The Only Ones
are an English rock and roll band. They were initially active in the late 1970s and were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia. The band reformed in 2007 after the band's biggest hit "Another Girl, Another Planet" was used in a Vodafone ad campaign in 2006. [1] They completed a small UK tour in June 2007, and more dates were confirmed for 2008.
|
THE ONLY ONES TICKETS
|
Biography
The Only Ones were originally formed in August 1976 in
South London by
Peter Perrett. Perrett had been
recording demos since 1973, and in late 1975 was introduced to
guitarist John Perry as a temporary
bass guitar player. (The guitarist at that time was
Glenn Tilbrook of
Squeeze). Perry wanted to concentrate on playing guitar, so by August 1976 he and Perrett then found
drummer Mike Kellie (ex-
Spooky Tooth); and
bassist Alan Mair who previously had huge success with The Beatstalkers who became
Scotland's top group. Their first
single "Lovers Of Today", self-released on the Vengeance
record label, was immediately made 'Record of The Week' by three of the four main
music papers. A year later they signed to
CBS. Their next single "
Another Girl, Another Planet" was a very popular and influential song, and unquestionably the band's best-known
song. It is often featured on various musical box-sets featuring a
punk rock or
New Wave theme. An album was released
The Only Ones
in 1978 and was well received by reviewers and
fans. Their follow-up album was
Even Serpents Shine
released in the next year. A year later their final studio album
Baby's Got A Gun
was released. In 1982 the band officially disbanded. In subsequent years the band gained a fierce cult following and its posthumously-released records - live performances,
BBC TV and
radio shows, and
compilation albums - now outnumber their official albums. Unusually, the Only Ones
discs were never deleted from the CBS catalogue, and remain in print today.
2007
In an interview with Alan Mair in the 10 November 2006 issue of the
tabloid newspaper,
The Daily Record, he said he was set to reform
The Only Ones
after their Summer 2006
Vodafone advertisement success
[2]. On the 21 February 2007, Perry confirmed via his
MySpace page that the band would reform for a five date UK tour in June. They also played at the
Wireless Festival in London and
Leeds,
All Tomorrow's Parties festival in
Minehead,
England on 27 April and the
Connect Music Festival in
Scotland on 1 September.
News of the tour prompted coverage in several UK national
newspapers
[3] [4] and the dates were met with positive reviews
[5] [6]. During these
gigs, the band played a new song called "Dreamt She Could Fly".
It was also reported in the
press that three of the band were keen to record a new
studio album following the tour, but that Perrett seemed hesitant. However, it has now confirmed that they are now rehearsing new material for an album.
A live
DVD of the
Shepherds Bush Empire show is due for release in March 2008. The band's back catalogue is also due for re-release in remastered and expanded form via
Sony BMG, but are currently without a release date. Other rumoured releases include DVDs from a show on the band's last
U.S tour, and a re-release of
Faster Than Lightning
, which was released on
VHS in the early 1990s.
In April 2008, the band were seen on
Later... with Jools Holland
performing their song "
Another Girl Another Planet" and a new song titled "Black Operations".
2009
All three of their studio albums were re-released with bonus tracks in February 2009.
Influence
Their musical proficiency distinguished them from most of their peers, although their dominant drug-related lyrical themes, on songs such as "Another Girl, Another Planet," and "The Big Sleep," fit in with the
Zeitgeist of the era on both sides of the
Atlantic. Perrett and Kellie caught the eye of
Johnny Thunders, founding member of the
New York Dolls and the
Heartbreakers, and worked as
sidemen on his solo debut album,
So Alone
, notably appearing together on the classic "
You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory". However,
drug addiction, particularly
heroin use, derailed their career, and singer/guitarist/songwriter Perrett has only sporadically been heard from since, though he resurfaced in the mid 1990s with the album,
Woke Up Sticky
.
Lead guitarist Perry went on to play as an active
session guitarist for
artists including
The Sisters of Mercy and
Marianne Faithfull. More recently, he has written several well received music biographies - on
The Who's seminal hits compilation
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
,
The Rolling Stones' double album
Exile On Main Street
and in 2004,
Jimi Hendrix's
Electric Ladyland
. During 2005/6, he was heard playing and recording with the
singer-songwriter,
Freddie Stevenson.
The Only Ones have been very influential on the
indie rock and
alternative rock scenes ever since, on bands such as
The Replacements,
Blur and
Nirvana, and more recently
The Libertines. Several bands have covered their song "Another Girl, Another Planet", including
The Libertines (at
London Forum with Peter Perrett guesting),
The Replacements and
Blink 182.
[7]
Discography and filmography
Albums
- The Only Ones
(1978)
- Even Serpents Shine
(1979)
- Special View
(1979)
- Baby's Got A Gun
(1980)
Posthumous releases
- Remains
(1984)
- The Peel Sessions Album
(1989)
- Live
(1989)
- Live in London
(1989)
- The Big Sleep
(1993)
- The Immortal Story
(1991)
- Darkness & Light
(2002)
- Why Don't You Kill Yourself?
(2004)
- ''Another Girl Another Planet: The Best Punk Album in the World (2006)
Home video
- The Only Ones Faster Than Lightning
(1991)
- The Only Ones live June 9, 2007- Sheperds Bush Empire
(DVD-2008)
References
- Commercialbreaksandbeats.co.uk
- Dailyrecord.co.uk
- Timesonline.co.uk
- Guardian.co.uk
- Guardian.co.uk article
- Manchestereveningnews.co.uk
- Nme.com