 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2010) |
'O' Level | |
|---|---|
| Origin | West London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1976–1980 |
| Labels |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | http://www.myspace.com/olevel |
'O' Level were a British punk and indie band, founded in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends John and Gerard Bennett. The group's name refers to the 'O'-Level of the British General Certificate of Education.
Along with the early Television Personalities, 'O' Level's singles are synonymous with a late 1970s DIY-indie sound that emanated from West London, mostly because the personnel of both bands were almost identical.
Fuelled by punk and the early Beatles, 'O' Level was formed in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends from the London Oratory School, John and Gerard Bennett, on drums and bass guitar respectively. Together they played the usual round of school discos and youth centres, until fellow school chum and sixties enthusiast Daniel Treacy invited Edward to join him in the studio to record a single. Just to be on the safe side, Edward brought John and Gerard as well, resulting in the TV Personalities single, "14th Floor".
The following week, Ball, the Bennetts and friend Richard Scully recorded "Pseudo Punk", "O Levels" and "East Sheen" as ‘O' Level, released in November 1977. It took Treacy longer to raise the pre-requisite funds to press "14th floor", which was finally released in 1978. In March of that year, John and Gerard Bennett started their own band Reacta, leaving Ball with the name ‘O' Level.
Exactly one year after their debut recording sessions, Daniel and Edward returned to the studio, this time to create the breakthrough Where's Bill Grundy Now EP as the TV Personalities, featuring the song "Part Time Punks" (in which 'O' Level are mentioned). The following week, Ball went back to record – this time by himself – a second and final ‘O' Level single, The Malcolm McLaren Lifestory EP, featuring "We Love Malcolm". Both EPs appeared in late 1978.
From here, it was just a name change to the Teenage Filmstars and invitations to Daniel Treacy and Joseph Foster. [1]
7" Psycho Records (PSYCHO 1) 1978)
CD Rev-Ola (CREV 005CD) 1992 "(There's A) Cloud Over Liverpool" / "I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape" / "The Odd Man Out" / "I Apologise" / "We're Not Sorry" / "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Follow Trends" / "Storybook Beginnings" / "The Sun Never Sets" / "Dressing Up For The Cameras" / "He's A Professional" / "The John Peel March" / "East Sheen Revisited" / "Pseudo Punk" / "O Levels" / "We Love Malcolm" / "Leave Me" / "Everybody's On Revolver Tonight" / "Stairway To Boredom" / "Many Unhappy Returns" / "I Love To Clean My Polaris Missile" / "Don't Play God With My Life" / "East Sheen"
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they are one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Their fashion and hairstyles were a significant influence on punk image, and they are often associated with anarchism within music.
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They achieved commercial success with singles that fused pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy. These singles were collected on Singles Going Steady, an acclaimed compilation album described by music journalist and critic, Ned Raggett, as a "punk masterpiece".
Richard Hell and the Voidoids were an American punk rock band, formed in New York City in 1976 and fronted by Richard Hell, a former member of the Neon Boys, Television and the Heartbreakers.
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provocative way. He is best known as a promoter and manager of bands the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols.
John Simon Ritchie widely known as Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the punk subculture; one of his friends noted that he embodied "everything in punk that was dark, decadent and nihilistic."
Vic Godard is a British 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.
D-beat is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-beat is known for its "grinding, distorted and brutally political" sound. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead and the Buzzcocks. D-beat is closely associated with crust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation. The style was particularly popular in Sweden, and developed there by groups such as Crude SS, Anti Cimex, Mob 47, and Driller Killer. Other D-beat groups include Doom and the Varukers from the UK; Disclose from Japan; Crucifix and Final Conflict from the U.S.; Ratos de Porão from Brazil; and MG15 from Spain. While the style initially developed in the early 1980s, a number of new groups working within the subgenre emerged in the mid-1990s. These include the Swedish groups Wolfbrigade, Totalitär, Avskum, Skitsystem, and Disfear.
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy. Their varied, volatile and long career encompasses post punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop; the only constant being Treacy's songwriting. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one time best friend Ed Ball and Jowe Head, with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983-94. The threesome of Treacy, Head, and Bloom formed the longest unchanged line-up and as a result is considered by many to be the definitive line-up, performing hundreds of gigs around the world and recording many of the band's most popular songs like How I Learned to Love the Bomb, Salvador Dali's Garden Party and Strangely Beautiful. Despite this, the Television Personalities are best known for their early single "Part Time Punks", a favourite of John Peel's.
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.
Another Music in a Different Kitchen is the first studio album by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released in March 1978 by the United Artists record label. This was the third line-up of Buzzcocks, with the guitarist Pete Shelley singing following the departure of the original vocalist Howard Devoto and then the firing of the bass guitarist Garth Smith. The album includes the single "I Don't Mind", which reached number 55 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1978.
Cock Sparrer is an English punk rock band formed in 1972 in the East End of London. Although they have never enjoyed commercial success, they helped pave the way for early '80s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre., Their songs have been covered by many punk, Oi!, and hardcore punk bands.
Joe Foster is an English musician and record producer, who, with Alan McGee and Dick Green, formed Creation Records in 1983.
Who Killed Bambi? was to be the first film featuring the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and was due to be released in 1978. Russ Meyer and then Jonathan Kaplan were due to direct from a script by Roger Ebert and Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren.
...And Don't the Kids Just Love It is the debut album by English post-punk band Television Personalities, released in January 1981 by Rough Trade Records. It was recorded in 1980 by the lineup of Dan Treacy, Ed Ball, and Mark Sheppard. The album marked the band members' first full-length work, following several singles recorded with various associated projects, including 'O' Level and Teenage Filmstars.
Bernard Rhodes is a designer, band manager, studio owner, record producer and songwriter who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom from the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best known and influential punk bands, the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Rhodes was responsible for discovering John Lydon and arranging his audition in the King's Road which led to Lydon joining the Sex Pistols. He introduced Joe Strummer to Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, who with Keith Levene then formed The Clash.
Edward Ball is an English songwriter, singer, guitarist and keyboard player from London, who has recorded both solo and as a member of the Television Personalities, 'O' Level, Teenage Filmstars, The Times, and Conspiracy of Noise. He also worked for Creation Records. He was born and brought up in Chelsea, London.
The Times are a British indie band, the brainchild of Ed Ball, co-founder member of the Television Personalities, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level.
Teenage Filmstars were an English post-punk, psychedelic band, formed in 1979 by Edward Ball, Daniel Treacy and Joseph Foster. The band segued into The Times in 1980, re-appearing on Creation Records in 1992.
Spiral Scratch is an EP and the first release by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band. The EP is the only Buzzcocks studio release with original singer Howard Devoto, who left shortly after its release to form one of the first post-punk bands, Magazine.
"Part Time Punks" is a song by the English post-punk group Television Personalities. Written in 1978 by band leader and vocalist Dan Treacy, it was released as a single in 1980 on Rough Trade Records. The record features Treacy, fellow teenager and school friend Ed Ball, and drummer Mark Sheppard.
| General | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
