The Plague (English punk rock band)
Encyclopedia
The Plague are an English
punk rock
band. Formed in South East London
during 1976, the band were initially in existence until 1981. They reformed in 2005. Their original line-up was:
The Plague are notable as a band who played London
venue The Roxy
many times, as well as many more shows all over the country. They also scored a minor hit with their 1978 single "In Love", which received Radio 1
airplay and became a favourite of the late John Peel
, a long-time champion of underground music.
and The Sex Pistols, and formed The Plague in the autumn of 1976. Drummer Greg Horton completed the line-up, and the band began playing together at a rehearsal space attached to a church in Bromley
.
By early 1977 The Plague were playing locally, soon securing a regular slot at the Battersea Arts Centre
- initially as support to musical-play "The Food Show". They were the first punk rock
band to play at the venue, playing a twenty-minute set to open the show as well as providing a contemporary soundtrack to The Food Show in return for rehearsal space. As The Food Show was put on by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA
), the unlikely pairing played other ILEA
venues together. However this was a short-lived arrangement after the band played soon-to-be fan-favourite "1, 2, Fuck You!" one night at a school. Despite requesting a punk show, school staff in the audience went berserk, almost leading to a fight between the school's PE teacher and the band/manager. The headmaster demanded an apology from The Plague, which was unforthcoming, so from that point onward they were banned from all ILEA
venues - rather a fitting and appropriate state of affairs for a hungry teenage punk band in 1977.
Having recorded their first demo (containing such embryonic examples of their sound as: "Again and Again", "On The Dole", and "Nightmares") The Plague began their long-standing relationship with The Roxy
club, playing shows with such punk luminaries as the UK Subs
and Slaughter and the Dogs. Eventually the club manager Kevin St John would phone the band up when others had cancelled gigs at the last minute.
As well as regulars to the club the band brought with them their "Battersea Mob", a group of punks based at The Old Swan pub in Battersea
. The Battersea Mob proved to be the most loyal of fans, some even trekking as far afield as Coventry
and Manchester
to see the band. It was during this time that the band wrote many songs including "Spies", "Personality Clash", "No Strings Attached", "End of the World", "Politician" and "Nuffin' Doing".
After The Roxy
closed The Plague remained active, playing at the Institute of Psychiatry, Camberwell
, and Toyah Willcox
's club night "Mayhem". One outstanding gig at the Institute resulted in interest from CBS
records.
airplay for "In Love" and its backing by John Peel
, The Plague's second single "Out With Me All Night" (backed with "Er!" and "I Don't Wanna Be Like Jimmy") was released in 1979 to little success.
, making rehearsals a difficult matter. The band understandably decided to become a three-piece, with Gareth taking over bass duties in place of rhythm guitar. Since their reactivation, The Plague have played gigs in London
and are working towards recording and releasing an album of brand new recordings, containing both new and old material.
outfit The Taxmen and hardcore
/metal
crossover trio MK-Ultra. Chris is also the bassist for Sussex
metallers Enemy Within, who feature Marc Jefferies on lead guitar. His addition returns The Plague to a four-piece line-up:
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...
band. Formed in South East 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...
during 1976, the band were initially in existence until 1981. They reformed in 2005. Their original line-up was:
- Marc Jefferies - VocalsSingingSinging 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...
, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Gareth Martin - Vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Graham Robinson - Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Greg Horton - DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals
The Plague are notable as a band who played 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...
venue 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:...
many times, as well as many more shows all over the country. They also scored a minor hit with their 1978 single "In Love", which received 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...
airplay and became a favourite of the late 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...
, a long-time champion of underground music.
Outbreak
After meeting at college Gareth, Graham and Marc noted a shared interest in bands such as The Damned, The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and The Sex Pistols, and formed The Plague in the autumn of 1976. Drummer Greg Horton completed the line-up, and the band began playing together at a rehearsal space attached to a church in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
.
By early 1977 The Plague were playing locally, soon securing a regular slot at the Battersea Arts Centre
Battersea Arts Centre
The Battersea Arts Centre is a performance space near Clapham Junction in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth that specialises in music and theatre productions.-History:...
- initially as support to musical-play "The Food Show". They were the first 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 to play at the venue, playing a twenty-minute set to open the show as well as providing a contemporary soundtrack to The Food Show in return for rehearsal space. As The Food Show was put on by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA
ILEA
ILEA may refer to:* Inner London Education Authority* International Law Enforcement Academies* A new collection of Baume et Mercier* Iowa Law Enforcement Academy* Ileea Daniel,patronul din Athos,Baia Mare....
), the unlikely pairing played other ILEA
ILEA
ILEA may refer to:* Inner London Education Authority* International Law Enforcement Academies* A new collection of Baume et Mercier* Iowa Law Enforcement Academy* Ileea Daniel,patronul din Athos,Baia Mare....
venues together. However this was a short-lived arrangement after the band played soon-to-be fan-favourite "1, 2, Fuck You!" one night at a school. Despite requesting a punk show, school staff in the audience went berserk, almost leading to a fight between the school's PE teacher and the band/manager. The headmaster demanded an apology from The Plague, which was unforthcoming, so from that point onward they were banned from all ILEA
ILEA
ILEA may refer to:* Inner London Education Authority* International Law Enforcement Academies* A new collection of Baume et Mercier* Iowa Law Enforcement Academy* Ileea Daniel,patronul din Athos,Baia Mare....
venues - rather a fitting and appropriate state of affairs for a hungry teenage punk band in 1977.
Having recorded their first demo (containing such embryonic examples of their sound as: "Again and Again", "On The Dole", and "Nightmares") The Plague began their long-standing relationship with 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:...
club, playing shows with such punk luminaries as the UK Subs
UK Subs
The U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands.-Career:The U.K...
and Slaughter and the Dogs. Eventually the club manager Kevin St John would phone the band up when others had cancelled gigs at the last minute.
As well as regulars to the club the band brought with them their "Battersea Mob", a group of punks based at The Old Swan pub in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
. The Battersea Mob proved to be the most loyal of fans, some even trekking as far afield as Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to see the band. It was during this time that the band wrote many songs including "Spies", "Personality Clash", "No Strings Attached", "End of the World", "Politician" and "Nuffin' Doing".
After 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:...
closed The Plague remained active, playing at the Institute of Psychiatry, Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, and Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
's club night "Mayhem". One outstanding gig at the Institute resulted in interest from CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
records.
Singles
"In Love" (backed with "Wimpy Bar Song") was released on two independent labels in 1978: Psycho Records and Evolution Records. Despite Radio 1BBC 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...
airplay for "In Love" and its backing by 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...
, The Plague's second single "Out With Me All Night" (backed with "Er!" and "I Don't Wanna Be Like Jimmy") was released in 1979 to little success.
The End of the World
Sadly, around this time problems started to emerge within the band. Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Gareth Martin left in 1980. After that the remaining members tried to keep The Plague going, trying out vocalist Sue Slack for a while and eventually re-inventing themselves as Indoor Games with vocalist David Hood, who is still performing and now living back home in Scotland. Knowing that their initial chemistry was broken and feeling unable to continue, the band finally disbanded in 1981.The X Tapes
Following a resurgence of interest in original punk rock, Detour Records contacted the band in 2004 regarding the compilation of all The Plague's various demos and singles onto one vinyl/CD album. The result was "The X Tapes" ((p) and (c) 2005 Bin Liner Records), containing the following tracks:- "Come TogetherCome Together"Come Together" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road....
" (Lennon/McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) - "Lay Me in the Moonlight"
- "In Love
- "Wimpy Bar Song" (B-side of "In Love" single)
- "Nuffin' Doing"
- "I Don't Wanna Be Like Jimmy" (B-side of "Out With Me All Night" single)
- "Dog Days"
- "The End of the World"
- "Er!" (B-side of "Out With Me All Night" single)
- "Out with Me All Night"
- "Stop" (vocals by Sue Slack)
- "On the Dole" (from the original Plague demo tape)
- "Again and Again" (from the original Plague demo tape)
- "Nightmares" (from the original Plague demo tape)
After "The End of the World"
The Plague got back together in 2005 when Gareth and Greg, who had remained in-touch, contacted Marc. Graham Robinson declined to rejoin, possibly because he is now living in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, making rehearsals a difficult matter. The band understandably decided to become a three-piece, with Gareth taking over bass duties in place of rhythm guitar. Since their reactivation, The Plague have played gigs 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...
and are working towards recording and releasing an album of brand new recordings, containing both new and old material.
New Beginnings
At the beginning of 2007 the band were joined by new bassist Chris Gambold, formerly of funk rockFunk rock
Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
outfit The Taxmen and hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
crossover trio MK-Ultra. Chris is also the bassist for Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
metallers Enemy Within, who feature Marc Jefferies on lead guitar. His addition returns The Plague to a four-piece line-up:
- Marc Jefferies - VocalsSingingSinging 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...
, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Gareth Martin - Vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Chris Gambold - Vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Greg Horton - DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals