Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975.
Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived their name from a piece of graffiti that founder Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall. It originally said Walton and Hersham '69 but had partly faded away, and made reference to when Walton & Hersham F.C. secured the Athenian League title in 1969.[citation needed]
Contents[hide]
1 Early history
2 1987 and later
2.1 2006 break-up and aftermath
3 Line-ups
3.1 1977
3.2 1977-1979
3.3 1979-1980
3.4 1996-2001
3.5 2007-2008
4 Discography
4.1 Albums
4.2 Singles
4.3 Compilations
4.4 Live
5 Notes
6 Bibliography
7 External links
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[edit] Early history
The November 12, 1976 issue of NME notes that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although only Pursey would remain from this early lineup twelve months later. Sham 69 lacked the art school background of many English punk bands of the time, and brought in football chant backup vocals and a sort of inarticulate political populism. The band had a large skinhead following (left wing, right wing and non-political), which helped set the tone for the Oi! movement. Their concerts were notoriously plagued by violence, and the band ceased live performances after a 1978 concert at Middlesex Polytechnic was broken up by National Front-supporting white power skinheads fighting and rushing the stage.
Sham 69 released their first single, "I Don't Wanna", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground, and its success in the independent charts prompted Polydor Records to sign the band. Their major label debut was "Borstal Breakout" in January 1978, followed by UK singles chart success with "Angels With Dirty Faces" (reaching number 19 in May 1978) and "If The Kids Are United" (number 9 in July 1978). They were taken from the group's debut album, Tell Us the Truth, a mixture of live and studio recordings. The group had further chart success with "Hurry Up Harry" (number 10 in October 1978), which came from their second LP and first full studio album, That's Life. The band's popularity was enhanced by their performances on Top Of The Pops.
They eventually started to move away from punk rock, to embrace a sound heavily influenced by classic British rock bands such as Mott the Hoople, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Faces. This was demonstrated by their third album, The Adventures of the Hersham Boys.
Sham 69 originally broke up after their fourth album, and Pursey moved in a heavy metal direction after working with the remaining members of the Sex Pistols for a short time, under the name Sham Pistols. Rick Goldstein, Dave Parsons and Dave Treganna joined the 1980s glam punk/gothic rock band The Wanderers with Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys before he formed The Lords of the New Church. Stiv Bators and Dave Treganna recruited Nick Turner of The Barracudas and Brian James of The Damned to become Lords of the New Church. In 1981, Pursey collaborated with Peter Gabriel on the single "Animals Have More Fun" which was commercially unsuccessful.
[edit] 1987 and later
In 1987, Sham 69 was resurrected with a different lineup, releasing the single "Rip And Tear". "If the Kids Are United" was used in a McDonald's advertising campaign, long after the rights to the band's songs had been sold. By that time, Pursey was a vegetarian, and he appeared in the British media condemning the use of his song by what he considered a multinational abuser of animals and humans.
In 2005, the band gained media attention when "If The Kids Are United" was played during UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's entrance at the Labour Party Conference. As a result of this, the band was invited onto BBC TV's current affairs programme, Newsnight to sing a version of the song. Pursey sang altered lyrics, including "Mr. Blair / We know you care / So bring them home / Don't leave them there", referring to the troops remaining in Iraq after the the 2003 invasion.
In 2006, listeners to Christian O'Connell's Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio voted overwhelmingly for the band to record a song to support the England national football team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[1] Released under "Sham 69 and The Special Assembly" (O'Connell and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon were also involved), the song was based on the Sham 69 hit "Hurry Up Harry", with the lyrics "We're going down the pub", changed to "We're going to win the cup!" The resulting single, "Hurry Up England" reached number 10 in the UK Top 40, becoming the band's first such hit for over 26 years.
[edit] 2006 break-up and aftermath
In late 2006, Sham 69 broke up, and Dave Parsons has stated his wish to independently continue as 'Sham 69'. On January 26, 2007, BBC News announced that Sham 69 had split because of a bitter fallout between Pursey and Parsons.[2] NME reported that a statement released by Parsons included the message: "Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey on the eve of their 30th anniversary. The band had become increasingly fed up with Jimmy's lack of interest in playing live and continually letting down both promoters and fans by pulling out of gigs at the last moment".[3] Parsons and Whitewood have formed a new line-up with Tim V on vocals and Rob Jefferson on bass.[4] This line-up has performed tours of the United States, played at many major punk festivals across Europe, and released a new album, Hollywood Hero in August 2007. On Jan 21, 2008, Pursey officially announced the formation of his new band, Day 21, and relinquished any interest in the name Sham 69.[5]
[edit] Line-ups
[edit] 1977
Jimmy Pursey : vocals
Dave Parsons :guitar
Albie "Slider" Maskell : bass
Mark "Dodie" Cain : drums
[edit] 1977-1979
Jimmy Pursey: vocals
Dave Parsons: guitar
Dave Treganna: bass
Mark "Dodie" Cain: drums
[edit] 1979-1980
Jimmy Pursey: vocals
Dave Parsons: guitar
Dave Treganna: bass
Ricky Goldstein: drums
[edit] 1996-2001
Jimmy Pursey: vocals
Dave Parsons: guitar, backing vocals
Mat Sargent: bass, backing vocals
Ian Whitewood: drums
[edit] 2007-2008
Dave Parsons: guitar
Ian Whitewood: drums
Tim V: vocals
Rob "Zee" Jefferson: bass,Former lead guitarist with Acid/Punk band "The Swift"
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Title
Date of Release
UK Chart Position
Tell Us The Truth
1978
#25
That's Life
1978
#27
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys
1979
#8
The Game
1980
??
Volunteer
1988
??
Information Libre
1991
??
Soapy Water and Mister Marmalade
1995
??
The A Files
1997
??
Direct Action: Day 21
2001
??
Hollywood Hero (USA)
2007
??
Western Culture (UK / EUROPE)
2007
??
[edit] Singles
Sham 69 - Hersham Boys excerpt
An excerpt from Hersham BoysProblems listening to the file? See media help.
"I Don't Wanna" (1977)
"Song Of The Street" (1977)
"Borstal Breakout" (1978)
"Angels With Dirty Faces" (1978) UK #19
"If The Kids are United" (1978) UK #9
"Hurry Up Harry" (1978) UK #10
"Questions And Answers" (1979) UK #18
"Hersham Boys" (1979) UK #6
"You're A Better Man Than I" (1979)
"Tell The Children" (1980)
"Unite and Win" (1980)
"Rip And Tear" (1987)
"Ban The Gun" (1987)
"Outside The Warehouse" (1988)
"Action Time" (1993)
"Girlfriend" (1995)
"Swampy" (1996)
"Hurry Up England" (2006) UK #10
[edit] Compilations
The First, the Best and the Last (1980)
Kings & Queens (1993)
Lords Of Oi! (1997)
The Punk Singles Collection: 1977-1980 (1998)
Laced Up Boots And Corduroys (2000)
Teenage Kicks (4 April 2005)
The Original Punk Album (2007)
Punk 77/2007 30TH Anniversary (2007)
[edit] Live
Live and Loud!! (1987)
The Complete Sham 69 Live (1989)
Live at the Roxy Club (1990)
Live At CBGB's (1998)
Live In Italy (1996)
[edit] Notes
^ Music - News - Punk star to make World Cup alternative - Digital Spy
^ BBC NEWS Entertainment Punk band Sham 69 in bitter split
^ Sham 69 split with singer News NME.COM
^ http://www.sham69online.co.uk/HISTORY.html
^ DAY 21 - TV Home
[edit] Bibliography
Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
[edit] External links
Official Website of Sham 69
Official Website of Sham 69
BBC article on use of Sham 69 song at Labour Party conference
Official Myspace of Sham 69
Official Sham 69 profile on PunkRockers.com
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sham_69"
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