The Prisoners
Encyclopedia
The Prisoners were a band who formed in 1980 in Rochester, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound
made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" and "mod revival" scene of the early 1980s. They often toured with The Milkshakes, who included Billy Childish
on guitar. The Prisoners' sound combined catchy, retro-flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a Steve Marriott
-esque vocal style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Hammond organ
. The Prisoners never met with much commercial success during their original lifespan, but have latterly been likened to Paul Weller and The Charlatans
. Tim Burgess of the Charlatans has cited the Prisoners as a major influence.
), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums).
After releasing several self-financed records and spending a year with Big Beat Records
, in 1985 the Prisoners moved away from the London garage band
tag and instead directly into the Mod revival
mainstream. They also made a patchy final album, "In From The Cold", for the ailing Stiff Records
label on their subsidiary label "Countdown". This deal was unsuccessful and the band split acrimoniously in 1986. They have however reformed for live shows several times since then, and managed to release a final one-off single in 1997.
Since splitting up the members of The Prisoners have featured in a wide range of bands. James Taylor and Allan Crockford formed mainstream jazz funk band the James Taylor Quartet
in 1986, although Allan Crockford is no longer part of their line-up. The Solarflares, who released four albums before splitting up in 2004, were Graham Day and Allan Crockford basically reprising The Prisoners sound along with drummer Simon "Wolf" Howard and Mr Parsley on organ. Other bands who have featured former members of The Prisoners are Planet, The Buff Medways, The Prime Movers, Thee Mighty Caesars
, The Stabilisers and The Galileo 7. Day fronted Graham Day & the Gaolers, who released their first album, Soundtrack to the Daily Grind, in November 2007.
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" and "mod revival" scene of the early 1980s. They often toured with The Milkshakes, who included Billy Childish
Billy Childish
Billy Childish is an English artist, painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist...
on guitar. The Prisoners' sound combined catchy, retro-flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a Steve Marriott
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
-esque vocal style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. The Prisoners never met with much commercial success during their original lifespan, but have latterly been likened to Paul Weller and The Charlatans
The Charlatans (British band)
The Charlatans are an English alternative rock band. The band's line-up currently comprises Tim Burgess , Mark Collins , Martin Blunt , Tony Rogers and Jon Brookes .Former members of the band include guitarist Jon Day , vocalist Baz Ketley...
. Tim Burgess of the Charlatans has cited the Prisoners as a major influence.
Career
The band's line-up was: Graham Day (vocals and guitar), James Taylor (hammond organHammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums).
After releasing several self-financed records and spending a year with Big Beat Records
Big Beat Records (Ace subsidiary)
Big Beat Records is a British record label and import distributor owned by Ace Records, specialising in garage rock.-Roster:Releases include:*Big Star*Dean Carter*The Chocolate Watchband*Count Five*The Cramps*The Flaming Stars*Frumious Bandersnatch...
, in 1985 the Prisoners moved away from the London garage band
Garage band
The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
tag and instead directly into the Mod revival
Mod Revival
The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
mainstream. They also made a patchy final album, "In From The Cold", for the ailing Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
label on their subsidiary label "Countdown". This deal was unsuccessful and the band split acrimoniously in 1986. They have however reformed for live shows several times since then, and managed to release a final one-off single in 1997.
Since splitting up the members of The Prisoners have featured in a wide range of bands. James Taylor and Allan Crockford formed mainstream jazz funk band the James Taylor Quartet
James Taylor Quartet
The James Taylor Quartet are a British four-piece jazz funk band who have become renowned for their live performances. They were formed by Hammond organ player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners in the wake of Stiff Records' bankruptcy...
in 1986, although Allan Crockford is no longer part of their line-up. The Solarflares, who released four albums before splitting up in 2004, were Graham Day and Allan Crockford basically reprising The Prisoners sound along with drummer Simon "Wolf" Howard and Mr Parsley on organ. Other bands who have featured former members of The Prisoners are Planet, The Buff Medways, The Prime Movers, Thee Mighty Caesars
Thee Mighty Caesars
Thee Mighty Caesars were a primitive garage punk group, formed by Billy Childish in 1985 after the demise of The Milkshakes. They influenced many American bands, especially The Mummies, and Sub Pop groups...
, The Stabilisers and The Galileo 7. Day fronted Graham Day & the Gaolers, who released their first album, Soundtrack to the Daily Grind, in November 2007.
Studio albums
- A Taste of Pink! (1982)
- The Wisermiserdemelza (1983)
- The Last Fourfathers (1985)
- In From the Cold (1986)
Compilation albums
- The Revenge of The Prisoners (1985)
- Rare and Unissued (1988)
- Hurricane: The Best of The Prisoners (2004)
Singles
- "Hurricane" (1983)
- "There's a Time" (1983)
- "Whenever I'm Gone" (1986)
- "Shine on Me" (1997)
External links
- Biography and Discography
- The Prisoners discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...