LE RITZ - 'Punker'.



Punk classic on Breaker Records from November 1977. 
Le Ritz were from Herts but the label was based at a 
Studio in Birmingham owned by members of folk/rock 
band Quill who had a new wave moment of their own 
with the Blondie-esque 'Love In A Jar' in 1980.

RAZAR - 'Idle Rich'.



Razar's 2nd single from September 1978 on Charisma 
Records, following their Polydor debut 'Ascension 
Day'. Musos on a hippie label playing punk rock! Back
then the target audience would ignore this, but with 
the passing of time we're now a bit more open minded.

ENGLISH BOYS - 'TV Girls'.



B-side of 'The Russians Are Coming' released on Red 
Bus in April 1980. Great new wave/pop on both sides 
by in-housers at Red Bus Studios. An earlier single 
on EMI isn't great but a third single and an album 
(both overseas only) are worth checking out.

SCRUFF - 'Get Out Of My Way'.



Released February 1978 on Track Records just before 
the label went into liquidation. A press release 
mentions the then buzz word 'powerpop' though despite 
the smart shirts and waistcoats musically this is 
less Rich Kids and more glam era bootboys Jook.

STANDING FLAT - 'Day Tripper' (AKA 'Date Ripper').



A Beefheart inspired Beatles cover on Mun? Records 
from December 1979. An earlier version recorded as
Human Jangle was played by John Peel from an acetate 
in August 1978 but was never officially released. 
Shown is the back sleeve as the front is a bit dull.

THE DONKEYS - 'Strike Talks'.



B-side of 'Let's Float' released on MCA in May 1981. 
Wakefield's finest knocked out a near perfect run of 
45's between 1979 and 1981 with this record's A-side 
being the only blip. Thankfully 'Strike Talks' more 
than makes up for the weak 10CC-ish A-side.

THE WRETCHED - 'DNR'.



Private pressed punk from County Durham released in 
October 1981. This was the only Wretched single with 
just a very small number issued in a picture sleeve. 
Two band members later formed Passion Trade who had a 
track on a 1986 compilation EP on Other Records.

TRANCE - 'Time Devours'.



Released April 1980 on the Silent Pocket label. 'Time 
Devours' was originally to be issued under the band 
name X-Hibition in early 1980 but the recording was 
delayed due to having to find a new drummer, by that 
time they'd changed their name to Trance.

JEEP - 'Heiress On The Run'.



Old hippies playing new wave on Airport Records from 
June 1980 in a custom 'Jeep' die-cut sleeve. Jeep are 
best known for their debut 45 'Wild Rover' that EMI 
picked up for their Cobra subsidiary just before the 
bosses at EMI pulled the plug on the label.

GYPPO - 'High Rise Love'.



Released in May 1979 on United Artists. Apparently 
Gyppo were bits of Gerry Rafferty's backing band 
fronted by Pete Solley. Despite this 'High Rise Love' 
is a pretty convincing piece of punk rock. The B-side 
is more straight pop with a slight Dury-esque feel.

THE DRIVE - 'Jerkin'.



New wave from Dundee on NRG Records from August 1977. 
1,000 copies pressed but sales were slow until a 
'vile punk record' story appeared in the local Sunday 
paper which resulted in an increase in sales. More 
punk in attitude than sound which owes more to T-Rex.

STINKY TOYS - 'Driver Blues'.



French punk rock on Polydor Records from July 1977. 
Stinky Toys are famous for being the opening act on 
the 2nd night of the 100 Club Punk Festival in 1976. 
This is the B-side of their only UK release but they 
did release two albums in their home country.