The Ruts

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The Ruts
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genre(s)	Punk Rock New Wave Post-punk
Years active	1978 – mid 1983
Label(s)	People Unite, Virgin Records, Bohemian
Website	The official Ruts Myspace Page
Former members
Paul Fox Malcom Owen Dave Ruffy Segs (Paul Jennings) Gary Barnacle

The Ruts were a reggae-influenced British punk rock band, notable for the 1979 Top 10 hit "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was never a hit but was much played and highly regarded by the noted disc jockey John Peel.

Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Singles 2.2 Albums 3 Audio sample 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

The band consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John "Segs" Jennings (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums). As part of the People Unite Collective based in Southall in West London the band were active in anti-racist causes, and their song "Jah War" is about the Special Patrol Group's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach was beaten to death and Clarence Baker was severely injured.

The Ruts backed Laurel Aitken on a John Peel session for BBC Radio 1, in April/May 1980. The line-up was Aitken, Fox, Jennings, Ruffy, Owen and Gary Barnacle.

Malcolm Owen died from a heroin overdose on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26. The b-side "H-eyes" of "In a Rut" was a song against heroin use, and two other songs, "Dope for Guns" from the album The Crack, plus "Love in Vain" (b-side of "Staring at the Rude Boys") were also anti-drug songs.

The band continued as Ruts D.C. (D.C. standing for Da Capo meaning 'back to the beginning') but never repeated their earlier success. As Ruts D.C., the band toured Germany in the autumn of 1980, playing at the small nightclub To Act in rural Bavaria (Weißenohe, near Nuremberg). However, without the charismatic persona, stage presence and great voice of Owen (and despite guitarist Paul Fox handling the vocals), the band struggled to re-live their past glories.^{[citation needed]}

On Monday 16 July 2007 the band reformed for the first time in 27 years and played a special one off benefit gig for Paul Fox, following his diagnosis with cancer. Hardcore U.S. punk singer and long time Ruts fan, Henry Rollins (of Black Flag), stood in for Malcolm Owen. They were supported by Tom Robinson, The Damned, Misty in Roots, UK Subs, Splodge, John Otway and the Peafish House Band which featured Lee Harris, (The Blockheads), Tony Barber of The Buzzcocks and Rowland Rivron they backed Edward Tudor-Pole and TV Smith.

Fox, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in mid-2007, died on 21 October of the same year at the age of 56.^[1]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

• "In a Rut" [b/w "H-Eyes"] (1978) (Label:People Unite)

All remaining are on the Virgin label.

• "Babylon's Burning" [b/w "Society"] (1979)
• "Something That I Said" [b/w "Give Youth a Chance"] (1979)
• "Jah Wars" [b/w "I Ain't Sofisticated"] (1979)
• "Staring At The Rude Boys" [b/w "Love in Vain"] (1980)
• "West One (Shine On Me)" [b/w "The Crack"] (1980)
• "Different View" [b/w "Formula Eyes"] (1981) As RUTS DC

[edit] Albums

as The Ruts

• The Crack (Virgin) 1979
• Grin & Bear It (Virgin) 1980 - semi-compilation
• The Peel Sessions 1986

As Ruts D.C.

• Animal Now (Virgin) 1981
• Rhythm Collision (Bohemian) 1982

[edit] Audio sample

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The official Ruts Myspace
• Obituary of Paul Fox, The Times, 27 October 2007