The Killjoys were a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, formed in 1976, with members including Kevin Rowland and Kevin "Al" Archer, who would later form

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

, and Ghislaine "Gil" Weston, who would later join

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...

. Although their releases while still together were limited to one single, subsequent interest has seen an album of their recordings released.

History

Kevin Rowland (vocals, a trained hairdresser), Ghislaine "Gil" Weston (a.k.a. "Gem", bass guitar), and Mark Philips (guitar) had been members of the mid-1970s

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

-inspired band Lucy & the Lovers.Ogg, Alex (2006) ''No More Heroes: a Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980'', Cherry Red Books, With the advent of

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 ...

, Rowland wrote new songs and started The Killjoys, adding Heather Tonge (backing vocals) and Joe 45 (Lee Burton, drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, The band relocated to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and took up lodgings in a disused branch of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

. The band came to the attention of Raw Records boss Lee Wood, who signed the band for the single "Johnny Won't Get to Heaven"/"Naïve", which went on to sell 18,000 copies. This was the largest-selling single that Raw Records ever had. At the time, the band contained two couples: Philips and Weston, and Rowland and Tonge. This line-up lasted for eighteen months, and several recording sessions took place for a debut album. The Killjoys recorded two 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 ...

show: the first in October 1977, the second in February 1978, by which time Keith Rimell (guitar) and Bob Peach (drums) had been recruited, replacing Philips and Burton; Rowland used his hairdressing talents to give the new members short haircuts. Tonge also left the group; according to Wood, the rumor was that Rowland had returned home early and found her in bed with someone else. The band disintegrated when Rowland's enforced eight-hour practice sessions began to take their toll, especially because other members of the band had a vision of it that was different than Rowland's. The tension between Rowland and the rest of the band was clear; Rimell described the atmosphere as "us against him", and Gareth Holder of The Shapes noted "the level of hatred that the rest of the Killjoys appear to have for owland. Rimell left the band after an argument with Rowland, to be replaced by Kevin Archer, who Rowland insisted should be renamed "Al" Archer as he did not want another "Kevin" in the band. A story circulated that Rowland rejected a £20,000 contract with

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep for Vertigo Reco ...

because it was only a singles deal, to the disdain of other band members; however, in 2004 Weston questioned the validity of the story, and in 2007 Rowland said the story was "nonsense". Peach, Philips and Weston soon left to form Out of Nowhere (later called Alternating, and then Luxound Deluxe), with Weston later joining

on the recommendation of

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

. Rowland, disillusioned with punk rock, immersed himself in vintage

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, particularly the records of

Geno Washington Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington; December 21, 1943, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with the Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976. Background ...

, and (with Archer) formed a new band,

.Reynolds, Simon (2005) ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984'', Faber & Faber, , p. 293

Members

* Kevin Rowland - vocals (1976–1978) * Ghislaine "Gil" Weston - bass (1976–1978) *Mark Philips - guitar (1976–1978) *Heather Tonge - backing vocals (1976–1978) *Lee Burton - drums (1976–1978) *Bob Peach - drums (1978) *Keith Rimell - guitar (1978) * Kevin Archer - guitar (1978)

Discography

Albums

*''Naïve'' (1992), Damaged Goods

Singles

*"Johnny Won't Get to Heaven"/"Naïve" (1977), Raw (reissued 1978, and again later by Damaged Goods) *''Studio Demos 18 October 1977'' 7-inch EP (2002), Last Year's Youth

Compilation appearances

*"At Night" on ''Raw Deal'' (1977), Raw

References

External links

The Killjoys
at Punk77
The Killjoys
at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''Keeping it Peel'' site {{DEFAULTSORT:Killjoys Musical groups established in 1977 English punk rock groups Rock music groups from Birmingham, West Midlands