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Mark Laff | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mark Red Laffoley |
| Born | 19 May 1958 Chipping Barnet, England |
| Origin | Finchley, London, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, post-punk, rockabilly |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer |
| Years active | 1976–2004, 2007, 2019 |
Mark Laff (born Mark Red Laffoley; 19 May 1958) is an English retired [1] drummer who was a member of several rock bands, including Generation X. [2]
Mark Red Laffoley was born on 19 May 1958 at Barnet General Hospital, at Chipping Barnet in the County of Hertfordshire. [3] [2] He received his formal education at Christ Church (Church of England) Secondary School in North Finchley.
He began playing drums as a teenager, being influenced by England's 1960s Mod fashion and music movement and the work of Keith Moon. [4] After a failed audition for The Clash (he was one of two drummers to get a call back), [5] his first drumming role was with Subway Sect, sharing the bill with the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Siouxsie and the Banshees for the Anarchy and White Riot tours, [6] however he left the band shortly afterwards.
In April 1977, the 18-year-old Laff was recruited as a replacement drummer for the punk rock band Generation X, a few months before it signed to Chrysalis Records and released its first single, Your Generation. [7] He was Generation X's drummer through its two long-players, the self-titled Generation X (1978), followed by Valley of the Dolls (1979); [7] which saw the band amidst a heavy performance schedule across Great Britain gaining momentum, drawing recognition and impacting the British pop music charts with its releases. However, after the relative commercial failure of the Valley of the Dolls long-player, internal disagreements about the band's musical direction and personality clashes within it came to a head in late 1979 during the recording of its abortive third long-player (which would be released retrospectively 20 years later under the title K.M.D. - Sweet Revenge ). Lead guitarist Bob "Derwood" Andrews quit the band in December 1979, [8] followed by Laff in January 1980, when he was asked to leave after a disagreement with the act's frontman/singer Billy Idol and bass player Tony James over song-writing credits for the band's recorded work. [9] With Laff and Andrews' departure, Generation X essentially came to an end; a re-branded act, Gen X, with a replacement guitarist and drummer subsequently launched by Idol and James went on to fail commercially, and was gone by early 1981.
After leaving Generation X Laff and Andrews played together as session musicians on Jimmy Pursey's solo long-player, Imagination Camouflage.[ citation needed ] In mid-1980 they set up a new band entitled Empire, recruiting bassist Simon Bernal to complete the line-up. A single entitled Hot Seat [10] was released, followed by a musically influential but commercially unsuccessful album entitled Expensive Sound. The trio undertook four gigs before Bernal left. After a number of line-up changes of personnel and more concerts, but little commercial success, Laff left Empire's line-up in February 1983, and band was ended by Andrews in 1984.
In 1985 Laff founded a new retro rock & roll/rockabilly band called Twenty Flight Rockers with the singer/frontman Gary Twinn. The band released via ABC Records the single 'Tower Block Rock' (1985) (ranked #31 for Best Single of that year by Rockerilla Magazine, but making no impact on the UK Singles' Chart), [11] and another single entitled 'Johnny 7' via WEA Records in 1986, which was also a commercial failure. In March 1986 the band released the song 'Searching for a Hero' in cassette format on a compilation L.P. advertising new bands entitled Spools Gold, given away free with the Record Mirror . Bernie Rhodes, who Laff knew back from his early days with Subway Sect was hired to manage them, [12] and arranged the signing of the band with Epic Records.
The band recorded a series of sessions, and a self-produced studio album entitled Ride, [13] which was scheduled for commercial release in 1988, however Epic Records in the meantime was bought out by Sony, which subsequently opted to drop the band from the label, leading to Twenty Flight Rockers breaking up. [14] [15]
The Ride L.P. would not see the light of day until 2001 when it was put out by Revel Yell Music as a retrospective release under the title Twenty Flight Rockers. [16] In 2004 'Revel Yell' released a second retrospective L.P. from the band entitled Twenty Flight Rockers – The New York Sessions 1988.
On 20 September 1993, during Billy Idol's No Religion tour, Laff played with a re-formed Generation X in a reunion concert at the Astoria Theatre in London's West End.
In 2006 Laff re-recorded the song 'Hot Seat' with Derwood Andrews to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of Empire's Expensive Sound L.P., which was re-released on the Expansive Sound Volume II compilation L.P.
Laff briefly reunited with Vic Godard in 2007 to re-record Subway Sect's previously unreleased debut album under the title 1978 Now. [17]
In 2019, he joined the touring line-up of LAMF, a band fronted by Walter Lure of The Heartbreakers which also featured Mick Rossi, former guitarist of Slaughter & The Dogs. This band played several gigs, including an appearance at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.
Laff semi-retired from professional music in 2004, and went into business as the director of a holistic lifestyle therapy company in Brighton in East Sussex. [18]
Vic Godard is an English singer-songwriter formerly of the punk group Subway Sect. He is now also a solo performer, while continuing to appear with various incarnations of Subway Sect.
James Timothy Pursey is an English rock musician. He is the founder and frontman of the punk rock band Sham 69, which he has performed with since 1976, along with releasing material as a solo artist.
Generation X were an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976. They were the musical starting point of the career of their frontman Billy Idol, and issued six singles that made the UK Singles Chart and two albums that reached the UK Albums Chart.
Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the indie pop genre which followed.
Anthony Eric James is an English pop musician and record producer, who was the bassist for the 1970s–1980s bands Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and the Sisters of Mercy.
Generation X is the first studio album by English punk rock band Generation X, produced by Martin Rushent, it was released in the United Kingdom on 17 March 1978.
Valley of the Dolls is the second studio album by the English punk rock band Generation X. It was produced by Ian Hunter.
Clive William Bunker is a British drummer. Bunker is best known as the original drummer of the rock band Jethro Tull, playing in the band from 1967 until 1971. Never a self-professed technical drummer, Bunker engaged with the essence of blues and rock and roll, influenced by Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell. He was also inspired by Buddy Rich and The Hollies' Bobby Elliott.
Kiss Me Deadly is the third studio album by the English punk rock and new wave band Gen X. Produced by Keith Forsey it was issued in the United Kingdom on 23 January 1981. It was the final album to be released before their disbandment, though they would briefly reunite in 1993.
Red Rockers were an American musical band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, active from 1979 to 1985. Originally formed as a hard-charging punk rock band, they changed their style to a smoother, more melodic sound and released two albums in the new wave vein of their record label, 415. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "China".
Westworld was a British pop rock/rockabilly band of the late 1980s, best known for its 1987 UK Top 20 hit single, "Sonic Boom Boy".
Radio 1 Sessions is a compilation of studio recordings made for BBC Radio One by the pop punk band Generation X between 1977 and 1979. Three separate John Peel sessions are featured, along with a cover version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates "Shakin' All Over", recorded for David Jensen's early evening show.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English-American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".
The Fallen Leaves are a British garage rock group that formed in Richmond, London in 2004. The group was formed by Rob Symmons and Rob Green (vocals) with Paul Myers (bass). The current line-up features drummer Ian O'Sullivan, formerly of The Aardvarks.
Sweet Revenge is the fourth and final studio album of the English 1970's post-punk band Generation X, though it was chronologically their third recorded album.
Paul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and musician. He is best known as the drummer and a founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, in addition to being a member of The Professionals. He is nicknamed "Cookie" by friends in the punk music scene.
Robert Ian Andrews is a British rock guitarist, and former member of the bands Generation X, Empire and Westworld.
The International Swingers is an American–British rock supergroup based in Los Angeles Formed in late 2011, the band is composed of Clem Burke (drums), Glen Matlock (bass/vocals), James Stevenson and Gary Twinn.
Gary Twinn is an English singer-songwriter, musician, TV host and editorial writer, currently fronting punk rock supergroup The International Swingers, which also features Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and James Stevenson.
Twenty Flight Rockers were a late 1980s English rock music band, founded by the singer Gary Twinn, drummer Mark Laff, and the bassist Steve Counsel.