Generation X (band)
Encyclopedia
Generation X was a British
punk rock
band
, formed on 21 November 1976 by Billy Idol
, Tony James
and John Towe.
along with lead singer
Gene October
, they soon broke away from October and selected the name Generation X (after Jane Deverson's 1965 sociology book, a copy of which was owned by Idol's mother
). Idol switched from guitar
to vocal
duties, and Bob "Derwood" Andrews joined as lead guitar
ist after leaving the Fulham band 'Paradox' which included well known local musicians of the time, Gary Claydon and Chris"Noggin" McCullough.This was the band that were at the centre of the infamous riot at Fulham Art centre in 1976, which is where Billy Idol first saw Bob Andrews. Generation X played their first concert
on 21 December 1976 at The Roxy
(becoming the very first band to play at the venue).
Towe was later replaced on drum
s by Mark Laff
(ex-Subway Sect
), to complete the 'official' line-up, before the band signed to Chrysalis Records
and released their first single
, "Your Generation" in September, 1977. This configuration would remain through their first two album
s, the self titled, Generation X
(1977), followed by Valley of the Dolls
(1979).
Generation X were one of the first punk bands to appear on the BBC Television
music programme
Top of the Pops
.
Unlike other punk bands, Generation X ignored some of the 'rules' and 'ideals' adopted by UK punk rock bands, taking inspiration from British pop
of the 1960s. In 1977, they covered
John Lennon
's "Gimme Some Truth
", and in 1979 they teamed up with veteran old-school rocker Ian Hunter
who produced
their second album Valley of the Dolls.
There were differences in the group's musical direction that they struggled to resolve. They wanted to remain true to their punk roots while pursuing a heavier rock
sound. Internal disagreements came to a head in late 1979 during the recording
of what was to have been their third album. This was released decades later as part of the Anthology boxed set
under the title, Sweet Revenge
.
In 1980, Andrews and Laff left the band (subsequently forming the post-punk band, Empire), to be replaced in Generation X by The Clash
and Cowboys International
's former drummer
Terry Chimes
, and former Chelsea
guitarist James Stevenson
.
Generation X made a last stand, re-recording some of the Sweet Revenge material, as well as several new song
s. With this final release, Kiss Me Deadly
(1981), the band abbreviated its name to Gen X. Kiss Me Deadly included a version of "Dancing with Myself
", first recorded as part of Sweet Revenge with Andrews and Laff, and which Idol would later include on his first EP as a solo
artist
to kick-start his own career with a hit
.
Idol went on to pursue a solo career in New York, where he became a substantial pop
star
. James later formed Sigue Sigue Sputnik
and performed with bands including The Sisters of Mercy
and, much later on, Carbon/Silicon
. Stevenson later joined Gene Loves Jezebel
then The Cult
then The Alarm
. Chimes rejoined The Clash.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed on 21 November 1976 by Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Tony James
Tony James
Tony James is a British musician, best known as a bassist of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.- Career :He was originally a member of the punk band London SS, along with Brian James, , and Mick Jones plus Terry Chimes .Later, James joined the early punk band Chelsea...
and John Towe.
History
Three members of Gen X were previously in ChelseaChelsea (band)
Chelsea are an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976.Three of the four original band members went on to help found Generation X. More than two decades after its release, "Right to Work", Chelsea's debut single, was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all...
along with lead singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Gene October
Gene October
Gene October is an English musician, best known as the singer for the punk rock band, Chelsea.October was instrumental in the creation of the punk venue The Roxy, persuading the manager of gay London nightclub, 'Shageramas', to convert the club to cater for a punk clientele...
, they soon broke away from October and selected the name Generation X (after Jane Deverson's 1965 sociology book, a copy of which was owned by Idol's mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
). Idol switched from guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
to vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
duties, and Bob "Derwood" Andrews joined as lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist after leaving the Fulham band 'Paradox' which included well known local musicians of the time, Gary Claydon and Chris"Noggin" McCullough.This was the band that were at the centre of the infamous riot at Fulham Art centre in 1976, which is where Billy Idol first saw Bob Andrews. Generation X played their first concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
on 21 December 1976 at The Roxy
The Roxy
The Roxy was a fashionable nightclub on Neal Street in London's Covent Garden, known for hosting the flowering British punk music scene in its infancy.-Brief history:...
(becoming the very first band to play at the venue).
Towe was later replaced on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s by Mark Laff
Mark Laff
Mark Laff is an English drummer, and former member of punk rock bands Subway Sect and Generation X.Laff and guitarist Bob Andrews left Generation X in December 1980, to form the band Empire, along with bassist Simon Bernal, releasing one commercially unsuccessful album which gradually became a cult...
(ex-Subway Sect
Subway Sect
Subway Sect were one of the original British punk bands. Their influence was limited by the very small amount of recorded material they released.-The early days:...
), to complete the 'official' line-up, before the band signed to Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
and released their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Your Generation" in September, 1977. This configuration would remain through their first two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, the self titled, Generation X
Generation X (album)
-Personnel:* Billy Idol − vocals* Tony James − bass* Bob "Derwood" Andrews − guitar* Mark Laff − drums...
(1977), followed by Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls (album)
Valley of the Dolls was Generation X's 1979 second album and was produced by Ian Hunter. The album contained the UK hit singles: "King Rocker", which reached No. 11 in the charts in January 1979, the title track "Valley of the Dolls", which made No. 23 in April of the same year and "Friday's...
(1979).
Generation X were one of the first punk bands to appear on the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
music programme
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
.
Unlike other punk bands, Generation X ignored some of the 'rules' and 'ideals' adopted by UK punk rock bands, taking inspiration from British pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
of the 1960s. In 1977, they covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Gimme Some Truth
Gimme Some Truth
"Gimme Some Truth" is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon from his 1971 album Imagine.Like several songs on the album, such as the title track "Imagine", "Gimme Some Truth" has blatant political references emerging from the time it was written, during the latter years of the Vietnam...
", and in 1979 they teamed up with veteran old-school rocker Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
who produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
their second album Valley of the Dolls.
There were differences in the group's musical direction that they struggled to resolve. They wanted to remain true to their punk roots while pursuing a heavier rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
sound. Internal disagreements came to a head in late 1979 during the recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
of what was to have been their third album. This was released decades later as part of the Anthology boxed set
Boxed set
A box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related items that are contained in a box.-Music box sets:...
under the title, Sweet Revenge
Sweet Revenge (Generation X album)
Sweet Revenge is an album by Generation X. It was recorded in 1979 just before band members Bob "Derwood" Andrews and Mark Laff left the group and the bulk was subsequently re-recorded for the Kiss Me Deadly album. It was not until 1998 that the Sweet Revenge sessions were released, as K.M.D. -...
.
In 1980, Andrews and Laff left the band (subsequently forming the post-punk band, Empire), to be replaced in Generation X by The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and Cowboys International
Cowboys International
Cowboys International were a New Wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, the influential The Original Sin, and a handful of 45s before dissolving in 1980...
's former drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Terry Chimes
Terry Chimes
Terry Chimes was the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He originally played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from May 1982 to February 1983. He was the drummer for Hanoi Rocks in 1985, before the band broke-up that same year...
, and former Chelsea
Chelsea (band)
Chelsea are an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976.Three of the four original band members went on to help found Generation X. More than two decades after its release, "Right to Work", Chelsea's debut single, was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all...
guitarist James Stevenson
James Stevenson (musician)
James Stevenson is a UK punk / rock guitarist, at one time appearing with The Alarm, Gene Loves Jezebel, Generation X and Chelsea.-Music career:...
.
Generation X made a last stand, re-recording some of the Sweet Revenge material, as well as several new song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s. With this final release, Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly (album)
Kiss Me Deadly was the third and final full-length album from Generation X. The band shortened its name to "Gen X" for this release. Following the departure of all original members with the exception of Tony James and Billy Idol and the addition of ex-Clash drummer Terry Chimes, the album featured...
(1981), the band abbreviated its name to Gen X. Kiss Me Deadly included a version of "Dancing with Myself
Dancing with Myself
"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the band Generation X. The song was first released as a single and a 12" in 1980 and, a few weeks after the single release, was included on the band's last album - 1981's Kiss Me Deadly...
", first recorded as part of Sweet Revenge with Andrews and Laff, and which Idol would later include on his first EP as a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
to kick-start his own career with a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
.
Idol went on to pursue a solo career in New York, where he became a substantial pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
star
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. James later formed Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band created in 1982 by the former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band had three UK Top 40 hit singles, including the song "Love Missile F1-11".-Early years:...
and performed with bands including The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
and, much later on, Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon is a punk rock duo consisting of two experienced punk rock musicians: Mick Jones formerly of The Clash and former Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member Tony James. The band formed around 2002.-Career:...
. Stevenson later joined Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel are a gothic rock band from the early 1980s, now two separate bands of the same name, founded by identical twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston .-Early years: 1980-1989:...
then The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
then The Alarm
The Alarm
The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
. Chimes rejoined The Clash.
Studio albums
- 1978 - Generation XGeneration X (album)-Personnel:* Billy Idol − vocals* Tony James − bass* Bob "Derwood" Andrews − guitar* Mark Laff − drums...
UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#29 - 1979 - Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls (album)Valley of the Dolls was Generation X's 1979 second album and was produced by Ian Hunter. The album contained the UK hit singles: "King Rocker", which reached No. 11 in the charts in January 1979, the title track "Valley of the Dolls", which made No. 23 in April of the same year and "Friday's...
UK #51 - 1979 - Sweet RevengeSweet Revenge (Generation X album)Sweet Revenge is an album by Generation X. It was recorded in 1979 just before band members Bob "Derwood" Andrews and Mark Laff left the group and the bulk was subsequently re-recorded for the Kiss Me Deadly album. It was not until 1998 that the Sweet Revenge sessions were released, as K.M.D. -...
(Unreleased until 1998, reissued in 2003 as a second disc for the Anthology.) - 1981 - Kiss Me DeadlyKiss Me Deadly (album)Kiss Me Deadly was the third and final full-length album from Generation X. The band shortened its name to "Gen X" for this release. Following the departure of all original members with the exception of Tony James and Billy Idol and the addition of ex-Clash drummer Terry Chimes, the album featured...
(As "Gen X".)
Compilation albums
- 1991 - Perfect Hits 1975-81
- 2002 - Radio 1 SessionsRadio 1 Sessions (Generation X album)Radio 1 Sessions is a compilation of studio recordings made for BBC Radio One by punk rock band Generation X between 1977 and 1979. Three separate John Peel sessions are featured, along with the cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over", recorded for David Jensen's early evening...
- 2003 - AnthologyAnthology (Generation X compilation)Anthology is a three-CD boxed set of recordings from punk rock band Generation X. Released in 2003, it features a selection of tracks from the band's three studio albums, the previously unreleased studio album Sweet Revenge in its entirety and a 1978 live recording from Osaka,...
Live albums
- 2002 - Live at the Paris Theatre '78 & '81 (Reissued (and edited) in 2003 as One Hundred Punks - BBC Live In Concert.)
- 2003 - Live at Sheffield
- 2005 - LiveLive (Generation X album)Live is a live album from punk rock band Generation X. Recorded on an unspecified date in 1980 at Hatfield Polytechnic, the soundboard tapes remained unreleased and presumed lost forever until fortuitously discovered by guitarist James Stevenson almost twenty-five years later...
7" singles
- 1977 - "Your Generation" b/w "Day By Day" UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#36 - 1977 - "Wild Youth" b/w "Wild Dub" UK
- 1978 - "Ready Steady Go" b/w "No No No" UK #47
- 1978 - "King Rocker" b/w "Gimme Some TruthGimme Some Truth"Gimme Some Truth" is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon from his 1971 album Imagine.Like several songs on the album, such as the title track "Imagine", "Gimme Some Truth" has blatant political references emerging from the time it was written, during the latter years of the Vietnam...
" UK #11 - 1979 - "Valley Of The Dolls" b/w "Shakin' All OverShakin' All Over"Shakin' All Over" is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960...
" UK #23 - 1979 - "Friday's Angels" b/w "Trying for Kicks" / "This Heat" UK #62
- 1980 - "Dancing with MyselfDancing with Myself"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the band Generation X. The song was first released as a single and a 12" in 1980 and, a few weeks after the single release, was included on the band's last album - 1981's Kiss Me Deadly...
" b/w "Ugly Rash" (As "Gen X".) UK #62
12" singles/EPs
- 1980 - "Dancing with Myself" b/w "Loopy Dub" / "What Do You Want" (As "Gen X".) UK
- 1981 - "Dancing with Myself EP" (As "Gen X".) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#60- "Dancing with Myself"
- "Untouchables"
- "Rock On"
- "King Rocker"
- 1981 - "Dancing with Myself" b/w "Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Dubble" (As "Gen X".) US
See also
- D.O.A. (1980 film)D.O.A. (1980 film)D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage is a 1980 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene...
- Bromley ContingentBromley ContingentThe Bromley Contingent is a label invented by journalist Caroline Coon about a group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols. They owed their name to Bromley, a suburb of London, in the county of Kent, where some of them lived. They helped popularize the fashion of the early UK punk movement...
- List of British punk bands
- List of musicians in the first wave of punk music
- List of New Wave bands and artists
- Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1970s built upon the new forms developed of music developed from blues rock towards the end of the 1960s, including folk rock and psychedelic rock...
External links
- [ Artist page at] Allmusic
- Discografie