Sham 69
| Sham 69 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Hersham , England |
| Genre (s) | Punk rock |
| founding | 1975, 1987 |
| resolution | 1980 |
| Website | http://www.officialsham69.com |
| Founding members | |
| Jimmy Pursey | |
| Dave Parsons | |
| Albie Slider (Albert Maskell) (until 1977) | |
| Mark Cain (until 1979) | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Tim V |
bass |
Rob Jefferson |
guitar |
Dave Parsons |
Drums |
Robin Guy |
| former members | |
bass |
Dave Tregunna (1977-1980) |
Drums |
Rick Goldstein (1979–1980) |
|
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albums | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sham 69 is an English punk band that in 1975 in Hersham in the county of Surrey was founded. The band had their greatest success in 1978 with the title If the Kids Are United , with which they called on rival youth gangs to unite.
The name refers to the local amateur football club "Walton & Hersham FC" and was created when Jimmy Pursey , the singer of the band, a half-faded graffiti with the wording Walton & Hersham '69 , an allusion to winning the premier division of the Athenian League of the club in 1969, reading in a public men's room. This resulted in a play on words with the English word sham ('swindle') contained therein .
history
The band was founded by singer and songwriter Jimmy Pursey together with guitarist Dave Parsons, bassist Albie Slider and drummer Mark Cain. They gave their first concert at "Guildford University", then played at every possible opportunity, in London's Roxy Club and as the opening act for Chelsea , The Lurkers and The Cortinas in the "Acklam Hall". There they were discovered by John Cale , who passed them on. Their first single, I Don't Wanna , was released on the small label "Step Forward", while in the spring of 1978 they signed with Polydor for their first album, Tell Us the Truth . Albie Slider became tour manager of the band and handed the bass to Dave "Kermit" Tregunna. The album, half of which consists of live recordings, was also released in the USA by Sire Records .
Another live LP That's Life was also released in 1978. This was followed by a number of hit singles and Sham 69 became increasingly popular. However, the band attracted very different audiences and there were more and more fights during their live concerts. They couldn't shake their reputation as rioters. Some concerts became real political parties for right-wing extremist and racist groups, although Pursey openly spoke out against the National Front .
The third album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys was again a great commercial success, but the growing violence at the live concerts made the band a lot harder. Pursey therefore began to produce other bands and take a new musical direction. The drummer Mark Cain left the band and Ricky Goldstein moved up. After the fourth album The Game received only poor reviews and was not particularly well received by the fans, Sham 69 broke up in 1980. Rick Goldstein, Dave Tregunna and Dave Parsons then founded the group The Wanderers together with Stiv Bators . Jimmy Pursey tried his hand at being a soloist.
In 1987 Pursey and Parsons revived the band, went on tour again and released some records. Pursey also pursued his solo career and got out again in 2006 with Sham 69. After a break and with the new singer Tim V, the band started a comeback in 2007.
Cover versions
Her hit If the Kids Are United has been covered several times, including by Atari Teenage Riot , Rancid , Manic Hispanic ( If the Vatos Are United ), Die Toten Hosen on the album Learning English Lesson One and the German pop singer Benny . The punk rock band Die Goldenen Zitronen also quotes this line of text in their song Forever Punk , just like Bad Religion in their title Robin Hood in Reverse . They were also z. B. Covered by the Dropkick Murphys ( Hey Little Rich Boy ) or the Street Dogs ( Borstal Breakout ).
Discography
Albums
- 1978: Tell us the truth
- 1978: That's Life
- 1979: The Adventures of Hersham Boys
- 1980: The Game
- 1988: Volunteer
- 1991: Information Libre
- 1993: Kings & Queens
- 1993: BBC1 - Live in Concert
- 1995: Soapy Water & Mr. Marmalade
- 1997: A Files CD
- 2001: Direct Action: Day 21
- 2007: Western Culture
- 2010: Who Killed Joe Public
- 2013: Their Finest Hour
- 2015: It'll End in Tears