Sector 27 were an English new wave band founded in 1979 by

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

. Their 1980 debut album, ''Sector 27'', was produced by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite (born 15 March 1955) is an English record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts The Alarm ...

. Robinson subsequently left the band, and the band continued without him for a number of years. Sector 27 toured with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

History

Tom Robinson formed the band in late 1979 as an effort to begin a new direction. The band made their debut in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 11 January 1980. The band released their first records on their own label, Panic Records. Later releases were on

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...

, with releases in the US on

I.R.S. 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 and a ...

. The first album was produced by

. After Robinson and Derek Quinton had left, the band released two singles on Rocket Records: "Excalibur" (1984), produced by Phil Harding, and "Conversation" (1985), produced by Chris Thomas.

Personnel

- vocals, guitar *Stevie B. (Blanchard) - guitar, vocals * Jo Burt - bass, vocals *Derek Quinton - drums *Martin "Red" Broad - drums (1984, after Robinson and Quinton had left)

Discography

Albums

''Sector 27'' was the band's only album release. It was critically well-received; but had little commercial success, even though it got airplay on more than 60 U.S. radio stations. It was re-released in 1996 with additional tracks under the title ''Sector 27 Complete''.

Singles

*July 1980 "Not Ready" / "Can't Keep Away" - UK Indie no. 4Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 199 *October 1980 "Invitation: What Have We Got to Lose?" / "Dungannon" *January 1981 "Total Recall" / "Stornoway" *May 1981 "Martin's Gone" / "Christopher Calling" produced by Richard Strange *1984 "Excalibur" / "How I Feel" *1984 "Excalibur" / "How I Feel" / "Christopher Calling" *1985 "Conversation" / "How I Feel"

References

Sources

*Strong, Martin Charles. ''The Great Indie Discography''.

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

U.S., 2003, *Gimarc, George. ''Punk diary: the Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982'',

Backbeat Books Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

, 2006, *Gimarc, George. ''Post Punk Diary: 1980–1982'',

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, 1997, *Swenson, John. ''The Year in Rock, 1981–82'', Delilah Books, 1981,

External links

* * . 1980 release * . 1996 re-release with additional tracks, Fontana CD 532642-2 * * {{Authority control English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite 1980 albums 1996 albums