| The Shapes | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Punk rock, punk pathetique |
| Years active | 1976–Early 1980s, 2000–present |
| Past members | |
| Seymour Bybuss Brian Helicopter Nigel Greenway Nick Hadley Charlie Pullen Dave Gee Steve Richards Tim Jee |
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The Shapes were an English punk rock group that formed in the town of Leamington Spa in 1976.[1] Different in many ways from their peers in the nascent punk subculture, they were known for eschewing the more political stances that were fashionable at the time, instead producing works of a cartoonish and absurdist nature. They were often compared to The Rezillos because of their Gerry Anderson-themed work.
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The band was formed by Seymour Bybuss (Ben Browton, vocals) and Brian Helicopter (Gareth Holder, bass guitar), who recruited Nigel Greenway (guitar), Nick Hadley (guitar), and Charlie Pullen (drums).[2] This line-up played their debut gig at the University of Warwick supporting The Killjoys, and recorded a demo shortly after.[2] They were offered a deal by EMI, but the record company wanted them to change their name to The Racket and mime to a pre-recorded song; This prompted Hadley to leave the band, and they carried on as The Shapes, with EMI bringing them together with songwriter Nick Brind of Joe Public, but this relationship broke down after Brind insisted on singing on the resulting tracks.[2] Pullen was replaced by Dave Gee and the band returned to live performances and recorded more material before Greenway left the band.[2] The remaining trio put an advert in the NME for new members, recruiting Steve Richards (lead guitar) as a result, and adding Gee's friend Tim Jee on guitar around the same time.[2]
The new line-up recorded four tracks at Woodbine Studios which were released as their vinyl debut in March 1979 as the EP Part of the Furniture on their own Sofa label.[1] The début EP was given airplay by John Peel, who invited the band to record a session for his BBC Radio 1 show the following month.[3] The EP sold sufficiently for the band to repress it twice, with total sales of 10,000 copies.[2]
The band's humorous take on punk rock received comparisons to The Rezillos.[1] They played support slots with The Fall, The Cure, and The Reaction, and were picked up by Terri Hooley's Good Vibrations label for the next single, "Blast Off".[1] Hooley got the band on the bill of a concert by The Saints at the Royal Ulster Hall in Belfast, the band now without Richards.[2] On their return to England they supported The Photos on tour, and recorded an EP for Good Vibrations (featuring "Jennifer the Conifer", "Let's Go (To Planet Skaro)", and "My House is a Satellite") but it was never released.[2] The band split up in the early 1980s, with Holder already splitting his time between The Shapes and another band.[2]
Tim Jee went on to join The Captain Black Solution, while Bybuss made several appearances on Eurotrash as transvestite nun 'Sister Bendy' and started a new band, The Ambassadors of Plush.[1][2] Holder remained in the music business, playing and recording with Rogue Male and Hells Belles before moving to California to work as a professional skydiver.[2] Richards went on to be a horse breeder, while Gee ran a recruitment agency in Northampton.[2] Original guitarist Nigel Greenway left the music business and committed suicide some years later.[2]
Having achieved cult status, their records commanded high prices among collectors.[1] This demand resulted in a belated release of a full length retrospective of all of the singles, B-Sides, radio sessions and demos as the collection Songs for Sensible People on Overground Records in 1998.[1] The independent label Hyped to Death have released Shapes tracks as part of their compilation series from 2002 onwards in the USA. The most recent release being in 2007 on their Messthetics series of releases. Overground Records re-released Songs for Sensible People in its original format in January 2008. In mid 2008, it was announced that The Shapes would reform in their original line-up for a tour of the United Kingdom to mark the 30 year anniversary of their first single in December 2008.