The Piranhas (UK band)

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The Piranhas were a ska-influenced punk band from Brighton.

1 Band history
2 Discography
3 Original line-up (1977-81)
4 External link

[edit] Band history

The Piranhas were formed in 1977 and were originally part of the Brighton punk scene. They first came to prominence when DJ John Peel started playing their single "I Don't Want My Body" on his BBC Radio 1 programme, but achieved their biggest success with their cover version of the South African kwela song "Tom Hark". This had been an instrumental hit in 1958 for Elias & His Zig Zag Jive Flutes, and had already been covered in a ska style by Millie Small. With new lyrics written by the band's frontman "Boring" Bob Grover, it was a Top 10 hit in 1980. It was the first song to feature on BBC Television's pop music programme, Top of the Pops, when it returned in 1980 after being blacked out for several months by industrial action. It also became a popular chant amongst British football fans. Two years later the band's version of Lou Busch's "Zambesi" - produced by Pete Waterman - was a Top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

The band unexpectedly re-entered the charts in 2005 with a remake of their biggest hit entitled "Tom Hark (We Want Falmer)", recorded under the name of Seagulls Ska with fellow Brighton resident Attila the Stockbroker. This was to help raise money for a new stadium for Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. (nicknamed "The Seagulls") at Falmer.