Following the 1978 US Tour , the band appeared on the first show of the fourth season of the TV series Saturday Night Live .
The album received critical acclaim in the music press. Paul Morley , in a contemporary review for NME , stated that “Inflammable Material is the classic punk rock record. A crushing contemporary commentary, brutally inspired by blatant bitter rebellion and frustration”. Morley would go on to state that “Stiff Little…
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On New Year’s Eve, 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a four-song demo at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Hoping the recording would help them secure more gigs, the band gave a copy to Neal Kay , who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called “Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse”. After…
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Following the Sex Pistols’ break-up in 1978, photographer Dennis Morris suggested that Lydon travel to Jamaica with him and Virgin Records head Richard Branson , where Branson would be scouting for emerging reggae musicians. Branson also flew American new wave band Devo to Jamaica, aiming to install Lydon as lead…
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The group’s fortunes changed in 1978 with the release of Some Girls , which included the hit single ” Miss You “, the country ballad ” Far Away Eyes “, ” Beast of Burden “, and ” Shattered “. In part as a response to punk, many songs, particularly ”…
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In 1978/79, the Members continued to play the London pub and club circuit, became a feature in the music press and were championed by John Peel. They signed to Virgin Records in 1978, for which label they recorded “The Sound of the Suburbs”, again produced by Steve Lillywhite. This became…
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Venom were formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. The original personnel came from three different bands: Guillotine, Oberon and Dwarfstar. The original Guillotine featured Jeff “Mantas” Dunn and Dave Rutherford on guitars, Dean Hewitt on bass guitar, Dave Blackman on vocals, and Chris Mercater on drums who replaced Paul…
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The band sold-out venues in London in early 1978, but still had problems getting the right recording contract that could give them “complete artistic control”. Polydor offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, ” Hong Kong Garden “, featuring a xylophone motif, reached the top 10…
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During one of his studio visits, Miles heard ” Roxanne ” for the first time at the end of a session. He had been less enthusiastic about the band’s other songs, but the elder Copeland was struck by the track, and got the Police a record deal with A&M Records…
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The Specials began at the same time as Rock Against Racism , which was first organised in 1978. According to Dammers, anti-racism was intrinsic to the formation of the Specials, in that the band was formed with the goal of integrating black and white people. Many years later Dammers stated…
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