Profile: Short-lived Punk Rock band with members of Sex Pistols and Sham 69. Members: Dave Tregunna, Jimmy Pursey, Paul Cook, Steve Jones (2) a1487399 Artist. Edit Artist; Share. Marketplace 57 For Sale. Vinyl and CD Discography; 2. Sham Pistols discography and songs: Music profile for Sham Pistols, formed June 1979.
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Sham Pistols Discogs
Way back in 1979, the “merger” of the Sex Pistols with Sham 69 caused, for a brief moment, a great deal of excitement. With Johnny now in PiL and Sid dead, both fans and the press waited eagerly for news on Steve and Paul's next move. By May '79 it seemed the answer was known. The boys would be joined by Sham 69's Jimmy Pursey and Dave “Kermit” Treganna. Known for the time being as the Sham Pistols – until a name could be settled on - they went into Manor Studios, Oxford, to lay down some tracks. By August the group was in tatters.
Little was known about any of these tracks, until now. Four songs here claim to be Sham Pistols: Natural Born Killer, You & Me, Trainspotter, and Individual. However, only Natural Born Killer is a genuine, Cook, Jones, Pursey recording. The other 3 do not feature Steve and Paul!
So how does it stand up? What did we miss?
I really didn't know how to approach thise. Perhaps I was fearing the worst, or perhaps expecting too much? When the needle dropped onto the vinyl, I admit, my heart rate increased somewhat. This is what I found.
Natural Born Killer: Although it doesn't start off sounding like The Professionals' Kick Down The Doors, it soon develops into the very same tune. It's the strangest feeling. Those spine tingling licks are all present, including the wonderful climax. However, this time Pursey's on lead vocals singing a completely different set of lyrics. He does a good job as well.
We can assume Pursey's responsible for the lyrics. He had an obsession with place names at the time with Cambridge getting a mention. As for the chorus, it goes as follows: “I'm a natural born killer, swimming in the deep blue sea. I'm a new beginner, so what you've got to do with me?” Not his best chorus, but strangely catchy due to the strength of the tune. Lyrically the verses are much stronger. Basically it's The Professionals; Pursey's Professionals!
This would have been a big hit, of that I've no doubt. How annoying it didn't see the light of day. If they'd released only one single, this would have done. Damn.
There's no preaching, no cries for revolution... thank God. Sure, the band may have struggled with the weight of expectation, and there will be many who will condemn the failed project. Put all that to one side, and just listen, it was a sterling effort.
As for the vinyl pressing itself, the quality of the recordings is very good, if slightly muddy.
Who knows what may have become of this group? Could they have brought about a resurgence of punk rock as many hoped they would? The document here doesn't prove it one way or another. But do you know what? I would like to have seen them try.
Many theories have been given as to why the group fell apart. During an interview I conducted myself with Paul Cook, Paul told me; “Well, we were looking for singers at the time, me and Steve as a band, but not as the Sex Pistols. I think it was all in Pursey's imagination, thinking he was going to be the next singer of the Pistols. There's no way we would have carried on using the Pistols name, which is why I think that all folded soon enough. That didn't work out at all, it wasn't going to work.”
Side two adds weight to this. Recorded live at Glasgow Apollo, when Steve and Paul appeared for Sham 69's encore in June ‘79, Pursey can be heard bigging himself up, ranting that he told Steve and Paul to get rid of McLaren then he would sing for them, alongside his tales of how he's in the newspapers every day. Unfortunately, Jimmy, you weren't in the papers for long. (Note: the tracks on side two have been released previously on Link and Sanctuary Records. The quality on this release is excellent).
The whole Sham Pistols episode had a detrimental effect on both camps. After the band fell apart, Pursey went on to reform Sham 69 but with limited success. Steve & Paul went into limbo before emerging a year later as The Professionals.
To return to the Natural Born Killer, I'm delighted that the wait of over 3 decades is finally over. I wasn't disappointed.
The Sham Pistols were a short-lived punk rock supergroup composed of guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols with vocalist Jimmy Pursey and bass player Dave Tregunna of Sham 69.Wikipedia
- Ex Pistols
The Ex Pistols were a punk rock band from London, formed in 1979 by former Sex Pistols producer Dave Goodman. Goodman put the group together after his services were substituted for those of other producers on the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.Wikipedia
- Sham 69
English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in 1975. One of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including 'If the Kids Are United' and 'Hurry Up Harry'.Wikipedia
- The Wanderers (band)
The Wanderers were a short-lived British punk rock band consisting of Stiv Bators and members of Sham 69, and active between 1980 and 1981. They recorded one album before splitting up.Wikipedia
- Paul Cook
English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Also called 'Cookie' by his friends on the punk music scene.Wikipedia
- Sex Pistols
English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians.Wikipedia
- Glen Matlock
English musician best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Credited as a co-author on 10 of the 12 songs on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, although he had left the band while the album was being recorded.Wikipedia
Sham Pistols Natural Born Killer Lyrics
- Day 21
English punk rock group, led by Jimmy Pursey. On 21 January 2008, Pursey announced that, due to ongoing confusion to fans, he would no longer be associated with the name Sham 69, and that his new band would perform under the name, Day 21.Wikipedia
- Neurotic Outsiders
Supergroup founded in 1995, consisting of Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, and John Taylor of Duran Duran. The first line-up featured Billy Idol and Steve Stevens (together with McKagan and Sorum), but they were soon replaced by Jones and Taylor.Wikipedia
- Steve Jones (musician)
English rock guitarist, singer, actor and radio DJ, best known as a guitarist with the Sex Pistols. Following the split of the Sex Pistols, he formed The Professionals with former bandmate Paul Cook.Wikipedia
- Chiefs of Relief
Chiefs of Relief were a British rock group with a unique electro-punk style, punctuated by the guitar work of vocalist Matthew Ashman, and also featuring drummer Paul Cook. As a live outfit that they excelled.Wikipedia
- Jimmy Pursey
English rock musician. Founder and frontman of the punk rock band Sham 69, which he has performed with since 1976, along with releasing material as a solo artist.Wikipedia
- Rich Kids
Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox members Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage together.Wikipedia
- Chequered Past
British–American rock supergroup led by actor/singer Michael Des Barres and featuring members of Blondie, the Sex Pistols and Tin Machine. They formed in 1982 and released one, self-titled, album in 1984 on EMI Records.Wikipedia
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English post-punk rock group, founded in 1980 by multi-instrumentalist/composer Tim Hodgkinson and guitarist/composer Bill Gilonis, with bass guitarist Mick Hobbs and drummer Rick Wilson. The band toured Europe in 1981 and 1982, and recorded their first album, Slow Crimes in 1982.Wikipedia
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- The Lords of the New Church
English/American gothic rock supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. The band originally comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex-the Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (ex-the Damned), bassist Dave Tregunna (ex-Sham 69) and drummer Nick Turner (ex-the Barracudas).Wikipedia
- Randy J. Shams
Guitarist and founder of the surf punk band The Tarantulas. Born in Orlando, Florida, Randy J moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and shortly thereafter began composing music for film trailers and TV spots.Wikipedia
- Dave Goodman (record producer)
Record producer and musician, perhaps best known as the live sound engineer for Sex Pistols, and the producer of three of their studio demo sessions. A few Sex Pistols fans prefer the raw 'live' sound captured by Goodman to the official versions of the songs released as single A-sides and on the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.Wikipedia
- Siouxsie and the Banshees
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- The Damned (band)
English rock band formed in London, England in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. Album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States.Wikipedia
- Steve Dior
British musician, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter best known for being in bands such as The London Cowboys, Filthy Lucre and The Idols. In 1976, Steve Dior and Barry Jones built the basis of The Idols after previously rehearsing with Chrissie Hynde and Keith Levene and others in a band called The Quickspurts.Wikipedia
- Generation X (band)
English punk rock band from London in the late 1970s, primarily remembered today for being the musical starting point of the career of its frontman/vocalist, Billy Idol. Ad previously put in the Melody Maker by Broad seeking other musicians - Tony James, a 23 year old university graduate bass player from Twickenham and former member of the London S.S., all replied to an advert placed in the Melody Maker by John Krivine, the owner of a fashion clothing shop called Acme Attractions in the King's Road in Chelsea, seeking musicians to form a new West London band around the vocalist/frontman John O'Hara aka 'Gene October'.Wikipedia
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- The Outsiders (British band)
English punk rock group, formed in 1975 in Wimbledon, England and consisting of singer-guitarist Adrian Borland, bass guitarist Bob Lawrence and drummer Adrian 'Jan' Janes. The former two would go on to form the critically successful post-punk band the Sound.Wikipedia
- Gellers
Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo, taking influences from The Clash, Pavement and the Sex Pistols. Band that consists of childhood friends.Wikipedia
- Reagan Youth
American punk rock band formed by singer Dave Rubinstein and guitarist Paul Bakija (Paul Cripple) in Queens, New York in early 1980. Part of the anarcho-punk movement, the band members were committed political anarchists.Wikipedia
- The Clash
English rock band formed in London in 1976 as a key player in the original wave of British punk rock. They have also contributed to the post-punk and new wave movements that emerged in the wake of punk and employed elements of a variety of genres including reggae, dub, funk, ska, and rockabilly.Wikipedia
- Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil
American alternative rock supergroup formed in 2010 by singer Steve Taylor with drummer Peter Furler , guitarist Jimmy Abegg (Vector, A Ragamuffin Band), and bassist John Mark Painter (Fleming and John). Taylor formerly saw success as a new wave singer during the 1980s and early 1990s, and also fronted the short-lived band Chagall Guevara.Wikipedia
- Wipers
Punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, along with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. The group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as extremely influential by numerous critics and musicians.Wikipedia
Sentences forSham Pistols
- Pursey worked with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols for a short time under the name Sham Pistols before moving on to a solo recording career.Sham 69-Wikipedia
- Pursey set up a short-lived new band with Steve Jones and Paul Cook, formerly of The Sex Pistols, titled the 'Sham Pistols', before embarking on a solo career.Jimmy Pursey-Wikipedia
- Shams Last Stand is a live and compilation album by Sham 69 and Sham Pistols, was recorded in 1977-1979 at Rainbow Theatre, London, England.Shams Last Stand-Wikipedia
- 'If the Kids Are United' also features on many other compilation and live albums, and it has been covered by many artists and bands such as Wat Tyler, Rancid, 7 Seconds, Oi Polloi, DJ Paul, Angelic Upstarts, Red Alert, Bérurier Noir, Sham Pistols, The Kids, Les Ramoneurs de Menhirs, Mama's Boys, Atari Teenage Riot, The Duke Spirit, Jarvis Cocker, and Pluramon.If the Kids Are United-Wikipedia
Sham Pistols
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