The Slugs were an American rock band from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. Starting in 1983, the band played power pop influenced by bands such as

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

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and

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock music, rock band from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio lead vocals, (vocals and guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar and backing vocals, vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar and bac ...

Formation and members

The Slugs were started by brothers Dag (guitar) and Gregg (bass) Juhlin and their friend, guitarist Al Paulson in

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located north of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airpo ...

. In the early 1980s, the trio placed an ad for a drummer that was answered by Chicago native Mike Halston, with the band officially formed on March 5, 1983. Al Paulson eventually left the group, and English vocalist Tristan Gallagher joined but left in 1985. In the 1990s, Johnny L (born John Lukashevich) joined the band as a guitarist.

Music

The group put out their first single, "Walking in Circles/Give Me a Sunday", in 1986 on Susstones Records, and then a second single, "Back to the Playground/Now They Can All Lie Down", was issued on

Pravda Records Pravda Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, representing a diverse roster of indie rock, soul, pop, and experimental artists. It is one of the longest-running independent record labels in Chic ...

in 1987. In 1988, while still a trio, the Slugs put out their first album, ''Non-Stop Holiday'', on Pravda Records. The record sleeve displayed a photograph of an adolescent Mike Halston. The band subsequently released two more albums: ''Fort Fun'' (1992, Pravda Records) and ''Junior'' (2000, Famous Mistakes Records).

Reunions

The band announced that they would reunite on January 22, 2010 for one show at the Abbey Pub in Chicago to celebrate Pravda Records' 25th anniversary, along with Pravda bands the Service and Boom Hank. On June 25, 2022, the band reunited to play PravdaFest, a celebration of the 38th anniversary of the founding of Pravda Records.

Discography

Albums

* ''Non-Stop Holiday'' (

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

, 1988) * ''Fort Fun'' (Pravda, 1992) * ''Junior'' (Pravda, 2000)

Singles

* "Walking In Circles" b/w "Give Me Strength" (Susstones, 1980) * "Back To The Playgrounds" b/w "Now They Can All Lie Down" (Pravda, 1987)

Compilation appearances

* ''20 Explosive Dynamic Super Smash Hit Explosions!'' (Pravda, 1991) - "Hooked On A Feeling" * ''Super Fantastic Mega Smash Hits!'' (Attic/Limited, 1995) - "Hooked On A Feeling" * ''20 Supersonic Mega Explosive Hits'' (Runt, 1995) - "Hooked On A Feeling" * ''1985-1995 Pravda Records 10-Year Anniversary Compilation'' (Pravda, 1995) - "Breathe, Don't Push" * ''Super Fantastic Mega Smash Hits'' cassette (Pravda/Backyard, 1995) - "Hooked On A Feeling" * ''Urbs In Horto: A Chicago Indiepop Compilation'' ( Johann's Face, 2003) - "Honey Rose" * ''Flushed Away Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (

Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...

, 2006) - "Ice Cold Rita" * ''The Farmer's Weather'' CDr (Zero Qualms, 2017) - "I Don't Like Slugs"

References

External links

The Slugs official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slugs, The Musical groups from Chicago American power pop groups