Sham 69

Sham 69

Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975.

Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived their name from a piece of football-related graffiti that had been seen on a urinal wall that originally said Hersham '69 (the Her part had been washed away).

Early history

The November 12, 1976 issue of NME notes that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although only Pursey would remain from this early lineup twelve months later. Sham 69 lacked the art school background of many English punk bands of the time, and brought in football chant backup vocals and a sort of inarticulate political populism. The band had a large skinhead following (left wing, right wing and non-political), which helped set the tone for the Oi! movement. Their concerts were notoriously plagued by violence, and the band ceased live performances after a 1978 concert at Middlesex Polytechnic was broken up by National Front-supporting white power skinheads fighting and rushing the stage.

Sham 69 released their first single, "Ulster", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, and its success in the independent charts prompted Polydor Records to sign the band. Their major label debut was "Borstal Breakout" in January 1978, followed by UK singles chart success with "Angels With Dirty Faces" (reaching number 19 in May 1978) and "If The Kids Are United" (number 9 in July 1978). They were taken from the group's debut album, Tell Us the Truth, a mixture of live and studio recordings. The group had further chart success with "Hurry Up Harry" (number 10 in October 1978), which came from their second LP and first full studio album, That's Life. The band's popularity was enhanced by their performances on Top Of The Pops.

They eventually started to move away from punk rock, to embrace a sound heavily influenced by classic British rock bands such as Mott the Hoople, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Faces. This was demonstrated by their third album, The Adventures of the Hersham Boys.

Sham 69 originally broke up after their fourth album, and Pursey moved in a heavy metal direction after working with the remaining members of the Sex Pistols for a short time, under the name Sham Pistols. Dave Parsons and Dave Treganna joined the 1980s glam punk/gothic rock band The Lords of the New Church, with Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys, Nick Turner of The Barracudas and Brian James of The Damned. In 1981, Pursey collaborated with Peter Gabriel on the single "Animals Have More Fun" which was commercially unsuccessful.

1987 and later

In 1987, Sham 69 was resurrected with a different lineup, releasing the single "Rip And Tear". If The Kids Are United" was used in a McDonald's advertising campaign, long after the rights to the band's songs had been sold. By that time, Pursey was a vegetarian, and he appeared in the British media condemning the use of his song by what he considered a multinational abuser of animals and humans.

In 2005, the band gained media attention when "If The Kids Are United" was played during UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's entrance at the Labour Party Conference. As a result of this, the band was invited onto BBC TV's current affairs programme, Newsnight to sing a version of the song. Pursey sang altered lyrics, including "Mr. Blair / We know you care / So bring them home / Don't leave them there", referring to the troops remaining in Iraq after the the 2003 invasion.

In 2006, listeners to Christian O'Connell's Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio voted overwhelmingly for the band to record a song to support the England national football team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Released under "Sham 69 and The Special Assembly" (O'Connell and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon were also involved), the song was based on the Sham 69 hit "Hurry Up Harry", with the lyrics "We're going down the pub", changed to "We're going to win the cup!" The resulting single, "Hurry Up England" reached number 10 in the UK Top 40, becoming the band's first such hit for over 26 years.

2006 break-up

In late 2006, Sham 69 broke up. Dave Parsons has stated his wish to independently continue as Sham 69. On January 26, 2007, BBC News announced that Sham 69 had split because of a bitter fallout between Pursey and Parsons. NME reported that a statement released by Parsons included the message: "Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey on the eve of their 30th anniversary. The band had become increasingly fed up with Jimmy's lack of interest in playing live and continually letting down both promoters and fans by pulling out of gigs at the last moment.

Parsons and Whitewood have formed a new line-up with Tim 'Scazz' Scargill on vocals and Rob 'Zee' Jefferson on bass. The band currently have a full and successful workload, including a new album due for release and gigs worldwide.

Line-ups

1977

• Jimmy Pursey: vocals
• Dave Parsons: guitar
• Mark Cain: drums
• Dave Treganna: bass

1996

• Jimmy Pursey: vocals
• Dave Parsons: guitar, backing vocals
• Mat Sargent: bass
• Ian Whitewood: drums

2007

Disputed

Discography

Albums

Album Cover	Title	Date of Release	UK Chart Position
File:Sham69TellUsTheTruth.jpg	Tell Us The Truth	1978	#25
File:Sham69ThatsLife.jpg	That's Life	1978	#27
File:Sham69Adventures of the Hersham Boys.jpg	The Adventures of the Hersham Boys	1979	#8
File:Sham69TheGame.jpg	The Game	1980	??
File:Sham69Volunteer.jpg	Volunteer	1988	??
File:Sham69InformationLibre.jpg	Information Libre	1992	??
File:Sham69SoapyWater.jpg	Soapy Water & Mr. Marmalade	1995	??
File:Sham69AFiles.jpg	The A Files	1997	??
File:Sham69Direct Action.jpg	Direct Action: Day 21	2001	??

Singles

• "I Don't Wanna" (1977)
• "Song Of The Street" (1977)
• "Borstal Breakout" (1977)
• "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1978) UK #19
• "If The Kids are United" (1978) UK #9
• "Hurry Up Harry" (1978) UK #10
• "Questions And Answers" (1979) UK #18
• "Hersham Boys" (1979) UK #6
• "You're A Better Man Than I" (1979)
• "Tell The Children" (1980)
• "Unite and Win" (1980)
• "Rip And Tear" (1987)
• "Ban The Gun" (1987)
• "Outside The Warehouse" (1988)
• "Action Time" (1993)
• "Girlfriend" (1995)
• "Hurry Up England" (2006) UK #10

Compilations

• The Punk Singles Collection: 1977-1980 (1998)
• Laced Up Boots And Corduroys (2000)

Live

• Live At The Roxy (1990)
• Live At Cbgb's (1998)

Bibliography

• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X

External links

• Dave Parson's Sham 69 site
• Jimmy Pursey's Sham 69 site - now expired
• BBC article on use of Sham 69 song at Labour Party conference
• Official Myspace of Dave Parsons' Sham 69
• Official Myspace of Jimmy Pursey's Sham 69