The Diodes

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"Diodes" redirects here. For the electronics component, see Diode.
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The Diodes
Origin Toronto, Canada
Genre(s) Punk rock, Power pop, New Wave, Pop punk
Years active 1977-1982; reunions in 1998 and 2007
Label(s) Crash and Burn, CBS Records, Bongo Beat
Website http://www.myspace.com/thediodes
Former members
Paul Robinson
John Catto
Ian Mackay
John Hamilton
Mike Lengyell
David Clarkson
Bent Rasmussen
John Corbett
Steve Robinson

Richard Citroen

The Diodes were a Canadian punk/new wave band formed in 1976. They released four albums: Diodes (1977), Released (1979), Action-Reaction (1980) and Survivors (1982). One of the first Toronto bands playing that style of music, The Diodes helped foster the scene in the city. They opened the first Canadian punk nightclub in 1977, called Crash 'n' Burn, where many of the city's punk bands at that time played. The first band to play the club was The Nerves (Peter Case, Jack Lee, Paul Collins), on a double bill with The Diodes. The club was closed at the end of the summer of 1977 due to complaints by the Liberal Party of Ontario (the principal tenants of the building).The club was the subject of a movie by experimental filmmaker Ross McLaren called Crash 'n' Burn, one of the few documents on film of this period. Footage of the club in its heyday also exists in the CBC Television archives because it was the subject of a TV special in 1977. The band put out their first record at this time, a vinyl single featuring Bruce Eves and Amerigo Maras of CEAC. Mickey Skin of all-girl punk band The Curse spews profanity on one side; the Diodes provide musical backing on the other - released on the Crash and Burn label. One side was called "War", the other "Raw", one of the first punk records to come out of Toronto. This single was actually an issue of the CEAC Newsletter (published by the Centre For Experimental Art and Communication, the owners of the building that housed the Crash 'n' Burn club). ANyone aho has a copy and wants to make a few bob should email me at mk@xtrmn8.co.uk.

The band brought up punk acts from the east coast of the U.S. to share the bill with, such as The Dead Boys, and joined Toronto punk bands The Viletones, Teenage Head and The Curse to perform in the United States at CBGBs. The Diodes toured the US east coast during the blizzard of 1978; performing in New York City, Boston and other cities. They opened for the Ramones and Runaways at the Agora Ballroom in Chicago to an encore. In the early 1980s, the band performed concerts in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also toured across Canada with U2 and Split Enz. In 1981 the band moved to London, England to launch a new version of The Diodes with a new rhythm section consisting of bassist Steve Robinson (ex-Barracudas) and drummer Richard Citroen (ex-Loved Ones). An album of new material was recorded, but remains unreleased to this day. Their final album, Survivors, came out in 1982, a compilation of unreleased outtakes, demos, and live recordings. After that, the group gradually disbanded with each member going his own way and singer Paul Robinson and guitarist John Catto remaining in London, England where they have lived ever since.

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[edit] Reunions and new releases

In 1998, Sony Music released Tired of Waking Up Tired: The Best of The Diodeson CD , and in 1999 the band reunited in 1999 to perform one song on The Mike Bullard Show to promote that CD. On May 24, 2007, The Diodes (Robinson, Mackay, Catto) played the Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival. On May 25, 2007, they did an afternoon concert at Lennon's Bar in Liverpool, also as part of the festival. On June 9, 2007, the original lineup from the first album (Robinson, Mackay, Catto, Hamilton) reunited for 30th anniversary concerts for the NXNE festival. They performed a free afternoon concert at Dundas Square and a midnight show at Sneaky Dees. A live vinyl album of a 1978 concert, Time Damage is planned to be released on Rave Up Records, (Italy) in fall, 2007. Action-Reaction is planned to be re-released in 2007 on Bongo Beat Records (including bonus tracks from the "Survivors" album).

[edit] Members

  • Paul Robinson - vocalist
  • John Catto - guitarist
  • Ian Mackay - bassist
  • John Hamilton - drummer
  • Mike Lengyell - drummer
  • David Clarkson - bassist (on Raw/War single only)
  • John Corbett - bassist (not on any recordings)
  • Bent Rasmussen - drums (not on any recordings)
  • Steve Robinson - bassist (not on any recording)
  • Richard Citroen - drums (not on any recordings)

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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