No history of UK punk rock would be complete without The Lurkers. This seminal West London punk band from Fulham charted, in an 18 month period, with 5 hit singles and one hit album.
With a set list choc full of catchy punky tunes the band were a favourite among the press and crowds. Those songs still sound as good today and put the band up there with the best in punk. Sadly they don't get the credit they deserve. These pages aim to put this right.
The Lurkers were formed in the summer of 1976 by four mates who were regulars of the Coach & Horses pub in Ickenham, West London and were Pete Edwards (aka Plug on Vocals), Pete Haynes (aka Manic Esso on Drums) Nigel Moore (Bass) and Pete Stride (Guitar). The final piece of the jigsaw came at the end of 1976 when the group recruited a new vocalist Howard Wall with Plug stepping down to become the band's roadie (and occasional harmonica player!)
Like many bands of the time their primary influences were The Ramones, New York Dolls and The Faces and their songs a mix of own compositions such as Shadow, Love Story, Total War and Freak Show and the odd cover version like Then I Kissed (Kicked Her) - their take on the Phil Spector song. The overall sound was very similar to the Ramones with Wall's garbled vocals and Stride's frenetic guitar work and so the Hammersmith Ramones tag.
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Their first gig was supporting Screaming Lord Sutch at Uxbridge Technical College. In early 1977, prior to their first Roxy gig, Nigel Moore left the band to join Swank and was replaced by Arturo Bassick (aka Arthur Billingsley). Other gigs included the Vortex and even a handful dates on the Isle Of Arran with no alcohol!
Hawking around a four track demo they got a management deal with Beggars Banquet, a record shop chain in whose basement the group rehearsed, and who then formed Beggars Banquet Records as an outlet for them. As a consequence, Shadow/Love Story became the first single to be released on the label in the summer of 1977 and was followed by Freak Show/Mass Media Believer a few months later. The group also contributed an early version of Be My Prisoner to the Streets compilation album.
By the time of their next single, Ain't Got A Clue, in early 1978, the group had seen Bassick leave to start his own band, Pinpoint. He was initially replaced by Kym Bradshaw (ex-Saints) but Bradshaw didn't gel and by the spring of 1978, Nigel Moore had returned to complete the classic Lurkers line-up.
Backed by a strong promotional campaign, Ain't Got A Clue actually made the national Top 50 as did its follow-up I Don't Need To Tell Her. The group also released their debut album, Fulham Fallout, a superb collection of amphetamine punk in a lavish gatefold sleeve (picks Total War, I'm On Heat, Be My Prisoner) which made the lower end of the charts in the summer of 1978. (Contrary to popular myth, only Arturo their bassist came from Fulham - the reason their debut LP was called Fulham Fallout was because they had a massive fan base there).
.By the time the band released their next single, Just Thirteen in early 1979, they were playing to crowds of up to 1500, and what should have been a prestigious and celebratory show headlining at London's Lyceum Ballroom turned sour after a series of fights broke out. They then headed over to the States to record that difficult second album.
To try and expand the audience beyond the confines of punk, the band flew to Muscle Shoals, USA in March to record their second album with producer Phillip Jarrell whose previous experience had been with 'Motown' acts. Unfortunately the liaison was fraught with personality clashes and not helped by the Lurkers, who did like a pint, discovering that Alabama was a dry state! Frequent 3 hour drives across the state line to replenish supplies were required to solve that particular problem.
Again a single, Out In The Dark, presaged the release on the album, God's Lonely Men. Far less frenetic than its predecessor, the album leant towards more traditional, hard rocking and highlighted Pete Stride's maturing songwriting.
Following their 'Killer' UK tour the group were becoming disenchanted with the musical limitations of their live sound, so decided to add a second guitarist, harmony vocalist and drinking partner, 'Honest' John Plain who had been playing with The Boys. They recorded demos of some new songs and another single, New Guitar In Town, promoting the release with a return to the clubs, performing four shows at the Marquee.
But at the end of the decade the scene had completely changed from three years earlier. Punk had fragmented into the hardcore 'Oi' and more politicised factions, the spirit of '76 was long dead and the band had become an anachronism. Without a positive future, and heavily in debt to the record company, The Lurkers lost direction and drifted apart. Various members have ever since reformed versions of the band to both tour and record.
