Sham 69

Sham 69
File:Sham-69.jpg
Background information
Origin	Hersham, Surrey, England
Genres	Punk rock, Oi!
Years active	1975–1983, 1986–present
Members	Jimmy Pursey Dave Parsons Dave Tregunna Danny Fury
Past members	Mat Sargent Billy Bostick Alby Maskell Ricky Goldstein Andy Prince Mark Cain
Website	www.sham69.com

Sham 69 are an English [skinhead] band that were formed in Hersham in 1976 The name means skin heads at margate 1969.

Sham 69 have been a musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres.

Early history

The 12 November 1976 issue of NME notes that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although only Pursey would remain from this early line-up twelve months later. Sham 69 did not have 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 plagued by violence, and the band ceased live performances after a 1979 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, "I Don't Wanna", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, produced by John Cale (formerly of the Velvet Underground), 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 weren't 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, and the band performed in the 1980 film, D.O.A..

The band 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.

The band broke up in 1979 following Jimmy Pursey's departure to the Sex Pistols. This was 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. Rick Goldstein, Dave Parsons, and Dave Tregunna joined the 1980s glam punk/gothic rock band The Wanderers with Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys before he formed The Lords of the New Church. Stiv Bators and Dave Tregunna recruited Nick Turner of The Barracudas and Brian James of The Damned to become Lords of the New Church. 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 were resurrected with a different line-up; Ian Whitewood on drums and Andy Prince on bass releasing the albums Volunteer and Information Libre, and the singles "Rip And Tear" and "Outside the Warehouse". Andy Prince went on to join the Magic Mushroom Band, and Whitewood was replaced on drums by Sonny Boy Williamson, who played on the Soapy Water and Mister Marmalade album and the singles "Uptown", "Action Time & Vision" and "Girlfriend"

In 1995, Whitewood returned on drums and former Chelsea (band) bassist Mat Sargent was recruited. This line-up recorded the albums The A Files and Direct Action: Day 21 and the single "Swampy". "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 program 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 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 Singles Chart, becoming the band's first such hit in 26 years. However this caused some controversy as a band from Romford, England, called Mottys Sheepskin had already recorded this as an England World Cup anthem with all proceeds going to a cancer charity. The band had obtained permission from Pursey to release the song officially and were unprepared for what happened next. Several days later, on his Virgin Radio Breakfast Show, O’Connell played a version of "Hurry Up England" by Pursey.

2006 break-up and aftermath

In late 2006, Sham 69 broke up, and Dave Parsons stated his wish to independently continue as 'Sham 69'. On 26 January 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 continued as Sham 69 with Tim V on vocals and Rob Jefferson on bass. This line-up performed tours of the United States, played at many punk festivals across Europe, and released the album, Hollywood Hero, in August 2007.

Pursey and Sargent formed a new band Day 21 with Rev & Snell from Towers Of London. The band was named after the last Sham 69 album and also to avoid confusion with the fans over the name Sham 69. Day 21 recorded an album titled '4:10am' which was not released, although a single, "Having It Rock And Roll", was released in 2008.

Rob Jefferson (bass) left Parsons Sham 69 and was replaced by the former U.K. Subs member Alan Campbell. In 2009, Sham 69 was the first major punk band to tour China. They released an album titled Who Killed Joe Public in late 2010.

2011–present

In May 2011, Parsons stated on his website that he had disbanded Sham 69, although this was disputed by the other members.

In July 2011, Pursey announced on Twitter the re-formation of most of the 1977 line-up, comprising Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna. This meant that there were two active bands using the same name. In June 2012, Pursey registered the name as a trademark, although this does not guarantee exclusive rights.

Members

Timeline

Current

• Jimmy Pursey – vocals (1975 – 1980, 1987 – 2006, 2011 – )
• Dave Parsons – guitar (1977 – 1980, 1987 – )
• Dave Tregunna – bass (1977 – 1980, 2011 – )
• Robin Guy - drums (2012 )

Former

• Neil Harris – lead guitar (1975 – 1977)
• John Goode – rhythm guitar (1975 – 1977)
• Albie Slider (Albert Maskell) – bass (1975 – 1977)
• Andy Prince – bass (1988 – 1991)
• Mat Sargent – bass (1995 – 2007)
• Rob "Zee" Jefferson – bass (2007 – 2009)
• Al Campbell – bass (2009 – 2011)
• Billy Bostik – drums (1975 – 1977)
• Mark Cain – drums (1977 – 1979)
• Ricky Goldstein – drums (1979 – 1980)
• Sonny Boy Williamson: drums (1988)
• Ian Whitewood – drums (1988 – 2011)
• Danny Fury – drums (2011 – 2012)
• Tim V – vocals (2007 – 2011)

Current (Tim V version)

• Tim V – vocals (2007 – )
• Neil Harris – guitar (1975 – 1977, 2011 – )
• Tony Feedback – guitar (2011 – )
• Al Campbell – bass (2009 – )
• Ian Whitewood – drums (1986 – )

Discography

Albums

Title	Date of Release	UK Albums Chart
Tell Us the Truth	1978	25
That's Life		27
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys	1979	8
The Game	1980	-
Volunteer	1988	-
Information Libre	1991	-
Soapy Water and Mister Marmalade	1995	-
The A Files	1997	-
Direct Action: Day 21	2001	-
Hollywood Hero (U.S.) (aka Western Culture (UK / Europe))	2007	-
Who Killed Joe Public	2010	-

|} Their Finest Hour(2013)

Their Finest Hour 2013

Singles

Date of issue	A-side	B-side	Label and catalogue number	Album	UK Singles Chart
October 1977	"I Don't Wanna"	"Red London" / "Ulster"	Step Forward SF 4	-	-
January 1978	"Borstal Breakout"	"Hey Little Rich Boy"	Polydor 2058 966	Tell Us The Truth	-
April 1978	"Angels With Dirty Faces"	"Cockney Kids are Innocent"	Polydor 2059 023	That's Life	#19
July 1978	"If the Kids Are United"	"Sunday Morning Nightmare"	Polydor 2059 05	-	#9
October 1978	"Hurry Up Harry"	"No Entry"	Polydor POSP 7	That's Life	#10
March 1979	"Questions and Answers"	"Gotta Survive" (live) / "With a Little Help from My Friends"	Polydor POSP 27	The Adventures of the Hersham Boys	#18
July 1979	"Hersham Boys"	"I Don't Wanna" (live) / "Tell Us The Truth" (live)	Polydor POSP 64		#6
October 1979	"You're a Better Man Than I"	"Give a Dog a Bone"	Polydor POSP 82		#49
March 1980	"Tell The Children"	"Jack"	Polydor POSP 136	The Game	#45
June 1980	"Unite and Win"	"I'm a Man"	Polydor 2059 259		-
July 1987	"Rip and Tear"	"The Great American Slowdown"	Legacy LGY 69	Volunteer	-
February 1988	"Outside the Warehouse"	"Outside the Warehouse" (version)	Legacy LGY 71		-
March 1993	"Uptown"	"Borstal Breakout"	C.M.P.	Information Libre	-
October 1993	"Action Time & Vision"	"Bosnia" / "Hey Little Rich Boy" / "Reggae Giro"	C.M.P. CMCCD 002	Kings & Queens	-
1995	"Girlfriend"	N/K	Red Cat	Soapy Water and Mister Marmalade	-
1996	"Swampy"	N/K	Cleopatra	The A Files	-
2006	"Hurry Up England"	N/K	Parlophone	-	#10

Compilation albums

• The First, the Best and the Last (1980)
• Kings & Queens (1993)
• Lords of Oi! (1997)
• The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 (1998)
• Laced Up Boots and Corduroys (2000)
• Teenage Kicks (4 April 2005)
• The Original Punk Album (2007)
• Punk 77/2007 30th Anniversary (2007)
• If The Kids Are United - The Very Best of Sham 69 (2004)
• The Complete Collection: 3-disc (2004)
• Sham 69 - Set List: The Anthology (Re-recorded Greatest Hits on CD & LP) - Secret Records

Live albums

• Live and Loud!! (1987)
• The Complete Sham 69 Live (1989)
• Live at the Roxy Club (1990)
• Live in Italy (1996)
• Live at CBGB's (1998)
• SHAM 69 Live (2011)

External links

• Website of Sham 69/PURSEY
• Website of Sham 69/Tim V
• Sham 69 on Facebook
• BBC article on use of Sham 69 song at Labour Party conference