The Shapes
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The Shapes were an English punk rock group that came into being in the British town of Leamington Spa in the latter half of the 1970's. Different in many ways from their peers in the nascent punk movement, they were known for eschewing the more political stances that were fashionable at the time, instead producing works of a cartoonish and absurdist nature. Often compared to the The Rezillos because of their Gerry Anderson themed work, they released their first single, I saw Batman in the Launderette on their own Sofa records label. This led to national exposure, becoming a hit in the UK charts and leading to a John Peel session for Radio One on the BBC.
They continued to release singles on their own label and the Belfast independent label Good Vibrations (home to The Undertones) until their eventual breakup in 1982. Having achieved cult status, their records continue to be hotly traded up to the present, and this demand resulted in a belated release of a full length retrospective of all of the singles, B Sides, radio sessions and demos as the collection Songs for Sensible People on Overground Records in 1997.
[edit] Members
The original line up of the band was:
Seymour Bybuss - Vocals
Brian Helicopter - Bass
Nigel Greenway - Guitar
Nick Hadley - Guitar
Charlie Pullen - Drums
Then Charlie Pullen was replaced by
Dave Gee - Drums
Nigel Greenway and Nick Hadley were then to leave the band to be replaced by
Steve Richards - Guitar
Tim Jee - Guitar
Steve Richards was later asked to leave the band making the final line-up:
Seymour Bybuss - Vocals
Brian Helicopter - Bass
Dave Gee - Drums
Time Jee - Guitar
The Bybus/Helicopter/Richards/Jee/Gee lineup is the one that is most closely associated with The Shapes, and appears on all of the band's previously released work up to the retrospective release.
