Penetration (band)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Penetration
File:Penetration band.jpg
Background information
Origin Ferryhill, County Durham, England
Genres Punk rock
Years active 1976–1980, 2001–present
Labels Virgin
Associated acts The Invisible Girls
Website Official web site
Members Pauline Murray
Robert Blamire
Steve Wallace
Paul Harvey
John Maher
Past members Gary Chaplin
Gary Smallman
Fred Purser
Neale Floyd
Graham Kaye
Billy Gilbert
Brian Atkinson
Kev Hodgson

Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members.

Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single[1][2] and their debut album, Moving Targets (1978), is still widely admired.[3][4][5][6]

Biography

The lead singer is Pauline Murray. Other members have included Robert Blamire, Gary Smallman, and Gary Chaplin, and later Neale Floyd and Fred Purser. Steve Wallace and Paul Harvey were drafted in as new guitarists in 2001.

The band took their name from an Iggy & The Stooges song and played their first gig in October 1976.[7] Their second gig was supporting The Stranglers at Newcastle City Hall.[8] Significantly, the band also played at the now-legendary punk club The Roxy during its first 100 days. On 9 April 1977, the band appeared on the same bill as Generation X.[9] Early in their career, the band also supported The Vibrators and toured with the Buzzcocks.[8]

After the release of their second single, Penetration recorded the first of two sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1 in July 1978.[10] Later that year, the band released their debut album. Moving Targets was number 6 in the Sounds Critics' albums of the year; and it made number 13 in the NME critics' chart.

In 1979, they toured Europe, the US and Britain but the gruelling schedule began to take its toll.[11] A disappointing reaction to Coming Up For Air, the second album, was the final nail in the coffin of the original band. After the band split in October an official bootleg album called Race Against Time was released, which was a collection of early demos and live tracks.

In 1980 Pauline Murray collaborated with The Invisible Girls, which also included Robert Blamire as well as other Manchester musicians such as Vini Reilly, guitarist in The Durutti Column, and Steve Hopkins. John Maher from Buzzcocks drummed for the band. Produced by Martin Hannett, the resulting album spawned the singles "Dream Sequence" and "Mr.X". Murray also provided guest vocals for The Only Ones on their track, "Fools".

Pauline Murray worked sporadically as a solo artist under the name 'Pauline Murray and The Storm' with Robert Blamire, Tim Johnston and Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey is also a Stuckist artist. Blamire also worked as a producer for various groups, including Scars, whose sole LP (1981's Author! Author!) he produced.

The remainder of the band briefly continued under the name Rhythm Clicks, releasing a 7" single in 1980 on the Red Rhino label containing the songs "Short Time", "Lies Don't Talk" and "Chains".

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

A decidedly more "rawk" proposition than many of the three-chord trainee anarchists on the scene, Murray drawing inevitable comparisons with both Patti Smith and Siouxsie Sioux for her force of personality and the strength / style of her voice.[12]

In 2015 Penetration announced the release of a new album called Resolution in October. The current line-up of the band is Pauline Murray, Robert Blamire, John Maher (ex Buzzcocks) Paul Harvey and Steve Wallace.[13]

Discography

Albums

  • Moving Targets (October 1978: V 2109) First 15,000 copies on luminous vinyl # 22 UK Albums Chart[14]
  • Coming Up For Air (September 1979: V 2131) # 36 UK
  • Race Against Time (Official bootleg) (October 1979: Virgin / Clifdayn PEN 1)
  • Resolution (October 2015: Polestar)

Compilation

  • Don't Dictate: The Best of Penetration (March 1995: CDOVD 450)

Singles

  • "Don’t Dictate" / "Money Talks" (November 1977: VS 192) Re-released in 1983.
  • "Firing Squad" / "Never" (May 1978: VS 213)
  • "Life’s A Gamble" / "V.I.P." (September 1978: VS 226)
  • "Danger Signs" / "Stone Heroes (Live)" (April 1979: VS 257) Also released, with an additional track "Vision", as a 12 inch single.
  • "Come Into the Open" / "Lifeline" (August 1979: VS 268)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mojo (October 2001) – 100 Punk Scorchers, Issue 95, London
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 ‘Penetration: Re-animated!’ David St Clair talks to Pauline Murray
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Penetration’s John Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Penetration_(band)&oldid=371236"