The Singles were formed in late 1979 by Andrew Campbell from the debris of the pop punk band Broken Toys. Andrew was co-writer with David Virgin. Virgin went on to form the psychedelic legends Sekret Sekret. The initial lineup was Andrew Campbell (vocals, guitar) Rod "The Mod" Brunell (bass), Tony Cook (drums) and Geoff Smith (guitar). The band started playing the Sydney inner city scene in the early 1980s in venues such as the Civic, Rock Garden, Chequers, Frenchs, the Paddington Green and the Heritage Hotel. Their sound was post punk pop reminiscent of the Buzzcocks. They released a three-track single on the Doublethink label in 1980 '' Stay / Sad Clown / Love Of Loves, 'and ''Someone That I Knew / If You'll Only'' on the Basilisk label in 1981.Steve Thompson joined in February 1981, ostensibly to allow Andrew to concentrate solely on singing.
Unfortunately, Smith and Brunell both then left the group. The remaining trio brought Andy Richards (ex-Young Modern) in on bass. The new lineup recorded the single ''The Party'' in late 1982 but were unable to find a label to release the record. Frustrated, Richards decided to leave the band. This line up played their last show at the Sydney Trade Union Club in November 1982. Campbell and Thompson recruited new bass player Tim Bottrell, also adding Steve’s brother David Thompson on guitar. In mid-1983 they recorded the single ''The Day'' but, once again, were unable to find a label willing to release the record. The band called it a day shortly thereafter. ''The Day'' eventually surfaced in 1984 on the Survival Records compilation 'Shake and Shout'. In 2012 Off The Hip released the compilation album 'Use It For Yourself (Vinyl, Demos And Live Tracks 1980 - 1984)'.
Members
Andrew Campbell (vocals, guitar) Rod "The Mod" Brunell (bass), Tony Cook (drums), Geoff Smith (guitar), Stephen Thompson (guitar), Andrew Richards (bass), Tim Bottrell (bass), David Thompson (guitar)
Great band. Very underated
ReplyDeleteSongs were way ahead of their time still relevant today
ReplyDeleteThere used to be 4 little punkettes that used to come to the shows regularly. Love to know what happened to them
ReplyDeleteMy brother Rod the mod.
ReplyDeleteGreat drummer
ReplyDeleteI wonder where they are now and what they are doing?
ReplyDelete