Formed the band

In 1977, John Robb and Mark Tilton formed the band at Blackpool Sixth Form College . Inspired by punk rock and the DIY ethic of punk , they started both a fanzine , Rox, and The Membranes at the same time. Tilton, who lived a few doors down the road from Robb, bought a ‘ Woolworth ‘s special’ guitar from a junk shop, while Robb built his own bass guitar out of spare parts and a slab of wood from a local DIY store (along with dustbin lids, the band having no drummer at this stage). They then enlisted a singer Martyn Critchley and Martin Kelly joined on drums. Critchley subsequently left, with Robb and Tilton taking over to share the vocals, Martin Kelly moving to keyboards with a Wasp synthesiser and a 13-year-old called “Coofy Sid” (Coulthart) joining on drums. Their first recording was “Ice Age”, which appeared on the Blackpool Rox EP featuring Section 25 , Syntax and The Kenneth Turner Set on Robb’s Vinyl Drip label,