Johnny Moped

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Johnny Moped

Background information
Origin Croydon, South London, England
Genre(s) Punk Rock
Years active 1976–1978
Label(s) Chiswick Records, Deltic
Former members
Dave Burk
Fred Burk
Ray Burns (AKA Captain Sensible)
Paul Halford (AKA Johnny Moped)
Chrissie Hynde
Slimey Toad

Johnny Moped were a late 1970s English punk rock group from south London, notable for once having Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of The Damned) within their ranks.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Formed in Croydon in mid 1976, the band were present at UK punk’s birth.

Johnny Moped became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of London’s now-legendary Roxy Club. They played two gigs in February 1977, one supporting Eater and one backing The Damned. Again, in March, they played another two gigs, one supporting Slaughter & The Dogs and the other backing The Damned. In April, they were on a bill that included Wire, X-Ray Spex and the Buzzcocks. [1]

Johnny Moped’s ‘Hard Lovin’ Man’ appeared on the various artists album Live at the Roxy WC2 (Harvest Records, 1977). They signed for Chiswick Records and released three singles, including ‘Little Queenie’ (a cover of the Chuck Berry classic), and one album before splitting up.

Sixteen years after its release, the publishers of The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, named Cycledelic as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time. [2]

Johnny Moped’s style has been variously described as:

  • ‘Moronic punk ‘n’ roll fusing future Chiswick label-mates Motörhead with the manic humour of John Otway’. [3]
  • ‘They were one of Chiswick’s top bands because they bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub rock and the beery end of punk’. [4]
  • ‘Johnny Moped had been about for a few years practising their sonic terrorism in & around Croydon by the time Punk Rock broke. That didn’t stop them signing to Chiswick Records & releasing the utterly superb 45 No One (NS 15) & the equally frenetic LP, Cycledelic (Wik 8). Perennially written off by the snobbier elements of the Punk elite, mates of Captain Sensible & part time roadies for The Damned - Johnny Moped had it all’. [5]
  • Legends… ‘In any discussion of punk’s greatest legends the name of Johnny Moped forever looms large – not necessarily for the vitality of their vinyl, although few would deny that the Moped had few peers in that arena. Nor through the brilliant chaos of their live shows, although a good Moped gig could keep you grinning for a week. No, Johnny Moped was a legend because with a reputation and a presentation like theirs, what else could they be?’ [6]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

  • No One / Incendiary Device (Chiswick, August 1977)
  • Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby / Something Else / It Really Digs (Chiswick, January 1978)
  • Little Queenie / Hard Lovin’ Man (Chiswick, June 1978)

[edit] Studio Albums

  • Cycledelic (Chiswick, April 1978)
  • The Search For Xerxes (Deltic, May 1991)

[edit] Compilations

  • Basically: The Best of (Chiswick, September 1995)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Johnny Moped page on www.punk77.co.uk: A history of UK Punk Rock from 1976-79 which features an A-Z of punk bands

[edit] References

  1. ^ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (1994) “All Time Top 1000 Albums”, Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Chapter 9;
  3. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 102;
  4. ^ Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 234;
  5. ^ Jean Encoule (March 2004) “A-Z Of Punk Rock”, trakMARX, Issue No.13;
  6. ^ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 84;