Radio Stars

Radio Stars are an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released three albums and had one UK Top 40 single.^[1]

Biography

Radio Stars were formed by ex-John's Children vocalist Andy Ellison, Sparks exile Martin Gordon^[2] (bass, songwriter), and Ian MacLeod (guitar) in 1977, following the end of their underachieving glam supergroup, Jet, the previous year.

The group signed to Chiswick Records and released their debut single in April 1977. "Dirty Pictures" was featured on the Chiswick various artists sampler Submarine Tracks & Fool's Gold (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume One). Later that year, the same track came number 26 in the NME's end-of-year critics' chart. In May 1977, the band both performed live for the first time^[3] and recorded the first of three sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1.^[4] Later adding Steve Parry on drums, the band's second release came in August. Playing "No Russians in Russia", the Radio Stars made their TV debut on Marc, Marc Bolan's show.^[5] The track later appeared on the 1978 Chiswick sampler Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two).

In October 1977, the band had a brief flirtation with the Top 40 of the the UK Singles Chart. "Nervous Wreck" b/w "Horrible Breath" peaked at #39.^[1] The b-side, "Horrible Breath", was a song written by Marc Bolan from his time with John's Children.

The debut album, Songs for Swinging Lovers, sarcastically named after the Frank Sinatra album, finally appeared in December 1977. The band toured with Eddie and the Hot Rods and played the Reading Festival in 1978. Adding Trevor White (who was also in both Sparks and Jet) the Radio Stars put out their second album, Holiday Album. Gordon left soon after the record flopped, effectively ending the band, although Ellison attempted to revive the band's name to little success in the 1980s and 1990s.

The group's recordings have been anthologised twice; firstly on 1982's Two Minutes Mr. Smith by the Moonlight record label, then on 1992's (band-approved) Somewhere There's a Place for Us on Ace Records.

A one-off London concert performance took place in March 2008 in support of their live album (recorded in 1977/78) Something For The Weekend, released by Radiant Future Records that same month.

An official spokesperson points out that "Radio Stars should not be confused with radio stars, namely stars that produce by means of chemical and electrical discharges, emissions of various radio frequencies, whether constant or pulsed. Radio Stars, no matter whether constant or pulsed, will under no circumstances produce discharges or emissions. Well, OK, under no circumstances to which we can refer in polite company, at any rate".

The band played the Rebellion all-dayer at the Kentish Town Forum on Saturday 13th December 2008 alongside the likes of The Damned, Johnny Moped and Penetration. They will reprise their earlier tours with Eddie & the Hotrods on January 22nd 2010 at the 100 Club in London.

Reviews

• “On the fringes of both the punk and new wave scene, the Radio Stars were at heart a quirky rock band built around Gordon's songs and Ellison's enthusiastic vocals”.^[6]
• “A series of tongue-in-cheek singles, including "Dirty Picture" and "Nervous Wreck", captured the quartet’s brand of quirky pop / punk, but although the latter reached the fringes of the Top 40, the band were unable to achieve consistent success”.^[7]
• “Radio Stars cut their debut album, provisionally titled 'Bowels Stuffed With Spleen'. Squeamishly, Chiswick pleaded for something a little less unappetizing – the group replaced it with Songs For Swinging Lovers, but otherwise their monumental and, admittedly, tongue-in-cheek lack of taste was given full reign, via an ode to a recent serial rapist, "The Beast of Barnsley", a tribute to the just-deceased Elvis Presley, "Arthur is Dead Boring (Let’s Rot)" and "Nervous Wreck", positively the finest pop song ever to feature a girlie chorus trilling "electro-encephalograph".^[8]
• The debut LP is “supreme power-pop punk with fiendishly witty lyrics, subject matter ranging from Greek restaurant menus ("Macaroni and Mice") to serial killers ("Beast of Barnsley"), and unrequited love ("Nervous Wreck"), nailed to some genuinely, memorably rocketing riffs. Rating: nine out of ten”.^[9]
• “The Radio Stars presented a more refined blend of power pop / new wave bandwagoneering”.^[10]
• “Radio Stars were a significant, but not essential, new wave band. They had a few good songs, but all their albums lacked sufficient consistency to become real classics”.^[11]

Line-up changes

• Original line-up: Andy Ellison – vocals; Ian MacLeod - guitar and backing vocals; Martin Gordon – bass, keyboards, songs, everything else.
• Early demos: Added Paul Simon – drums.
• Debut single: Chris Townson replaced Simon on drums.
• Second single: Steve Parry replaced Townson on drums.
• Fifth single: Jamie Crompton replaced Parry on drums
• Second album: Paul Jones played harmonica for this album only; Also, Graham Chapman did a voiceover.
• Sixth single: Added Trevor White on guitar.
• February 1979: Steve Parry returned to replace Crompton and White.
• Band broke up in summer 1979 but reformed in 1982
• 1982: Added Hugh McDowell on cello for Two Minutes Mr Smith; Also, Chris Gent played saxophone and provided backing vocals.

Discography

Albums

• Songs for Swinging Lovers (December 1977: Chiswick Records WIK 5)
• The Radio Stars Holiday Album (September 1978: Chiswick CWK 3001)
• Two Minutes Mr. Smith (May 1982: Moonlight MNA 001)
• Something For the Weekend (March 2008: Radiant Future Records RSVP010CD)

Compilations

• Somewhere There’s A Place For Us (October 1992: Ace REcords CDWIKD 107)

Appearances on various artist compilations (selective)

Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:

• "Dirty Pictures" featured on the Submarine Tracks & Fool's Gold (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume One) sampler album (1977: Chiswick Records)
• "No Russians In Russia" featured on the Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two) sampler album (1978: Chiswick Records)

Singles

• "Dirty Pictures" / "Sail Away" (April 1977: Chiswick S 9)
• "Stop It E.P.": "No Russians in Russia" / "Box 29" / "Johnny Mekon" / "Sorry I’m Tied Up" (August 1977: Chiswick SW 17)
• "Nervous Wreck" / "Horrible Breath" (October 1977: Chiswick NS 23) Also available as a 12 inch single (NST 23) # 39 UK Singles Chart^[1]
• "From A Rabbit" / "To A Beast" (April 1978: Chiswick NS 36)
• "Radio Stars" / "Accountancy Blues" (September 1978: Chiswick CHIS 102)
• "The Real Me" / "Good Personality" (January 1979: Chiswick CHIS 109)
• "Good Personality" / "Talking ‘Bout You" (May 1982: Snap ECG 1)
• "My Mother Said" / "Two Minutes Mr. Smith" (September 1982: Moonlight MNS 001)

See also

• Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
• List of New Wave bands and artists
• List of Peel sessions
• List of musicians in the first wave of punk music
• One-hit wonders in the UK

References

External links

• www.radio-stars.com - Official Site
• official site of Radio Stars founder/composer/producer/bassist Martin Gordon
• Radio Stars at Allmusic
• Radio Stars on www.punk77.co.uk