The band took their name from their home town of Leyton , an area of East London, punning upon the name of the Bedfordshire town Leighton Buzzard . They were initially a pub rock band, but soon adapted to punk rock / new wave . Their debut single, “19 and Mad”, was released in 1977 by Small Wonder Records . They won a high-profile “battle of the bands” competition organized by BBC Radio 1 and The Sun , resulting in a major-label deal with Chrysalis Records . The first fruits of this deal, “Saturday Night (Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees)”, reached Number 53 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1979, spending five weeks in the chart , and led to an appearance on Top of the Pops .
19 and Mad
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