The Bus Station Loonies are a British cabaret

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, England. They have been described as a cross between Splodgenessabounds and

Crass Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...

. Original Loonies Tony Popkids (drums) and Chris "Felcher" Wheelchair (real name Chris Willsher b.1971 in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, London) (vocals, keyboards, kazoo; ex-drummer with

Oi Polloi Oi Polloi are a punk rock band from Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of ...

, Disorder, Riot/Clone and DIRT, among others), sharing a mutual love of such U.S.

outfits such as The Dickies, still continue with the band today, with the current line-up having been stable for the last 15 years of the band's 30 year existence. During their initial UK tour of April 1996, with contemporary punk bands PMT and The Filth, The Loonies were billed as "a vicious headbutt between Johnny Moped and Jello Biafra". The band was featured in the UK's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

documentary, ''Punx Picnic''. The Bus Station Loonies were the first band to set the official world record for the most concerts/gigs performed in 12 hours (25 different shows) on 29 Sept 2001 in and around Plymouth,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, UK raising money to buy musical equipment for pupils of the Dame Hannah Rogers (special needs) school in Ivybridge, Devon. The band featured in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'', until 2006, when the record was beaten. Music journalist

Mick Mercer Mick Mercer (born Michael Mercer, 19 July 1957) is a journalist and author best known for his books, photos and reviews of the goth and punk scenes. Life and work Mercer is primarily a writer focused on the Gothic rock scene that emerged fro ...

's 1997 book ''The Hex Files: The Goth Bible'', references The Bus Station Loonies for their 18-minute

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

rendition of

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...

composition, "Temple of Love".Mercer, Mick (1997). Hex Files: The Goth Bible. Overlook Press; 1 Amer ed edition. In October 2008, said version (from their debut album) was nominated on a live broadcast on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

as 'one of the best cover versions of all-time' (''The Music Week'' with Julie Cullen and Matt Everitt). In Autumn 2010, The Bus Station Loonies completed recording their second full-length album. Entitled ''Midget Gems'' and released on their own Ruptured Ambitions record label it features eighth

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Angus Old (real name Phil Cawse) and the recently recruited ninth guitarist Chris "The Machine" Mildren. The bands' latest release, ''More Bullshit'' was released in Autumn 2022, and is an official tribute to several bands featured on the

Crass Records Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist Punk rock, punk band Crass. Overview and history Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own D ...

'' Bullshit Detector'' compilation LP series, originally released between 1980 and 1984. The band's frontman, Chris Wheelie, is currently involved in a solo project Harakiri Karaoke, as well as drumming with several other bands (including The Spoils Collective, WAGs to Wytches, Eastfield, Anarcho Folko, HIV and The Positives, The Sexy Offenders and his old band, originally formed in 1989, C.D.S.).

Discography

* "Dodgy Cider Fix" cassette (1995) * "Squiffy on a Small Amount" 7-inch EP (Campary Records 1996) * "Everyday Bullshit" track on ''A Scream From the Silence vol. 4'' LP (Looney Tunes 1996) * Split cassette with Fungi Gone West (1996) * "In Cider We Trust" split cassette with Combat Shock (1997) * "Save Our Cider" and "The Blacksmith's Arms" tracks on ''Punks, Skins and Herberts vol. 1'' LP (Helen of Oi! 1997) * "Charlie Harper" track on ''Bare Faced Hypocrisy Sells Records'' 7-inch/CD (Ruptured Ambitions 1998) * "The Sideboard Song" track on ''The New Wave of Chas'n'Dave'' CD (Spanking Herman 1998) * "Ensure Your Needle is Clean and Free from Dust" split 7-inch EP with Anal Beard (Ruptured Ambitions 1998) * ''Mad Frank's Zonal Disco'' LP/CD (Ruptured Ambitions 1999) * "The Last Post" track on ''It Don't Come Right to Me'' CD (Beat Bedsit 2000) * "Can't Cheat Karma" track on ''Angry Songs and Bitter Words'' CD (Ruptured Ambitions 2003) * "Hungry, Hungover and Skint" (live tape) * "You Won't Find a Bigger Knob" (live tape) * "The Blacksmith's Arms" track on ''UK Punks Vol. 1 CD'' (Pumpkin/EHC 2005) * "Dick Dastardly" track on ''Blackpool Bounce'' (Through the Net 2006) * ''Midget Gems'' CD (Ruptured Ambitions 2010) * "Black Rat and Prosecco" Live Download (Ruptured Ambitions 2020) * "More Bullshit" 7-inch EP/CD/Download (Ruptured Ambitions 2022)

References

External links

Bus Station Loonies Myspace page
(archived)
Contact Bus Station Loonies on Facebook
{{Authority control English punk rock groups English pop punk groups