1. How, when and where
did you form?
In 1977 I was
living in Southend on Sea, Essex (about 35 miles from London) when I
decided to form a band called The Machines. I spent the first few months
of that year sitting in my kitchen (the only room with any heat!) writing
and playing my guitar about 12hrs everyday. I was completely driven so
choice was not really a feature, I HAD to do it.
Once I’d written about 16 songs I put an advert for a bass player and a
drummer in the local paper ‘The Evening Echo’. That’s how Duff, the bass
player, was recruited. No luck on the drummer front so the first two
months were spent teaching Duff the songs. Then Duff happened to run into
someone in the pub who reckoned he could drum fast and loud and that was
how we got our drummer John Dee (nee John Dearlove). We started gigging
June/July 1977.
2. Who were the
members in the band and what did they play?
Duff on bass, John Dee on Drums and me on guitar and vocals,.
3. Were any
members in bands previously? If so what type of bands?
I think I was the only one with ‘previous’ as I’d been in a band called
Raw Power in 1973/4. The name, as you’ll guess was nicked from the Iggy
and the Stooges album of the same name. We were punk before punk and
specialized in leather jackets, sunglasses and noise. It was a great band
and very popular with the local Hells Angels! Happy days!
4. Musical
influences?
I was always a music fanatic and was particularly big on USA punk and
pre-punk e.g. Velvet Underground, Stooges, MC5, Flaming Groovies, New York
Dolls, Dictators, Television, Patti Smith, Ramones, Modern Lovers. In
short, the lot. Duff had a devotion to Thin Lizzy (and I had to make him
have his hair cut!) and John had a taste for heavy dub reggae.
5. How did you come to get into punk and who did you rate?
I think that really I started in punk in Raw Power so that would be 1973.
We were big on the Dolls, MC5 and Stooges even then. Apart from all the
groups above special mentions must go to the supreme beauty and skill of
the guitarists James Williamson (The Stooges), Johnny Thunders (New York
Dolls) Wayne Kramer (MC5) and Tom Verlaine (Television). They are the
people who lit my fuse and set me off down the primrose path!
6. How and when
did you come to release your single?
Early in 1978 our two ‘mangers’ (I use the word loosely) introduced us to
a chap called Paul who had a couple of hundred quid spare and wanted to
set up a record company. Our EP was the first release on his Wax Records
label and it came out in April 1978.
7. How well did
the single do?
The initial pressing of 1,000 sold within days which pushed it straight
into the ‘Alternative’ charts at No.20. I was furious about the sound
quality of the pressing and refused to allow any further copies to be
pressed which doesn’t quite explain why it is on many different record
labels and in so many formats around the world! At last count I worked out
that our True Life EP had probably shifted over 20,000 copies! (And NO I
haven’t had a penny!)
8. It kind of
predates a lot of the more raucous punk of late 70’s and early eighties
but with a stooges kinda sound. Fair comment?
If you think it has a bit of a Stooges sound then I am humbled and
blessed! Having said that there is plenty of Johnny Thunders lurking in
that there guitar!
9. There is
also a song on Sent from Coventry by Machines called ‘Character Change’.
Anything to do with the band?
Never heard of them and definitely not one of mine although I did see us
referred to as a Coventry band on a website which is a shame as I never
even been there!
10. What sort
of places did you play?
The lot! From Youth clubs to pubs to halls and colleges and of course the
then twin Mecca’s of London punk, The Roxy and The Vortex.
11. What sort of reaction did you get – violence/Spitting/adulation ?
We loved live work and yup violence/spitting and adulation pretty much
covers it except for the blood. A lot of blood (mine!) tended to get spilt
as I was, lets say, a lively sort of guitarist and hit the thing very
quick and very hard. I’m proud to say that we never played a gig without
getting called back on for encores.
12. Other local bands you rated?
None. Southend was an R n B town e.g. Dr Feelgood and Eddie and The Hot
Rods, and we were not an R n B band. I found the stuff suffocating and
narrow and we pretty much kept ourselves to ourselves to avoid pollution.
13. Most
memorable gigs?
The City of London Polytechnic 1978. We were on the week after the Damned.
They got 2 encores and we ripped the place up and got 6! The Vortex was
very good to. I think Keith Moon was there that night plus strangely
enough the actor Gareth Hunt!
14. Did you
ever play London and where?
As mentioned above, college gigs plus The Roxy and The Vortex.
15. Best and
worst moments in the band?
The best was beating The Damned on the encore front and also coming back
from a gig in London in the back of the van when suddenly our record comes
bursting out of the radio. It was a magic moment!
The worst was kicking John out of the band. Basically we were progressing
at a rate of knots whereas John just wanted to do what he had always done.
It still makes me feel sick to think about it, it was awful.
16. How and
when did it all end?
With John gone Duff and I auditioned dozens and dozens of drummers and
none were up to it. I had become disenchanted with the whole small town
punk thing and decided to move to London to form a new band and make a
fresh start.
17. Looking back how do you rate punk?
For me punk was and still is the best music. I am as devoted to The Clash
today as I was after the first time I saw them in 1976. When it started to
break in late 1975/early 1976 I was so excited as I’d been waiting for it
for about 4 years! I know it sounds trite but it changed the way I looked
at things and to be honest my whole life.
18. What
happened to you all afterwards?
Once I’d moved to London that was it and I lost touch with John and Duff.
John went on to join a reggae band called Wild Fire and Duff became a
printer. I went on to form another band ‘The Collectors’ but that, as they
say is a whole new story!
Final thing, if anyone wants anymore information, has any questions or a
certain person has a strong desire to finally pay me some back royalties I
can be reached at
nick13x@yahoo.com
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