Penetration (band)

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penetration
General information
Genre (s) Punk rock
founding 1976, 2001
resolution 1979
Current occupation
singing
Pauline Murray (since 1976)
guitar
Steve Wallace (since 2001)
guitar
Brian Atkinson (since 2007)
bass
Robert Blamire (since 1977)
Drums
Graham Kay (since 2006)
former members
guitar
Gary Chaplin (1976–1978)
guitar
Neale Floyd (1978-1979)
guitar
Fred Purser (1978-1979)
guitar
Paul Harvey (2001-2005)
guitar
Billy Gilbert (2005-2007)
bass
Name unknown (1976–1977)
Drums
Steve Jacobs (1976-1977)
Drums
Gary Smallman (1977-2006)

Penetration (after the Stooges song of the same name ) is the name of one of the first British punk rock bands that existed from 1976 to 1979. The band has been active again since 2001.

history

Prehistory (1975-76)

A visit to a Roxy Music concert in Newcastle in October 1975 inspired 17-year-old guitarist Gary Chaplin from the small town of Ferryhill in northern England to start his own band. Rehearsing began at the local youth center with the son of a music teacher on bass and 17-year-old Steve Jacobs on drums .

Beginnings as a punk band (1976-78)

In October 1976, Chaplin asked 18-year-old clerk Pauline Murray if she wanted to join his band as a singer. Murray, inspired by attending several Sex Pistols concerts since May 1976, agreed, so that one of the first northern English punk bands was formed. By the end of 1976 they set up their own set, with Chaplin composing the songs and Murray being responsible for the lyrics and the vocal melodies.

The first concert took place on January 14, 1977 as opening act for Slaughter & The Dogs at Rock Garden in Middlesbrough , at which time the band was still called The Points , but the name was soon changed to Penetration . After three more appearances, the bassist got out and was replaced by the 19-year-old printer's apprentice Robert Blamire.

Penetration recorded five of their songs with a cassette recorder at the local youth center and sent the tape to music journalists and concert promoters in London, so that a performance at the prestigious London punk club The Roxy could be arranged for April 9, 1977 . Although drummer Steve Jacobs left the band two weeks earlier, they quickly found a replacement in the form of 15-year-old school graduate Gary Smallman. The Gen X support act went as planned and generated positive reviews in the UK music press.

At the end of June 1977, Penetration made test recordings with producer Mike Howlett for Virgin Records in the Virtual Earth Studio in Camden , seven songs were recorded and mixed in two days ( Don't Dictate / Money talks / Firing Squad / Never Never / VIP / Duty Free Technology / Silent Community ).

British television also began to show interest, on July 10, 1977 parts of a concert in Manchester were recorded for a punk special of the discussion program Brass Tacks on BBC2 , then on August 14, 1977 parts of a concert (again in Manchester) for Tony Wilsons Music program So It Goes on regional channel Granada Television.

At the end of September 1977, Penetration signed a five-year contract in London with the professional management company Quarry Productions Ltd. who took care of the business of artists like Status Quo and Rory Gallagher , among other things , a move that made Gary Chaplin particularly uncomfortable.

Also in late September 1977, Penetration agreed with Virgin Records to release a single single . For the A-side the song " Don't Dictate " was re-recorded on October 3, 1977 with producer Mike Howlett in the Pebble Beach Studios in Worthing , and for the B-side " Money Talks " was selected from the Virtual Earth demo. The single was released on November 11, 1977 and received unanimous positive reviews in the music press, but did not make it into the UK charts .

Penetration went on tour in England until Christmas 1977 and went back to the studio in January 1978 to record three new songs ( Race Against Time / In The Future / Free Money ) and to convince Virgin Records to release a second single. Compared to the previous material, the new songs were much calmer and more melodic.

When the management sent the band to Italy for a few disastrous concerts with the French band The Lous at the beginning of February 1978 , it broke up. Gary Chaplin left Penetration because he disagreed with the management and felt that the band had nothing more to say.

Chaplin formed a new band called Iron Curtain in 1979 and released a single (" Short Time ") on the small independent label Red Rhino Records in June 1980 under a new band name Rhythm Clicks . He now works in the Sedgefield City Council . In 2003 he returned with an instrumental Dark Ambient solo album (" MN001 ").

Mainstream success and collapse (1978-79)

The departure of the band's founder and previous main songwriter in mid-February 1978 was not a big problem for the rest of the band. A replacement was found after a few days with the 20-year-old guitarist Neale Floyd, a fan from the small neighboring village of Binchester, and penetration resumed immediately on tour in England until the end of March 1978.

In April 1978, Penetration agreed with Virgin Records to release a second single and the option of a full studio album if the single sold enough. The two Chaplin compositions " Firing Squad " and " Never Never " were re-recorded with producer Mike Howlett and released on May 23, 1978. Again, the response from the music press was unanimously positive, but the single just made it to number 100 in the UK charts and the record company was still waiting.

From May to June 1978, Penetration went on tour with the Buzzcocks , and after a completely sold out concert at London's Marquee Club on June 21, 1978 Virgin Records signed the group for good.

At the instigation of the record company and management, a second guitarist was accepted into the band, the 20-year-old accomplished jazz rock musician Fred Purser from the neighboring town of Newton Aycliffe, who made his first appearance with Penetration on July 3, 1978 in Cheltenham . Purser was not very warmly received by the audience because of his un-punk appearance, but initially complemented himself very well with the other guitarist Neale Floyd.

On July 5, 1978, the new line-up recorded a John Peel session ( Future daze / Vision / Stone Heroes / Movement ), which was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on July 10, 1978 .

The first studio album " Moving Targets " was recorded from July to August 1978 at Matrix Studios in Camden and at Manor Studio north of Oxford with producers Mike Howlett and Mick Glossop. After the end of the sessions there was an appearance at the Reading Festival on August 25, 1978 , parts of which were recorded for the music program The Old Gray Whistle Test on BBC2 .

On October 6, 1978 a new single (" Life's A Gamble " / " VIP ") was released as a foretaste of the album.

On October 13, 1978 the album " Moving Targets " was released and reached number 15 in the British album charts. The first edition of 15,000 copies was released in fluorescent vinyl, unfortunately at the expense of the sound quality. Guitarist Neale Floyd was so angry that he wrote an open letter in Sounds magazine (December 9, 1978) asking buyers to exchange the records for conventional pressing.

From October to December 1978 Penetration went on tour in Great Britain and Europe, and in mid-December 1978 they also appeared on a German music show.

At the end of February 1979 Penetration began working on their third single (" Danger Signs ") at the Wessex Studio in Highbury with Mike Howlett and Mick Glossop , but the two producers interfered too much in the arrangement of the song, so the band finished it Version of the piece declined.

The recording of a second John Peel session on February 28, 1979 ( Danger Signs / Coming Up For Air / Last Saving Grace ) was just right for the band, and the BBC had a test print of the self-arranged version of "Danger Signs " made for them convinced the record company that the song was re-recorded in March 1979. The single was released on April 20, 1979 and did not enter the charts.

From April to May 1979 Penetration went on tour in Great Britain, followed by a US tour by the end of June 1979 with 34 appearances in mostly small clubs and pubs.

At the end of June 1979 the band returned to England completely exhausted, gave a radio concert for BBC Radio 1 in London's Paris Theater on June 27, 1979, and the record company sent them straight to the studio to record a second studio album. The management also informed the band that another US tour was planned for the turn of the year 1979/80, this time for a full three months.

The second studio album " Coming Up For Air " was recorded from June to July 1979 at Phonogram Studios in Westminster and Ridge Farm Studio in Dorking with new producer Steve Lillywhite . The band basically didn't have enough material and had to compose new songs while recording. In addition, the two guitarists had fallen out and practically no longer talked to each other, which made the work even more difficult.

On August 17, 1979, two songs from the new album (" Come Into The Open " / " Lifeline ") were released as a single, which made it to number 63 in the UK charts.

On September 14, 1979, the second album " Coming Up For Air " was released and reached number 36 in the British album charts.

One day before the start of a five-week UK tour, the band finally broke up when guitarist Neale Floyd announced that he would leave Penetration after the tour ended. Floyd was of the opinion that the music had been softened to pleasing mainstream rock by lengthy and laborious recording procedures in large and expensive recording studios and that the band had strayed too far from their punk origins. Fred Purser, who had felt like an outsider in the band from the start, decided to quit after the tour ended.

The tour began as planned on September 25, 1979, the concert in their native Newcastle on October 14 was recorded by Virgin Records . Pauline Murray announced the decision to break up the band in their current line-up to the surprised audience on stage. The split was officially published in the music press on October 20th.

On October 15, 1979, another pre-recorded studio session ( Shout Above The Noise / Lifeline / On Reflection / Last Saving Grace ) was broadcast on the Mike Read Show on BBC Radio 1 .

The last penetration concert took place on November 5, 1979 at the Nashville Rooms in West Kensington . As a farewell, the band posthumously released the compilation album " Race Against Time " in January 1980 , which contained the demo recordings from June 1977 and January 1978 as well as the rejected first version of " Danger Signs " and some live pieces.

Pauline Murray and Robert Blamire released several records together in the 80s, got married in 1992 and have two children. Murray has been running a rehearsal room complex with a recording studio in Newcastle since 1990 ( Polestar Studios ).

Neale Floyd lives and works in Darlington .

Fred Purser stayed in the music business as a session guitarist and has owned a recording studio in Newcastle since 1989 ( Trinity Heights Recording Studio ).

Gary Smallman lives in Ferryhill and is a self-employed craftsman.

Reunification (since 2001)

At the end of 2001 Murray, Blamire and Smallman decided to revive the band with two new guitarists and in December 2001 they played their first concert in 22 years.

Penetration have since performed regularly in the UK, composing new material, but Smallman left the band in 2006.

On November 17, 2008, after 29 years, a new penetration single (" Our World " / " Sea Song ") was released on the small independent label Damaged Goods Records . The download version of the single contained an additional live song " Movement ".

On September 18, 2009, a new radio session (Sea song / Come into the open) was broadcast on the Cerys Matthews Show on BBC 6 Music .

Another new single (" The Feeling " / " Guilty" ) followed on March 15, 2010 on Damaged Goods Records , the two songs were created in 2008 during the recording of " Our World" . The download version of the single contained an additional live song " Come Into The Open" .

The band announced further single releases as well as a new studio album for 2010.

The new studio album "Resolution" was released in 2015.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Moving Targets (Virgin Records, October 1978)
  • Coming Up For Air (Virgin Records, September 1979)
  • Resolution (Polestar, October 2015)

Singles

  • Don't Dictate / Money talks (Virgin Records, November 1977)
  • Firing Squad / Never Never (Virgin Records, May 1978)
  • Life's A Gamble / VIP (Virgin Records, October 1978)
  • Danger Signs / Stone Heroes ( live ); Vision ( live ) (Virgin Records, April 1979)
  • Come Into The Open / Lifeline (Virgin Records, September 1979)
  • Our World / Sea Song (Damaged Goods Records, November 2008)
  • The Feeling / Guilty (Damaged Goods Records, March 2010)

DVD

  • Penetration Re-Animated (live in Newcastle December 15, 2002) (Polestar Productions, February 2006)

Individual evidence

  1. Sounds Magazine, July 7, 1979 (p. 4)
  2. Penetration: Resolution - album review . In: Louder Than War . October 8, 2015 ( louderthanwar.com [accessed January 17, 2018]).

Web links