Bombsite fanzine; Eric's forgotton

Too Punk to Handle..

Accelerators - c1977-81, feat; Chris Martin (voc,hrmc), Martin 'Yarker' Smith (gtr) (later Lawnmower), Kathy Freeman (gtr,keys) (now of Kathy-X), Tony Doyle (bass) (later Lawnmower, Adams Family, Cat Scratch Fever), Brian 'Damage' Harcombe (drms) (Shop Soiled, Filibuster, Death Kit, Restless later Adams Family). Orig bassist was Graham Marsh (for 1st 3mnths). Martin Yarker replaced by Leigh Marles for final year. Rel 12" EP Pop Guns & Green Lanterns (on Spiv). Also had a trk 'Radio Blues' on 'Street To Street' comp on Open Eye Recs. Did over 400 gigs. Chris or Tony was verbally abused on Prescott Rd by Mick Mada for having a Leo Sayer haircut & a shit band, they went onto work together on the sound at the Garden Festival in 1985. Did T.V. + Radio, played gigs from Havanna Club to Liverpool Empire to numerous festivals. Ran own management, record label (Spiv Recs) + P.A.and transport. Played alongside Siouxsie + Banshees, XTC, Rich Kids, Steve Hillage, Discharge, Buzzcocks, Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance, Spizz, Angelic Upstarts, Cheap Trick, OMD, Tom Robinson. Road crew - Mike Walker (sound,driver), Chris Bray (backline) and Sandra (drum tech).

Berlin – band (1977-78), feat; Roy White (voc) (later Fun, Victims of Romance, White & Torch, Roy White Band), Johnny 'Riff' Reynolds (gtr) (later Fun, 3D), Jim Mealy (bass) (later Fun, Victims of Romance, White & Torch, Roy White Band, Bamboo Fringe), Gerry Garland (sax) (later Fun, Victims of Romance, Bamboo Fringe), Roy Banks (drms) who left to get married.


A Design For Living - A Design For Living, formed in 1977 by John Talbot and Steve Whittle, evolved through various personnel changes into The Flag, Marinebeat and finally The Paper Tribe. The musical style also changing from a raw edged "summer of punk" guitar-driven vibe to a post punk electronica. This fertile time was punctuated by support slots for various bands including Howard Devoto and Fad Gadget as well as headliners, usually in L'pool or Bristol. Steve left the band in 1980 but rejoined the Beach Bastards in 1988.

China Crisis - Founded in Liverpool, England by Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon. The two started working together in 1979 after leaving school. Gary Daly - Vocals, keyboards; Eddie Lundon - Guitar, vocals; Garry "Gazza" Johnson - Bass guitar ;Kevin Wilkinson - Drums and percussion; Brian McNeill - Keyboards; Dave Reilly - Percussion
China Crisis emerged from the post-Eric's Club scene in Liverpool. Originally signed to the Inevitable label they established themselves as capable songwriters, crafting intelligent yet accessible pop tunes. This later led to chart success when the signed to the Virgin label with top twenty hits such as Black Man Ray and Christian. Their biggest success was with Wishful Thinking which reached No. 9 in the UK charts in 1984.

Destroyers - band of mid to late 70s, feat; Ian Barry (bass) (later of 3d A Fish in Sea, Snapshots, Sneax), Mark Barry (gtr), They played Erics more times than any other band (resident band early 77 to early 78). Ian has since moved to California & Mark is recording a Granada TV (Jan03) for Peter Hooton (The Farm) about the Liverpool scene in the late 70's early 80's.

Hugo Dines Band - (1977-78) feat; Carl Gleeson (voc,gtr) (later Malchix, Cracked Actor), John Hall (gtr) (later MI5, Flashpoint), Tom (bass), ? (drms). A live video of them with the Spitfire Boys was rec at Erics. Used to have several backing singers.

Martin and the Brownshirts - raw energy punk and Eric's regulars from Chester.

Norman Graveney, Paul Adams, Willie Williams, Paul Urmston. Later Norman and Willie formed post punk band The Montellas, toured US with "Was not Was" Check vid here

They produced some great material, but there was a change of management, so it's all sitting on the shelves of the record company. By all accounts it's a masterpiece -with production input from Don Was of Was (Not Was), but even the band members haven't got copies, so very little chance of it seeing the light of day. Maybe someone should petition BMG Records?

Nina Antonia - When Nina decided to combine her dual fascinations for rock'n'roll and the printed word she headed straight for familiar territory. "I didn't have any experience in writing books, I was 22 years old and all I'd done was contribute two short pieces to a local fanzine. What prompted me to write 'In Cold Blood' was that Johnny had gone M.I.A. Lost in America some place--and maybe dead, according to the rumours. I just couldn't bear the thought of it, and writing 'In Cold Blood' became the quest to find Johnny Thunders."
"For all the difficulties," Antonia says. "And the hours spent in solitude working away, I'm really glad that I've written the books that I have. It's like capturing a moment that otherwise might have just slipped by."
As well as continuing to write, Nina started managing 4 piece outfit The Skuzzies in 2006. Hailed by Strokes producer Gordon Raphael as 'The best new band in London in the last 5 years' The Skuzzies have their own gritty mythology which has only just begun to unfold. According to Nina The Skuzzies " Are like the city after midnight, dangerous and appealing." For more on The Skuzzies go to www.myspace.com/skuzzies

OMD - Eric's was the venue of choice for the debut performance of Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark in October 1978. Naming themselves after an obscure VCLXI song, Humphreys and McCluskey launched their own unique style of catchy electronic melodies that helped form OMD's reputation for intelligent pop. Back then, to burden your band with such an unwieldy name as Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark might have seemed somewhat unwise, but the obvious commercial appeal of their music provoked enough interest that it eventually led to Factory Record's supremo Tony Wilson offering them the chance to cut their debut single 'Electricity' on the Factory label. Interesting fact, Chester Valentino was a pseudonym for Paul Collister used on early OMD releases. The name actually came from a nightclub in Chester called Valentino's.

Stormtroopers – punk band formed Feb77 after listening to the Ramones 1st LP, feat; Mark Alman (voc), John "Bandage" England (bass), Mike Howarth (gtr), Johnny Mac (drms). Played Eric's once and had to rename for the gig as Stiletto Heels as Roger Eagle thought the name was too fascist. The name Stormtroopers was actually a mishearing of "Shocktroopers" on the Ramones LP. Played a number of local gigs around L'pool, Widnes and Warrington and a gig at The Roxy in London. Split Dec77 when Mike had left to go to Uni and following a series of guitarists boredom set in. Their hand painted band van was the talk of L'pool. "Have you seen The Stormtroopers" splashed over the sides of an ex bread van.

The Toilets - Rhyl's 1st punk band formed in 1977, feat Mike Peters (aka WC Smith) (gtr), Glyn Crossley (aka Steve Shock) (bass), Nigel Buckle (Des Troy) (drms), O'Malley (Bo Larks) (voc). Orig singer Gaz Hughes didn't show up for rehearsals. Played 1st gig at the Palace Hotel in Rhyl opening with Nothing To Do. Built up large support in North Wales and supported The Slits, The Clash and Buzzcocks with songs such as Alarm Alarm, James Bond, and Social Security. Split up in 1978 playing their last show at the 1520 Club in Rhyl on Jan 27th. The Toilets were re-created in 1992 by Mike for a one-off performance at the first MPO Gathering weekend.

Unit Q - Hoylake based punk band (1977-79) feat; Wayne Hudson (voc), Beaker (gtr), Stu Crosby (drms) and another gtr. Played regularly across Wirral, often at The Hamilton in B'head with Abort The Attack (ATA) etc.Regulars at The Rakers in Hoylake. A live tape of a Hamilton show exists though the quality is appalling. Wayne Hudson still lives in Hoylake, Beaker disappeared to Berlin (rumour has). Described as an excellent punk group in the traditional sense whose song highlight was 'CID Man'.

Why Control – punk band (formed 1977), prev called Bombsite, after local fanzine they produced. The band featured Clif 'Cookie' Ison (voc), Martin Cass (gtr), Colin Gronbach (bass), Mark Hodgkinson (drms). As Eric's regulars they quickly developed a following around Liverpool, Queensferry, Mold and Chester. Songs incl; Why Control It, England's Glory, I Hate, History, Sold Out.
Inspired by bands like The Clash, The Pistols and The Buzzcocks the members avoided the local art crowd and believed punk rock was about breaking down walls with raw energy, loud amps and broken speakers. The idea of a record deal or signing a record contract contradicted or eroded the origins of their ideology.