November 1981 saw the release of their first single, a cover version of Ralph McTell ‘s ” Streets of London “. The single peaked at No. 48 in the UK Singles Chart and spent five weeks in the listings. The profanity -laden B-side of the single, ” So What “,…
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In November 1981, they released their debut single, “Harry May”, which spent over three months in the UK Indie Chart , reaching No. 13. The initial line-up split up in late 1981, with Kent, Cunningham, and Smith forming Q-Bow, but Fitz carried on with Pryor, recruiting Graham Ball on guitar,…
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Pulp’s musical style at this time was varied, approximately described as “a cross between ABBA and the Fall “. A local fanzine also noted this eclecticism, describing them as sounding “as if they listen to the John Peel show every night in an endless quest for influences”. Indeed, in October…
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Black Sabbath’s second studio album that was produced by Martin Birch and featured Ronnie James Dio as vocalist, Mob Rules , was released in October 1981 and was well received by fans, but less so by critics.
In October, Queen released their first compilation album, titled Greatest Hits , which showcased the group’s highlights from 1974 to 1981. The best-selling album in UK chart history, it is the only album to sell over seven million copies in the UK. As of July 2022, it has spent over…
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By October 1981, the band had opted to change their name to King Crimson.
Bauhaus released their second album, Mask , in October 1981. The band employed more keyboards, and a variety of other instruments, to add to the diversity of the record. The front and back cover of the album was an impressionistic drawing created by Ash.
The band’s next single was ” Just Can’t Get Enough “. The synth-pop single became the band’s first UK top ten hit. The video is the only one to feature Vince Clarke. Depeche Mode’s debut album, Speak & Spell , was released in October 1981 and peaked at number ten…
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Influenced by Sex Pistols , The Clash , and The Ramones , the band started off covering punk rock hits and soon started to compose their own material. They were the second band signed to Chris Berry’s No Future Records label, and their debut release, the double A-sided “Police Story”…
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By 1981, Paul Di’Anno was demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage, about which Di’Anno comments, “It wasn’t just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day … the band had commitments piling…
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