SPOTLIGHT ON:
THE LURKERS ARE were part of the first wave of British punk bands to emerge in the mid-'70s, playing tough, meat-and-potatoes rock & roll with plenty of attitude and a jaundiced eye toward the world around them.
https://youtu.be/Aqrwf_iGVsc
Unlike many of the bands on the early U.K.
scene, the Lurkers were not especially interested in social or political matters, but their regular-guy attitude, unpretentious sound, and shout-along choruses -- as evidenced on early singles like "Shadow," "Ain't Got a Clue," and "Just Thirteen" -- anticipated the sound of second-wave U.K. punks such as the U.K. Subs and the Exploited. They were important figures in the early days of the British scene, while going on to a second run in the late '80s that would make them mainstays on the punk circuit at home and abroad. As the band moved into the 2000s, their style had barely changed -- while 2008's Fried Brains showed a bit more of a metal edge in the guitars, the approach remained into-the-wind 1977-style punk, and proudly so. In 2010, an offshoot line-up of the band emerged, also known as God's Lonely Men and the Lurkers GLM, that offered a darker, heavier spin on the band's classic themes on albums like 2012's Chemical Landslide and 2016's The Future's Calling.
The first line-up of the Lurkers came together in 1976 in the West London community of Uxbridge. Featuring Pete "Plug" Edwards on lead vocals, Pete Stride on guitar, Nigel Moore on bass, and Pete "Manic Esso" Haynes on drums, the band made their stage debut in December of that year as the opening act at a Screaming Lord Sutch show, where they performed for an audience of ten. Shortly after that first gig, Moore left the band, and Arturo Bassick took over on bass. The Lurkers earned their stripes as a live act, sharing stages with the likes of the Jam, Slaughter and the Dogs, and Eater, as well as performing regularly at the Roxy, one of London's first venues for punk. As word about the Lurkers spread, they signed a record contract with the fledgling independent label Beggars Banquet, and "Shadow" b/w "Love Story" would become the imprint's first release in July 1977. Influential BBC disc jockey John Peel gave the single frequent airplay, and at the end of 1977, when Peel released his "Festive Fifty" list of the year's best songs, "Shadow" was in the number 11 spot, while "Love Story" came in at 31. Between October 1977 and January 1979, Peel would feature live-in-the-studio sets from the group four times.
*I wonder if the BTR’s & Lurkers ever toured together ~ Does anyone know?
Dale🎵
Written by our own SandraCrook