The Pack (punk band)
| The Pack | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Punk rock |
| founding | 1978 |
| resolution | 1979 |
| Founding members | |
Vocals (and bass 1978)
|
Kirk Brandon |
guitar |
Johnny Suede (John Fuller) |
guitar |
Chris Skornia |
Drums |
Rab Fae Beith |
| Later members | |
guitar |
Jonathan Werner (1978–1979) |
bass |
Simon Werner (1978–1979) |
Drums |
Jim Walker (1979) |
The Pack was the punk band of the later Theater-of-Hate - and Spear-of-Destiny singer Kirk Brandon, which existed from 1978 to 1979.
history
Kirk Brandon from London joined the Torbayer punk band The Cane in early 1978 as bassist, which was founded in 1977 by guitarist and singer Chris Skornia and drummer Simon Wright. With him came Johnny Suede as lead guitarist in the band. It was decided to look to London, recorded three songs as a demo tape for concert promoters in a small recording studio in Torquay and moved into a house near Heathrow .
At this point the band name was changed to The Pack of Lies and Simon Wright was replaced by Scottish drummer Rab Fae Beith. The original line-up of the band had a single appearance in Torbay , then Skornia and Suede stepped out. Suede went to the US for some time and became the first guitarist for Culture Club in early 1981 .
Kirk Brandon and Rab Fae Beith brought the two Canadian brothers Jonathan and Simon Werner into the band, and the band name was shortened in The Pack at the suggestion of Simon Werner . Kirk Brandon did the vocals. The new band went to London's Gooseberry Sound Studios on August 8, 1978, four songs were recorded as a demo , a second concert (the first with a new line-up) took place at the Camden Film Cooperative. The fourth concert in London's Nashville Rooms on October 7, 1978 was filmed from the audience on Super 8 .
In April 1979 The Pack released their first single Brave New Soldiers on the band's own label S.S. Records . Due to conflicts with Brandon, drummer Rab Fae Beith left the band afterwards, he worked briefly with Patrik Fitzgerald and then joined The Wall .
The new drummer was Canadian Jim Walker, who previously played in Johnny Rotten's band Public Image Ltd. had played. His first concert with The Pack took place on August 18, 1979 in the Electric Ballroom in London, on September 9, 1979 The Pack played in the opening act of the Nina Hagen Band in the Lyceum in London.
The last single King of Kings followed in November 1979 on Rough Trade Records , on November 7, 1979 The Pack played their last concert in front of a sold out house at the 101 Club in Clapham. Kirk Brandon broke up the band and retired from the music industry for a while.
In April 1980, Kirk Brandon contacted Stan Stammers, bassist from The Straps , and formed the band Theater of Hate with him and guitarist Simon Guthrie . The line-up was completed in June 1980 by the Straps and Crisis drummer Luke Rendall, the first concert followed on August 6, 1980 in the Marquee in London. The Straps took over the entire former The Pack line-up with the Werner brothers and Jim Walker and played their first concert in the London Music Machine on August 8, 1980.
In 1982 Jim Walker released a live concert from 1979 as a cassette and Simon Werner released the August 1978 demos as a single.
In 2001, Kirk Brandon released the compilation Dead Ronin , which also included two songs from the 1978 Nashville Rooms concert as video files as a bonus.
Discography
album
- Dead Ronin (Yeaah! Records, September 2001)
Singles
- Brave New Soldiers / Heathen (SS Records, April 1979)
- King of Kings / No.12 ( Rough Trade Records , November 1979)
- Brave New Soldiers; Heathen / King Of Kings; No.12 (SS Records, 1980) as Kirk Brandon & The Pack of Lies
- "Long Live the Past EP" : Thalidomide; King of Kings / St.Teresa; Abattoir (Cyclops Records, April 1982)
cassette
- The Pack Live 1979 (Donut Records, 1982)
on compilations
- Bored Teenagers Vol.4 (Detour Records, July 2006) (contains The Cane demo tape)