Not to be confused with the 1960s American garage rock band The Monks.
The Monks were a British pop punk/new wave band, formed in the late 1970s by three former members of Strawbs—Richard Hudson (guitar), John Ford (vocals, guitars, synthesisers) and Brian Willoughby—along with Terry Cassidy (vocals and synthesisers) and Clive Pierce (drums).
Their first album, Bad Habits, was recorded and released in 1979 after the success of "Nice Legs Shame About Her Face", which reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] The song was a demo that was not intended for release. It was offered to another band who turned it down before a French record label released it in its original form.[2] Ford later commented in Mojo magazine that "it was a bit of a problem when it was a hit."[3] The album failed to produce further UK chart success, however — the British punk audience turned against the band, dismissing them as inauthentic punks, once it became widely known that they had been associated with the Strawbs.[4] In an appearance on the television programme Juke Box Jury, Johnny Rotten derided the Monks as "patronising rubbish" when reviewing "I Ain't Gettin' Any"[5] and as a poor imitation of the Sex Pistols.[2]
The band had more significant success in Canada,[4] pushing the single "Drugs in My Pocket" into the national Top 20.[4] The single was an especially big hit in Toronto, peaking at #4 on the CHUM Chart.[4] The Canadian audience lacked the Strawbs baggage, and, according to Ford, were thus more willing to "take the album for what it was".[4]
They dabbled with 1930s-style music in 1980 as High Society, before recording a follow-up Monks album, Suspended Animation, which was released exclusively in Canada in 1981.[4] They supported the album with a 21-day tour of Ontario,[6] with the most notable venue on the tour being a show at Toronto's Massey Hall.[7] Chris Parren (keyboards) joined the band for that album, and Willoughby was replaced by Huw Gower during the supporting tour in 1982.
Suspended Animation went gold in Canada,[2] while sales of Bad Habits reached double platinum certification in 1982.
The band later recorded several tracks for a third album to be titled Cybernetic Sister, but the album was never released. A CD reissue of Suspended Animation in the 1990s included six bonus tracks from the aborted recording sessions.
Legacyedit
In 2004, Ford rerecorded "Nice Legs Shame About Her Face" and "Suspended Animation" on his solo album Backtracking, released on Whole Shot Records.
In 2012, Canadian musician Thomas D'Arcy organized The Monk's Bad Habits Tribute, a tribute concert to the band, at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern.[4] D'Arcy performed alongside a lineup of Canadian musicians, including Chris Colohan, John Kastner, Ian Blurton, Kurt Dahle, Ryan Dahle and Chris Murphy, performing tracks from Bad Habits; at this show, Ford was presented with his double platinum certification plaque for the album's Canadian sales.[8] All of the musicians involved in the show, including Ford, also participated in the recording of a track-by-track tribute album, A Tribute to the Monks, which was distributed as a free download from D'Arcy's website.[8]
monks, band, confused, with, 1960s, american, garage, rock, band, monks, monks, were, british, punk, wave, band, formed, late, 1970s, three, former, members, strawbs, richard, hudson, guitar, john, ford, vocals, guitars, synthesisers, brian, willoughby, along,. Not to be confused with the 1960s American garage rock band The Monks The Monks were a British pop punk new wave band formed in the late 1970s by three former members of Strawbs Richard Hudson guitar John Ford vocals guitars synthesisers and Brian Willoughby along with Terry Cassidy vocals and synthesisers and Clive Pierce drums The MonksOriginEnglandGenresNew wave pop punkYears active1979 1982LabelsEMI PolygramPast membersJohn FordRichard HudsonTerry CassidyClive PierceBrian WilloughbyChris ParrenHuw Gower Contents 1 History 2 Legacy 3 Personnel 4 Discography 4 1 Albums 4 2 Singles 5 References 6 External linksHistory editTheir first album Bad Habits was recorded and released in 1979 after the success of Nice Legs Shame About Her Face which reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart 1 The song was a demo that was not intended for release It was offered to another band who turned it down before a French record label released it in its original form 2 Ford later commented in Mojo magazine that it was a bit of a problem when it was a hit 3 The album failed to produce further UK chart success however the British punk audience turned against the band dismissing them as inauthentic punks once it became widely known that they had been associated with the Strawbs 4 In an appearance on the television programme Juke Box Jury Johnny Rotten derided the Monks as patronising rubbish when reviewing I Ain t Gettin Any 5 and as a poor imitation of the Sex Pistols 2 The band had more significant success in Canada 4 pushing the single Drugs in My Pocket into the national Top 20 4 The single was an especially big hit in Toronto peaking at 4 on the CHUM Chart 4 The Canadian audience lacked the Strawbs baggage and according to Ford were thus more willing to take the album for what it was 4 They dabbled with 1930s style music in 1980 as High Society before recording a follow up Monks album Suspended Animation which was released exclusively in Canada in 1981 4 They supported the album with a 21 day tour of Ontario 6 with the most notable venue on the tour being a show at Toronto s Massey Hall 7 Chris Parren keyboards joined the band for that album and Willoughby was replaced by Huw Gower during the supporting tour in 1982 Suspended Animation went gold in Canada 2 while sales of Bad Habits reached double platinum certification in 1982 The band later recorded several tracks for a third album to be titled Cybernetic Sister but the album was never released A CD reissue of Suspended Animation in the 1990s included six bonus tracks from the aborted recording sessions Legacy editIn 2004 Ford rerecorded Nice Legs Shame About Her Face and Suspended Animation on his solo album Backtracking released on Whole Shot Records In 2012 Canadian musician Thomas D Arcy organized The Monk s Bad Habits Tribute a tribute concert to the band at Toronto s Horseshoe Tavern 4 D Arcy performed alongside a lineup of Canadian musicians including Chris Colohan John Kastner Ian Blurton Kurt Dahle Ryan Dahle and Chris Murphy performing tracks from Bad Habits at this show Ford was presented with his double platinum certification plaque for the album s Canadian sales 8 All of the musicians involved in the show including Ford also participated in the recording of a track by track tribute album A Tribute to the Monks which was distributed as a free download from D Arcy s website 8 Their song Ain t Gettin Any was covered by The Slickee Boys and appears on their live album A Postcard from the Day Personnel editJohn Ford vocals guitars synthesisers 1979 1980 1981 1982 9 Richard Hudson vocals bass synthesisers 1979 1980 1981 1982 Terry Cassidy vocals synthesisers 1979 1980 1981 1982 Clive Pierce drums 1979 1980 1981 1982 Brian Willoughby guitars 1979 1980 1981 Miffy Smith keyboards 1981 1982 Huw Gower guitars 1982 Discography editAlbums edit Bad Habits 1979 Suspended Animation 1981 originally released in Canada only Singles edit Year Single Peak chart positionsUK 1 CAN1979 Nice Legs Shame About Her Face 19 I Ain t Gettin Any Johnny B Rotten Drugs In My Pocket 181980 Don t Want No Reds 1981 I Can Do Anything You Like denotes releases that did not chart or were not released References edit a b Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 375 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 a b c Doherty Mike 25 July 2012 The Monks British punks that ruled Canada and nowhere else National Post Retrieved 18 June 2013 Nice Legs Shame About The Face Songfacts com Retrieved 24 March 2009 a b c d e f g Krewen Nick 25 July 2012 The Monks Bad Habits hard to break Toronto Star Retrieved 18 June 2013 Juke Box Jury 30 June 1979 BBC1 Monks seek out faithful in Ontario Toronto Star 13 May 1981 The Monks just the ticket The Globe and Mail 19 May 1981 a b Thomas D Arcy Pays Tribute to the Monks with Members of Sloan New Pornographers Change of Heart Exclaim 11 July 2012 The Monks UK Band Official Site About Facebook Retrieved 3 August 2019 External links editThe Monks at AllMusic The Monks discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Monks UK band amp oldid 1183986638, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
