prag VEC were a post-punk band from London, probably most famous for the song "Cigarettes" on their debut EP: We can sit about, talk about the kinds of fags we smoke and for the reference to them in the Half Man Half Biscuit song "prag VEC at the Melkweg".
The band was formed in 1978 by ex-Derelicts members Susan Gogan and John Studholme, along with David Boyd and Nicholas Cash.[1][2] They released two singles and an album on their own Spec Records and played concerts during 1978 and 1979 with Cabaret Voltaire, Scritti Politti among others.[3]
During their short existence, they also recorded a total of three sessions for the John Peel programme.[4] The last of these showed them moving away from the guitar-based sound of the first EP towards use of EDP Wasp synthesizers. It featured strong new songs, especially "Rural Erotic" and "Third Person". These were re-recorded on the No Cowboys LP, a record presented in a polythene bag. This record purported to be a compilation by various bands.
The band split in 1981, with Cash joining Fad Gadget. Jim Thirlwell, who had contributed synth-noise to their album, went on to form Foetus.[2] He played the Wasp, a battery-powered portable synthesizer with a built-in speaker.
John Studholme died in November 2005, after a long illness. Along with Gogan, Studholme had co-written many of the band's songs. Around the time of his death, he, Gogan and drummer Nick Cash had been working with Mute Records UK to put together a compilation / reissue of Prag Vec material, which has been long out of print.
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