| The Adventures of the Hersham Boys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1979 | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, Oi! | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Pursey, Peter Wilson | |||
| Sham 69 chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. [1] [2] It is their most successful album, peaking at No. 8 in the UK. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
It was not universally well received, with David Hepworth of Smash Hits describing it as "a tired, hollow effort struggling between weary attempts at rabble-rousing and blush-making pseudo-Springsteen 'street' songs that reek of desperation and contract fulfilling... As empty and self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace." [6] Trouser Press called it "a break with the punk scene, but no less aggressive than usual." [7]
All songs by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons unless noted
Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, and they appeared in the rockumentary film, D.O.A.. The original unit broke up in 1979, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career.
The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock band. A supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators, guitarist Brian James, bassist Dave Tregunna and drummer Nick Turner. Launched in 1981, the band released three studio albums prior to their dissolution in 1989. During this time, they underwent several line-up changes.
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.
The Sham Pistols were a short-lived punk rock supergroup composed of guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, with vocalist Jimmy Pursey and bass player Dave Tregunna of Sham 69. Although now referred to as The Sham Pistols, no name had been decided upon at the time. There was a possibility that they may have been called the Sex Pistols.
Tell Us the Truth is the debut album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. Tell Us the Truth includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.
That's Life is the second album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in November 1978.
The Game is an album by Oi! band Sham 69, released in 1980. The album was recorded in the French Alps with overdubbing and mixing completed at Rock City Studios, Shepperton.
The A Files is an album by the punk band Sham 69, released in 1997.
Direct Action: Day 21 is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 2001.
Hollywood Hero, released as Western Culture in the UK, is an album by punk band Sham 69. It was released in the US on August 21, 2007, by SOS Records and in the UK on November 26, 2007, by Bad Dog Records. This is the first Sham 69 album without the original vocalist Jimmy Pursey.
Who Killed Joe Public is the Eleventh studio album by punk rock band Sham 69 and the second album not to feature original singer Jimmy Pursey. During the making of the album Pursey put up on his official site a message saying "Who Killed Sham 69?", an obvious play on words aimed at Parsons. One year after the album's release Pursey and Parsons settled their differences and reformed the 1977 line-up, thus leaving and angering the leftover members. The leftover members formed their own band called 'IF...' and toured the UK with Tony Feedback of the Angelic Upstarts and Rick Buckler of The Jam, having two drummers live. After feeling hard done by, the leftover members then decided to also tour under the name Sham 69 after original member Neil Harris joined them.
The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 is a compilation album by Sham 69. It was originally released by Cleopatra in 1998. It features all of the singles, with their b-sides, released by the band from their start to their first break-up. It was re-released in 2006 by Captain Oi!, this time featuring the four missing live b-sides.
"Angels with Dirty Faces" is a single by English punk rock band Sham 69 from their second studio album That's Life. The single was backed by B-side hit "Cockney Kids are Innocent". The song was released as a 7" vinyl single in 1978 and 12" single in 1982. It reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart for 10 weeks. "Angels with Dirty Faces" was written and produced by lead vocalist Jimmy Pursey, guitarist Dave Parsons of Sham 69 and Peter Wilson and it only charted in the UK. The song also features on compilations The First, the Best and the Last (1980) and The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 (1998) and appears on live albums including Live and Loud (1987), The Complete Sham 69 Live (1989) and Live at the Roxy Club (1990). The band performed the song on the BBC television show Top of the Pops.
"Questions and Answers" is a song by Sham 69 released in 1979 from their third studio album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys. It reached number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart. The song also featured with live and compilation albums including The First, the Best and the Last in 1980, Live and Loud!! in 1987, The Complete Sham 69 Live in 1989, Live at the Roxy Club in 1990, The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 in 1998. The B-side tracks "Gotta Survive (live)" and The Beatles' cover version "With a Little Help from My Friends" appears on this single. The song "Questions and Answers" was written and produced by frontman Jimmy Pursey and guitarist Dave Parsons of Sham 69, and Peter Wilson.
"Hersham Boys" is a single released by English punk rock band Sham 69 in 1979 from their third studio album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys. It was the band's biggest and most well-known hit, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and at nine on the Irish Singles Chart. This success was despite the song's poor review in pop magazine Smash Hits; music journalist David Hepworth described the song as "A tired, hollow effort struggling between weary attempts at rabble-rousing and blush-making pseudo-Springsteen 'street' songs that reek of desperation and contract fulfilling. As empty self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace". The song is included on live and compilation albums. Two live tracks, "I Don't Wanna (live)" and "Tell Us The Truth (live)" appear as b-sides on this single, recorded in 1978. In the music video the sign that Pursey, the rest of Sham 69 and a young boy are sitting next to is the sign for Hersham Road.
"I Don't Wanna" is a song by English punk rock band Sham 69, which was released as the band's debut single on 28 October 1977. It was their only release on independent label Step Forward Records before signing with Polydor, and was successful on the independent chart. Two B-side tracks, "Ulster" and "Red London" appear on the single. "I Don't Wanna" was written by frontman Jimmy Pursey and guitarist Dave Parsons and produced by John Cale, a founding and former member of experimental rock band The Velvet Underground. The songs were recorded in August 1977 at Pathway Studios in London. Jill Furmanovsky took the cover photograph.
BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert is a 1993 live album by Sham 69. It was recorded by the BBC during the band's concert at the Paris Theatre in London on 21 February 1979 and released as a live album in 1993.
Shams Last Stand is a live and compilation album by Sham 69 and Sham Pistols, was recorded in 1977–1979 at Rainbow Theatre, London, England. It was released as live album in 1989 and on 24 August 1999 as compilation album. The tracks includes "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols and "White Riot" by The Clash was later featured on compilation album and was covered by Sham 69.
Greatest Hits Live is a live album by punk rock band Sham 69. It was recorded live at Clockwise Mobile Studio in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan in March 1991, and released in 2001 on Cherry Red Records.
The Wanderers were a short-lived British punk rock band consisting of Stiv Bators and members of Sham 69, and active between 1980 and 1981. They recorded one album before splitting up.
