The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976.

Early career

The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation,

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Ch ...

signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, "We Vibrate". The band also backed Spedding on his single, "Pogo Dancing". The Vibrators recorded sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978. They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's Roxy Club. They headlined in January 1977, supported by the Drones, and in February they played twice at the venue. In March 1977, the band supported

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

on his British tour. Later that year, they backed ex-

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

frontman Ian Hunter.

Epic Records

The band signed to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

in early 1977. Their debut album, ''

Pure Mania ''Pure Mania'' is the debut album by the punk band the Vibrators. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North Ame ...

'' was co-produced with Robin Mayhew, the sound engineer for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's Ziggy Stardust live shows, and reached the top 50 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. The album is well regarded by some music critics and, 17 years after its release, ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' named ''Pure Mania'' one of the 50 best punk albums of all time. Their follow-up album, ''V2'', narrowly missed the UK top 30. The only single to be taken from that album, "Automatic Lover", was the only Vibrators’ single to reach the UK top 40 where it reached No. 35. It earned the band a TV appearance on the prime-time TV show ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. The Vibrators’ final single on Epic, "Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)", was released in June 1978. It reached No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Years later it was included in ''

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'' magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.

Later years

A lack of further chart activity, and with only one UK top 40 single to their credit, saw the Vibrators join the list of

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

s; a list that includes other UK punk and new wave acts such as

the Banned ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

the Flying Lizards The Flying Lizards were an experimental English new wave band, formed in 1976. They are best known for their eccentric cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money", featuring Deborah Evans-Stickland on lead vocals, which reached the UK and US re ...

, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and the Rich Kids. During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

, as well as recording and touring frequently with

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, then subsequently

the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

, eventually joining the latter full-time in the 1990s. Pat Collier went on to work closely with

the Soft Boys The Soft Boys were an English rock band led by Robyn Hitchcock primarily during the 1970s, whose initially old-fashioned music style of psychedelic/folk-rock became part of the neo-psychedelia scene with the release of '' Underwater Moonlight''. ...

, producing their seminal album ''

Underwater Moonlight ''Underwater Moonlight'' is the second studio album by English rock band the Soft Boys, released on 28 June 1980 by record label Armageddon. Initially unsuccessful, the album has gone on to be viewed as a psychedelic classic, influential on t ...

'', and

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, producing and mixing some of his solo albums (to which Knox also sometimes contributed). Phil Ram went on to form Able Ram and brought out two singles, "Disco in Moscow" and "Hope We Make It", although without any chart success. Despite numerous line-up changes, the Vibrators continued to record and tour as a three-piece, with "Eddie" being the only original member. In 2020, the original lineup of Knox, Eddie, Ellis and Collier reunited to record and release the studio album ''Mars Casino'' with Chris Spedding providing production, additional guitar, and vocals. In January 2022, the Vibrators released a new single ''He's a Psycho''. In July that year, a line-up of Knox, Pete, Nigel Bennet and Eddie announced ''Fall into the Sky'', claimed to be the final Vibrators album.

Influence

The band

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

took its name from the Vibrators' song of the same title. The song was penned by John Ellis, and appeared on the Vibrators' debut album ''

''. Second wave punk band

the Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,

covered the Vibrators' song "Troops of Tomorrow" and used it as the title track for their 1982 album. A cover of "Troops of Tomorrow" was also recorded by the Polish

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band Vader, and released as a bonus track on the band's 2011 album, ''

Welcome to the Morbid Reich ''Welcome to the Morbid Reich'' is the ninth studio album by the Polish death metal band Vader. The album was released on 12 August 2011 by Nuclear Blast. The release was preceded by a digital download single for the song "Come And See My Sacrif ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (Epic, EPC 82097, June 1977) - UK No. 49 * '' V2'' (Epic, EPC 82495, April 1978) - UK No. 33 * ''Guilty'' (Anagram, GRAM 002, 1982) * ''Alaska 127'' - 1984 * ''Fifth Amendment'' - 1985 * ''Recharged'' - 1988 * ''Meltdown'' - 1988 * ''Vicious Circle'' - 1989 * ''Volume 10'' - 1990 * ''Hunting for You'' - 1994 * ''French Lessons with Correction'' - 1997 * ''Buzzin - 1999 * ''Noise Boys'' - 2000 * ''Energize'' - 2002 * ''Punk: The Early Years'' - 2006 (cover album) * ''Garage Punk'' - 2009 (cover album) * ''Pure Punk'' - 2009 (cover album) * ''Under the Radar'' - 2009 * ''On the Guest List'' - 2013 * ''Punk Mania: Return to the Roots'' - 2014 * ''Restless'' (Die Laughing Records) - 2017 * ''Past, Present and Into the Future'' - 2017 (containing members of the Pure Mania/V2 lineup, as well as the contemporary lineup) * ''Across the Pond'' (Die Laughing Records) split The Vibrators/Screaming Bloody Marys - 2018 * ''Mars Casino'' (Cleopatra Records) - 2020 * ''Fall into the Sky'' (Cleopatra Records) - 2022

Singles released up to 1980

*"We Vibrate" / "Whips and Furs" (RAK, RAK 245, November 1976) *"Pogo Dancing" / "The Pose" (RAK, RAK 246, November 1976) by Chris Spedding; the Vibrators performed the song in TV appearances *"Bad Time" / "No Heart" (RAK, RAK 253, March 1977) *" Baby Baby" / "Into the Future" (Epic Records, SEPC 5302, May 1977) *"London Girls" (Live) / "Stiff Little Fingers" (Live) (Epic Records, SEPC 5565, August 1977) *"Automatic Lover" / "Destroy" (Epic Records, SEPC 6137, March 1978) - UK No. 35 *"Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)" / "Pure Mania" (Epic Records, SEPC 6393, June 1978) - UK No. 70 *"Disco in Moscow" / "Take a Chance" (Rat Race Records, RAT 4, October 1980)