The Agents were a post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band formed in 1980 in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England. The band formed from the remnants of several bands that were playing the American Military bases circuit in Europe in the 1970s. The Band were based in Mannheim

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

, Germany and the lineup consisted of vocalist Swig (real name Richard Snow), guitarist Dave Libby, bassist Larry Burr and drummer Nick Bahra. The band were known for an exciting live act and built up a big following in Europe. In 1981 they released "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy", a 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...

 printed in green vinyl with a gatefold

Gatefold

A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...

 sleeve. The album (of the same name), release the same year on Teldec

Teldec

The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...

, sold well around Germany.

The lineup was expanded in 1982 with keyboard player Steve Libby (brother of Dave) from Bristol band Stereo Models

Stereo Models

Stereo Models were an English new wave group, formed in 1979 in Bristol. They are best known for the track "Move Fast-Stay Ahead", on the Bristol compilation album, Avon Calling, released by Heartbeat Records in 1979...

, moving the sound from post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 to new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

. They returned to the studio in 1982 and recorded several tracks for the follow-up album (see Audio Files below). However, due to lack of promotion by Teldec

Teldec

The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...

 the band decided to change record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

s. Years of touring Europe had taken its toll on the band and they returned to the UK, but split up before finding another deal. The album Everybody's Gonna Be Happy was never released as a CD and Teldec has been taken over, so it seems unlikely that the album will ever be re-released. However, secondhand copies of the album and single are popular with collectors of new wave music. Richard Snow, Dave and Steve Libby went on to form the new wave electronic band Force Majeure

Force Majeure (Band)

Force Majeure was an English new wave group, formed in 1983 in Bristol. The band was formed from the German based group, The Agents, and mixed post-punk, electronic dance with an original line-up of two singers and two keyboard players. The line-up consisted of Agent members Richard Snow , Dave...

.

Everybody's Gonna Be Happy

Track listing:

1. "Stare Into Space" (2:04)
2. "Do a Lot Better" (3:00)
3. "Killing the Pig" (4:55)
4. "Julie" (3:10)
5. "Who's He Kidding" (2:52)
6. "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" (2:20)
7. "They Say It's Rock and Roll" (2:55)
8. "Beer Talk" (3:50)
9. "We Want to Sign" (2:53)
10. "People Like You" (2:53)
11. "Now's the Time to Change" (2:32)
12. "It's Gotta Be Done Son" (3:53)