The Records
The Records was an English rock - pop band of the late 70s. The most famous song of the band is their U.S. hit single " Starry Eyes " (1979).
- 2.1 albums
- 2.2 Singles
Band History
Foundation
The Records emerged from the remains of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock band, played with the drummer Will Birch. In 1977 they were joined by John Wicks to as a guitarist. Birch and Wicks soon began writing songs together - Wicks as a composer, Birch as a copywriter. Only three months after Wicks joined them, the Kursaal Flyers dissolved. Birch and Wicks stayed together, and in 1978 they founded with the lead guitarist Huw Gower and bassist Phil Brown's Records. Gower had previously played with the "hippie " band Magic Muscle and the punkers The Ratbites From Hell ( here together with John Perry, later guitarist for The Only Ones ); Brown had been bassist of The Janet.
The Beatles, the Kinks and power pop bands of the 1970s End-1960er/frühen as Badfinger, Big Star and The Raspberries were the main influences on the sound of the record. Your Power Pop swam with the wave of success of punk rock and New Wave - back to pure rock, away from the bombast of the first half of the 1970s. After a series of live performances, released the independent label The Record Company in November 1978 their debut single " Starry Eyes ".
Achievements
The Stiff Records took Records and made the band's young star Rachel Sweet on the "Be Stiff " tour escort. Concerts each began with a few songs of Records without Rachel. Birch and Wicks also wrote a song for Rachel Sweet ( "Pin a Medal on Mary " from the album " Fool Around "). The two composed and texteten in this time also the song " Hearts in Her Eyes " for the Searchers, the so celebrated an unexpected comeback more than a decade after their last hit.
1979 received the records on the basis of demo recordings that were later published as " Paying for the Summer of Love ," a contract with Virgin Records. Her debut single " Starry Eyes " has now been published in the USA and thus to their most famous song. All Music Guide calls him a " nearly perfect song, the British power pop in the 70s defined"; Birch himself calls him on the website of Records a " bold re-written, Do Anything You Wanna Do ' by Eddie & the Hot Rods " .. The single was in the U.S. a bigger hit than in their homeland and made it into the Billboard Charts up to # 56 in the UK, the Records were her singles (on " Starry Eyes " was followed by "Rock and Roll Love Letter" ), although the radio, but did not place in the sales charts.
With the producer Mutt Lange and Tim Friese- Greene they took their first LP "Shades in Bed " which also her third single " Teenarama " contained. In the U.S., the album was released under the title "The Records "; It was here also a hit and came to number 41 on the charts. They went on tour in the UK as the opening act for The Jam; in the U.S. for Joe Jackson and The Cars ( in Central Park ), concerts dB 's or The Rubinoos played there but as a headliner with The opening act.
Failures
Gower, who wanted to make harder sound again, left the group in 1980 and joined the band of David Johansen (formerly New York Dolls ) to. Jew Cole, a 19 -year-old U.S. citizen from Moon Martin's band, The Ravens, replaced him for the album " Crashes " (1980). The album was not a hit; and the single " Hearts in Her Eyes " (the song, the Birch and Wicks had originally written for the Searchers ) was not successful. After a U.S. tour Cole remained there while Birch, Wicks and Brown returned to England. The three recruited guitarist Dave Whelan and Chris Gent as the lead singer. This lineup took in 1981 a third album for Virgin to " Music on Both Sides", which was released only a year later, but was largely ignored by critics and buyers.
Resolution
After the commercial failure of the third LP, and two concerts in London, the band broke up in 1982. Birch made as a producer (eg for Dr. Feelgood ) and songwriter further (initially mainly at Stiff Records, where he worked with Billy Bremner of Rockpile and with Desmond Dekker, and Demon Records) and later became a music critic / historian (including for the magazine MOJO ) and author. Wicks retained the naming rights to The Records. In 1991, the original band came together again to return to the tribute album " Smiles, Vibes and Harmonies " contribute the Beach Boys hit " Darlin ' " in honor of Brian Wilson, 1992, she appeared one last time to live, in Kingston upon Thames. Wicks settled in the U.S. and continues to take on music - as John Wicks & the Records.