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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Wild Horses was formed in the summer of 1978 by ex- Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson and ex- Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain . At an early stage, the line-up featured former Stone the Crows and Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones but eventually stabilized with…
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By their second show, supporting the Rezillos at the F Club , they were approached with a record deal by Bob Last of Fast Product , and became the first band signed to the label. Their first single was “Never Been in a Riot”, a satirical take on the Clash…
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in 1978 they received the Madison Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for passing more than 100,000 unit ticket sales at the venue.
UK Decay was born from another Luton band called the Resiztors, who had formed in 1978. The Resiztors’ line-up consisted of guitarist Steve “Abbo” Abbott , drummer Steven David Harle, bassist Martin “Segovia” Smith and vocalists Ricky Smith and Paul Wilson. After the vocalists’ departure in the spring of 1979,…
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