The Vibrators were a British

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band whose greatest success was in 1977–1978 with the albums ''

Pure Mania ''Pure Mania'' is the debut album by the punk band the Vibrators. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records and reached No. 49 in the UK Albums Chart. The song " Baby Baby" was released as a single and punk band Stiff Little Fingers got their name ...

'' and '' V2''. Their first

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

single " Baby Baby" is considered a punk classic. A year later, their single "Automatic Lover" hit No. 35 on the UK charts.

Career

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 Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

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 acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "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), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

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, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

on his British tour. Later that year, they backed ex- Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter.

Epic Records

The band signed to

in early 1977. Their debut album, ''

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

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

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

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The album is well regarded by some music critics and, 17 years after its release, ''The

Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...

'' 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 television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. 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 ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

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

Later years

During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, as well as recording and touring frequently with

Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer-songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...

, then subsequently

the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

, 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 guitarist Robyn Hitchcock. The band formed in 1976 in Cambridge, England and released two albums before disbanding in 1981. Though the Soft Boys’ initial career was brief, their style of psyched ...

, producing their seminal album ''

Underwater Moonlight ''Underwater Moonlight'' is the second studio album by English rock band the Soft Boys, released in June 1980 by record label Armageddon. The album received little critical notice and was a commercial failure, and the band split up a few months ...

'', and

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

, 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

providing production, additional guitar, and vocals. In January 2022, the Vibrators released the new single "He's a Psycho". In July that year, the line-up of Knox, Honkamaki, Bennett and Eddie announced the release of ''Fall into the Sky'' claimed to be the final Vibrators album. Since 2022, the band states in its official website that it would do "no more gigs" but "that individuals from the band might still be doing things". Collier died on 27 July 2024, at the age of 72.

Influence

The band

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. 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 Deep P ...

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 1978 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 metal, 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 death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

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

; 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)