The Inmates are a British pub rock band, which formed after the split of The Flying Tigers in 1977. In 1982, they had a medium-sized international hit with a cover of The Standells ' " Dirty Water ", and a UK Top 40 hit with their cover of Jimmy McCracklin 's track, " The Walk ". "Dirty Water" reached number 51 in the United States in January 1980. The song led directly to them recording their debut album, First Offence , produced by Vic Maile for Radar Records . Two further albums were quickly recorded; Shot in the Dark again produced by Vic Maile, and Heatwave in Alaska produced by Stuart Coleman .
8-522: Road prisons , or étapes ( Russian: этап , from French: étape ) were a type of a prison in Russia, used to temporarily house inmates on their way to Siberia , Sakhalin Island , or other places of far-off detention. Étapes were spaced every 40 and 65 kilometres (25 and 40 miles) along a road, each with its own detachment of soldiers. This temporary imprisonment system stretched from the 18th century, at
16-463: A Russian soldier requested to see his wife, and the Russian government responded by arresting her, binding her in chains , and forcing her to walk thousands of kilometres as part of a Siberian prisoner contingent, living among the étapes, "maimed, insulted, violated". The prisoners' temporary allotment is "a dog-kennel , a stable , a black hole – anything but a place to live in". One author for
24-519: A breakdown, and his place was taken for some time by Barrie Masters, who had recently split with Eddie and the Hot Rods . The Inmates continued to record ( True Live Stories , a live album recorded by Vic Maile at London's the Venue nightclub and, Five , a studio album again produced by Maile) and tour with Masters until he decided to reform the Hot Rods, and Hurley was well enough to return to fronting
32-557: The Fortnightly Review said that everything is expensive at the étapes "except the human body ", as prison guards were often involved in selling liquor , tea, cards, and other assorted vices to prisoners traveling to their final destination. This author made numerous other points similar to those of other Russian prison critics: rotten building materials , absence of any heat, lack of any bedding , absolute filth, and possibility for any prisoner to break out by merely twisting
40-576: The Inmates. In 1987, The Inmates recorded Meet the Beatles , a live album of Beatles cover versions . It was re-released on CD with bonus cuts including a live version of "Dirty Water". One of The Inmates' songs, "So Much in Love" (written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ), was covered by Los Lonely Boys in the mid-1990s. Another song, "I Can't Sleep" from their debut LP First Offence ,
48-614: The birth of the Russian Empire , to more modern times in the Soviet Union , and for some, arguably to the modern era. One modern writer calls the étapes "a form of punishment in and of itself. Its purpose seems to be to break down prisoners' will. [...] There really isn't any objective reason why prisoners would have to be moved very long distances from their homes – thousands of miles away – to other facilities, where it would be hard for family to visit them." In one incident,
56-615: The tin bars holding them in their prison and away from absolute desperation in the wilderness. Astrakhan to Moscow was a three to six-month journey. When prisoners could not be grouped together fast enough, they were left to languish in the étapes until enough prisoners could be gathered, and then they were forced to march between 3,200 and 7,600 kilometres (2,000 and 4,700 miles). One critic, E.B. Lanin, has described these prisons as "the most miserable lodgings any class of human beings has ever yet been housed in". The Inmates Around 1981, lead singer Bill Hurley became ill following
64-647: Was included as a chapter heading in the Stephen King bestseller Christine . "(I Thought I Heard A) Heartbeat" was recorded by American band Will and the Kill , which included guitarist Will Sexton (brother of Charlie Sexton ) and Dr. Feelgood on the album Classic , the last release on Stiff Records. Dr. Feelgood also recorded "Sweet Sweet Lovin'" on their album Fast Women, Slow Horses . As of 2013, The Inmates were still working and touring, especially in continental Europe. After thirty years, they still have four of
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