Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped
Background information
Origin Croydon, South London, England
Genres Punk rock
Years active 1976–1978, 1981, 1992, 2007-2008, 2011
Labels Chiswick Records, Deltic
Associated acts The Pretenders, The Damned
Past members Paul Halford (aka Johnny Moped)
Dave Berk
Fred Berk
Ray Burns (aka Captain Sensible)
Slimey Toad
Chrissie Hynde
Xerxes

Johnny Moped were a mid-1970s English punk rock group from south London, who once had Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of The Damned) within their ranks.

Biography

Formed in Croydon in May 1974, the band were a proto-punk band. Initially calling themselves Johnny Moped and the 5 Arrogant Superstars, by August they changed their moniker to Assault and Buggery, then the Commercial Band, before reverting to just Johnny Moped by January 1975.

Johnny Moped became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of London’s now-legendary Roxy Club. They played two gigs in February 1977, one supporting Eater and one backing The Damned. The following month they played two more, one supporting Slaughter & The Dogs and the other backing The Damned. In April, they were on a bill that included Wire, X-Ray Spex and the Buzzcocks.[1]

Johnny Moped’s "Hard Lovin’ Man" appeared on the hit various artists album Live at the Roxy WC2 (Harvest Records, 1977). The band signed with Chiswick Records and released three singles, including "Little Queenie" (a cover of the Chuck Berry song), and one album - Cycledelic - before splitting up. First single "No-One" later featured on the Chiswick various artists sampler album Long Shots, Dead Certs and Odds On Favourites in 1978, while b-side "Incendiary Device" made number 15 in BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel’s ‘Festive Fifty’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977.[2]

Sixteen years after its release, the publishers of The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, named Cycledelic as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time.[3] Most of the band reformed to record a second album The Search For Xerxes in 1991.

A documentary about the band, Basically, Johnny Moped, produced by Fred Burns, premiered in September 2013.[4][5]

In 2015 the band, that now featured Rob Brook on second guitar and long time bassist Jacko Pistorious alongside Johnny, Slimey and Dave, entered the studio to record a brand new album. The first single to be taken from it was "Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie" backed with "Super Woofa" which came out on Damaged Goods records 31 July 2015 as a limited 7" and Download.

Reviews

Johnny Moped’s style has been variously described as:

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Appearances on V/A compilations (Selective)

Singles

See also

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;
  2. ↑ John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net;
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1994) "All Time Top 1000 Albums", Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Chapter 9;
  4. ↑ "Film | Film Reviews | Croydonian Dada: Basically Johnny Moped Reviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  5. ↑ "Basically, Johnny Moped, at KOKO". Camden Review. 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  6. ↑ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 102;
  7. ↑ Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 234;
  8. ↑ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 749.
  9. ↑ Jean Encoule (March 2004) "A-Z Of Punk Rock"Rohit kumar kaariya , trakMARX, Issue No.13;
  10. ↑ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 84;
  11. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

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