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Jimmy Pursey

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Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey performing in London on 14 July 2012
Jimmy Pursey performing in London on 14 July 2012
Background information
Birth nameJames Timothy Pursey
Born (1955-02-09) 9 February 1955 (age 69)
Hersham, Surrey
GenresPunk rock
Occupation(s)Musician, record producer
InstrumentVocals
Years active1976–present
Websitewww.jimmypursey.co.uk

James Timothy Pursey (born 9 February 1955) is an English singer and record producer. He was the founder and frontman of the English punk rock band, Sham 69, and has played with them from 1976 to 1980; from 1986 to 2006; and from 2011 to the present day.

Biography

Pursey was born in Hersham, Surrey in 1955.[1] His father was in the army and later worked as a plumber and his mother worked as a cinema usherette.[1] He was educated at Hersham House & Burhill Infants, Hersham Juniors and Rydens School, leaving aged 15 to work in a curtain shop.[1]

He was a regular attender at the local disco, the 'Walton Hop' at the Playhouse theatre, where he met Jonathan King.[2] Pursey claimed that he began performing after taking the stage as a drunk fourteen-year-old at the disco and miming to Bay City Rollers and The Rolling Stones songs (miming contests were a regular event at the Hop).[3][4] He formed Sham 69 in 1976, inspired by The Ramones and initially called Jimmy and the Ferrets, along with Albie Slider, Billy Bostik and Neil Harris, while employed at Wimbledon Stadium, and they rehearsed at Slider's parents' pig farm, where King sometimes came to watch them.[2][5] Before getting a record deal the lineup had changed with Neil Harris and Billy Bostock being replaced by Dave Parsons and Mark Cain. Albie Sloder was replaced shortly after by Dave Tregunna on bass. The band released four albums and had six UK top 50 hits before splitting up in 1980 (after several splits in 1979 that proved to be temporary) with the violence that regularly marred their gigs taking its toll. Pursey briefly worked with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols as Sham Pistols before the final Sham 69 split, and embarked on a solo career.[5] Pursey also worked as a record producer, on early releases by Cockney Rejects and Angelic Upstarts.[3]

Pursey's first solo releases were on Polydor Records, the label that Sham 69 had been signed to - the "Lucky Man" single and Imagination Camouflage album.[5] He then moved to Epic Records for three further singles (including "Animals Have More Fun", co-written with Peter Gabriel)[3] and second solo album Alien Orphan.[5] In 1983, a third album, Revenge is not the Password was issued on the Code Black label, and occasional releases followed until he formed a new line-up of Sham 69 in 1986 along with guitarist from the band's most successful line-up, Dave Parsons.[5][6] Pursey released a fourth solo album in 1997 (Code Black).[5] Sham 69 continued to play live and record until 2006. In 2006, Pursey recorded a new version of the Sham 69 hit "Hurry Up Harry" as an unofficial World Cup song in aid of a cancer charity; "Hurry Up England" was recorded with Graham Coxon's band but credited to 'Sham 69 & the Special Assembly'.[7]

On 26 January 2007, BBC News announced that the band had split because of a bitter fallout between Pursey and guitarist Parsons.[8] NME reported that a statement released by Parsons included the message: "Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey on the eve of their 30th anniversary."[9] Pursey initially stated that he would be retaining the Sham 69 name,[10] but on 21 Jan 2008, he announced that "to avoid confusion to fans he wanted it known that he did not want to be associated with the band still performing as Sham 69" and had formed a new band Day 21 with Mat Sargent on bass, The Rev (Towers of London and The Prodigy) on guitar, and Snell (Towers of London).[11][12][13] Pursey also paints,[14] selling his work to raise money for the Hersham Hounds greyhound sanctuary.[12]

Pursey had been due to appear as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2008, but pulled out after finding out that he would have been a late entrant to the camp and concerned that he would be portrayed as a "trouble-making punk".[15]

In July 2011 Pursey made the decision to reform Sham 69 with the original lineup.[16] A meeting held between Pursey and Dave Parsons, original Sham 69 guitarist and co-writer of nearly all of the Sham repertoire with Pursey, ironed out their differences. Dave Tregunna, on bass, and Mark Cain, on drums, were called in to complete the lineup for a special show in London.[17]

Discography

With Sham 69

Main article: Sham 69 § Discography

Solo

Albums

  • Imagination Camouflage (1980), Polydor
  • Alien Orphan (1981), Epic
  • Revenge is not the Password (1983), Code Black
  • Code Black (1997), Scratch

Singles

  • "Lucky Man" (1980), Polydor
  • "Animals Have More Fun" (1981), Epic
  • "Naughty Boys Like Naughty Girls" (1981), Epic
  • "Alien Orphan" (1982), Epic
  • "The First Deadly Sin" (1982), Epic
  • "Man Worries Man" (1983), Code Black
  • " Eyes Shine Killidoscope" (1983), Young Limbs Numb Hymns (as James T. Pursey)
  • "If Only Before" (1984), An Eskimo - credited to James T. Pursey
  • "Zap Pow!" (1986), Vide Cat

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Bennett
  2. ^ a b Ogg, p. 508
  3. ^ a b c Thompson, p. 612-3
  4. ^ Hume, Mick (2003) "I was a teenage Walton Hopper", The Times, reproduced at spiked-online.com, 20 January 2003, retrieved 2010-10-04
  5. ^ a b c d e f Strong, p. 140-1
  6. ^ Ogg, p. 515
  7. ^ "Sham 69 guitarist hits back in singer feud", NME, 29 January 2007, retrieved 2010-10-04
  8. ^ "Punk band Sham 69 in bitter split", BBC, 26 January 2007, retrieved 2010-10-03
  9. ^ "Sham 69 split with singer", NME, 26 January 2007, retrieved 2010-10-03
  10. ^ "Sham 69 singer accuses bandmates of 'jumping ship'", NME, 26 January 2007, retrieved 2010-10-04
  11. ^ Michaels, Sean (8 August 2008). "Sham 69 and Towers of London members form new band". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  12. ^ a b Zacharias, Adam (2008) "Final farewell from Punk icon", getsurrey.co.uk, 27 June 2008, retrieved 2010-10-04
  13. ^ "All Rev-ed up by new band", thevisitor.co.uk, 12 August 2008, retrieved 2010-10-04
  14. ^ Street, Zoe (2005) "Sham 69 Rocker Has Tantrum In Art Gallery!", Gigwise.com, 14 May 2005, retrieved 2010-10-04
  15. ^ "Jungle turmoil", STV, 10 November 2008, retrieved 2010-10-04
  16. ^ TaM Management at Little London Studios
  17. ^ "Electric Brixton"

References

  • Bennett, Oliver (2006) "Jimmy Pursey: Hurry up Jimmy", The Independent, 25 June 2006, retrieved 2010-10-04
  • Ogg, Alex (2006) No More Heroes: a Complete History of UK Punk 1976-1980, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 978-1-901447-65-1
  • Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0
  • Thompson, Dave (2000) Alternative Rock, Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-607-6
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