Rikki and the Last Days of Earth (formerly Rikki and the Last Days on Earth) were an early British
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 ...
group. They were chronicled in
Henrik Poulsen's book ''
77: The Year of Punk and New Wave''. ''
Billboard'' credited them with paving the way for 1980s
new romantic acts.
History
The band was formed in November 1976 by vocalist Rikki Sylvan (whose real name was Nicholas Condron) and guitarist Valac Van Der Veene, joined shortly afterwards by keyboardist Nik Weiss, bassist Andy Prince (also called Andy Prinz) and drummer Nigel Bartle. In May 1977, Bartle was replaced by Hugh Inge-Innes Lillingston.
[ The band were managed by Frank Case.
Although the band seemed to be working class (a stereotypical characteristic for punk musicians), they had a middle-class (or even upper-class) upbringing. Sylvan lived in Kensington and went to public school, Prince lived with his parents in ]Addlestone
Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement.
History
The town is ...
and Weiss went to public school. The son of a lieutenant commander, Inge-Innes Lillingstone lived in Thorpe Hall, near Tamworth, and attended Eton School
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
.
The band's official live concert debut was at The Man in the Moon in Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 28 May 1977.DJM Records
DJM Records (also known as Dick James Music) was the British independent record label, set up in the late 1960s by British music publisher Dick James. It was distributed by Pye Records in the UK, and various other companies around the world, ...
, and a new, re-recorded version of "City of the Damned" was released as a single in November.[
In January 1978, the band released the single "Loaded", backed with a cover of the Rolling Stones' song "]Street Fighting Man
"Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrume ...
"). That May, "Twilight Jack" was recorded as an acetate but never released commercially. Shortly afterwards, they released their excellent ''4 Minute Warning'' album, which according to one critic was "roundly ignored". While the band were recording a second album at the CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
studio in London, they were dropped by DJM and split up shortly afterward. Their records generally received bad reviews in the British press.[
]
Later, Sylvan mixed Gary Numan's albums ''Replicas
A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...
'' (with Numan's previous band Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977 the band gradually changed to an electronic sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser ...
) and '' The Pleasure Principle''. He also released a solo album, ''The Silent Hours'', and then formed a band called 3AM with Steve Wilkin (guitar) and Derek Quinton (drums), both ex-members of Neo. Van Der Veene became a journalist, interviewing new wave icons. Prince joined Random Hold, but also worked with his ex-bandmate Sylvan in the 1980s.
Legacy
According to AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
: "When the history of the new wave finally started to get written, Rikki and the Last Days of Earth were conspicuous by their absence. No one remembered; nobody cared. Yet without them, a lot of what is now taken for granted about the early '80s might never have occurred".[
]
Discography
Studio albums
* ''4 Minute Warning'' (May 1978, DJM Records)
Singles
* ''Oundle RocSoc'' (May 1977, self-released) (One Sided, No Picture Sleeve)
* "City of the Damned" (November 1977, (DJM Records) With Picture Sleeve
* "Loaded" (January 1978, (DJM Records) With Picture Sleeve
* "Twilight Jack" (May 1978, DJM Records) (Acetate Only, NO General Release)
* "Tokyo" (September 1978, DJM Records) Credited to Rikki Sylvan & The Last Days (Picture Sleeve)
References
External links
punk77.co.uk
- discography
- discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rikki And The Last Days Of Earth
English punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1976