Gene October is a British singer and songwriter who was a formative figure in London's

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 ...

movement in the late 1970s, fronting the band Chelsea.

Music

In 1976, October was involved in the creation of The Roxy when he suggested to the management of Chaguaramas, a central London gay nightclub, that they convert it into a centre for the new punk rock scene to coalesce. Later, he briefly managed a club named Revolution No.9 and was employed as an A&R man for

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing ...

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave music, n ...

. October is the singer/frontman of the original London band Chelsea, which formed in late 1976 after October placed an ad in the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

''. Chelsea also featured

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

on guitar and Tony James on bass. The band made their live debut on 18 October 1976 supporting

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of in ...

at London's

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

. The band's repertoire at this time consisted primarily of cover versions of 1960s songs by the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, but they broke up after only a few weeks and a handful of live performances due to a clash of personalities. Idol, James, and drummer John Towe left October onstage during a live gig, eventually forming

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

. In early 1977, October assembled a new line-up of Chelsea, which released numerous records and sustained many personnel changes. From the mid-1980s to the 1990s, he was a solo artist, releasing two singles and a 1995 album titled ''Life and Struggle''. Since 1999, he has intermittently recorded and toured with Chelsea, including their 40th anniversary tour in 2016. October also acted in two films produced and directed by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

. In ''

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

'', he played the character Happy Days, and in ''

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

'', he appeared as a fruit-eating model.

Solo artist discography

Albums

* ''Life and Struggle'' (Receiver Records, 1995)

Singles

* "Suffering in the Land" (

Illegal Records Illegal Records was an independent record label, founded in 1977 by Miles Copeland III with his younger brother Stewart Copeland and the manager of The Police, Paul Mulligan. The label released The Police's debut single, "Fall Out (song), Fall ...

, 1983) * "Don't Quit" (Slipped Discs, 1984)

References

External links

*
Official Chelsea website
{{DEFAULTSORT:October, Gene Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English punk rock singers Chelsea (band) members English LGBTQ singers English gay musicians Gay singers 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English male singers 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people