The Rezillos

The Rezillos were a punk/new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in th emid 1970s. Although they emerged at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos took a more light-hearted approach to their songs.

Their songs were heavily influenced by 1950s rock and roll, 1960s English beat music and garage rock, early 1970s glam rock, and recurring lyrical themes of science fiction and B movies; their influences mirrored those of US bands the Cramps and the B-52s, who were starting out at the same time.

The Rezillos' biggest hit in their home country was the UK Top 20 single "Top of the Pops" in 1978, but they are best known outside the UK for their cover version of "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight".

Released in July 1978, the Rezillos' first studio album "Can't Stand the Rezillos" (and one of my favourite albums) is considered a classic of the first wave of British punk, but the group split up four months after its release, following internal arguments about their future direction.

Other cool tracks were "My Baby does good sculptures"

and 'Flyng Saucer Attack'

After the Rezillos split, the band's guitarist and principal songwriter, Jo Callis, briefly joined a couple of unsuccessful Edinburgh post-punk groups before being invited to join The Human League. He went on to co-write some of The Human League's best known songs during their most successful period, including their biggest worldwide hit, "Don't You Want Me".

The Rezillos' vocalists, Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife, formed the Revillos, a group with an ever-changing line-up that continued where the Rezillos left off. I saw the Revillos when at University in about 1879/80, they were supported by the Gang of Four, if my memory serves me well.

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were an English rock band formed in London in the early 1960s. THey were at odds wit hthe prevailing popular pop music of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered a gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. The band's first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano), the last of whom was removed from the official line-up in 1963, but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who in turn left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood, who has since remained. To my mind there are only four great Stones tracks - three from the late 60s, early 70s period, these being ' Paint it Black ' 'Sympat...

Muzical Mystery Tour

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