Chequered Past was a British-American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

led by actor/singer

Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original ''MacGyver'', Nicholas Helman, Murdoc's mentor, on the new reboot of ''MacGyver'' (2016) ...

and featuring members of Blondie,

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

and

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on ba ...

. They formed in 1982 and released one, self-titled, album in 1984 on

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. The group stopped performing when lead singer Des Barres was recruited to replace

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

History

The band started in New York City as a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

, with their first show being at the

Peppermint Lounge The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many claim T ...

on September 26, 1982 and the first song they ever performed live was "

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

" by

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Beli ...

. Des Barres described the music as "New York Dolls in a home for senior citizens".

Nigel Harrison Nigel Harrison (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician. Harrison spent several years as the bassist of the American rock band Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s. Life & career Harrison grew up in Princes Risborough, a small town in the ...

(of Blondie) had often collaborated with Michael Des Barres, and when Des Barres toured in 1981 to support his album ''I'm Only Human'', Harrison was part of his touring band. Des Barres first met Sex Pistols guitarist

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

in 1978 at the Sex Pistols' San Francisco show at the

Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted fo ...

. It was Jones' girlfriend who first suggested that Jones and Des Barres form a band, and the initial line-up was rounded out by Harrison and two more members of the recently disbanded Blondie,

Clem Burke Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...

and

Frank Infante Frank Infante (born November 15, 1951) is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the new wave band Blondie. Early career and Blondie Infante began his music career playing guitar in hard rock and electric blues ...

. Frank Infante was eventually replaced by

Tony Fox Sales Tony Fox Sales (born September 26, 1951) is an American rock musician and composer. Normally on bass guitar, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, have worked with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop, and in Tin Machine with David Bowie. Early life and career ...

. Chequered Past opened for various well known acts, including

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

, Little Steven,

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farris ...

and

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...

. Duran Duran had opened for Blondie on an earlier tour, so they returned the favor by inviting Chequered Past to open for them on an arena date. This association led Andy Taylor to later invite Des Barres to join

when

left, which ultimately led to the end of Chequered Past.

Reception

*"Unfortunately, Chequered Past turned out to be another group that sounded more interesting on paper than they did in the grooves. It's odd to hear a bunch of ex-punks behaving like presentable mainstream rock entertainers." (Rarebird's Detective Reviews) *"Their music is their passion. Drumbeats so precise they jumpstart the heart, and aggressive guitar riffs that accelerate the pulse, played by five dynamic personalities that form the mutual admiration society of Chequered Past." (Julia Masi, FFanzeen Magazine) *"Breeding tells, right? So cross Steve Jones (ex-Pistol), Tony Sales (ex-Ig), Nigel Harrison (ex-Blondie), and Clem Burke (ditto), each sired by a great band, and what do you get? Fast heavy metal, of course, a little too classy for satanism or even blatant sexism, but who cares when what we get from the Nietzsche Sales reads on the cover is "Only the Strong (Will Survive)" in "A World Gone Wild." The secret, as in most bands great and ghastly, is the man with the concept: singer and songwriter Michael Des Barres (ex-Silverhead), whose "daddy was an aristocrat," and who's been ruining rock and roll in a vain attempt to prove that that makes him special for close to a decade. Breeding tells. C-" (

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

) *"Although listening to this run-of-the-mill Bad Company arena rock may not, a glance at the credits indicates why Chequered Past was one of the most depressing groups/albums of recent years. Clem Burke and Nigel Harrison (both ex-Blondie) and Steve Jones (ex-Pistols) formed three-fifths of the band, proving conclusively that even talented new wavers, no matter how idealistic and rebellious, were merely a few years away from becoming just as bogus as the musicians they originally set out to dethrone." (Ira Robbins,

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

) *"A lot of what is here does rock, but things never catch fire the way they ought to." (James Chrispell,

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 dat ...

)

Members

– vocals (

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...

Silverhead Silverhead were a British glam rock band formed in early 1972, fronted by the singer/actor Michael Des Barres. The other members of the band were: Robbie Blunt (guitar), Rod Rook Davies (guitar, percussion, vocals), Nigel Harrison (bass guitar) ...

) *

– guitar (

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

) *

– guitar ( Blondie) *

– drums ( Blondie) *

– bass ( Blondie) *

– guitar (

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 ...

, eventually

)

Discography

Studio albums

*''Chequered Past'' (1984)

Singles

*"How Much Is too Much?" (1984)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , first = Keith , last = Valcourt , title = Michael Des Barres: Return To Carnaby Street , date = October 1, 2012 , publisher = Rocker Zine , url = http://www.rockerzine.com/index.php/2012/10/michael-des-barres-return-to-carnaby-street/ , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite web , title = Rarebird's Detective Reviews , publisher = rarebird9.net , url = http://rarebird9.net/detective.html , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite news , first = Julia , last = Masi , title = CHEQUERED PAST: Solid Future , year = 1985 , publisher = FFanzeen Magazine , url = http://ffanzeen.blogspot.com/2009/09/chequered-past-solid-future.html , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite news , first = Electronic , last = Brain , title = Retrospective – Chequered Past , date = December 17, 2011 , publisher = rocktopia.co.uk , url = http://www.rocktopia.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1791:fireworks-magazine-online-49-retrospective-chequered-past&catid=903:fireworksmagazine&Itemid=103 , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite news , first = Johnny H. , last = Uberrock , title = Hi-Fi To Die For – Chequered Past , date = April 15, 2012 , publisher = uberrock.co.uk , url = http://www.uberrock.co.uk/retro-rock/67-april-retro/4626-hi-fi-to-die-for-chequered-past.html , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite news , first = Mya , last = Mayne , title = Rocker Michael Des Barres, once part of the problem, now fighting drug abuse , date = October 5, 1986 , publisher =

Observer–Reporter The ''Observer–Reporter'' is a daily newspaper covering Washington County, Greene County, and the Mon Valley in Pennsylvania, with some overlap into the South Hills of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County. The newspaper was published by the Obse ...

, url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19861005&id=g3RiAAAAIBAJ&pg=1574,809571 , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite web , title = Chequered Past (1982–1985) , publisher = DesBarres.com , url = http://www.desbarres.com/chequered-past-1982-1985/ , quote = , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite web , first = Robert , last = Christgau , title = Chequered Past , publisher =

, url = http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Chequered+Past , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite web , first = Ira , last = Robbins , title = Chequered Past , publisher =

, url = http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=chequered_past , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{Allmusic , first = James , last = Chrispell , class = album , id = mw0000585665 , tab = overview , label = Chequered Past , quote = Chequered Past looks like a promo man's dream band on paper. Take the rhythm section from Blondie, add guitarists Hunt Sales and ex-Sex Pistol Steve Jones, front the operation with journeyman vocalist Michael Des Barres and let them rock out to their hearts' content. A lot of what is here does rock, but things never catch fire the way they ought to. "A World Gone Wild" rocks things out nicely at the start, and the first side continues in much the same way, but by side two (or later in the CD), things start to sound a bit same-ish, as if the musicians have run out of ideas or new ways to express them. In any event, this ought to have been huge, but wasn't. It's flawed, but fun. , accessdate = November 23, 2014 {{cite book , last = Pamela , first = Des Barres , authorlink = Pamela Des Barres , title = Take Another Little Piece of My Heart: A Groupie Grows Up , publisher = Chicago Review Press , date = September 1, 2008 , page = 126 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vVBgCeQ7G5EC&q=%22Chequered+Past%22+band&pg=PA126 , isbn = 978-1-55652-800-2 , accessdate = November 23, 2014 Rock music supergroups EMI Records artists Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 1982 establishments in New York City