Abrasive Wheels are a punk rock band of the late 1970s – early 1980s. They hailed from Leeds, England and were seldom out of the Independent charts between 1980 and 1984 when the band split. The band were Shonna Rzonca – vocals, Dave Ryan – guitar, Harry Harrison – bass, Nev Nevison – drums. In 2002 the singer Rzonca reformed the band with new members.
Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage was a founding member of the band. Although there was a period of time when the band had a different vocalist she reformed the band in 1997. Since 2008, the band have been releasing records on their own label Last Rockers.
Flying Saucer Attack is an English space rock band formed in Bristol in 1992, led by songwriter David Pearce. Rachel Brook of Movietone was a member during the band's early incarnation; other musicians contributing to the group's recordings and live performances included Rocker, Matt Elliott and Sam Jones.
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.
Thomas Leer is a Scottish musician. He has released a number of albums and singles as a solo artist, and was also one half of the 1980s electropop band Act.
My Favorite are an indie pop band formed in Long Island, New York in 1991, later of Brooklyn and Queens. After releasing two full-length albums, the original band split in 2005, but reformed in 2014.
Disorder are an English street punk band that formed in the Bristol area of England in 1980, and has existed with varying line-ups. They are aligned with politically charged punk bands.
Riot City was a British record label based in Bristol, active between 1980 and 1988, and run by Heartbeat Records boss Simon Edwards along with Dave Bateman and Shane Baldwin from the band Vice Squad. Vice Squad's Last Rockers EP was Riot City's first release - it reached number 1 in the UK Alternative Chart and sold 22,000 copies.
Chaos UK is an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Portishead, near Bristol. They emerged as part of the anarcho-punk scene, developing a fast and aggressive hardcore punk style. The band recorded two EPs and a full LP for Riot City Records. In the process, they, along with fellow Bristolians Disorder and Stoke's Discharge, revolutionized the hardcore punk scene. In particular, the Japanese '80s hardcore punk bands were heavily influenced by Chaos UK and Disorder's brutal take on punk. Chaos UK's debut LP was notable in the fact that the band's label claimed it was the "fastest, noisiest LP in the cosmos" in the short-lived "Punk Lives" magazine. Vocal duties on this recording were also handled by bassist Chaos.
Glaxo Babies are a Bristol-based post-punk band, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the band's life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break up again in 1990. The band reformed once again in 2015 for the Un-Peeled 2015 event with Steve Street on bass and Tony Wrafter's son Oscar on vocals.
Chaotic Dischord are a punk rock band from Bristol, England, allegedly formed by members of Vice Squad and their road crew in 1981, although this still remains unconfirmed by members of the band. The band also recorded a one-off EP under the name Sex Aids.
Europeans were a new wave band formed in Bristol, England in 1977. The line-up was Jonathan Cole, Jon Klein, Steve Street and James Cole. According to Klein, ‘we were going to be called 'The Noses.'
One Way System are an English punk rock band formed in the Fleetwood area of Lancashire in 1979.
The Stingrays are a British new wave band, which was originally formed in 1977 in Bristol, England, by Welsh musician Russ Mainwaring and Dean Sidney and are still gigging today.. They have experienced various line up changes over the years, but have included: Russ Mainwaring, Bill Stair, Chris Bostock, Sean McLuskey and Paul Johnson.
Avon Calling is an album of tracks featuring bands from Bristol, UK, on local record label Heartbeat Records, and was originally released in 1979. All but 2 of the tracks were recorded at Crescent Studios in Bath by David Lord and Glenn Tommey, when the bands were "neatly fitting in on "off days" from on-going sessions by the likes of Peter Gabriel, The Korgis & Kate Bush."
The X-Certs were an English band formed in 1978, which originally started as a punk band. They released the track "Blue Movies" on the Heartbeat Records 1979 EP 4 Alternatives, and subsequently had "Anthem" included on the label's seminal compilation album Avon Calling. They contributed two tracks to Bristol Recorder 2, and were including reggae by the time of their 1981 Recreational Records single "Together/Untogether". This was to be their last recording as they split up in early 1981 when Chris Bostock was recruited by Bernie Rhodes to play with Johnny Britton.
Art Objects were a Bristol-based post-punk band who later evolved into the Blue Aeroplanes. Between 1978 and 1981 they released two singles and one album.
Rob Chapman is an English music journalist and rock musician, best known as the vocalist for the defunct post-punk band the Glaxo Babies.
