Malcolm hadn't tragically died. I was 20 at that time. You could hear a shift in things on the West One (Shine On Me) single and I try and imagine where they would have taken things from there. They were a class act.
Cheers Jim good stuff , I forgot about the ruts , never heard of the wasps will av a listen and didn't know why xtc got off the English roundabout , my request suggestion is could you do a playlist video of the unknown bands you heard and had something interesting please? All the best ❤️💪☮️
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words. I'm thinking about the best way to do a playlist video or maybe something on another platform. Please keep watching!
Wire have a great back catalogue and still releasing top notch albums . Buzzcocks had a lot of success but with their songwriting skills and incredible “ punk pop “ melodies , should have been massive . The Wasps ? Can’t Wait Til 78 is about it for me . I much prefer the songs of Menace , another underrated band . 999 were very good in bursts but inconsistent. XTC have a fabulous back catalogue but can’t be classed as punk The Rezillos had a barn storming debut LP ( the bass playing is registered on the Richter Scale ) but fell apart quickly . Killing Joke should have been bigger than Metallica. I think The Ruts would have made it big ( and I enjoyed a lot of their stuff ) but the road they chose with respect to the 1st album had them marked down as Clash copyists . Big guitar driven , politically charged songs interspersed with reggae type tunes . Owen’s death was something they couldn’t recover from , he was a charismatic front man.
Absolutely loved this video. I reckon if Malcolm Owen hadn't died the Ruts would have been as big as the Clash. Such great songs. Also XTC did have a great career but it took them a while. XTC are highly revered these days. Finally, i must check out the Wasps.
Another great video Jim. Saw the Ruts and Alternative TV back in the day (as well as the UK Subs, the Mekons, Eddie and the Hotrods, The Lurkers, Here and Now etc etc) and XTC a few years later. For a fresh faced 15 year old, too timid to try to get served at the bar, those early punk gigs were terrifying. Terrifying but brilliantly exciting. Like many of my mates, it inspired me to try and do it myself. Still trying to emulate all that excitement this day! Punks not dead...it's just taking a breather!
Thanks for the kind words and for getting involved in the channel. Very much appreciated! It was a terrific time and we were so lucky to be there. Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories. Cheers!
The Stiffs should have been bigger (Ohh, Missus!), but I guess they came along a bit later and may be more new wave! The Slits got pushed loads because they were all female, they didn't make it because they really weren't all that good, actually they were pretty crap! IMHO! Even people I know who say they like them can't name more than two songs by them! Also, Wire. But what do I know, I always preferred TG and the Cabs,
You bring up some interesting points about the Stiffs and the Slits! Music is a subjective experience, and seeing how different bands are perceived through the years is fascinating. Cheers!
The Ruts were one of my fave bands back in the day, but Eater, the Slits, and ATV also got lots of attention, tho the Slits actually got much more interesting after they adopted more reggae influences. XTC, with only a few exceptions, just didn't come up with many good songs, and the Wasps came up with no good songs at all, which is probably why hardly anybody remembers them.
Thank you very much for sharing those thoughts: great insights. Not sure I agree with everything you say but it's good to hear different ideas. Cheers!
I was 6 in 76. Grow up listening to all british modern music i could in a very grey, gloomy Portugal. I literally learned English translating every albuns, recording in cassette from the radio and later becoming a drummer in a lot of punk, trash and ska bands... your videos make me feel like i'm home. Thank you, mate. Punks' Not Dead, yet...😂😂😂
Of all of those bands, only XTC should’ve really made it. Mostly because they have staying power and grew as artists, Where all of those other groups brought out one album and disappeared. Not only that but XTC is the only one that ever got radio play in America.
I've always was quite fond of 4 be 2, X-ray Spex and the Stranglers. Even though the latter has tasted commercial success. I had a thing for saxophones and keyboards blended into the high energy guitars. Thought that was most punk.
So many great bands to pick from. My personal favourites were Stiff Little Fingers, so good. Much better than the other bands that came out of Ireland and made it big
Hi Jim yeh liked visiting that great pub in Kennington way back.....seeing loads of great Artists/bands. Oh yes this imaginary dog of Irene&Wilko who were friend's of mine by the way wonder who may then have had taken this poor mut away and where? What a mystery eh Jim?
Haha! Thanks for continuing to watch and comment on my videos. Wilko talked about leaving the "mystery dog" tied up outside the shop on the Mark Lamarr radio programme on BBC Radio London one Sunday morning back in the day. I was there with him. Possibly late 1980s or 1990s. It;s a pity we can't ask Wilko about it but I'm sure if you question Mark Lamarr he can confirm the details as he mentioned it again on his Radio 2 programme many years later…
2 bands that come to my mind are 1. The Crabs. They had a live 7" with a song called Lullabies Lie. That song is still, to this day, a banger 2. The Alarm. They had a bit of success. Toured the states with U2. But they were better than U2 and shouldve been bigger. But ego and inner band turmoil ruined that.
Yes, the Crabs and The Alarm were both in my radar. The Crabs were managed by a guy called Mike who worked for Sparta Florida music publishing and almost introduced me to Frank Sinatra. The Alarm played at the Cricketers once I think (might have been twice). Good call!
Love these videos! Never knew about the Eaters or the Wasps- so cool! But I thought XTC ‘made it’ ?? I remember Dear God being on the radio constantly, as well as a few other songs. I thought they were huge back in the 80s, seemed so in the States at least..
Thanks for the kind words: they are very much appreciated! XTC had some success but they were not HUGE in the same way as the Rolling Stones, Queen, Alice Cooper, Madonna, Prince, Talking Heads, or U2 (etc, etc) are. I think if you tell your work mates you've been to see an act playing live and at least some of them have heard of that act, you can class them as huge. I've spent my whole life getting blank looks after I've told people which bands I love!! Cheers!
I think all punks bands got as big as they were going to get simply because the pool of people who like thus joyous racket is quite small. The Ruts lyrics were pretty crap actually, that would have slowed them down too. The rest here just weren't talented enough with the exception of XTC who were just too patchy.
Another great video, with top bands from my teenage years. XTC were pretty huge, in an indie sort of way. Didn't know the Wasps- I'll have to do some research. Keep up the good work!
Great choices! Eater were great and were better then bands with members half their ages. Whats your opinion on the Maniacs? Alan Lee Shaw was a magnificent guitar player and is criminally underrated as a frontman. His other band The Rings were pretty good too. Always felt The Depressions were a solid band and Im surprised they never made it big. They had a decent sound and a few decent tunes.
Eater were just kids and rode their luck as a novelty cos of their age. The later songs Andy Blade did after leaving Eater is well worth a listen and so much better. How he's been overlooked for so long is a mystery to me, still churning out decent songs to this day.
A tosser though live these days, i saw him in matlock north uk . He spent the gig slagging off northerners etc saying wheres our whippets and flat caps
If you were in D.C. at the time, the Ruts were huge. XTC were as big as any indie band and their legend has only grown. I agree the Wasps should have been bigger. Eater were always a joke and the Slits pretended to be one.
I think my perceptions in London at the time was different. The Ruts were like the cool kids at the lunch table, while Eater was that one kid who brought a chocolate bar. Thanks!
The Damned could have been epic had they taken one of the big money offers that were on the table, instead they wanted to go with an independent so they had more control, and they chose Stiff Records and were the first of the so called punk bands to release a single and an album and tour the states, they would have been better off with a major label, instead they went from one skint independent to another, they released great singles and albums but the promotion was lack lustre, despite this they charted quite high.
Thanks for sharing those thoughts. Not sure I agree with everything you say. My perception was that Stiff were superb marketers, whereas the big labels only had ideas that involved lots of music press advertising and I remember their acts being very critical of the way they were promoted. I think the direction the Damned took was just about right.: theyw= were making money and having fun. But your perception could well be right! Cheers!
i still marvel at how colin moulding can sing and play bass at the same tiem ...well a lot of people do that but often the vocal melody doesn't follow the instrument (and i believe he was diabetic too)
My mate Gary Steadman was in Eater (guitar) he went on to join Classix Nouveaux, who he is still with. He was in Flock of Seagulls for a bit also. Thanks Jim, brilliant again !
That's very kind of you to say so and thanks for the great information. Cheers!
I met him. I went to school with Andy Blade.
I'm from Portugal; in 77, at 14, I was after all the info available on the press of the time. There was only a good national mag, which provided little account of what was taking place in the UK, but then things changed. We owe it to António Sérgio, a local EMI's A&R , label manager , record producer and radio announcer/show director, who not only began playing early UK76 Punk on Portuguese airwaves, late at night already in late 76, on Rádio Renascença (the official Catholic station!), but also had the nerve to organize a Punk compilation with Brit bands at the end of 77, with most tracks licensed, with a single Pistols track (GSTQ) that would bring major problems. Around 400 lps were issued and then the whole batch was apprehended and destroyed , with a few albums still being sold, now at around 250 euros on Discogs. It became a legendary record here among early Punk devotees. Yes, António Sérgio, was still working for EMI and he wanted to include a Sex Pistols' track on his own ''New Wave / Punk 77'' (official title) compilation album, and that was absolutely VERBOTEN. As a result, he was sacked from ''Valentim de Carvalho/EMI'' (Lisbon), being set ''free'' for better and bigger adventures you should read about online. Look for the ''UIVO'' documentary, here. And why am i commenting about the record? Because it was only on that compilation that i heard EATER for the first time ( 2 tracks - Outside view/ Thinking of the USA), and i was glad to know their drummer was my age, an argumentation used to ''dignify'' my incipient musical punk ''talents'' before my parents...
Where is he from, I’m a Steadman from Newbury Park, Essex and it’s not a very common name !
@@paulsteadman5618 North London, we both met at Music College in 97, both as 'mature' students !
I think Malcolm Owens death kinda makes The Ruts bullet proof, The Crack is a perfect album, and Staring at the Rude Boys is one of the greatest songs ever written. And the legacy can never be tarnished by diminishing returns. (Though West One (Shine on me) shows they potentially could have hit even bigger heights)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Malcom and The Ruts. I agree with you overall. Cheers!
I would say The Ruts actually made it big, they have an incredible amount of success and they are still packing the punters in today. The Ruts are a step above anyone else on this list in what they achieved
In a Rut … Powerful beyond belief
"Something that I said " is a masterpiece.
Wow.. that’s almost verbatim to what I was going to put..Sir, I salute you.
You're joking about XTC right? They had hits even in the U.S.. up until the 1990s.
I never really got XTC, but I've got friends with impeccable taste who loved them. These friends are way more into jazz/prog than punk and insist that XTC were not a punk band.
@@davidmorgan6896 Oranges And Lemons which was from '89 (I think) is still a personal favourite.
@@davidmorgan6896 I kinda think XTC have elements of punk/prog/jazz and even pop and they're all the better for it. I like XTC but people who love them...really really love them.
@@evad520 XTC like the Police, Magazine and Paul Weller, were journeymen who surged the punk new wave whilst having better things in mind.
It doesn't matter. Go into a local bar or deli and ask about XTC: you'll be met with a sea of blank faces, but ask about Prince, or Alice Cooper, or Frank Sinatra, or Jerry Lee Lewis aor even Talking Heads, and most people will know who you're talking about. That's the difference between "having a few hits years ago" and being HUGE.
But please keep watching and commenting!
My top band from that period that should have been massive was Punishment of Luxury (Punilux).
Savage, sweet and hilarious. Like if John Cooper Clarke had joined Motorhead.
Did that jellyfish ever get his Blue Peter badge? We will never know.
Any band that takes their name from a Giovanni Segantini painting is fine by me! Great comment: thanks for sharing your views. I'll reacquaint myself with Punishment of Luxury. Thanks!
I ended up as a teacher working alongside Brian who was lead singer of punilux..great bloke..I never got to see them live but I know they still did gigs up until 7 or 8 years ago
The Punk bands I was in (in 1977) supported XTC, I'm from Swindon too. Jim, regarding their manager, he was without doubt the biggest arsehole i've ever met in the music business, & i've been gigging for 47 years. They were a great band, it's a shame that just as they were about to become big stars, Andy had his breakdown.
XTC never a punk band a successful art project band with some great hits
@@FatpunkSnr XTC is Brilliant pop, I say
Sad to see the omission of The Adverts on this list. TV Smith's lyrics are urban poetry, and the band, as ramshackle as they were, could've been huge considering the leap between Crossing the Red Sea and Cast of Thousands. To me, they represent the definition of classic English punk.
They gave me a few years of fame and free drinks
They were the greatest. And even Tim Smith´s solo performances range for me way above a lot of concerts by other "full bands" that I have seen. Lively, toxic and extremely likeable and intelligent. I still remember how once a string on his guitar broke during the gig; he smiled, said "excuse me a second", jumped from the stage in a sudden leap, made his way right through the (packed) audience to the backstage (which is at the other end of the place and up a narrow staircase there) and was back in less than about three minutes with a bundle of strings which he then quickly sorted out, blitzfixed the guitar and ONE TWO THREE go for it again. Sometimes talked a bit with him after his gigs (was at a lot), he´s really a one of a kind nice person.
p.s.: and his "It´s expensive being poor" is still one of my favourite songs of all times.
The Adverts were great and I am a big fan of Tim Smith and the others. But this is just one video. Lots of great bands, (hopefully) lots of videos!
Thanks for taking part. Cheers!
The Outsiders never mentioned that's Adrian Borlands band before the Sound th-cam.com/video/DMAi_IsR_dw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vplju3VbldSwhGd1
What about The Lurkers?
Pub rock, did well to be as big as they were. Fulham Fallout was good back in the day but never ground breaking if we're honest.
Great band, underated.
I used to hang out with The Lurkers back in the day and they drank in the pub I used to promote in (The Cock, North End Road, Fulham) and I booked them for several gigs, but I'm pretty sure even they didn't expect to be HUGE, up there with the Stones and Elton John (God forbid!!). Thanks for taking part.
Cheers!
Yep … Shadow ..Live High Wycombe in the day 👌
I saw the Slits & The Ruts, never saw Eater (Wish I had). Never heard of The Wasps. Never rated XTC. Too pop for my punky lugholes. Still not sure about ATV, all these years later. I had their first album, but always preferred bands like Slaughter & The Dogs.
My mate is Bri Grantham, the drummer from Slaughter. He's told me some cracking stories...His Morrissey one is piss funny. He auditioned for them once and sat cross legged and barefoot while singing. Bry threw a drum stick at him and said, "Get up you soft cunt"...lol
I know exactly what you are saying and most of my friends would share your views. Personally, I have a weakness for the quirky. Haha! Thanks for sharing that: you should start a video channel and spread the word… 😎
The Slits' first Peel session remains the best I've ever heard. When "Cut" finally came out, I couldnt have been more disappointed - good enough, but the edge had vanished in a haze of weed
Absolutely. Same for me. The Peel version of "Vindictive" was breathtaking.
I kind of agree with you, though Cut had some great moments (such as 'Newtown').I always preferred to catch them live and I think Dennis Bovell was almost making a Dennis Bovell album with Cut. Cheers!
Yeah, they never really translated well to vinyl. Waaaay over produced.
Good stuff Jim ,quite liked XTC though like you said I wouldn't call them Punk but the real contenders in your mix for me was the Ruts ,a cracking band ,it was terrible the way it played out ,it's great Ruts D.C are still strutting their stuff
That's very kind of you to say so. Thanks!
I agree with most of what you say. All the bands I mentioned were great and deserved more recognition. Eater was so far ahead of their time, especially when you realise they were barely into their teens, it's frightening.
XTC and the Ruts aimed for the stars, but circumstances prevented them from reaching superstardom.
I could go on… 🤓
@@JimDriver Eater are legends in my neck of the woods...
Here in Canada, XTC had their official North American fan club in Barrie Ontario of all places--it was called The Little Express and operated officially from '83 to 2000. Before that it was unofficial hehe.
XTC got plenty of radio play with "Making Plans for Nigel" in 1980, "Senses Working Overtime" in '82 and "Dear God" in '86/'87. But, true, they never got big where it really counts for the mega money, the USA. Although, I recall a 1987 Andy Partridge interview when he said they made some pretty good coin from the "Skylarking" album. So, hopefully that set them up somewhat nicely.
I liked their alter-ego psychedelic band, The Dukes of Stratosphear, too.
Great comment - thanks! There's a lot more to XTC and Andy Partridge than I could share in this video. Maybe they deserve one of their own in the future?! Cheers!
You should have pointed out that Mark Perry started Sniffing Glue Fanzine in 76 which was also the starting point for Danny Baker into journalism , radio , TV and Daz adverts.
Good point! But you already knew that, as (I would guess) did most of the people who know anything about ATV, and, to be fair, editing a magazine (even as ground-breaking as Sniffing Glue) isn't really relevant in a discussion about musical talent. I don't think so, anyway…
Danny Baker? I didn't even point out he was Hilda Baker's bastard son. That's how negligent I am! 😄
Thanks for taking part. You're probably right, and I'm wrong - except for Danny Baker, of course. He used to steal records from the record shop that employed him. Shocking fellow… 😇
You forgot The Saints!!! 🇦🇺🎸🎸💯😎🤬
They were from Australia. Lots of great punk bands from that era in the land down under.
I didn't forget them: I was a bit of a fan back then, but they were not British, so I dare not include them (you have no idea how many comments I'd get!)… 😄
@@JimDriver No worries bud, I forgot you were just doing UK bands 🎸😎🇦🇺
Enjoyed this. Think one of the reasons most punk bands never make it big, especially in the US, is that it’s so hard to stay fresh & sustain the level of rebelliousness, fun, even integrity that “punk 101” requires without “selling out” (whatever that means). So most of it remains underground. After all, as one person said, ‘the apocalypse is only coming once’.
Great story! Thanks for sharing it and thanks for the kind words. I really do appreciate it! Cheers!
I am not being nasty! But I was an Hardcore Punk, into Crass, DK, Conflict, Discharge, and we used to call them groups you have mentioned 77rs, but now I am older I do respect them. Thankyou Jim.
Thank you for saying that and for putting your thoughts forward. Much appreciated.
We all change with age, and some of us for the better! 😄
Cheers!
No mention of X ray spex, the Boys, Patrick Fitzgerald,
I saw Patrick Fitzgerald in early 1979 . Dire .
Safety pin stuck in my heart.
No, well spotted. There are a lot more I didn't mention too. I've got to be selective and with all the best will in the world, I could never see Patrick selling out stadiums and hosting his own BBC-1 prime time poetry show. I'll make other videos about great talents but that was about Punk bands who could have been HUGE> Cheers!
Incredible, just pause this at 5:25... that line up for the Roxy... imagine living in London then, night after night going out seeing these bands... and that's just one venue... I was only 2 years old in January 1977... I love the scene now based around the Windmill and associated venues, but this would have been the greatest time to be old enough to go out for me...
Yes, it was a great time to be alive and a music lover. There were over a hundred pub and club venues operating in London at the time, mostly with live music seven nights a week. We didn't realise how lucky we were!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I often went to gigs at the Roxy. Great Times
Sorry to contradict you Jim but XTC are huge (in retrospect) Their dear God track propelled them into the stratosphere on the American alt college circuit, people want them back and are obsessive, there is the only if, Mr. Partridge would play on stage again and talk to Mr. Moulding. In my humble opinion Partridge and Moulding are up there with Difford and Tillbrook, Lennon and McCartny Jaggers Richards and the brothers Davies for Englishness. They may not have made it star wise but their shadows are enormous.
Agree with you Partridge and Moulding, the Lennon and McCartney of Swindon!
Haha! I agree: as far as musical greatness goes, there's hardly any greater star than XTC. But as far as TH-cam goes… 😄
Thanks for a great comment. Much appreciated, and thanks for watching, too.
Cheers!
Yup, I was gonna post that XTC were rather big for not being big & they had commercial success with Making plans, senses working etc. Come to think of it they were always touring and always filled those smaller venues back in the day.
I tend to think of them closer to pop than punk.
I saw Magazine support them, along with pre supports of supports 😂. I still look back as Magazine being a highlight gig of the era.
Cheers!
999
Yes indeed, a great band. Thanks!
I thought you might include Penetration, who were electric live. Saw them at the Marquee in 78, at the height of the disgusting spitting fad. Pauline Murray threatened to walk off stage if it didn't stop. I remember thinking I would walk off anyway. That really was revolting.
Penetration were definitely on my long-list and I totally agree with her (and you!) about the spitting. Yuk!
I saw them with The Fall, Punishment of Luxury and Ed Banger at the Lyceum in Aug 78. I remember The Fall and Penetration being excellent -
They were indeed.
This is USA calling...
Slaughter & the Dogs deserve their own section. Their debut "Do It Doggy Style" is my favorite UK LP of '78...!!
Where have all the boot boys gone ✊
who are you? Bruce Forsyth
@@Timmeh551 Some got married and settled down. Others left for a foreign town.
It's funny, Slaughter and the Dogs never made much impact on me. I think they were bigger in the USA than they were on the British circuit. Cheers!
@@JimDriver Interesting, considering their debut was NOT released Stateside (at least not at that time)! Even the punk-friendly Sire Records (Ramones, Dead Boys) wouldn't take a chance on it- probably because their name - and album title- was to extreme even for them! (Sire did release Sham 69's debut in the US- it was not successful here!)
Their second album "Bite Back" was pressed here, but by then they'd altered their moniker to Slaughter.
X-Ray Spex were cracking. Just listened to Germ Free Adolescents recently and its a really good album.
They really were great, weren't they? Have no fear they will be appearing on a a future video fairly soonish. Cheers!
The early Punk bands !
It's simply incredible just how many of the first wave of British Punk bands there actually was !
It was like an explosion of talent. I think the Punk and DIY movements (subtly different but with roughly the same goals) gave ordinary kids the inspiration to try and form a band and make music for themselves. A great time!
Thanks for taking part.
The ultimate shoulda-made-it-bigger punk band are surely the Buzzcocks. Within their bubble they were big, but never translated into mass market appeal in spite of some classic pop love songs. Punk was more of an albatross than a dove for Pete Shelley. RIP chuck.
They failed because of his monotonous tinny childish voice.
I don’t know they seemed to be on TOTPs a lot. More than Crass, that would have been interesting or maybe not.
Indeed. Great point. Cheers!
You make a great point. A lot of people don't;t realise that the difference between a "successful" Punk band like Buzzcocks and a successful Rock band, such as Queen is immense. It's thousands of percent different, although they were all on TOTP lots…
Cheers!
@@JimDriver The difference is bands who are grateful for a record deal, and bands who can say we'll take our custom elsewhere, ta very much, with no shortage of contracts awaiting their signatures. Buzzcocks are one of those highly influential groups on subsequent eras and bands, who never gained enough traction to call the tune (pun intended). Queen on the other hand.. £££
Am sure I once read a quote from Andy Partridge along ghe lines of, 'We're the band that wanted to be punks but our mums would n'g let us.'
Haha! Great quite: thanks for sharing it!
🧡 Great stuff 🧡
Un. To me, The Slits, were and always will be *HUGE*
Deux. Wire...Wire...Wire...now they should have been *HUGE* I believe Pink Flag to be the purest punk album ever made.
Trois. ATV included Jools Holland on their 1977 single 'Life after Life'.
Quatre. XTC were *HUGE*
Cinq. Fun(ish) quiz. Name the Wire song with the French ramones style 1,2,3,4 count in? Name the crap song with the 'Unos, dos, tres, catorce' Ramones style '1,2,3,14' count in?
Thanks I appreciate it and thanks too for joining in. Cheers!
@@JimDriver 🧡
Great Vid ,Jim!!! My personal favourite that never made it was ,Red Beat (on Malicious Damage) who had as members two of the Jones brothers, the third brother was ,Howard Jones, who very much did make it.....Well done on the growth of your channel!!! All the best....👍811
Thanks very much for the kind words. I really do appreciate it and thanks for sharing your thoughts to our little "community". Great info, thanks!
PS the growth of my channel took me very much by surprise but I'm really enjoying the extra traction and buzz!
I notice Bazooka Joe on a poster.. I may be wrong but off the top of my head I think Mike "Madness" Barsons brother and Adam Ant were members
Yes, Stuart Goddard was definitely in Bazooka Joe, not sure about the brother. Cheers!
@@JimDriver Just checked on tinternet.. He was and Madness covered a track of theirs for One Step Beyond .. Dragged it out of the back of my memory 😎👍.. Great vids of yours by the way 👏👏👏
The Ruts and Alternative TV both great bands. I think the Ruts could have got very big if Malcolm hadn't died. I tend to agree with you about ATV, Mark Perry mostly just did what he wanted and it was never very commercial , but The Image Has Cracked is a great album that often seems to get overlooked.
Thanks! I agree with just abouyt every word you say. I rememebr seeing an interview with Mark back in the day where he said if he realised he was becoming rich and famous, he'd change course and have a rethink! Haha!
Great videos !! It is hearing from people like you that makes TH-cam valuable.... Do you remember a band called Menace
Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to comment. Yes, I do remember Menace though not well, I'm afraid. It was a while ago!
Cheers!
Oh shit I forgot about them 😜 I thank you ♠️
Alternative TV had a track called "Splitting in two". Which was covered by cult legends The Chameleons at the end of their live shows.
Great info! Thanks for sharing it. Cheers!
I think that their first LP "The Image Has Cracked" ,1978, is one of the most significant albums of the first UK Punk wave...full of ideas! Like Wire and The Fall , ATV really started with a burst of surprising and unconventional creativity.
Thinking about The Flys now. Only7 minutes in so maybd they're on the list.
I hope you weren't too disappointed but thanks for commenting. Cheers!
@@JimDriver Not at all disappointed! Really glad TH-cam decided to recommend the channel.
Prefer Punishment of luxury and Wire. If you can have Ruts I can have Dept s. Prefered xtcs psychedelic alter ego. The Slits were to music what Albert Tatlock was to heavy metal. Eater were just schoolkids and it showed. My favourite bands were Anti nowhere league and Killing Joke. The Saints should have been massive yes I know they weren't English.
True. Dukes of Stratosphere still get quite often onto my platter today. 25 o´ clock!
Quite right! We're all different, and I freely admit that my choices are partly dictated by where I was at a particular time and how I was feeling. I do get that. But I love sharing my experiences and tastes on this channel.
Thanks for joining in!
@@JimDriver And that´s what was the real great thing about Punk right from the beginning. It´s a mindset, not a style of music (at least for me it always was - my music taste was always extremly diverse). And, your vid says "6 bands..." - - you inevitably have to make SOME choice for 6 bands! You just animated everybody here to think of what their choice would possibly be for that. How could anyone sane really criticise your choice - that´s why it is your choice, isn´t it?
What about Essential Logic I really liked them.
Essential Logic were great but never really emblazoned themselves onto my soul like many of the others did. Thanks!
Ruts4Eva! … XTC had a pretty solid following on college radio in the States … I remember cueing up Nigel followed by the first REM EP back in the day … ‘course nothing really beats the Subs “I Live in a Car” as under-rated punk noise …
Good point: the Subs were a one-off!
Thanks for sharing your memories. Please keep watching and adding your stories. I appreciate it. Thanks again!
The live "Crash Course" version of ILIAC is particularly good.
I have seen Ruts DC a lot of times. But only the Ruts once. Wolvo Civic Oct 1979. If nobody had died, the Ruts would have headlined big festivals like Rebellion, Academy In The UK, North East Calling and Brixton Academy Fuck Reading.
I quite agree and that's what I mean. Thanks for being part. of this little community of music nerds! Cheers!
Ruts - definitely
My favourite at the time by miles were The Only Ones
Great band! My "surprising fact" is that Glenn Tilbrook from Squeeze played guitar on their demo, but if you;ve already seen my video, you'll know that already. Thanks for sharing that!
I'd argue not really punk? For decades I thought that Peter Perret died of an overdose in the late 80's.. I must have dreamt it!
I would agree that The Only Ones weren't really Punk. They had a Punk leaning due to Perrett's voice and vocal delivery but the music covered many styles. They were one of my favourite bands at that time and I do agree that they should have been huge but I believe Perrett'.s drug use probably put pay to that.
Fantastic band The Ruts..still my favourites..The Crack is a brilliant album 👍
The Ruts were great, weren't they? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Prompted by one of your posters, I would have put The Rezillos in instead of XTC, as, despite the latter's problems, they arguably still made it big.
XTC may have been fairly big but not HUGE, I'd say. Anyway, I'm saving the Rezillos for another video because I have stories about them. Cheers!
Absolutely loved the Ruts...sad what happened to Malcolm Owen, I truly think they would of been big...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It is always gratifying to connect with fellow Punk enthusiasts who appreciate the Ruts and Malcolm Owen's incredible talent. Thanks again!
Hi Jim. Interesting roundup. I agree with you about XTC. Great musicians and really original ideas. They could really do the business live and didn't sound like anyone else.
Yes, indeed. A great band. Cheers!
Can I even remember anything? "I can't remember now". 😮🤣🤣🤣 Nobody knows Babylon is in Iraq (innit?).😊
Haha! Good point!
I saw XTC at my local Poly touring their 1st album. This was about early 78 and they were very good.
Another band around this time at the same venue were The Vibrators. I always thought they should have been bigger than what they were.
The Vibrators were great and Knox and the chaps were a regular attraction when I was running The Cricketers, but I could never see them playing stadiums and earning double-platinum albums, great as they were. Cheers!
Swell Maps ?!? Dancing Did ???
Thanks for commenting. Great calls but HUGE?! Personally, I don't think so but your opinion is as valid as mine! Cheers!
Yes! The Swell Maps, my second favorite brit punk band besides the Fall. So glad you mentioned them!
Ive just commented on another video of yours, a friend of mine was in a one hit wonder punk band, his name is Anthony ( Tony ) Dent, from the Epping forest area.
I have to admit to having forgotten the Wasps but liked all of the others. The Slits were one of the best live bands I ever saw. The Ruts early Peel session was stupendous.
Thanks.: I totally agree with all you say! I am with you 100% on The Slits and I was very disappointed that none of the live clips I could find reflected just how amazing they were on stage. Cheers!
Subway Sect? They morphed pretty quickly though from punk to something more interesting.
Eater were promising, I had their 'Get your Yo Yo's out EP, white vinyl too!
Indeed! Thanks for sharing that. As a veggie, I was a bit non-plussed by the dead pig's head they bought from a butcher's shop for every gig but I realise that was them trying to shock. But hey-ho, they were the business!
Why not Subway Sect?
This is just one video. So many bands, so little time… 😄
I'm communicating with Vic…
Thanks for commenting. Cheers!
What about UK Subs, 999. Penetration, Vibrators, UK Decay, Spizz in all their forms, Ignerents, Wasteland, Alberto y lost trios paranoias, Splodgenessabounds
I still have an old Albertos y los trios paranoias vinyl album. It's freaking great!
Those are mostly bands I've been associated with in one way or another and most have been mentioned in my videos or probably will be. None of them were ever going to be HUGE in my humble opinion. The joy of this is that I make my choices and anyone can contradict me or make a video of t eir own.
I love this friendly controversy, btw, keep it up and please keep watching. Cheers!
Andy Blade is now back doing gigs as Eater.
Blimey! Andy must be middle-aged by now. I wonder if he bunks out of work like he used to bunk out of school. Thanks for sharing that. Cheers!
Great list, great review, great music!!!
Add some Members please in there for the second part, if there ever will be one...
Thanks! Yes, the Members were very close to being included and I'm sure they'll make another video soon. Cheers!
@@JimDriver Playing Punk rock electric guitar.....This is the sound,,,,,
@@stephenst-john Stand up and Spit!
Don't get me wrong, but I still think it's a shame that Skrewdriver didn't bang out some more classic 77 punk like they did on their first album instead of ending up like a farce. Good example of how politics can ruin a band.
My own view is that Ian Stewart had a poisoned mind and I can't really listen to anything that cam out of it with any empathy. That's probably my failing…
I get where you're coming fromL thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@@JimDriver Yeah, it's hard to seperate the man from the music but I feel the same about Michael Jackson these days 😃 Anyway, some more underrated punk bands: The Depressions and The Drones.
Roddy Frame namechecked Skrewdriver in a 1988 television interview. He called them Blackpool's finest.
When i was 17 I ended up in strangeways and the guy in the next pad had Screwdriver tattooed on his forehead, i used to wonder why anyone would have that for a tattoo ⚡ I eventually found out it was a band 🍺🍻😜
XTC were never punk - way too left field. Brilliant band though. And the biggest problem they had was Andy Partridge's stage fright (as you said).
Spot on
You make a great point! XTC had a unique sound that set them apart from the Punk scene, but back then, they chose to be associated with what was happening and the movement in general. Andy's stage fright definitely added an absorbing layer to their story.
These kinds of videos are always a bit weird. If you've had to head into that part of the scene for a while you go "Wasn't The Slits huge?" I mean, they even had Neneh Cherry? 🙂
I'm not sure The Slis were ever HUGE or anywhere near the level of acts like The Beatles, Elton John or The Rolling Stones. But your opinion is as valid as mine and thanks for sharing it. Cheers!
@@JimDriver No, you're totally right. It's just I have had my head in 70s and 80s punk for so long my first thought is that everyone else should know the band I know of 🙂
I was thinking you missed The Fall but they could be post punk
Yes, although The Fall started in Manchester in 1976 or 1977, they only really came into my radar in the 1980s. They definitely deserve a video of their own! Cheers!
Great video Jim. How about Magazine? Were both Punk and Post Punk. Any band with John McGeoch and Howard Devoto surely should have been huge? As you know they ended up skint. Also the Only Ones? Punk and Post Punk. Like you say a 3:42 they were also hitting the Herring.
To be fair, Mark E. Smith hated people calling The Fall 'Punk'.
@JimDriver definitely would love to see it
I'd liked to have seen one of the most underrated punk bands of the day get a mention, and that's London. Brilliant live band and the one lp and three singles they made were fantastic.
One of the best 77 bands by far, the Everyones A Winner single is a classic. How about the Killjoys, Rickie and the Last Days on Earth, plus many more
London were great and I saw them and put them on back in the day. Thanks for adding that. Cheers!
How about Sham 69?
Don't worry, baby, I'm coming back for you!
Jimmy was a bit of a tosser, that dancing vid of him is excruciatingly bad
Have you been let out of Borstal early due to overcrowding?
Yeah, good call but I'm not sure they would have been able to appeal to a wider audience in order to become HUGE. Cheers!
@@andrewharding9011I met him a couple of times, absolutely nothing like the person he came across as. He was a Guardian reading intellectual.
I always thought XTC did make it pretty big? They were certainly too musical to have been considered punk. More New wave? And I agree about the Ruts (although now that I have swapped out old England for New England DC means ‘District of Columbia’ to me these days). Great band!
I agree, xtc were very big, not compared to the Rolling Stones I suppose
In Australia, and I thought they were big. Generals and Majors and Senses Working Overtime got plenty of airtime. Certainly not punk on those tracks. I wouldn’t have called their earlier hit Making Plans For Nigel a punk track.
It's all about degrees, isn't it? Just about everybody you mix with will know who Elton John is, or The Rolling Stones, or Queen, or Abba, but ask about any of these bands (including XTC) on this video and you'll be lucky if one in ten or one in 20 will have heard of them.
Really liking your channel btw 😊
All great bands. My favorite by far is XTC. I love all of their albums. They covered so many different styles/genres and yet made them all their own. They were an incredibly consistent band. Yeah, they should've been as big as the Police or at least REM, but Andy's mental health issues coupled with bad management kept that from happening.
XTC truly was a remarkable band with a unique sound and incredible range. It's a shame circumstances prevented them from receiving the recognition they deserved! Thanks for sharing your views.
Cheers!
@@JimDriver I see them as one of those bands that will stand the test of time. Looking forward to more of your videos!
@@Ted_James Thanks! I appreciate the support.
You could of picked 999, slf, the vibrators ,generation x, slaughter and the dogs , the adverts and many more but you pick xtc for fucks sake , they were closer to prog rock than punk.
Slaughter is a great shout, I only watched this to see if they got a mention. I was in a band with Bryan Mad Muffet Grantham around 2006. A few years back he asked me if I'd play bass in Slaughter2 fronted up by Ed Banger of The Nosebleeds fame, then Covid came about and it didn't happen. Little fact, Slaughter and the Dogs were Jonathon Ross' favourite band at the time. He said it on a punk doc he did years ago..
Great stories. Thanks for sharing!
I could have but I didn't. That';s the joy of having my own TH-cam channel. You should start one and share your thoughts and tastes to the world: it's easier than you think. (I'm being serious btw!!)
We all have different ideas and tastes. Cheers!
XTC were pretty huge . The Boys should've
been in there too.😊..Wire...The Boys...The Vibrators
Good Calls. Thanks for taking part!
Totally agree on the Wasps! Other great melodic British punk era bands that should have had chart success : The Tights (two great singles!) , Wire (now revered but always ignored), Subway Sect, Penetration (Danger Signs had top 40 written all over it), The Drones (only big in Manchester) , The Flys (Love and a Molotov Cocktail should have been a hit) and The Boys.
Some great calls there, thanks!
Also were the Rezilllos not included, coz they did become ‘huge’? Actually, what do you mean by huge?
‘I can’t stand the Rezillos…’
The Rezillos were on the longlist but I'm saving them for anotehr video I'm working on. Thanks for taking part. Great call!
Rezillos were a pop band
I'd love to hear more about your experiences with Here & Now! ATV more than any other band reflected the true experimental nature of punk. Band members Alex Fergusson & Mark Perry never get the credit they deserve (one example is the 1980 Snappy Turns album by Mark Perry, a 'Britpop' masterpiece before its time).
Thanks! I'll make sure I do a Here & Now video soon. There are snippets of my time with them scattered through most of these videos. Totally agree about Mark and Alex. Cheers!
The Slits were rubbish.
Booty is in the eye of the beholder, as my history teacher told me. Thanks for taking part. Cheers!
XTC were never punk and how can you say they didn’t make it, formed 1972 finished 2006 and big in the US, multi award winning, 14 studio albums. And EXTC are touring now. Wish I could be such a failure.
We're all entitled to an opinion, even me. I'd recommend you should start up a TH-cam channel and share your opinions and experiences with the world. I think you'll enjoy it.
In the meantime, please keep watching mine. Cheers!
XTC took their name from the fact that all new cars registered in Swindon were designated number plates beginning with XTC. The movie quote "I'm in ec-sta-sy" resonated with Andy, because he lived in Swindon. So DVLC area XTC," and the pronunciation "EC-STA-CY" gave Andy enough of a synchronous / causal relationship to call his band "XTC". (Pronounced X-T-C)
Great comment. Thanks!
You reminded me of a story in the 80's. As teens, we had been at a friends house and at about 11.30 pm, we left to go home. On my friends car there was a pigs head on his bonnet, which totally shocked us and made us all burst out in laughter. There then became a discussion on who was going to remove the pigs head? Everyone was like 'I'm not touching it', so we all just got into the car. I was sitting in the front seat and said to my friend, "Just floor it, the pigs head will roll off', so he did just that. Instead of rolling off, the pigs head shot onto his windscreen, like a horror movie scene, with all of us screaming 'AHHHH!!' in jest, as the pig stared at us. My friend swerved side to side trying to shake it off. It was only when he took a corner that it eventually rolled off. 😅
For day we wondered, who would put a pigs head on my mates car? Then a few days later, I found out that the Angelic Upstarts had been doing a Gig at the 'Old Twenty Nine' and someone drunk at that gig, must have carried the pigs head from that gig for about 3 miles, to only then randomly dump it on my mates car. 😂
Haha! Great, if gruesome, story and thanks for sharing it. Never heard of anyone bringing a cow's head to a gig. Perhaps that was a bit too weird?!
You could go on all day, naming different bands. Swell Maps, The Shapes, Slaughter & the Dogs, The Raincoats, Punishment of Luxury, SLF, Pseudo Existors, Dangerous Girls, and you could just keep going and going, remembering it's still all subjective...and to be fair, quite a lot of these bands, including the ones you mention, did make it quite big, albeit not mainstream, but that was the point, wasn't it?.
Out of the ones you mention, I love ATV, very creative and Mark Perry very much underrated. I love their singles and 'Life' is a punk classic. Still got it, thank goodness.
..and, RUTS, well they really were in a different league to the 3-chord brigade (no disrespect, cause I love them too).
No, RUTS were fantastic musicians, head and shoulders above and they wrote very powerful songs, that have stood the test of time. I count myself lucky at having seen Ruts four times back in the day and they were amazing live and their records were really good too. Always well produced and very powerful. TBH, I think Ruts probably were the best punk band, and it would have been interesting to see where things would have gone, if Malcolm hadn't tragically died. I was 20 at that time. You could hear a shift in things on the West One (Shine On Me) single and I try and imagine where they would have taken things from there. They were a class act.
It's fantastic to hear your thoughts on ATV and RUTS! and some great suggestions. Thanks!
Cheers Jim good stuff , I forgot about the ruts , never heard of the wasps will av a listen and didn't know why xtc got off the English roundabout , my request suggestion is could you do a playlist video of the unknown bands you heard and had something interesting please? All the best ❤️💪☮️
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words. I'm thinking about the best way to do a playlist video or maybe something on another platform. Please keep watching!
Wire have a great back catalogue and still releasing top notch albums .
Buzzcocks had a lot of success but with their songwriting skills and incredible “ punk pop “ melodies , should have been massive .
The Wasps ? Can’t Wait Til 78 is about it for me . I much prefer the songs of Menace , another underrated band .
999 were very good in bursts but inconsistent.
XTC have a fabulous back catalogue but can’t be classed as punk
The Rezillos had a barn storming debut LP ( the bass playing is registered on the Richter Scale ) but fell apart quickly .
Killing Joke should have been bigger than Metallica.
I think The Ruts would have made it big ( and I enjoyed a lot of their stuff ) but the road they chose with respect to the 1st album had them marked down as Clash copyists . Big guitar driven , politically charged songs interspersed with reggae type tunes . Owen’s death was something they couldn’t recover from , he was a charismatic front man.
Thanks for those great comments. It's great when people share such interesting ideas and knowledge. Please keep watching (and commenting!)…
Absolutely loved this video. I reckon if Malcolm Owen hadn't died the Ruts would have been as big as the Clash. Such great songs. Also XTC did have a great career but it took them a while. XTC are highly revered these days. Finally, i must check out the Wasps.
Yes, you definitely should check out the Wasps. Thanks for the kind words, which are very much appreciated. Cheers!
Another great video Jim. Saw the Ruts and Alternative TV back in the day (as well as the UK Subs, the Mekons, Eddie and the Hotrods, The Lurkers, Here and Now etc etc) and XTC a few years later. For a fresh faced 15 year old, too timid to try to get served at the bar, those early punk gigs were terrifying. Terrifying but brilliantly exciting. Like many of my mates, it inspired me to try and do it myself. Still trying to emulate all that excitement this day! Punks not dead...it's just taking a breather!
Thanks for the kind words and for getting involved in the channel. Very much appreciated!
It was a terrific time and we were so lucky to be there. Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories. Cheers!
The Stiffs should have been bigger (Ohh, Missus!), but I guess they came along a bit later and may be more new wave! The Slits got pushed loads because they were all female, they didn't make it because they really weren't all that good, actually they were pretty crap! IMHO! Even people I know who say they like them can't name more than two songs by them! Also, Wire. But what do I know, I always preferred TG and the Cabs,
You bring up some interesting points about the Stiffs and the Slits! Music is a subjective experience, and seeing how different bands are perceived through the years is fascinating. Cheers!
The Ruts were one of my fave bands back in the day, but Eater, the Slits, and ATV also got lots of attention, tho the Slits actually got much more interesting after they adopted more reggae influences. XTC, with only a few exceptions, just didn't come up with many good songs, and the Wasps came up with no good songs at all, which is probably why hardly anybody remembers them.
Thank you very much for sharing those thoughts: great insights. Not sure I agree with everything you say but it's good to hear different ideas. Cheers!
I was 6 in 76. Grow up listening to all british modern music i could in a very grey, gloomy Portugal. I literally learned English translating every albuns, recording in cassette from the radio and later becoming a drummer in a lot of punk, trash and ska bands... your videos make me feel like i'm home. Thank you, mate. Punks' Not Dead, yet...😂😂😂
Thank YOU for sharing your great story. If the video makes you feel like you're at home, I feel I have done my job. Cheers!
Speaking of SKA 5 underrated 2 tone bands. The Bodysnatchers get overshadowed.
Great call. I may have to include them in a future video. Cheers!
Of all of those bands, only XTC should’ve really made it.
Mostly because they have staying power and grew as artists,
Where all of those other groups brought out one album and disappeared.
Not only that but XTC is the only one that ever got radio play in America.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Connecting with fellow fans who appreciate XTC's talent is always a bonus. Cheers!
I've always was quite fond of 4 be 2, X-ray Spex and the Stranglers. Even though the latter has tasted commercial success. I had a thing for saxophones and keyboards blended into the high energy guitars. Thought that was most punk.
Yes, two great bands, though (in my opinion one was greater than the other!) Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Cheers!
So many great bands to pick from. My personal favourites were Stiff Little Fingers, so good. Much better than the other bands that came out of Ireland and made it big
Great choice. SLF were (and are) great! Cheers!
Hi Jim yeh liked visiting that great pub in Kennington way back.....seeing loads of great Artists/bands. Oh yes this imaginary dog of Irene&Wilko who were friend's of mine by the way wonder who may then have had taken this poor mut away and where? What a mystery eh Jim?
Haha! Thanks for continuing to watch and comment on my videos. Wilko talked about leaving the "mystery dog" tied up outside the shop on the Mark Lamarr radio programme on BBC Radio London one Sunday morning back in the day. I was there with him. Possibly late 1980s or 1990s. It;s a pity we can't ask Wilko about it but I'm sure if you question Mark Lamarr he can confirm the details as he mentioned it again on his Radio 2 programme many years later…
2 bands that come to my mind are
1. The Crabs. They had a live 7" with a song called Lullabies Lie. That song is still, to this day, a banger
2. The Alarm. They had a bit of success. Toured the states with U2. But they were better than U2 and shouldve been bigger. But ego and inner band turmoil ruined that.
Yes, the Crabs and The Alarm were both in my radar. The Crabs were managed by a guy called Mike who worked for Sparta Florida music publishing and almost introduced me to Frank Sinatra. The Alarm played at the Cricketers once I think (might have been twice). Good call!
Love these videos! Never knew about the Eaters or the Wasps- so cool! But I thought XTC ‘made it’ ?? I remember Dear God being on the radio constantly, as well as a few other songs. I thought they were huge back in the 80s, seemed so in the States at least..
Thanks for the kind words: they are very much appreciated! XTC had some success but they were not HUGE in the same way as the Rolling Stones, Queen, Alice Cooper, Madonna, Prince, Talking Heads, or U2 (etc, etc) are. I think if you tell your work mates you've been to see an act playing live and at least some of them have heard of that act, you can class them as huge. I've spent my whole life getting blank looks after I've told people which bands I love!!
Cheers!
I think all punks bands got as big as they were going to get simply because the pool of people who like thus joyous racket is quite small. The Ruts lyrics were pretty crap actually, that would have slowed them down too. The rest here just weren't talented enough with the exception of XTC who were just too patchy.
I appreciate you sharing your insights though I don't necessarily agree with everything you say. Good to have the conversation though! Cheers!
Another great video, with top bands from my teenage years. XTC were pretty huge, in an indie sort of way. Didn't know the Wasps- I'll have to do some research. Keep up the good work!
That's very kind of you to say so. Thanks too for watching and joining in. Cheers!
Great choices! Eater were great and were better then bands with members half their ages.
Whats your opinion on the
Maniacs? Alan Lee Shaw was a magnificent guitar player and is criminally underrated as a frontman. His other band The Rings were pretty good too.
Always felt The Depressions were a solid band and Im surprised they never made it big. They had a decent sound and a few decent tunes.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with just about every word. Keep watching. Cheers!
Cocksparrer, Slaughter and the Dogs, they should have been bigger than the Pistols.
Yes, great bands but it's not all about the music unfortunately. Thanks for sharing!
Bow Wow Wow always had the potential to be massive but fizzled out. Maybe they were more early Eighties.
I think the shadow of Malcolm McLaren fell over them. 😄
Thanks for sharing that!
Good to see you included The Wasps ,I never saw them but their two tracks on Live At The Vortex are very good.
Thanks! I don't think the live track I included showed how good they were and they really were good. Cheers!
Eater were just kids and rode their luck as a novelty cos of their age. The later songs Andy Blade did after leaving Eater is well worth a listen and so much better. How he's been overlooked for so long is a mystery to me, still churning out decent songs to this day.
A tosser though live these days, i saw him in matlock north uk . He spent the gig slagging off northerners etc saying wheres our whippets and flat caps
Skimming through the comments seeing some excellent "suggested additions" to the list. But one missing is the great Gang of Four.
Good call! Thanks for taking the time. I must do something about Gang of Four one day soon. Cheers!
If you were in D.C. at the time, the Ruts were huge. XTC were as big as any indie band and their legend has only grown. I agree the Wasps should have been bigger. Eater were always a joke and the Slits pretended to be one.
I think my perceptions in London at the time was different. The Ruts were like the cool kids at the lunch table, while Eater was that one kid who brought a chocolate bar. Thanks!
The Ruts, could and should have been HUGE. Without a shadow of a doubt the best band to come out of the UK movement.
I quite agree. Thanks for sharing that. Cheers!
The Damned could have been epic had they taken one of the big money offers that were on the table, instead they wanted to go with an independent so they had more control, and they chose Stiff Records and were the first of the so called punk bands to release a single and an album and tour the states, they would have been better off with a major label, instead they went from one skint independent to another, they released great singles and albums but the promotion was lack lustre, despite this they charted quite high.
Thanks for sharing those thoughts. Not sure I agree with everything you say. My perception was that Stiff were superb marketers, whereas the big labels only had ideas that involved lots of music press advertising and I remember their acts being very critical of the way they were promoted. I think the direction the Damned took was just about right.: theyw= were making money and having fun.
But your perception could well be right!
Cheers!
Really liked the Drones from Manchester, pretty rare for a London boy - but apparently they had a huge fan base from all over the country
I remember seeing the name, The Drones, but not sure if I saw them. I'll reacquaint myself with their music. Thanks!
Great bands there, i always thought Penetration deserved more success.
You're right. Penetration were very close to being included. If you've subscribed, I'm sure they'll crop up in another video soon. Cheers!
DC is Italian: Da Capo, Which does, indeed, mean 'back to the beginning' more or less
Thanks for clarifying that. Cheers!
i still marvel at how colin moulding can sing and play bass at the same tiem ...well a lot of people do that but often the vocal melody doesn't follow the instrument (and i believe he was diabetic too)
Dave Gregory, their erstwhile guitar player, is diabetic.