Nicky Tesco, frontman of punk band The Members, died last week aged 66. The group signed to Virgin in the great major label scramble to sign punk bands in 1977/ 1978 and wrote one of the great singles of UK punk, Sound Of The Suburbs- a slice of energy, guitars and dissatisfaction with boredom that every teenager in the late 70s could identify with, tailor made for the 7" single and bedroom record player.
'Every boring Sunday morning/ Old men washing their cars/ Mum's in the kitchen cooking Sunday dinner/ Herbert's still moaning for food/ And Johnny's upstairs in the bedroom/ Sitting in the dark/ Annoying the neighbours with his punk rock electric guitar.... This is the sound/ This is the sound of the suburbs'
It's not all about the suburbs though. The Members were more than capable of taking aim at more political targets. In 1979 they took a shot at tax dodgers, banks, Bermuda and the Bahamas.
Nicky was a member of The Members throughout the first incarnation of the band but left in 1983). He became an actor and in 1989 appeared the still bewildering but brilliant Leningrad Cowboys Go America, a film about a fictional Russian band with enormous quiffs on tour in the US. On Twitter earlier this week my online friend Danny Kelly summarised the importance of Nicky Tesco and The Members- ' trillions of words were written about punk. Wasted effort. You nailed it in five'.
RIP Nicky Tesco.
5 comments:
Nice tribute.
Didn't discover this song until I bought a punk compilation album called... Sound Of The Suburbs. Which did exactly as it said on the tin. Think it's still in the collection. Have to dig it out.
In the summer of 1980 I met a bunch of English guys, one of whom had a made a mix tape for his trip to the States. It was loaded with great punk/post-punk songs by bands I never heard of that would become favorites: Stranglers, The Jam, Siouxsie, The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four & co. None of those bands would get anything but local college radio play, if that. Among the tracks was 'Sound of the Suburbs' by the Members. This band seemed to take itself a little less seriously. I've always had a soft spot for the band and this song in particular. Didn't know what became of them or of Tesco's passing. Damn.
That Sound Of The Suburbs compilation is superb. Frequently found in service stations and charity shops and worth every penny. I have the single on 7", clear vinyl with a cut out sleeve. Perfect punk artefact
Sound Of The Suburbs is as important as any early Clash, Jam, Pistols, Ramones song to me.
Fine and well-deserved tribute. Thank You.
Post a Comment