The Ruts
| The Ruts | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | London , England |
| Genre (s) | Punk , rock , dub |
| founding | 1978, 2007 |
| resolution | 1983 |
| Last occupation | |
| Paul Fox († 2007) | |
| John Jennings | |
| Dave Luffy | |
| Gary Barnacle | |
| Leigh Heggarty (since 2016) | |
| former members | |
| Malcolm Owen († 1980) (1978–1980) | |
The Ruts are a musical group formed in London in 1978 . After the band split up in 1983, they returned in 2007. They play political punk , combined with elements from reggae .
Band history
The Ruts were founded by four school friends in West London. Malcolm Owen did the vocals, Paul Fox played guitar, John Jennings played bass and Dave Luffy was on drums. The band was involved in the grassroots movement against the far-right British National Front and performed at numerous music events under the motto Rock Against Racism . At one such event they were discovered by Misty in Roots , who released the first single Ruts In a Rut under their own label . She then invited John Peel to his show. A short time later the band signed a contract with Virgin Records and the next single Babylon's Burning reached number seven in the UK charts. After touring as opening act for The Damned , they released another single Something That I Said , and in October 1979 their first album, The Crack, came out. With both records the band was able to build on their previous successes. Jah War was released as a single shortly afterwards . The text referred to riots in the London borough of Southall in April 1979, which resulted in one death and numerous injuries.
In the spring of 1980 the band toured England with Laurel Aitken and with their new single Staring at the Rude Boys the Ruts were able to post another chart success. The second album was in preparation, an American tour was planned and the upcoming tour through England was already sold out when the singer Malcom Owen dropped out more and more because of his heroin addiction. Several tour dates had to be canceled and shortly after the new single West One was recorded, Malcom Owen died in June 1980 of a heroin overdose . When the single was unsuccessful, Virgin brought a compilation of previously unreleased material and B-sides as the album Grin & Bear it on the market. The album was another commercial success.
The band had meanwhile added a DC , the abbreviation for Da capo , to their name. Paul Fox took over the vocals and the keyboardist and saxophonist Gary Barnacle joined the formation. The genre of music also went exclusively towards dub . The two following albums Animal Now and Rhythm Collision Vol. 1 were unsuccessful, and the band broke up in 1983.
After founding member Paul Fox passed away in 2007, The Ruts DC made their comeback that same year. Four years later, the band released their fourth studio album, Rhythm Collision Vol. 2 , which tied in with Rhythm Collision Vol. 1 . In 2016, The Ruts DC announced Music Must Destroy, their fifth studio album, due for release in September 2016. [obsolete] In return, the band got a new guitarist in Leigh Heggarty. The Ruts DC describe their musical style on this album as "Dub-Rock".
Discography
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Singles
- 1978: In a Rut
- 1979: Babylon's Burning
- 1979: Something That I Said
- 1979: Yah War
- 1980: Staring at the Rude Boys
- 1980: West One (Shine On Me)
- 1982: Weak Heart (Ruts DC)
Albums
- 1979: The Crack
- 1980: Grin & Bear It (scrapbook)
- 1981: Animal Now (Ruts DC)
- 1982: Rhythm Collision Vol. 1 (Ruts DC meets Mad Professor )
- 2005: The Best of The Ruts
- 2016: Music must Destroy (Ruts DC)
Web links
- Charts surfer UK
- biography
- The Ruts at Allmusic (English)