The Plague are an English punk rock band. Formed in South East London during 1976, the band were initially in existence until 1981.[1] They re-formed in 2005.[2] Their original line-up was:
Marc Jefferies – vocals, lead guitar
Gareth Martin – vocals, rhythm guitar
Graham Robinson – bass – Neil Hiller being the new bassist.
Marc Jefferies Gareth Martin Greg Horton Neil Hiller
Website
theplague.co.uk
The Plague are notable as a band who played London venue The Roxy many times, as well as many more shows all over the country.[1] They also scored a minor hit with their 1978 single "In Love", which received Radio 1 airplay and became a favourite of the late John Peel, a long-time champion of underground music.
After meeting at college Gareth, Graham and Marc noted a shared interest in bands such as The Damned, The Who and The Sex Pistols, and formed The Plague in the autumn of 1976. Drummer Greg Horton completed the line-up, and the band began playing together at a rehearsal space attached to a church in Bromley.
By early 1977 The Plague were playing locally, soon securing a regular slot at the Battersea Arts Centre – initially as support to musical-play "The Food Show". They were the first punk rock band to play at the venue, playing a twenty-minute set to open the show as well as providing a contemporary soundtrack to The Food Show in return for rehearsal space. As The Food Show was put on by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), the unlikely pairing played other ILEA venues together. However this was a short-lived arrangement after the band played soon-to-be fan-favourite "1, 2, Fuck You!" one night at a school. Despite requesting a punk show, school staff in the audience went berserk, almost leading to a fight between the school's PE teacher and the band/manager. The headmaster demanded an apology from The Plague, which was unforthcoming, so from that point onward they were banned from all ILEA venues – rather a fitting and appropriate state of affairs for a hungry teenage punk band in 1977.[1]
Having recorded their first demo (containing such embryonic examples of their sound as: "Again and Again", "On The Dole", and "Nightmares") [1] The Plague began their long-standing relationship with The Roxy club, playing shows with such punk luminaries as the UK Subs and Slaughter and the Dogs. Eventually the club manager Kevin St John would phone the band up when others had cancelled gigs at the last minute.
As well as regulars to the club the band brought with them their "Battersea Mob", a group of punks based at The Old Swan pub in Battersea. The Battersea Mob proved to be the most loyal of fans, some even trekking as far afield as Coventry and Manchester to see the band. It was during this time that the band wrote many songs including "Spies", "Personality Clash", "No Strings Attached", "End of the World", "Politician" and "Nuffin' Doing".[1]
After The Roxy closed The Plague remained active, playing at the Institute of Psychiatry, Camberwell, and Toyah Willcox's club night "Mayhem". One outstanding gig at the Institute resulted in interest from CBS records.[1]
Early singlesedit
"In Love" (backed with "Wimpy Bar Song") was released on two independent labels in 1978: Psycho Records and Evolution Records. Despite Radio 1 airplay for "In Love" and its backing by John Peel, The Plague's second single "Out With Me All Night" (backed with "Er!" and "I Don't Wanna Be Like Jimmy") was released in 1979 to little success.[1]
Disbandingedit
Sadly, around this time problems started to emerge within the band. Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Gareth Martin left in 1980. After that the remaining members tried to keep The Plague going, trying out vocalist Sue Slack for a while and eventually re-inventing themselves as Indoor Games with vocalist David Hood, who is still performing and now living back home in Scotland. Knowing that their initial chemistry was broken and feeling unable to continue, the band finally disbanded in 1981.[1]
The X Tapesedit
Following a resurgence of interest in original punk rock, Detour Records contacted the band in 2004 regarding the compilation of all The Plague's various demos and singles onto one vinyl/CD album. The result was The X Tapes ((p) and (c) 2005 Bin Liner Records), containing the following tracks:[3]
"I Don't Wanna Be Like Jimmy" (B-side of "Out With Me All Night" single)
"Dog Days"
"The End of the World"
"Er!" (B-side of "Out With Me All Night" single)
"Out with Me All Night"
"Stop" (vocals by Sue Slack)
"On the Dole" (from the original Plague demo tape)
"Again and Again" (from the original Plague demo tape)
"Nightmares" (from the original Plague demo tape)
Reunionedit
The Plague got back together in 2005 when Gareth and Greg, who had remained in-touch, contacted Marc. Graham Robinson declined to rejoin, possibly because he is now living in Scotland, making rehearsals a difficult matter. They employed Chris Gambold as their replacement bassist and he was with the band until 2016. Since their reactivation, The Plague have played gigs in London and are working towards recording and releasing an album of brand new recordings, containing both new and old material.[2][4]
The Plague released their latest album What Do You Expect in 2015. The album includes some originals such as "End of the World" and "On the Dole" as well as some new songs. All of which are available on their BandCamp page. In 2016, they have played numerous gigs in and around London playing old and new songs such as "In Love", their most popular song, and "Whammy Bar," their latest song. A couple of venues they have played being the Tottenham Chances Club and The Gunners. They have been promoting What Do You Expect as well as The X Tapes albums.
Referencesedit
^ abcdefgh"The Plague – A punk history with pictures". Punk77.co.uk.
^"The Scooter Scene and Beyond". Detour-records.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
^Interview by Craig Taylor. "Are you happy? Marc Jeffries, punk rocker | Life and style". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
External linksedit
The Plague on Discogs
October 28, 2023
plague, british, band, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, topic, this, article, meet, wikipedia, notability, guideline, music, please, help, demonstrate, n. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s notability guideline for music Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources The Plague British band news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self published sources Please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately May 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Plague are an English punk rock band Formed in South East London during 1976 the band were initially in existence until 1981 1 They re formed in 2005 2 Their original line up was Marc Jefferies vocals lead guitar Gareth Martin vocals rhythm guitar Graham Robinson bass Neil Hiller being the new bassist Greg Horton drums vocalsThe PlagueOriginSouth East London EnglandGenresPunk rockYears active1976 1981 2005 presentMembersMarc JefferiesGareth MartinGreg HortonNeil HillerWebsitetheplague wbr co wbr uk The Plague are notable as a band who played London venue The Roxy many times as well as many more shows all over the country 1 They also scored a minor hit with their 1978 single In Love which received Radio 1 airplay and became a favourite of the late John Peel a long time champion of underground music Contents 1 Origins 2 Early singles 3 Disbanding 4 The X Tapes 5 Reunion 6 References 7 External linksOrigins editAfter meeting at college Gareth Graham and Marc noted a shared interest in bands such as The Damned The Who and The Sex Pistols and formed The Plague in the autumn of 1976 Drummer Greg Horton completed the line up and the band began playing together at a rehearsal space attached to a church in Bromley By early 1977 The Plague were playing locally soon securing a regular slot at the Battersea Arts Centre initially as support to musical play The Food Show They were the first punk rock band to play at the venue playing a twenty minute set to open the show as well as providing a contemporary soundtrack to The Food Show in return for rehearsal space As The Food Show was put on by the Inner London Education Authority ILEA the unlikely pairing played other ILEA venues together However this was a short lived arrangement after the band played soon to be fan favourite 1 2 Fuck You one night at a school Despite requesting a punk show school staff in the audience went berserk almost leading to a fight between the school s PE teacher and the band manager The headmaster demanded an apology from The Plague which was unforthcoming so from that point onward they were banned from all ILEA venues rather a fitting and appropriate state of affairs for a hungry teenage punk band in 1977 1 Having recorded their first demo containing such embryonic examples of their sound as Again and Again On The Dole and Nightmares 1 The Plague began their long standing relationship with The Roxy club playing shows with such punk luminaries as the UK Subs and Slaughter and the Dogs Eventually the club manager Kevin St John would phone the band up when others had cancelled gigs at the last minute As well as regulars to the club the band brought with them their Battersea Mob a group of punks based at The Old Swan pub in Battersea The Battersea Mob proved to be the most loyal of fans some even trekking as far afield as Coventry and Manchester to see the band It was during this time that the band wrote many songs including Spies Personality Clash No Strings Attached End of the World Politician and Nuffin Doing 1 After The Roxy closed The Plague remained active playing at the Institute of Psychiatry Camberwell and Toyah Willcox s club night Mayhem One outstanding gig at the Institute resulted in interest from CBS records 1 Early singles edit In Love backed with Wimpy Bar Song was released on two independent labels in 1978 Psycho Records and Evolution Records Despite Radio 1 airplay for In Love and its backing by John Peel The Plague s second single Out With Me All Night backed with Er and I Don t Wanna Be Like Jimmy was released in 1979 to little success 1 Disbanding editSadly around this time problems started to emerge within the band Rhythm guitarist vocalist Gareth Martin left in 1980 After that the remaining members tried to keep The Plague going trying out vocalist Sue Slack for a while and eventually re inventing themselves as Indoor Games with vocalist David Hood who is still performing and now living back home in Scotland Knowing that their initial chemistry was broken and feeling unable to continue the band finally disbanded in 1981 1 The X Tapes editFollowing a resurgence of interest in original punk rock Detour Records contacted the band in 2004 regarding the compilation of all The Plague s various demos and singles onto one vinyl CD album The result was The X Tapes p and c 2005 Bin Liner Records containing the following tracks 3 Come Together Lennon McCartney Lay Me in the Moonlight In Love Wimpy Bar Song B side of In Love single Nuffin Doing I Don t Wanna Be Like Jimmy B side of Out With Me All Night single Dog Days The End of the World Er B side of Out With Me All Night single Out with Me All Night Stop vocals by Sue Slack On the Dole from the original Plague demo tape Again and Again from the original Plague demo tape Nightmares from the original Plague demo tape Reunion editThe Plague got back together in 2005 when Gareth and Greg who had remained in touch contacted Marc Graham Robinson declined to rejoin possibly because he is now living in Scotland making rehearsals a difficult matter They employed Chris Gambold as their replacement bassist and he was with the band until 2016 Since their reactivation The Plague have played gigs in London and are working towards recording and releasing an album of brand new recordings containing both new and old material 2 4 The Plague released their latest album What Do You Expect in 2015 The album includes some originals such as End of the World and On the Dole as well as some new songs All of which are available on their BandCamp page In 2016 they have played numerous gigs in and around London playing old and new songs such as In Love their most popular song and Whammy Bar their latest song A couple of venues they have played being the Tottenham Chances Club and The Gunners They have been promoting What Do You Expect as well as The X Tapes albums References edit a b c d e f g h The Plague A punk history with pictures Punk77 co uk a b 1 dead link The Scooter Scene and Beyond Detour records co uk Retrieved 1 June 2020 Interview by Craig Taylor Are you happy Marc Jeffries punk rocker Life and style The Guardian Retrieved 1 June 2020 External links editThe Plague on Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Plague British band amp oldid 1178002589, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
