Penetration (band)

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Penetration were a punk rock band originally formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members.

The lead singer and driving force is Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958 in Ferryhill, County Durham, England). Other members included Robert Blamire, Gary Smallman, and Gary Chaplin, and later Neale Floyd and Fred Purser. Steve Wallace and Paul Harvey were drafted in as new guitarists in 2001. Their first, and most famous single, was "Don't Dictate"; and they have now released a Best of Penetration compilation album. The studio albums released were "Moving Targets" and "Coming Up For Air". After the band had split an called "Race Against Time" was released, which was a collection of early demos and live tracks.

Pauline Murray featured briefly with another (post) punk outfit, The Invisible Girls, which also included Robert Blamire and Paul Harvey, as well as other Manchester musicians who drifted in and out such as Vini Reilly, guitarist in the The Durutti Column. John Maher from Buzzcocks drummed for the band also. The album that resulted, produced by Martin Hannett, spawned the singles "Dream Sequence" and "Mr.X". Murray also provided vocal for The Only Ones on their track, "Fools".

Pauline Murray worked sporadically as a solo artist under the name "Pauline Murray and The Storm" with Robert Blamire, Tim Johnson and Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey is also a Stuckist artist. Blamire also worked as a producer for various groups, including the Scars, whose sole LP (1981's Author! Author!) he produced.