The Vibrators

Early career

The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, "We Vibrate". The band also backed Spedding on his single, "Pogo Dancing".

The Vibrators recorded sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1 in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978. They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's Roxy Club. They headlined in January 1977, supported by The Drones, and in February they played twice at the venue. In March 1977 the band supported Iggy Pop on his British tour. Later that year they backed ex-Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter.

Epic Records

The band signed to Epic Records in early 1977. Their debut album, Pure Mania was co-produced with Robin Mayhew, the sound engineer for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust live shows, and reached the Top 50 of the UK Albums Chart. The album is well regarded by some music critics and, 17 years after its release The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music named Pure Mania one of the 50 best punk albums of all time.

Their follow-up album, V2, narrowly missed the UK Top 30. The only single to be taken from that album, "Automatic Lover", was the only Vibrators’ single to reach the UK Top 40 where it reached No. 35. It earned the band a TV appearance on the prime-time TV show Top of the Pops. The Vibrators’ final single on Epic, "Judy Says (Knock You In The Head)", was released in June 1978. It reached No. 70 in the UK singles chart. Years later it was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.

Later years

A lack of further chart activity, and with only one UK Top 40 single to their credit, sees the Vibrators join the list of one-hit wonders; a list that includes other UK punk and new wave acts such as The Banned, John Cooper Clarke, The Flying Lizards, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and the Rich Kids.

During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with Peter Gabriel, as well as recording and touring frequently with Peter Hammill, then subsequently The Stranglers, eventually joining the latter full-time in the 1990s. Pat Collier went on to work closely with The Soft Boys, producing their seminal album, Underwater Moonlight, and Robyn Hitchcock, producing and mixing some of his solo albums (to which Knox also sometimes contributed). Phil Ram went on to form Able Ram and brought out two singles, Disco in Moscow, and Hope We Make It, although without any chart success. Phil later combined a career in gardening alongside music. Despite numerous line-up changes, The Vibrators are still touring to this date as a three-piece, "Eddie" being the only original member.

Influence

The band Stiff Little Fingers took its name from the Vibrators' song of the same title. The song was penned by John Ellis, and appeared on the Vibrators' debut album, Pure Mania. Second wave punk band The Exploited covered the Vibrators' song "Troops of Tomorrow" and used it as the title track for their 1982 album. A cover of "Troops of Tomorrow" was also recorded by the Polish death metal band Vader, and released as a bonus track on the band's 2011 album, Welcome to the Morbid Reich. The Vibrators was the main influence on some Brazilian punk rock bands like the Pupilas Dilatadas.

Studio albums

Singles released up to 1980