43-576: Glory Boys is the debut album by mod revival band Secret Affair , released in November 1979 by their label I-Spy, which they founded after signing to Arista Records . The album peaked at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart . After the demise of their previous band New Hearts , Ian Page and David Cairns formed Secret Affair, inspired by the 1960s mod movement . Page said he "started off calling this mod thing ‘Glory Boys’ which took away all
86-537: A "very modish look". The band's first single, "Time for Action", was their highest charting single, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart , and is a retort against the punk elite. The follow-up single, "Let Your Heart Dance" was also successful, peaking at number 32 on the chart. The album was released in the US and Canada by Sire Records on 30 June 1980, with a different sleeve and remixes of some of
129-673: A handful of London acts such as Brinsley Schwarz who had been victims of the prevailing big-venue system. Along with Max Merritt and the Meteors who were originally from Australia and had moved to London, Kilburn and the High Roads , Bees Make Honey , Ace , Eggs Over Easy , Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers , Dr. Feelgood , Ducks Deluxe , Rockpile , Any Trouble , The Pirates, The Motors , F.B.I., Gozales, Wreckless Eric, The Inmates, Roogalator , and Kokomo. Most of
172-567: A high-profile friendship with Paul Weller. Around this time the UK music press championed a number of bands as constituting a new wave of the mod revival under the name "New Mod", including Menswe@r and the Bluetones , both of whom were later identified with Britpop. In 2010, the mod-influenced band Missing Andy saw their debut single, "The Way We're Made (Made in England)", reach number 38 on
215-503: A host of 80s mod revival bands playing, old and new: Making Time (probably one of the biggest mod revival bands of the 80s after the Jam) and a well-known north London mod band called the Outlets, with band members Steve Byrne and Mario Vitrano, who also supported Steve Marriott's Packet of 3 and Geno Washington at various gigs in north London in the mid-80s. The UK mod revival was followed by
258-850: A mod revival in North America in the early 1980s, particularly in Southern California , led by bands such as the Untouchables , The Question, and Manual Scan . While on the East Coast (yet touring heavily in California) Mod Fun carried the revival torch. In Brazil the band Ira! led the mod revival releasing their first album Mudança de comportamento in 1985 on the WEA label. Their 1986 followup "Vivendo e Não Aprendendo" further established them as leaders of
301-497: A much lower break-even point for a record than a major label. With pub rock's emphasis on small venues, simple, fairly inexpensive recordings and indie record labels, it was the catalyst for the development of the British punk rock scene. Despite these shared elements, though, there was a difference between the genres: while pub rock harked back to early rock and roll and R&B , punk was iconoclastic , and sought to break with
344-428: A tenth of the sales of mainstream bands. The pub rock scene was primarily a live phenomenon. During the peak years of 1972 to 1975, there was just one solitary Top 20 single ( Ace 's " How Long "), and all the bands combined sold less than an estimated 150,000 albums. Many acts suffered in the transition from pub to studio recording and were unable to recapture their live sound. The genre's primary characteristic is, as
387-846: The Dagenham Roundhouse , the Grand in Leigh on Sea and the Admiral Jellicoe on Canvey Island . This network of venues later formed a ready-made launch pad for the punk scene. In 1974, pub rock was the hottest scene in London. At that point it seemed that nearly every large pub in London was supplying live music, along with hot snacks and the occasional stripper. The figureheads were Essex-based R&B outfit Dr. Feelgood . By Autumn 1975, they were joined by acts such as Hammersmith Gorillas , Joe Strummer 's 101ers , Eddie and
430-693: The UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the UK Indie Chart after their status was confirmed as runners-up in Sky1 's TV talent competition, Must Be the Music . A number of 1970s mod revival bands have reunited in recent years to play concerts, including Secret Affair , the Chords and the Purple Hearts. Pub rock (United Kingdom) Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in
473-628: The central belt in Scotland also produced local bands such as The Cheetahs and The Plastic Flies. Pub rockers believed that mainstream stars who played at arenas had lost touch with their audiences. Instead, pub rock groups preferred intimate venues, which were essential to creating meaningful music and connecting with the audience. Pub rock's small venue approach increased the importance of good songwriting and well-written lyrics, in contrast to mainstream pop which had marginalised both elements. The UK pub rock scene wound down by 1976. The record industry
SECTION 10
#1732797480613516-707: The 1970s pub rock , punk rock and new wave music genres with influences from 1960s mod and beat music bands such as the Who , Small Faces , the Kinks and the Beatles . The mod revival was largely set in motion by the Jam and their fans. The band had adopted a stark mod look and mixed the energy of punk with the sound of 1960s mod bands. Their debut album In the City (1977), mixed R&B standards with originals modelled on
559-528: The Bridge House in Canning Town . In 1979, the film Quadrophenia , which romanticised the original 1960s mod subculture , widened the impact and popularity of the mod revival across the UK. The original mod revival fanzine, Maximum Speed started in 1979 and spawned other home-produced fanzines from then until the mid-to-late 1980s. Bands grew up to feed the desire for mod music, often combining
602-530: The Dr. Feelgood album Stupidity as "the way rock should be". Apart from the ready-made live circuit, punk also inherited the energy of pub rock guitar heroes like Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson , his violence and mean attitude. Dr. Feelgood have since been described as John the Baptist to punk's messiahs. In the gap between the music-press hype and vinyl releases of early punk, the rowdier Pub Rock bands even led
645-511: The Hot Rods , and The Count Bishops . Pub rock was rapidly overtaken by the UK punk explosion after spawning what are now seen as several proto-punk bands. Some artists were able to make the transition by jumping ship to new outfits, notably Joe Strummer, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello . A few stalwarts were later able to realise Top 40 chart success, but the moment was gone. Many of the actual pubs themselves survived as punk venues (especially
688-869: The Hot Rods and the Sex Pistols were both considered rival kings of "street rock". The Pistols played support slots for the Blockheads and the 101ers at the Nashville. Their big break was supporting Eddie and the Hot Rods at the Marquee in Feb 1976. Dr. Feelgood played with the Ramones in New York. The word "punk" debuted on Top of the Pops on a T-shirt worn by a Hot Rod. Punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue reviewed
731-476: The Kursaal Flyers , Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers ). While pub rockers did not have expensive stage shows, they took inspiration from early R&B and increased the dynamism and intensity of their live shows. Pub rock allowed a variety of singers and musicians to perform, even if they did not adhere to a clearly defined musical genre. Major labels scouted pub rock acts, thinking they might find
774-655: The Nashville and The Hope & Anchor), but a range of notable pubs such as the George Robey and the Pied Bull have since been closed or demolished. The Newlands Tavern survived. Now called The Ivy House, in 2023 it is once again a thriving music venue showcasing many new bands. According to Nostalgia Central, "Pub rock may have been killed by punk, but without it there might not have been any punk in Britain at all". The boundaries were originally blurred: at one point,
817-1153: The Pegasus Pub on Green Lanes , The Torrington in North Finchley, Dingwalls and the Dublin Castle in Camden Town , the Pied Bull at Angel , Bull and Gate in Kentish Town , the Kensington near Olympia , the Newlands Tavern in Nunhead, the Cricketers at Kennington Oval, Half Moon in Putney and Half Moon in Herne Hill (south London outposts) and The Sir George Robey in Finsbury Park . Out of London, venues included
860-634: The Sex Pistols' Steve Jones , who complained "if we had played those complicated chords we would have sounded like Dr. Feelgood or one of those pub rock bands". By the time the Year Zero of punk (1976) was over, punks wanted nothing to do with pub rockers. Bands like the Stranglers were shunned but they did not care. It was independent record label Stiff Records , formed from a £400 loan from Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux, who went on to release
903-640: The Style Council , who abandoned most of the punk rock elements to adopt music much more based in R&;B and early soul. In the mid-1980s, there was a brief mod revival centered on bands such as the Prisoners . Fanzines following on from Maximum Speed – such as Mission Impossible , Patriotic , Roadrunner , Extraordinary Sensations and Chris Hunt and Karl Bedingfield's Shadows & Reflections – helped generate further interest in this stage of
SECTION 20
#1732797480613946-673: The Who 's early singles. They confirmed their status as the leading mod revival band with their third album All Mod Cons (1978), on which Paul Weller 's song-writing drew heavily on the British-focused narratives of the Kinks. The revival was also spurred on by small concerts at venues such as the Cambridge Hotel, Edmonton , Hop Poles Hotel and Howard Hall both in Enfield , the Wellington, Waterloo Road , London, and
989-555: The army". Pub rock groups disdained any form of flashy presentation. Scene leaders like Dr. Feelgood , Kilburn and the High Roads and Ducks Deluxe played simple, "back to mono" rhythm and blues in the tradition of white British groups like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds , with fuzzy overdriven guitars and whiny vocals. Lesser known acts played funky soul ( Kokomo , Clancy , Cado Belle ) or country rock (
1032-482: The charge for those impatient for actual recorded music, but it was not to last. Punks such as Sex Pistols singer John Lydon eventually rejected the pub rock bands as "everything that was wrong with live music" because they had failed to fight the stadium scene and, as he saw it, preferred to narrow themselves into an exclusive pub clique. The back-to-basics approach of pub rock apparently involved chord structures that were still too complicated for punk guitarists like
1075-606: The early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock , pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes at the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was played live in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs. Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub bands sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records . Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had
1118-421: The energy of punk with the sound of early 1960s mod bands. It was heavily influenced by the 1979 film Quadrophenia . The mod revival was a conscious effort to hark back to the earlier generation in terms of style and presentation. In the early 1980s in the UK, a mod revival scene influenced by the original mod subculture of the 1960s developed. The late 1970s mod revival combined musical and cultural elements of
1161-446: The energy that only the best representatives of the new wave have had, yet it is startlingly commercial." "The lyrics are clever, the hooks immediately memorable, and Secret Affair should gain immediate AOR acceptance." However, Billboard wrote "the sound and looks of this English mod quintet is derivative of the 1960s, but the heart of the music lacks that era's spontaneity. The polish makes these rockers boring and unimaginative, and
1204-399: The goal of creating highly polished end products, with overdubs, double-tracking and studio effects . Some mainstream bands spent months in the studio perfecting their recording, to achieve a meticulously crafted and perfect product. Pub rockers rejected this type of costly, complex recording process; instead, with pub rockers, the goal was simply to capture the band's "live" sound and feel in
1247-466: The idea of it being a revival, but we lost that battle". He'd invented the Glory Boys concept, as a "reaction to being told that I wasn’t any good and if I am going to be honest the real idea was like a spiv; a black shirt and white tie, clothes being very important." This image was inspired by Page and Cairn's fascination with the 1970 crime drama film Performance , with its main characters having
1290-446: The lyrics are trite. But clean, balanced instrumentation strengthens the collection, thanks to efficient production." All tracks are written by Ian Page and David Cairns , except where noted Musicians Technical Mod revival The mod revival is a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The Mod Revival started with disillusionment with
1333-464: The mod revival in Brazil. They quickly achieved Gold Album status in sales of "Vivendo e Não Aprendendo". Bands associated with Britpop in the mid-1990s often championed aspects of mod culture. Blur were fans of Quadrophenia , with the film's star Phil Daniels featuring on the title track of the band's album Parklife and appearing in the song's video, while Oasis ' Noel Gallagher struck up
Glory Boys - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-468: The mod revival. The Phoenix List was a weekly newsletter listing national events, and they organised a series of national rallies. A main player in the 1980s UK mod revival was Eddie Piller , who founded Countdown Records, and then went on to develop the acid jazz movement of the late 1980s. In 1985, the mod all-dayer in Walthamstow paid tribute to Band Aid, was sponsored by Unicorn Records, and had
1419-533: The mod scene in Australia began and took off particularly in Sydney & Melbourne, led by bands such as The Sets, Little Murders, Division 4, The Introverts & The Go. There was a documentary made in early 1981 called The Go-Set about the mod revival scene in Sydney & Melbourne. There was also a book published about the mod scene in Australia from 1979 to 1986. Paul Weller broke up the Jam in 1982 and formed
1462-602: The music of 1960s mod groups with elements of punk music, including the Chords , Secret Affair , Purple Hearts and the Lambrettas . These acts managed to develop cult followings and some had pop hits, before the revival petered out in the early 1980s. More R'n'B based bands such as the Little Roosters, the Inmates and Nine Below Zero also became key acts in the growing mod revival scene in London. In 1979
1505-411: The name suggests, the pub. By championing smaller venues, the bands reinvigorated a local club scene that had dwindled since the 1960s as bands priced themselves into big theatres and stadia. New aspiring bands could now find venues to play without needing to have a record company behind them. Pub rock was generally restricted to Greater London over spilling slightly into the home counties , although
1548-455: The next Beatles at a local pub; however A&R representatives decided that pub rock did not have potential for mass market hits. With no interest from major labels, pub rockers put out their records through small independent record labels such as Stiff Records and Chiswick Records . By 1975, the standard for mainstream rock album recordings was expensive, lengthy studio recording processes overseen by highly-paid record producers , with
1591-457: The past musical traditions. Pub rock was deliberately nasty, dirty and post-glam. Dress style was based around denim and checked shirts, tatty jeans and droopy hair. The figureheads of the movement, Dr. Feelgood , were noted for their frontman's filthy white suit. Bands looked menacing and threatening, "like villains on The Sweeney ". According to David Hepworth , Dr. Feelgood looked as if they had "come together in some unsavoury section of
1634-542: The punk scene when commercialism set in. It was featured in an article in Sounds music paper in 1976 and had a big following in Reading/London during that time. It gained momentum as an underground movement which was highlighted on London Weekend Show 20 May 1979, prior to the impending release of the film "Quadrophenia". The late 1970s mod revival was led by the band The Jam , who adopted a stark mod look and mixed
1677-544: The studio. The difference between mainstream rock and pub rock recording approaches not only produced different sounds (polished vs. raw), it also had a significant impact on the economics of each rock genre. With mainstream rock, the costly sound recording process meant that the break-even point for the record label was around 20,000 records; with pub rock, the less expensive recording process meant that pub rock labels could break even with as few as 2,000 records. This means that pub rock labels could afford to put out records with
1720-497: The tracks. The album also included "My World", which was released in the UK on the band's second album Behind Closed Doors . Page explained that "Sire believed that American ears were different from English ears and wanted different mixes. They booked me a highly experienced US engineer and he made some very subtle differences". The album was released on CD in 2001 by Captain Mod Records , which included as bonus tracks,
1763-692: The two B-sides to the singles. In December 2019, for the 40th anniversary of the album, Glory Boys was reissued on vinyl as a limited 750 copies. Reviewing the album for Record Mirror , Mike Nicholls wrote "No matter how trivial this year's revival may seem, don't let it cloud your judgement of a fine modern pop album." "As individual tunes they work out fine: mobile, uncluttered and presumably most essentially, good to dance to. The lyrics aren't bad either – sharp, concise, unpretentious and an all-round reflection of Page's personality and present pre-occupations. Musically, there's muscle to spare, if nothing very original." Cashbox wrote "The inventive foursome has
Glory Boys - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-1043: The venues were in large Victorian pubs "north of Regents Park", where there were plenty of suitable establishments. One of the most notable venues was the Hope and Anchor pub on Islington 's Upper Street , still a venue. Following the Tally Ho and the Hope and Anchor came the Cock, the Brecknock, the Lord Nelson, the Greyhound in Fulham , the Red Lion, the Rochester Castle, the Nashville in West Kensington ,
1849-530: Was already looking into early punk, thinking it might be the next "big thing". In 1976, some pub rock labels were putting out both the harder-edged pub rock acts and early punk bands such as The Damned . American country-rock band Eggs over Easy were the precursors of the movement when they broke the jazz-only policy of the "Tally Ho" pub in Kentish Town , in May 1971. They were impressive enough to inspire local musicians such as Nick Lowe . They were soon joined by
#612387