The Fire Dept (1987–2004) 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 ...

group. The main core of the band over the years comprised Neil Palmer on guitar and vocals, Neale Richardson on bass and Robin Taylor on drums. Johnny Johnson of

Thee Headcoats Thee Headcoats is a band formed in Chatham, Kent, England in 1989, that was notable for its garage rock sound. The band has been on multiple labels including Billy Childish's own Hangman Records, Damaged Goods and Sub Pop. The band played t ...

(and also of The Cannibals) played bass on stage from 1995 to 1997, and on the Fire Dept's ''Elpee for Another Time'' (1996).

History

The Fire Dept were a punk rock group started in 1987 in Cambridge, England, that played in the same

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

genre (also known at that time as 60s punk) as many other bands in the British Isles during the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably

and The Thanes. In 1988, the Fire Dept moved to Brighton and mainly performed locally and in London, where they played most often at the Wild Western Rooms, in the back room of the St John's Tavern, Archway, which was the monthly home of Thee Headcoats throughout the 1990s. It was there that they supported many 1960s beat groups rediscovered and encouraged to reform by the promoter, Slim Chance.

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...

released the Fire Dept's second single, "Last One There" b/w "She Saw Me", on his Hangman's Daughter label in 1995. Later that year, Childish produced the Fire Dept's first album, ''L'Oeuf d'Or'', all the material on which was recorded by Liam Watson during various sessions at

Toe Rag Studios Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, England. History The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due to ...

, in its original location in Shoreditch, from 1991 to 1995. This first album was cited as an ancestor of

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

' ''Elephant'' album by the analogue recording neo-pioneer and

Black Keys Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

producer, Mark Neill, who helped set up

in Hackney, after its move from Shoreditch. Their second long-player, a punk rock concept album, ''Elpee for Another Time'', was released through Yep! Records of Hove in 1996. This LP was accompanied by an explanatory booklet including a foreword by writer, subcultural pamphleteer, underground art historian, and activist,

Stewart Home Kevin Llewellyn Callan (born 24 March 1962), better known as Stewart Home, is an English artist, filmmaker, writer, pamphleteer, art historian, and activist. His novels include the non-narrative '' 69 Things to Do with a Dead Princess'' (2002 ...

, and an essay by underground novelist,

Simon Strong Simon Strong (born 1964) is a North English writer, musician and film-maker currently resident in Melbourne, Australia. He is best known as author of "A259 Multiplex Bomb 'Outrage'" and as front-man for the psychedelic new-wave group Pink Stainless ...

. Liam Watson included the Fire Dept's version of "Mental Block" (originally written by Sean Thomas and performed by the early-1980s Bristol mod band, The Reaction) as one of his favourite tracks on ''The Sympathetic Sounds Of Toe-Rag Studios, London'', issued in 2002 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. A retrospective album of previously unreleased material, ''The History of Fen Punk, Vol. III'', was issued by Cormorant Recordings of Brighton in 2003. In 2004, the Fire Dept played for the last time with the Buff Medways at the

Dirty Water Club The Dirty Water Club was a long-running (in a town where most tend to be short-lived) London club night featuring bands influenced by 1960s garage punk. It was named after The Standells' 1966 hit single " Dirty Water". The club night started ...

Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Camden, Camden. The neighbourhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History ...

, London. Neil Palmer formed The Vermin Poets with Billy Childish and Julie Hamper in early 2007.

Discography

Singles

* "Girl, Girl, Girl, Girl" b/w "Witch Girl", "Girl and a Hotrod" and "7" by Kave-In, KI-0001 in 1988 * "Where D'You Keep Your Heart?" b/w "Baby I Got News For You", "7", Yep!, YEP01 in 1993 * "Last One There" b/w "She Saw Me", "7" by Hangman's Daughter, KETCH 1 UP in 1994

Albums

* ''L'Oeuf d'Or'', LP, Hangman's Daughter, SCRAG 6 LP, 1995 * ''Elpee for Another Time'', CD/LP, YEP 3, 1996 * ''The History of Fen Punk, Vol. III'', CD, Cormorant Recordings, Cormorant LP 1, 2003 * ''A Flame from the Fen'', CD, Damaged Goods, 2010

Compilation albums

* "Girl, Girl, Girl, Girl" on ''Strange Fish: The Cambridge Album'', LP, Raven Records, SRT8KL 1550, 1988 * "Witch Girl" on ''Graveyard Stomp'', LP, Anagram Records, GRAM 39, 1988 * "Your Touch On Me" on ''Hey Mom, the Garage Is on My Foot'', CD/LP, Damaged Goods, 1996 * "The Group Templar" on ''The Thing From Another World: Supernerdmobile!'', Free CD with the 18th issue of ''The Thing'' magazine (Greece), THR 006, 1997 * "Mental Block" on ''The Sympathetic Sounds Of Toe-Rag Vol. 1'', LP/CD, Sympathy for the Record Industry, SFTRI 695, 2002

Songs recorded by others

* "She Saw Me", by 7 & 7 Is on ''Cheat Death'', CD, 2003 * "Last One There", by The A-Lines on ''You Can Touch'', CD/LP, Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2005

Recordings played on by Fire Dept members

* Vibrasonic, "Vibrasonic", CD/LP, Yep! Records, 1995 (Neil Palmer, bass on one track) * Vibrasonic, "Instrumental Vibrations", CD/LP, Yep! Records, 1997 (Neil Palmer, bass on a couple of tracks) * Stewart Home Comes In Your Face (on a split CD with Dolphins, PUNKROCKDRUNK LIVE), Sabotage Editions, 1998, HNTSAB 001 (Rob Taylor, drums, and Neil Palmer, bass — credited under pseudonyms) *Long Bone Trio, "Oscar flies in the face of reason/Fat Head", 7" Vinyl, Productus, 2008] (Rob Taylor, guitar) *Long Bone Trio, "Chainey Pieces", CD Album, Lap Records, 2009 (Rob Taylor, guitar)

References

External links

Interview with the Fire Dept shortly after the release of ''Elpee for Another Time''
(this same interview text is also used b
Damaged Goods
record
in their current description of ''L'Oeuf d'Or''

2005 interview with Billy Childish in ''The Independent'', in which he speaks about the Fire Dept.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Dept English punk rock groups English garage punk groups Musical groups established in 1987 English garage rock groups