I Have Never Heard These Bands That Start With The Letter S

Shake - formed by Jo Callis, post-Rezillos and pre-Human League. Don't think they did anything particularly distinguished.

T.V. Smith's Explorers - didn't they do "Tomahawk Cruise"? That was good... and post-Adverts, T.V. was still doing a good live show in 1980.

Spherical Objects - bit like Swell Maps, weren't they?

Splogenessabounds - Hell no. Garry Bushell dubbed that sort of thing "punk pathetique", along with Peter & The Test Tube Babies and the Not Sensibles (whose "I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher" had a certain charm).

Squire - more mod revivalism.

Stadium Dogs - contained XTC's original keyboard player, pre Barry Andrews. I've got a single of theirs called "Easybeat", which cost me all of 10p. Quite good. Sort of melodic new wave/power-pop, agreeably unhip.

Stinky Toys - the only band from the line-up of the legendary two-day 100 Club punk festival in 1976 who never went on to achieve any further measure of recognition (in the UK at least).

Suburban Studs - original 76 punks who did one good single: "Questions". It had a sax on it, which was awfully daring for the times. The follow-up was called "I Hate School" and was awful.

Yeah, Johnathan Perkins of "I'll bet my silver spurs she's wrong" fame.

Sussman Lawrence = another Mpls band, led by a very young Peter Himmelman. Debut extremely derivative of Elvis Costello, but the double album followup was more eclectic and interesting. Still, meh.

Silent Running - Irish U2 wannabees, bit like their compatriots Zerra One, but heavier on the synths though. Avoid!

Secret Affair - dodgy mods, couple of alright-ish singles, but mostly pretty weak. I think I had their second album, but I dont think I ever found one decent song on it.

Armand Schaubroeck had an album called RATFUCKER. Dunno what he sounds like though.

Silent Running, Tears for Fearsish synthpop from Northern Ireland.

Richard Strange (solo), once in a much hyped band during punk (whose name escapes me). Went solo and founded a club called Cabaret Futura, typically Bowiesque vocals, possible influence on Cud. Had greater success as a character actor,he's the executioner in Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves.

Starjets, another rock and roll revival act.

Scruffs - Not-awful powerpoppers who put out an indie album in 1977 or so that I believe Xgau liked. It was reissued on CD a couple years ago, and it was nice, though not nearly the holy grail that silly powerpop collectors pretend. They were kinda average, seems to me. Probably not even as good as Blue Ash, though I'm not the one to ask.

The Secret -- Had a totally hyper high-pitched Sparksabilly track on A&M's *No Wave* comp that I kinda loved at the time, though in some ways it seemed totally inept and phony. Maybe I liked it *because* it seemed inept and phony. Not to mention hyper and high-pitched, I guess. I never took the time to investigate who the hell they were.

Secret Affair - Mod-clothed Jam wannabes, I think. Never heard 'em.

Shox Lumania - Very silly, insanely outer-space-alien-haired proto-proto-electroclashers from New York; what Fischerspooner only wish they could be. No Zoltan X, though. I still own their ROIR cassete.

Sic Fucks - "Offensive" surf-punks from LA, maybe? Or maybe not.

Single Bullet Theory - Probably from Boston, or maybe I just think that because their name has to do with Kennedy getting shot.

Skeleton Crew -- Something to do with Fred Frith or somebody like that? Aging proggers making a new wave move; doubt I ever heard 'em.

Slow Children - Husband/wife duo doing better-than-Soft-Boys (maybe because slightly verging on, I dunno, Robin Lane and the Charbusters? Quarterflash, even?) new wave pysch pop stuff. I found their album for a dollar last year, played it a couple times. Liked it alright.

T.V. Smith's Explorers - The Adverts guy goes solo, and judging from the album I have at home, does it well. I really kinda love his voice.

Splogenessabounds - Weren't they a joke band included on some oi! compilation? Not as funny as Peter and Test Tube Babies, either way.

Starjets - George Smith hates this band. I kinda liked "War Stories" and, um, I think they did a song about school too, at the time (University of Missouri's radio station KCOU used to play them), for some reason. Totally half-assed post-Buzzcocks/Undertones/Stiff Little Fingers Belfast teen pop-punks, w/ a black and white LP cover.

Walter Steding - An older guy, played guitar. I probably have him on some other people's records at home, but damned if I know which ones.

SVT - Wasn't this some old Jefferson Starship hacks making a new wave attempt that, well, wasn't actually a new wave attempt at all, really?

Swinging Madisons - Rockabilly, I think. Pretty bad, probably.

SVT -- SF hard rock/metal band with members from Hot Tuna, tried to pass off as new wave/punk influenced. They weren't but the records were pretty good and I wish I still had them.

Starjets -- UK new wavey/pub band. Poor man's Jam. I had one record which has recently been reissued.

Doctors Of Madness - Figments Of Emancipation

And "Belfast Boy" invented acid-house 15 years before acid-house invented itself (okay, maybe not, but that synth intro roolz and was way ahead of its time.I love Don Fardon.)

"Wanna' Meet the Scruffs?" [Power Play, 1977]
Only a sucker for rock and roll could love this record, and I am that sucker. A middle-period Beatles extrapolation in the manner of Big Star (another out-of-step Memphis power-pop group on a small, out-of-step Memphis label), it bursts with off harmonies, left hooks, and jolts of random energy. The trouble is, these serve a shamelessly and perhaps permanently post-adolescent vision of life's pain, most of which would appear to involve gurls. To which objection the rockin' formalist in me responds, "I wanna hear `Revenge' again." A-

Midtown [Northern Heights, 1998]
it's Memphis, it's the '80s, and darn it, Big Star lives ("Machiavellian Eyes," "Judy [She Put the Devil in Me]") ***

Skeleton Crew were unbelievably great live. The idea was that Frith and Cora would perform the parts of 6 or 7 musicians (hence the name), simultaneously playing percussion, guitar, bass, fiddle, cello, keyboards, tapes, etc., and singing playfully leftist lyrics. First album, "Learn To Talk," is poorly recorded but classic prog-pop (Recommended/ReR sensibility). Second album, "The Country of Blinds," (with the not-so-interesting Parkins) is even worse recorded and less successful. I'd be happy to yousendit a sample.

Unless I wasn't! Though yeah, I think I must have confused them with the other Skeleton Crew (not to mention Skeleton KEY) at some point.

They had a sizeable hit in the UK with 'Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please'. B-side was the wonderfully named 'Michael Booth's Talking Bum' IIRC. I thought they were funny for about five minutes anyway.

Now I feel like asking if anyone here knows more information on Scary Thieves and where I might be able to acquire that lost LP of theirs. I tried looking at this one location and they were all sold out! But I LOVE everything I've heard from Scary Thieves and I *kinda* know their story but... yeah. OH! And if anyone knows anything about The Sights and what else to check out from them aside from "So Much For Everlasting Love" (which I've become addicted to), that would be really cool.

C'mon people, be my obscure-ish New Wave database for me. ;)

(Also, wasn't Sandii of Sandii & the Sunsetz actually from Hawaii?)

*investigates*

Oh look! More info on Sandii & the Sunsetz:

Sandii & The Sunsetz found some success in Japan and Australia in the 80's (where they had a top 5 hit) but after a few changes of direction and problems with international record companies, began to release albums just under Sandii's name. These began with 1990's "Mercy" which is a stunning collection of ethnic club pop and established her as a successful artist in Malaysia, the Phillipines, Thailand and China, plus it was a big seller in Japan. Sandii's albums "Mercy", "Pacifica" and "Dream Catcher" are excellent, in my opinion, well worth buying if you have the opportunity. She mixes Bhangra, Hawaiian, J-pop, techno, R&B and dub styles to great effect and is comparable to Madonna in a lot of ways. The next album "Watashi" (1996) featured Brazillian styles and was released in France to critical acclaim. Increasingly interested in Hawaiian music and life, Sandii has pursued interests away from the mainstream music industry in recent years and has qualified as a teacher in Hula dance. Her album "Hawaii" has been released in the USA. Sandii owns a dance studio, store and restaurant in central Tokyo.

And apparently there's an official Sandii website. So there.

Secret Affair were basically the Jam without brains.

Shakin' Pyramids were really crap rockabilly.

Sheena & the Rokkets are Japanese, a bit like Princess Princess.

Sic Fucks, as noted elsewhere, included Trish & Snookie, who were indeed part of the same circle as Chris Stein and Debbie Harry. The only thing they did I can recall was a fairly droll white-soul send up that included a chorus in which a male vocalist sang, "Take me to the bridge," and Trish & Snookie replied, "And drop him off!"

Single Bullet Theory weren't Bostonians (sorry, Chuck); they hailed from Richmond and played the D.C. area quite a bit. Seem to recall them as amped-up new wave, but that may be entirely wrong.

There were two Solid Senders, appallingly enough. One were the post-Dr. Feelgood vehicle for guitarist Wilco Johnson, which was pretty much a fans-only proposition. The other were a by-the-numbers blues rock outfit most notable for the presence of onetime Fabulous Thunderbird Keith Ferguson.

SVT was, specifically, a Jack Cassady project, named after his amplifier.

Walter Steding's schtick was very cutesy and annoying. Just some dork and his violin. I never understood why he was everywhere back in early 80s New York. I guess he worked his friends.

The Sic F*cks were lots of fun. They were sort of Dictators-ish, I think, circa their first album. The singer Russel Wolinsky was OK, in a Handsome Dick style, but I mainly liked them for Tish and Snooky. They were so charismatic!

Shox Lumania were very Klaus Nomi-influenced, led by a an artist named Lari Shox. Lenny Kaye's wife was in the band. If there was any sort of New Romantic movement in New York, they were it. I think part of their act was to pretend that they were from some obscure Eastern European country called Lumania. Their big hit was called "I Have No Shoes" and it did kind of sound Eastern European. I loved them! Lari Shox died of AIDS in the late 80s.

Armand Schauobreck Steals' albums always seemed like concept albums about his troubled youth, his time in reform school, etc. They were interesting but I never really listened to them much. They had great covers, though, especially the one with the big grinning Armand with a bullet hole through his head. Also, I think he used to run House of Guitars in Rochester, NY. And he was always sending his picture into Rock Scene.

I never knew Don Farndon was in the Sorrows-thank you, Dr. C! "Belfast Boy" is incredible.

Here's that page w/Shox Lumania videos: http://manparrish.com/video/

"The Stranger" is really catchy!

shit, you are right! then i have heard them cuz i own that movie on vhs. it's a good one.

I have the video, but there are bits I remember from the ICA screening that aren't on it.

Yes

"If so while on a break from Doctors of Madness he stood in for Dave Vanian in the The Damned (or some offshoot)"

Other way 'round actually: Dave joined / replaced Richard Strange as lead singer of Doctors Of Madness for a while after The Damned split up in '78.

">Shrink
This lot I'm sure had a bigger label behind them, I can recall seeing a 10" single (?) at record fairs with a mohawked guitarist on the sleeve (the kind of thing that was always priced at 10p)"

I loved Shrink and I'm sure I've waffled endlessly about him here before.

Shrink was actually one guy rather than a band. He had half a head of pink hair and used to cover his entire face with gold paint before going on stage, until his psoriasis got too bad. Absolutely barking bloody mad. He released a couple of singles (including the absolutely phenomenal "Valid Or Void") and a 10" 6-track thing on an A&M offshoot called Oval around '80 / '81 and had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the film Broken Glass. His backing band was The Secret, who were also signed to Oval.

Strunz & Farah - New-Agey world-music stuff, Latin/Carib rhythms with a pair of hotshit Gipsy Kings-style flamenco guitarists on top. Vocals in Spanish? or entirely instrumental? Can't recall at all. (Why do I own this?)

I have one of their albums too. I still play it occasionally. It's a little New Agey perhaps - but not too much for my taste. Some songs are instrumental and some have Spanish vocals. Mostly flamenco with Afro-Cuban rhythms as you mentioned, though some songs are more atmospheric with a Latin folk vibe and traditional instruments.

School of Fish had a "modern rock" hit in 90/91 with "Three Strange Days." I remember liking it at the time but haven't heard it in forever.

I liked this one at the time too. It's got that crunchy, early-90s Butch-Vig guitar sound with croony vocals, like contemporaneous releases from Smashing Pumpkins and Overwhelming Colorfast (don't know if Vig was involved though).

I have still not heard these bands filed under "S" in J&O's International Enclycloped of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal

Santers
Saracen
Sassafras
Schloss
Screams
Screen Idols
Servant
707
Shaftsbury
Shanghai
Shanghi
Sheriff
Shiva
Sid Rumpo
Silver Train
Silverwing
Slack Alice
Snopek
Speedway Boulevard
Split Beaver
Richard Steep
Stingray
Stonebolt

707 were a Detroit band...did the theme song from the classic Barry Bostwick sci-fi thriller Megaforce in the mid-80's...also had a regional hit with "I Could Be Good For You"...they were neither hard rock nor metal...

Saracen - 80's hard rock / prog types, somewhere between UFO and Rush style-wise. Not exactly what the public wanted to hear at the time, hence they sank like a stone after one or two albums.

Shiva - see above.

Silverwing - early 80's attempt to ape Van Halen and Kiss on a budget of about £1.50. "Rock and Roll Are 4 Letter Words" was a good title I guess. I think they changed their name to Rox or Roxx and dropped the visual horror elements in favour of more mascara, then disappeared.

Snopek - is this Violent Femmes keyboardist Sigmund Snopek III? If so he had an ok-ish line in keyboardy prog a la early Utopia.

About half of those bands I remember from Kerrang's "Armed And Ready" new bands column, but can't say I ever really heard them.

Split Beaver is a really stupid name for a band.

It's right in there with the Special Eds and Hairy Clams of the world.

Skunks (first list)were an Austin trio featuring Jesse(not Ned)Sublett and pre-True Believers Jon Dee Graham.

And the Silos do not either suck. Their first full-length record, Cubais tremendous.

If you've ever seen a late-night commercial for a CD comp of the greatest power ballads then you've heard Canadian one-hit wonder Sheriff and their song "When I'm With You" ... or more accurately you've heard "BAY-BAHHHH AYEEE AYEEEEAHH AYEEE AYEEEEAHHHH oh i get chills when i'm with you OOOOOWEEEEOOOHH OOOOOWEEEOOOOOHHHHAAAAHH"

^^^pretty accurate

Streets - Not THE Streets, right?

Nope. Atlanta rock quartet, 1983, featuring Steve Walsh of Kansas. How he got to Atlanta I don't know.

The Skunks from Texas did "Earthquake Shake" (which is on Bloodstains Across Texas, by far the best Bloodstains comp!) and then changed their sound to new wave/power pop - this is off the original list but never mind. I have their power pop album, it's not that good really unfortunately.

7 Seconds I think were (slightly) underrated - hardcore fans hated them because they sold out and went pop in the late 80s (where pop means sounding a bit like Dag Nasty/Descendents) - their early stuff is good old school hardcore.

7 Seconds = "Walk Together, Rock Together" -- hand-wringingly sincere hardcore punk, for those who needed a daily dose of an alternative Kumbaya. And a version of "99 Red Balloons" that makes you want to listen to the entire Nena album in its place.

Yes, "Walk Together, Rock Together" is all those things. Like I said, their early stuff as collected on the "Alt.Music.Hardcore" CD and the "Old School" CD or even the "The Crew" CD is all worth listening to.

Spdfgh

Now there was a great band. Sort of a cross between Splodgenessabounds and Showaddywaddy.

Yes, you're quite right. Somwhere between Shut Up You Cunt and Who Gives A Fuck.

Spdfgh sold millions of records so obviously someone gives a fuck, sister.

I saw Max Splodge the other day!

Godammit i hate rapidshare

i loved 7 seconds. especially the first 7-inch with i hate sports on it. but i still hold on to my copy of the crew. they lost me with new wind, their crossover attempt. we in connecticut took pride in one member of the band wearing a violent children t-shirt on the cover of walk together rock together. (which i also liked despite the nena cover)

"Snopek - is this Violent Femmes keyboardist Sigmund Snopek III? If so he had an ok-ish line in keyboardy prog a la early Utopia."

his band The Bloomsbury People made one of my all-time fave early 70's psych records. you can get it on cd now:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/bloomsbury

and his later-70's power/pop/prog stuff is neat too.

Shox Lumania were very Klaus Nomi-influenced, led by a an artist named Lari Shox. Lenny Kaye's wife was in the band. If there was any sort of New Romantic movement in New York, they were it. I think part of their act was to pretend that they were from some obscure Eastern European country called Lumania.

I'm pretty sure Shox Lumania were actually purporting to be from some undersea country analogous to Atlantis. It was a sci fi concept for sure. I got a great deal of enjoyment out of that cassette. Always wanted to know more about them. Glad to find those video links!

The Secrets were comprised of former members of the band, The Brats

Though I could be wrong, I'm pretty sure The Secrets from Scott's list is The Secrets* (with the asterisk), whose self titled album from 1982 is #81 on John Borack's Top 200 Power Pop albums book. It was reissued in 2000. Here are some details:

* Missouri-based group
* Band's first single in late 70s was "It's Your Heart Tonight" on Titan Records
* Only full-length album was issued in Canada only
* Album was co-produced by former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch

Sid Rumpo - is it just me or has anyone else just conjured up a mental image of Sid James as "The Rumpo Kid" in Carry On Cowboy???

Savage Grace -- from Ann Arbor, they were in the second wave of 60s Dee-troit sound along w/Brownsville Station. did two -- or maybe three? -- albums on Warner Brothers. don't think they're on CD. sound pretty eclectic judging from the five songs I've streamed on my computer. prog and country influences though 1 track, "Come On Down" delivers the motor city mojo thanks to guitarist Al Jacquez.

Seatrain -- folk/jazz/flute hybrid with former members of Blues project.

Sadat X -- Brand Nubian were brazen anti-semites who ended up getting bounced from Elektra for hassling their (Jewish) publicist. Rolling Stone once quoted -- approvingly! or at least neutrally -- some pretty disgusting christ-killer lyric of theirs in a record review. just thought i'd share that.

What I wrote about 707 (from George's list) on Rolling Metal last year:

707 Greatest Hits Live (GB Music) -- Liking this a lot, too. Know nothing about the band. New Rolling Stone Record Guide (blue 1983 edition) dismisses them as "second-rate Toto." Jasper and Oliver's International Enyclopedia of Heavy Metal raves about their "classic heavy-pomp sound with brutal drumming" and says their second album (apparently called 2nd Album!) went top 20 in the U.S., in 1981, and then they got Angel's bassist Felix Robinson. I thought Martin Popoff might be a fan, but realized I was confusing them with 54-40, whoever they are (Canadians, apparently) by mistake.
Anyway, the live album shows they did indeed make truly catchy hard-pop rock with plenty of smart pomp in the arrangements. Closest of maybe just laziest comparison I can think of would be Prism. But the first cut, "Live With the Girl," is a total ringer for "On Top Of the World" Cheap Trick. Some Babys and early Loverboy in there too. Most brutal (and funkiest) drums are in "Millionaire," one of the two heaviest cuts along with the Zep-like (or okay, I dunno, Fastway-like? Paris-like?) "Pressure Drop" (which is not a Toots and the Maytals cover.) Every other cut sinks its hooks in real quick. "Rockin is Easy" might be a protest against protest songs, but I might have heard its words wrong (defintely stuff in there about people wasting time seeking gainful employment and keeping up with the Joneses, and not knowing about the state of the nation and foreign relations, so let's just rock easy instead okay?)
-- xhuxk, Sunday, May 27, 2007 6:37 PM (9 months ago)

special ed - eighties hiphop. i only know his I'm The Magnificant, but in a version with a completely different beat than the one on youtube.

sleeze beez - glam-y dutch hardrock from the late eighties/early nineties

If you've ever seen a late-night commercial for a CD comp of the greatest power ballads then you've heard Canadian one-hit wonder Sheriff and their song "When I'm With You" ...

That song was a hit TWICE up here! First time in '83, later in '88. There was some weird kinda epidemic in 1988-89, with three different songs ("Red Red Wine" and "Send Me An Angel" being the others) all being rereleased & charting higher than their first go-round 3-5 years previous. Weird...

Suburban Studs - original 76 punks who did one good single: "Questions". It had a sax on it, which was awfully daring for the times. The follow-up was called "I Hate School" and was awful.

I wonder if this band got their name from the scene between Janice Rule and Burt Lancaster in "The Swimmer".

The version of the Sports' Don't Throw Stones is actually a composite of the same-titled Australian release with some tracks from the preceding album, their first---so it goes from more of a pub rock, rootsy, even rockabilly (and other 50s) sound, updated to and from the mid-70s, since they picked it up on the late 70s, from Graham Parker & The Rumor (with whom they toured), transitioning smoothly to the hookier newer tracks---so it's kind of like Graham Parker & The Attractions: Stephen Cummings' voice was deeper than Costello's, raspy around the edges, like Parker's, also not as nasal as EC, but sill kind of, so Parker plus early Richard Butler. A somewhat strict sound, not pompous, but no BS young schoolteacher or coach, with crisp combo incl. versatile guitarist, good LP! I've still got it somewhere.

The Stiff-to-Arista version is what I'm talking about.