S.O.S!
was formed in Leeds 1977 and was the cities first (100%
home-grown) punk band.
Nigel & Terry (brothers Swift) met Jez Alan at
a Stranglers gig at Leeds Polytechnic in April 1977. An 'audition' was arranged but Jez changed his mind (he thought, like Marco Pirroni, at this
time) that punk was
finished, however when he later heard that Nige' and Terry were
"gonna kick 'is 'ead in" for wasting their time he
quickly changed his mind and S.O.S! were born. |
Nigel
Swift: Vocals, Terry Lean: Bass,
James (Jez) Alan: Guitar
Various drummers (inc. Graham Cardy from 'The Mirror Boys', Tim
Cullimore
and finally Chris Oldroyd) |
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The band played around the North for about 15 months, regulars
at promoter John Keenan's variously located 'F Club' (Leeds
premier punk venue - so called as he was always, eventually,
told by the venue owners to 'F-off'). Very much in the style of
The Clash & The Buzzcocks. 'S.O.S!'s 3 chord anthems,
including '19', 'Live Wire', 'Noise', 'Brainwashed', S.O.S! and
'No Time', showed that Leeds could 'cut it' punk-wise! The band
were championed by 'New Pose' (Leeds' first fanzine) and their
first feature and last interview are below. Clearly disenchanted
with punk and what it became, their lack of success (i.e. not
getting a single out) and the absence of a vibrant Leeds scene
the band talk about moving in a different direction with songs
like 'Suburban Complex', 'I Got A Crush On You' and 'I'm A
Fantasy.' |
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New Pose 2 |
New Pose 5 |
New Pose 5 |
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Click on above
images for larger readable ones |
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A couple of
younger kids attended their last gig - it was the first time they had seen
them Inspired by the band,
they went on to form 'Abrasive Wheels' (great 'Proto-Oi' band - best track
'BBC').
From the ashes of S.O.S! arose 'The Butterfies' - so-named to
deliberately
annoy punters- the 'post-punk' atonal experimentation was an
attempted
challenge to the post-punk complacent morass. The Butterfies
soon evolved
into 'Girls At Our Best! (still featuring 'S.O.S!'s Terry Lean
(now Gerrard
Swift) and James Alan) - seminal indie-pop band (later fans
included John
Peel, Elastica and Adam Ant!). In the 1980's James (Jez) Alan
played guitar
for The Tall Boys (formed by ex-Meteors Nigel Lewis & Mark
Robertson) and wrote their single 'Brand New Gun'. |
Singer Judy Evans with guitarist James
Alan, bassist Gerard Swift, and drummer Carl Harper |
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'19' by S.O.S! (fragment)
'time is creeping up on me, it's leaning on my shoulder,
It's 1977 and I don't wanna get no older,
n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n nineteen (nineteen), n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n nineteen
(nineteen),
n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n...NINETEEN!' |
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Many thanks to James (Jez)
Alan for the info above
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