|
The Records were the quintessential English Power Pop band in the late 1970's.
The original members of The Records were:
The_Records.jpg
Image:The_Records.jpg
Huw Gower (guitar and vocals) - John Wicks (guitar and vocals) - Will Birch (drums and vocal) and Phil Brown (bass and vocals).
Their biggest selling singles were "Starry Eyes" and "Teenarama".
Influenced by The Beatles and The Kinks, they fashioned themselves after other Power Pop bands such as Big Star, Badfinger and Cleveland, Ohio Power Popsters, The Raspberries.
Birch and Wicks had been in the Pub Rock turned Pop Punk band, The Kursaal Flyers. Gower played with hippie-band Magic Muscle and punkers Ratbites From Hell. Brown was the bass player for The Janets.
The Records formed in 1977, fleshing out the above lineup by 1978. They were hired to back Stiff Records starlet Rachel Sweet on the Be Stiff Tour. The Records opened the shows with a set of their own.
Based on demos, later released as Paying for The Summer of Love, the band was signed to Virgin Records in 1979. Their first album Shades in Bed, released in the USA as The Records, included the Power Pop classic "Starry Eyes". After the usual "musical differences", Gower, looking for a harder sound, left to join David Johansen. Jude Cole, a 19-year old American, who had been one of Moon Martin's Ravens, joined for the album Crashes. Record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the USA, while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio added guitarist Dave Whalen and a lead singer, Chris Gent, to the mix for the third album, Music on Both Sides. After this, the band effectively broke up.
Birch turned to producing and writing, while Wicks struggled to hold on to The Records' name.
The original band reformed in 1991, recording "Darlin'" for the Brian Wilson tribute, Smiles, Vibes and Harmonies.
Wicks emigrated to the States forming John Wicks and The Records. The band recorded Rock'Ola which continued in the same Power Pop vein. 2005 will feature a new album, Rotate, and a boxed set, Boxed-In.
<p>
External Links:
<p>
The Records (http://www.therecords.com/The%20Records%20frameset.htm)
John Wicks and The Records (http://www.johnwicksandtherecords.com/)
Will Birch (http://www.willbirch.com/)
Huw Gower (http://www.huwgower.com/indexx.htm)
Kursaal Flyers (http://www.kursaalflyers.net/home.php)
Jude Cole (http://www.judecole.com/)
| 
