The Lurkers
Encyclopedia
The Lurkers were a late 1970s English
punk rock
group from Uxbridge
, West London
, notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records
.
in London
. Nigel was swiftly replaced by Arturo Bassick. They supported The Jam
in February 1977, Eater
in March, and Slaughter & The Dogs
in April.
The Lurkers recorded four sessions at Maida Vale 4 studio for John Peel
at BBC Radio 1
, on 18/10/1977, 18/04/1978, 25/07/1978, and 24/01/1979. Their debut single "Shadow", the first release on Beggars Banquet Records
, was voted by John Peel as his twelfth best track of the year in 1977's Festive Fifty. with "Love Story", the B-side, at number 31. Bassick left the band after this first single, and was replaced by former Saints
member Kym Bradshaw, who left before the recording of the third single, 1978's "Ain't Got a Clue"/"Ooh, Ooh I Love You" which saw the return of Nigel Moore to the band. That single was their biggest hit, reaching No. 45 on the UK singles chart
.
The following month, the band’s debut album, Fulham Fallout
, reached No. 57 on the UK albums chart
. One reviewer described it as "by far their best with production that really makes the guitar kick. It's sloppy and amateurish, but that's what makes it so great." "Be My Prisoner", a song from the album, also appeared on Streets
, a 1977 compilation album of early UK punk bands from a variety of independent record labels.
In January 1979, The Lurkers’ fifth single, "Just Thirteen", was released, and in 2001 it was included in Mojo
magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. A month after the release of this single, The Lurkers' track "I'm on Heat" appeared, alongside songs by more famous bands like The Jam
and The Stranglers
, on the punk compilation 20 of Another Kind (Polydor, POLS 1006). The album reached number 45 in the UK charts. Another of the band's tracks, "Out in the Dark", appeared on the follow-up 20 of Another Kind Volume 2.
The band’s second album was not as well received, critically or commercially, as their debut, and the band split for a few years. Pete Stride collaborated with ‘Honest’ John Plain (of English punk band the Boys
) and released an album in January 1980. In 1982, Stride re-formed the Lurkers. They signed for Stoke-on-Trent
-based label Clay Records
, for whom they released four singles and one album. The band broke up again in 1984.
In the years since, they have reunited with various members numerous times, and continue to record and perform around the world to this day, although its really just Arturo and some of his mates. Their legacy, however, is primarily based on their late 1970s output. "Shadow", "Ain't Got a Clue", and "Just Thirteen" in particular are cited by punk cognoscenti as classic examples of the style, and still show up from time to time on genre overview compilations. The current line-up is: Bassick (bass and vocals) who also plays for 999
, Steve Straughan (guitar), and Nelly (drums), ex Hangups and Fiend. In January 2009 the band supported punk legends the Buzzcocks
on fourteen dates of their UK tour.
Esso, Stride and Moore are jamming again under the name of God's Lonely Men.
s mentioned in the text of the main article:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
group from Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, West London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
.
Career
The Lurkers formed late in 1976 and played their first gig at Uxbridge Technical College in the December supporting Screaming Lord Sutch to an audience of 10! The original line-up consisted of Pete Stride on Guitar, Stephen Colegrave, Pete "Manic Esso" Haynes on drums, Howard Wall on vocals and Nigel Moore on Bass. Despite not being the principal vocalist, Stride was the band’s main songwriter. The band were one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of the now-legendary Roxy ClubThe 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:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Nigel was swiftly replaced by Arturo Bassick. They supported The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
in February 1977, Eater
Eater
Eater were an early British punk band from London who took their name from a Marc Bolan lyric. In 2001, the band’s second single, "Thinking of the USA" , was included in a leading British music magazine’s list of the best punk-rock singles of all-time...
in March, and Slaughter & The Dogs
Slaughter & The Dogs
Slaughter & The Dogs is an English punk rock band that formed in the late 1970s in Manchester, England. They were one of the first UK punk bands to sign for a major label, Decca Records.-Career:...
in April.
The Lurkers recorded four sessions at Maida Vale 4 studio for 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...
at 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...
, on 18/10/1977, 18/04/1978, 25/07/1978, and 24/01/1979. Their debut single "Shadow", the first release on Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
, was voted by John Peel as his twelfth best track of the year in 1977's Festive Fifty. with "Love Story", the B-side, at number 31. Bassick left the band after this first single, and was replaced by former Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
member Kym Bradshaw, who left before the recording of the third single, 1978's "Ain't Got a Clue"/"Ooh, Ooh I Love You" which saw the return of Nigel Moore to the band. That single was their biggest hit, reaching No. 45 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The 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 ...
.
The following month, the band’s debut album, Fulham Fallout
Fulham Fallout
Fulham Fallout is the studio debut album of UK punk band The Lurkers. The original album was released in June 1978 on the Beggar's Banquet label and hit number 57 on the UK Album Chart in its first week...
, reached No. 57 on the UK albums chart
UK Albums Chart
The 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...
. One reviewer described it as "by far their best with production that really makes the guitar kick. It's sloppy and amateurish, but that's what makes it so great." "Be My Prisoner", a song from the album, also appeared on Streets
Streets (punk album)
Streets is a compilation album of early British punk rock bands from a variety of independent record labels . It was an attempt at an end of year ‘round up’ and, significantly, was the first album released on Beggars Banquet Records .The sleeve notes stated that: "1977 was the year that the music...
, a 1977 compilation album of early UK punk bands from a variety of independent record labels.
In January 1979, The Lurkers’ fifth single, "Just Thirteen", was released, and in 2001 it was included in Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. A month after the release of this single, The Lurkers' track "I'm on Heat" appeared, alongside songs by more famous bands like The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
and The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, on the punk compilation 20 of Another Kind (Polydor, POLS 1006). The album reached number 45 in the UK charts. Another of the band's tracks, "Out in the Dark", appeared on the follow-up 20 of Another Kind Volume 2.
The band’s second album was not as well received, critically or commercially, as their debut, and the band split for a few years. Pete Stride collaborated with ‘Honest’ John Plain (of English punk band the Boys
The Boys (UK Band)
The Boys are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976.Members of the band had previously played in other groups, such as London SS and Hollywood Brats. After recording four studio albums and eight singles, as well as recording Christmas themed music under the name The Yobs, they disbanded...
) and released an album in January 1980. In 1982, Stride re-formed the Lurkers. They signed for Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
-based label Clay Records
Clay Records
Clay Records was an independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 out of a record shop in the English city of Stoke-on-Trent.-History:...
, for whom they released four singles and one album. The band broke up again in 1984.
In the years since, they have reunited with various members numerous times, and continue to record and perform around the world to this day, although its really just Arturo and some of his mates. Their legacy, however, is primarily based on their late 1970s output. "Shadow", "Ain't Got a Clue", and "Just Thirteen" in particular are cited by punk cognoscenti as classic examples of the style, and still show up from time to time on genre overview compilations. The current line-up is: Bassick (bass and vocals) who also plays for 999
999 (band)
999 are an English rock band who formed in London in 1977. They are often cited as one of the first punk rock bands. Between 1978 and 1981, they had five Top 75 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and one Top 40 single. After extensive touring across the Atlantic Ocean, the band's third and fourth...
, Steve Straughan (guitar), and Nelly (drums), ex Hangups and Fiend. In January 2009 the band supported punk legends the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
on fourteen dates of their UK tour.
Esso, Stride and Moore are jamming again under the name of God's Lonely Men.
Reviews
- ‘Bouncy pub-punk that owed far more to a band like Eddie and the Hot Rods than to The ClashThe ClashThe 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...
’.
- ‘Unabashedly as indebted to The Ramones as the Pistols but boasting a mock-cockney swagger which was utterly unique’.
- ‘Relentless, uncompromising barrage of 100 mph raw punk rock, taking its lead from the Ramones but replacing the bubblegum factor with an aggressive edge more akin to Motörhead’.
- 'No pretensions, no hype, no frills and were nothing less than pure rock'n'roll. This is a band who deserve so much more respect than they get'.
- ‘London’s answer to the Ramones’.
- ‘When the band is at its best (notably in their singles "Ain't Got a Clue," "I Don't Need to Tell Her," and "Shadow..."), the album is an astonishing accomplishment, a blur of high octane riffs and unforgettable hooks tumbling over one another without a care for manners or niceties’.
- ‘The Lurkers were not loved by the Punk Rock cognoscenti - that didn’t stop juvenile urchins like me latching on to their Ramones-esque brevity & celebrating for all it was worth. Their debut 7, Shadow (Beg 1) was one of the greatest Punk Rock sides in the relatively short history of the genre’.
- ‘Their records are very simple, basic, underproduced stuff that makes the Ramones sound like Queen. But they had a knack for really catchy, singalong choruses and they've got this amateurish charm that you just have to fall for eventually. I now rank these guys as among the greats’.
Studio albums
- Fulham FalloutFulham FalloutFulham Fallout is the studio debut album of UK punk band The Lurkers. The original album was released in June 1978 on the Beggar's Banquet label and hit number 57 on the UK Album Chart in its first week...
(June 1978: Beggars Banquet, BEGA 2) # 57 UK Albums ChartUK 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... - God's Lonely Men (April 1979: Beggars Banquet, BEGA 8)
- This Dirty Town (July 1983: Clay Records, CLAY 104)
- Wild Times Again (Feb. 1988: Weser)
- King of the Mountain (June 1989: Link)
- Powerjive (October 1990: Released Emotions)
- Non-Stop Nitropop (November 1994: Weser)
- Ripped n Torn ( 1995: Step 1)
- 26 Years ( 2003: Captain Oi! Ahoy 229)
- Fried Brains (2008: Captain Oi! Ahoy 301)
Compilations
- Last Will and Testament - Greatest Hits (November 1980)
- Totally Lurkered (Dojo, December 1992)
- The Beggars Banquet Punk Singles (Anagram, May 1997)
- Take Me Back To Babylon (Receiver, December 1997)
Live albums
- Live And Loud (Link, November 1989)
- Live In Berlin (Released Emotions, June 1992)
- Freakshow Live (Kotumba Records 2004)
Appearances on various artist compilations (Selective)
Listing of those various artist compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s mentioned in the text of the main article:
- "Be My Prisoner" featured on the StreetsStreets (punk album)Streets is a compilation album of early British punk rock bands from a variety of independent record labels . It was an attempt at an end of year ‘round up’ and, significantly, was the first album released on Beggars Banquet Records .The sleeve notes stated that: "1977 was the year that the music...
compilation album (End of 1977: Beggars Banquet BEGA1) - "I’m On Heat" featured on the 20 of Another Kind compilation album (1979: Polydor Records POLX-1) UK #45 UK Albums ChartUK 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...
Singles
- Shadow / Love Story (July 1977: Beggars Banquet, BEG 1)
- Freak Show / Mass Media Believer (October 1977: Beggars Banquet, BEG 2)
- Ain't Got A Clue / Ooh Ooh I Love You (May 1978: Beggars Banquet, BEG 6) # 45 UK Singles ChartUK 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 ...
- I Don't Need To Tell Her / Pills (July 1978: Beggars Banquet, BEG 9) # 49
- Just Thirteen / Countdown (January 1979: Beggars Banquet, BEG 14) # 66
- Out In The Dark E.P.: Cyanide / Suzie Is A Floozie / Cyanide (pub version) (May 1979: Beggars Banquet, BEG 19) # 72
- New Guitar In Town / Pick Me Up / Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me (November 1979: Beggars Banquet, BEG 28) # 72
- Shadow / Love Story / Freak Show / Mass Media Believer (1979: Beggars Banquet, BACK 1) double-7" pack
- I Don't Need To Tell Her / Pills / Just Thirteen / Countdown (1979: Beggars Banquet, BACK 3) double-7" pack
- This Dirty Town / Wolf At The Door (June 1982: Clay, CLAY 12)
- Drag You Out / Heroin (It's All Over) (November 1982: Clay, CLAY 17)
- Frankenstein Again / One Man's Meat... (February 1983: Clay)
- Final Vinyl EP: Let's Dance Now (No Time To Be Strangers) / Midnight Hour / By The Heart / Frankenstein Again (March 1984: Clay)
- Let's Dance Now / Midnight Hour (May 1984: Clay, CLAY 32)
- Go Ahead Punk / Lucky John (Empty Records 1999)
See also
External links
- The Lurkers on www.punk77.co.uk
- The Lurkers on Punkmodpop