Sam Jones

Duncan Bridgeman

Joe Dworniak

DJ and entrepreneur Tony Monson, once owned a record shop in London’s Kings Road. Three friends who had started a band entered it one day, brandishing their demo tape. Monson listened to the cassette on a car stereo, and was so impressed that he decided to snap-up the trio, and signed them immediately to his small label. Their first release, Give Me, reappeared on a fairly new label called Virgin in 1982. It sold moderately well the in UK and America, shifting 100,000 copies.

Africa born lead singer-songwriter Sam Jones was the main vocalist. Duncan Bridgeman played synthesizer and Joe Dworniak played bass guitar, and owned the studio where the tracks were recorded. A qualified sound engineer, Dworniak later produced tracks for other bands in the studio, such as Beggar & Co.

Their next single, Minefield, fared even better than it’s predecessor. But it was not allowed airplay on BBC radio during the Falklands war in 1982. The BBC at the time, had become far too sensitive with regard to song titles and their content. As they did not wish to offend servicemen involved in the conflict or even their families, they had banned a number of recordings from their irrepressible playlists. This continued into the 1990s, when Massive Attack were told to shorten their name during the Iraq war, or face similar exclusion. Pirate radio stations however, placed no such restrictions on their output.

Teacher was their next 12 inch, followed by Stone Heart, Stone Woman. Along with two other cool cuts, Face Again and Treacle, all of which were included on their first LP in 1983.

1985 saw their return with the LP Shake, and In The Sand was a track which stood out from the rest, with it’s vibe heavily influenced by reggae. The funky In The River reminded their fans of earlier days. But the rock influenced Our Song, may have alienated their original soul music fanbase. Cat Amongst the Pidgeons was included also.

Give Me 12" on Virgin

Minefield 12"

Debut LP