The Records
Encyclopedia
The Records were an English
power pop
band in the late 1970s. Allmusic notes that they are often referred to as the "British Big Star". They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".
, a pub rock
group featuring drummer Will Birch
. In 1977, John Wicks joined The Kursaals as a rhythm guitarist. Birch and Wicks quickly started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist. The Flyers dissolved just three months after Wicks joined, but he and Birch continued to write songs together with the hopes of starting a new four-piece group with Birch on drums and Wicks on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Birch soon came up with a name for the formative band: The Records. The group's lineup initially included lead guitarist Brian Alterman, whose guitar riffs have been compared to that of The Byrds
. Alterman played on two early demos that were later included on the album Paying for the Summer of Love, before joining another band. Alterman was replaced by Huw Gower in 1978, crystallizing the new lineup with Gower (lead guitar) and Phil Brown (bass) now on board. Like Birch and Wicks, Gower and Brown were music veterans. Gower had played with a band called The Ratbites From Hell, which also featured future Only Ones
guitarist John Perry
, and Brown had been the bass player for The Janets.
The new group was heavily influenced both by British Invasion
bands like The Beatles
and The Kinks
and early power pop groups such as Badfinger
, Big Star, and Raspberries
. Power pop was experiencing a renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in large part to the burgeoning punk
/new wave
movement.
They were hired to back Stiff Records
starlet Rachel Sweet
on the "Be Stiff Tour '78". The Records opened the shows with a set of their own. Birch and Wicks also wrote a song for Sweet's debut album entitled "Pin a Medal on Mary". The songwriting duo also penned "Hearts in Her Eyes" for The Searchers
, who made an unexpected comeback with their power pop-oriented album The Searchers in 1979.
Based on demos, later released as Paying for the Summer of Love, the band was signed to Virgin Records
in 1978. Their debut single, "Starry Eyes", was released in the UK that December and has since become their best-known song and an oft-covered power pop standard. Allmusic called it "a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s". Unsurprisingly, due in part to their traditional American power pop influences (Big Star, Raspberries), the song was a bigger hit in the US than in the UK; it peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100
in October 1979.
The group went into the studio with producers Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Tim Friese-Greene
; Huw Gower produced 'The Phone', which was added to the album in preference to one of Mutt's efforts, the single Tim Moore
song "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter", dominated by Lange's vocals. The debut LP Shades in Bed yielded another single, "Teenarama", their second-best known song. The album was released in the US in July 1979 as The Records with different sequencing and the single version of "Starry Eyes" replacing the re-recorded album version that appeared on the UK edition. The album was a minor American hit, peaking at #41. Gower also produced the bonus 4 track disc of cover tunes included in the album release, which also received FM airplay, notably the version of Spirit's '1984'.
That was the pinnacle of their success. Returning to the UK, Will Birch engaged the services of producer Craig Leon to record 2 new songs and to remix 2 tracks from 'Shades in Bed' for a possible single release. Huw Gower acted as co-producer. After an aborted German tour with Robert Palmer, Gower called in to question the amateurish incompetence of both the bands' manager and primary lead vocalist. He left the band shortly after, Gower subsequently re-locating to New York. Jude Cole
, a 19-year old American, who had been in Moon Martin
's backing group The Ravens, joined for the album Crashes (1980). The album was not a hit, and did not yield any successful singles, and record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the US, while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. Previously, most of the songs had been sung by Wicks, but with other members frequently taking lead vocals for individual songs. Birch has since declared that the decision to recruit a lead singer was made "perhaps unwisely." This line-up recorded a third album for Virgin, 1982's Music on Both Sides. Like its predecessor, the album was not a hit.
After this, the band effectively broke up. Birch turned to tour managing, running 'Rock Tours', a sightseeing London Bus venture, producing and writing. In 1991 the original band briefly reformed to contribute a track for the 1991 Brian Wilson
tribute album, Smiles, Vibes and Harmonies. Birch, Brown & Wicks cut the basic track for "Darlin' " in London; Gower added his parts and mixed it in NY. The same year also saw the US release of 'Paying For The Summer Of Love'. Both recordings received great press, but were not enough to outweigh unresolved past issues within the core membership, which effectively killed any possibility of re-starting the group.
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...
power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
band in the late 1970s. Allmusic notes that they are often referred to as the "British Big Star". They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".
History
The Records formed out of the ashes of The Kursaal FlyersThe Kursaal Flyers
The Kursaal Flyers were a British pop and country music band, formed in Southend-on-Sea in 1973, who "bridged the gap between pub rock and power pop".-Original members:*Paul Shuttleworth , vocals...
, a pub rock
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
group featuring drummer Will Birch
Will Birch
Will Birch is an English music journalist, songwriter, record producer and drummer.-Career:Birch played drums in various bands in the Southend area before helping to form The Kursaal Flyers in 1973...
. In 1977, John Wicks joined The Kursaals as a rhythm guitarist. Birch and Wicks quickly started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist. The Flyers dissolved just three months after Wicks joined, but he and Birch continued to write songs together with the hopes of starting a new four-piece group with Birch on drums and Wicks on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Birch soon came up with a name for the formative band: The Records. The group's lineup initially included lead guitarist Brian Alterman, whose guitar riffs have been compared to that of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. Alterman played on two early demos that were later included on the album Paying for the Summer of Love, before joining another band. Alterman was replaced by Huw Gower in 1978, crystallizing the new lineup with Gower (lead guitar) and Phil Brown (bass) now on board. Like Birch and Wicks, Gower and Brown were music veterans. Gower had played with a band called The Ratbites From Hell, which also featured future Only Ones
The Only Ones
The Only Ones are an English rock band. They were initially active in the late 1970s and were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia...
guitarist John Perry
John Perry (musician)
John Perry is an English rock guitarist. He is most recognised for his involvement with the English new wave rock band, The Only Ones. Other bands in which he played include The Ratbites from Hell and Decline and Fall .Perry formed The Only Ones with Peter Perrett in 1976...
, and Brown had been the bass player for The Janets.
The new group was heavily influenced both by British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
bands like The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and early power pop groups such as Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, Big Star, and Raspberries
Raspberries (band)
Raspberries is an American power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their crisp pop sound, which Allmusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their...
. Power pop was experiencing a renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in large part to the burgeoning punk
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...
/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...
movement.
They were hired to back 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....
starlet Rachel Sweet
Rachel Sweet
Rachel Sweet is an American singer, television writer and actress.-Biography:After beginning her singing career at the age of three, when she won an electric garage door opener in a singing contest, she began recording commercials at the age of six, toured with Mickey Rooney, and performed in Las...
on the "Be Stiff Tour '78". The Records opened the shows with a set of their own. Birch and Wicks also wrote a song for Sweet's debut album entitled "Pin a Medal on Mary". The songwriting duo also penned "Hearts in Her Eyes" for The Searchers
The Searchers (band)
The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
, who made an unexpected comeback with their power pop-oriented album The Searchers in 1979.
Based on demos, later released as Paying for the Summer of Love, the band was signed to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in 1978. Their debut single, "Starry Eyes", was released in the UK that December and has since become their best-known song and an oft-covered power pop standard. Allmusic called it "a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s". Unsurprisingly, due in part to their traditional American power pop influences (Big Star, Raspberries), the song was a bigger hit in the US than in the UK; it peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in October 1979.
The group went into the studio with producers Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Tim Friese-Greene
Tim Friese-Greene
Timothy Alan Friese-Greene is an English musician and producer. From 1983 to their breakup in 1992, he worked with the band Talk Talk. He currently releases solo albums under the name "Heligoland".-Producer:...
; Huw Gower produced 'The Phone', which was added to the album in preference to one of Mutt's efforts, the single Tim Moore
Tim Moore (singer, songwriter)
Tim Moore is an American singer and songwriter who recorded five albums for David Geffen's Asylum record label. A self-taught musician, Moore grew up in Philadelphia where he went to art school and began to play his self-penned songs at local coffee houses. His rock career began as guitarist-singer...
song "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter", dominated by Lange's vocals. The debut LP Shades in Bed yielded another single, "Teenarama", their second-best known song. The album was released in the US in July 1979 as The Records with different sequencing and the single version of "Starry Eyes" replacing the re-recorded album version that appeared on the UK edition. The album was a minor American hit, peaking at #41. Gower also produced the bonus 4 track disc of cover tunes included in the album release, which also received FM airplay, notably the version of Spirit's '1984'.
That was the pinnacle of their success. Returning to the UK, Will Birch engaged the services of producer Craig Leon to record 2 new songs and to remix 2 tracks from 'Shades in Bed' for a possible single release. Huw Gower acted as co-producer. After an aborted German tour with Robert Palmer, Gower called in to question the amateurish incompetence of both the bands' manager and primary lead vocalist. He left the band shortly after, Gower subsequently re-locating to New York. Jude Cole
Jude Cole
Jude Cole is a manager, record producer and singer/songwriter/guitarist.-Career:Cole's solo records, "Jude Cole", "A View from 3rd Street" and "Start the Car" were released on Warner Bros./Reprise Records, and contained the singles "Baby, It's Tonight", "Time for Letting Go" and "Start the Car"...
, a 19-year old American, who had been in Moon Martin
Moon Martin
John David "Moon" Martin is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.-Career:Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer...
's backing group The Ravens, joined for the album Crashes (1980). The album was not a hit, and did not yield any successful singles, and record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the US, while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. Previously, most of the songs had been sung by Wicks, but with other members frequently taking lead vocals for individual songs. Birch has since declared that the decision to recruit a lead singer was made "perhaps unwisely." This line-up recorded a third album for Virgin, 1982's Music on Both Sides. Like its predecessor, the album was not a hit.
After this, the band effectively broke up. Birch turned to tour managing, running 'Rock Tours', a sightseeing London Bus venture, producing and writing. In 1991 the original band briefly reformed to contribute a track for the 1991 Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
tribute album, Smiles, Vibes and Harmonies. Birch, Brown & Wicks cut the basic track for "Darlin' " in London; Gower added his parts and mixed it in NY. The same year also saw the US release of 'Paying For The Summer Of Love'. Both recordings received great press, but were not enough to outweigh unresolved past issues within the core membership, which effectively killed any possibility of re-starting the group.
Albums
- 1979: Shades in Bed (UK)
- 1979: The Records (US)
- 1980: Crashes
- 1982: Music on Both Sides
- 1988: Smashes, Crashes and Near Misses
- 2001: Paying for the Summer of Love
- 2009: Play Live: The Records Live in Concert
Singles
- 1978: "Starry Eyes" (UK)
- 1979: "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter" (UK)
- 1979: "Starry Eyes" (US)
- 1979: "Teenarama"
- 1980: "Hearts in Her Eyes"
- 1982: "Imitation Jewellery"
External links
- [ Entry] in Allmusic
- Entry in Trouser PressTrouser PressTrouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
- Biography of the group by Will Birch
- Historic website maintained by co-founder Will Birch
- Contemporary website maintained by co-founder John Wicks
- Will Birch's personal website
- Huw Gower
- Jude Cole
- Kursaal Flyers
- John Wicks and Paul Collins House Concert Tour
- New Cd of The Records' pre-Virgin Records sessions
- New CD of The Records Live In Concert