Sham 69

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Sham 69

Background information
Genre(s) Punk rock, Oi!
Years active 1976-Present
Members
Jimmy Pursey
Dave Parsons
Rick Goldstein
Dave Treganna

Sham 69 is an English punk rock band from Hersham, Surrey.

Although not as commercially successfull as many of their contemporaries, Sham 69 was a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived their name from a piece of football-related graffiti that singer Jimmy Pursey had seen on a wall that originallly said Hersham '69 (the Her part was worn out).

Contents

[edit] 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 12 months later. Sham 69 lacked the art school background of many British 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 skinheads fighting and rushing the stage.

Sham 69 released their first single, "Ulster", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, 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); "If The Kids Are United" (number 9 in July 1978); and "Hurry Up Harry" (number 10 in October 1978). The latter 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, during which Pursey often acted silly.

They eventually started to move away from punk rock, to embrace a sound heavily influenced by classic British hard rock bands such as Mott The Hoople, The Who and The Faces. This is demonstrated by their third album, The Adventures of the Hersham Boys.

Sham 69 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. Dave Treganna joined the 1980s glam punk/goth band The Lords of the New Church, with Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys and Brian James of The Damned. In 1981, Pursey collaborated with Peter Gabriel on the single "Animals Have More Fun" which was commercially unsuccessful. He was also rumoured to be training as a ballet dancer.[citation needed]

Pursey resurrected Sham 69 in 1987 with a different lineup, releasing the single "Rip And Tear" without major success. "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.

The band gained media attention when "If The Kids Are United" was played during UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's entrance at the 2005 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.

Also in the 2000s, Pursey has been sought out by the media for his recollections of the Walton Hop disco in the 1970s, which featured largely in criminal cases against Jonathan King and Chris Denning.[citation needed] Pursey's statements appear to show an awareness of what was going on, but he has not made any allegations that he was abused.

In 2006, Virgin Radio listeners voted overwhelmingly for Jimmy Pursey to record a song to support the England national football team in the FIFA World Cup.[1] 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. After that, the band started working on a new studio album; the artwork for which will feature a polar bear walking in a desert.

[edit] 1977 line-up

  • Jimmy Pursey: Vocals
  • Dave Parsons: Guitars
  • Mark Cain: Drums
  • Dave Treganna: Bass

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Tell Us The Truth (1978)
  • That's Life (1978)
  • The Adventures of the Hersham Boys (1979)
  • The Game (1980)
  • Volunteer (1988)
  • Information Libre (1992)
  • Soapy Water & Mr. Marmalade (1995)
  • The A Files (1997)
  • Direct Action: Day 21 (2001)

[edit] Singles

  • "I Don't Wanna" (1977)
  • "Song Of The Street" (1977)
  • "Borstal Breakout" (1977)
  • "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1978)
  • "If The Kids are United" (1978)
  • "Hurry Up Harry" (1978)
  • "Questions And Answers" (1979)
  • "Hersham Boys" (1979)
  • "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)
  • "Hurry Up England" (2006)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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