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The Slowguns

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The Slowguns (or SlowGuns as they preferred) were a Stockport, England punk rock band whose brief career spanned two singles between 1978 and 1980. Although a part of the burgeoning local punk scene, the mod influence was obvious in both their sound and look. Their line-up briefly included Stockport-based actress Joanne Whalley, who was then unknown.

The SlowGuns were two Stockport brothers, Peter Daulby (vocals) and David Daulby, (guitar), bassist Terry Podmore and a pool of irregular drummers. The two principal songwriters were Podmore and Peter Daulby, who met at a local art college.

Their first single, released in 1978, was "T.V. Movie" with the B-side of "American HeartBeat"; both songs a swipe at the vapidity of American culture. Both sides were also marked by an idiosyncratic off-the-wall guitar style and melodic facility, that placed them above the usual three chord thrash of the time.

The single garnered praise from the former BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel (who preferred the B-side), and was voted joint record of the week with The Notsensibles "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" in the English music journal Sounds.

The second single "The Time Is Right for Us" backed by "My Karma" was much poppier than their first outing but met with little success. Internal dissent within the group caused them to split in 1980.

Despite their general obscurity, or because of it, interest from punk nostalgists and the internet have made original SlowGuns singles highly collectible. Interest may also have been created by bootlegging of their first single on illegal CD punk compilation albums such as Bloodstains Across The UK

An album is said to exist but has yet to come to light.

References

The Slowguns Wikipedia