!Action Pact! were a punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band, formed in 1981 as the Bad Samaritans by guitarist Wild Planet, bassist Dr. Phibes, and drummer Joe Fungus.

History

The John from Dead Mans Shadow (D.M.S.) was the band's original lead singer. He left the band to concentrate on D.M.S. He was replaced by George Cheex, who got the job because of "her courage to scream along with the band's songs." Both George and Joe were 15 years old and still attending school when the Heathrow Touchdown EP was released in October, 1981. Two of the band's contributions to the EP, "London Bouncers" and "All Purpose Action Footwear", got the attention of BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 DJ John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

. He played the single many times and wanted the band to record their first session, which they did on February 22, 1982. They recorded "People", "Suicide Bag", "Mindless Aggression", "Losers", and "Cowslick Blues". The resulting demo tape caught the attention of the fledgling label Fall Out Records, which signed the band as the first act on its roster. !Action Pact!'s label debut, the Suicide Bag EP, was released in July 1982 and rocketed to the top of the British punk chart. The band would later be joined by drummer Grimly Fiendish and bassist Thistles, and producer Phil Langham would also moonlight on bass under the name Elvin Pelvin.

Other projects

Wild Planet (Des Stanley) now manages the heavy rock band, Purge (Also on Myspace), in which his son, Mark Stanley, plays bass guitar. Purge has sometimes played a live cover version of !Action Pact!'s "London Bouncers". Joe Fungus also played with the punk band called Savage Upsurge. Original bass player Kim Igoe (also known as Dr Phibes) was the bands lyricist. He left after the first album.

Albums

• Mercury Theatre - On the Air! (UK Fall Out, 1983) #5
• Survival of the Fattest (UK Fall Out, 1984)

Singles/EPs

• Heathrow Touchdown EP
• Suicide Bag EP #6
• "People" #13
• London Bouncers EP #23
• "Question of Choice" #36
• Yet Another Dole Queue Song EP #7
• "Cocktail Credibility" #33