Cowboys International (also stylised as Cowboys International®) were a new wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter

Ken Lockie Ken Lockie (born 1956) is an English singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the creative force behind English new wave band Cowboys International and as a sometime collaborator with John Lydon in Public Image Ltd. Early life and educa ...

that put out one album in 1979, the influential '' The Original Sin'', and a handful of 45s before dissolving in 1980.

History

In the late 1970s,

and

Keith Levene Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of both the Clash and Public Image Ltd (PiL). While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut album '' Public Image: First Issue'' reached No 2 ...

were in a band called The Quick Spurts. Changing their name to Cowboys International, the members were Lockie on lead vocals, Rick Jacks on guitar, Jimmy Hughes (formerly of

The Banned ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) on bass, Evan Charles on piano, and ex- Clash

Terry Chimes Terence Chimes (born 5 July 1956, Stepney, London, England) is an English musician, best known as the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again fro ...

on drums. This line-up, with a little help of Levene (who was in

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and d ...

) recorded and released '' The Original Sin'' album in 1979. After the releasing of the album and a tour, the band suffered important line-up changes: Chimes (who joined

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...

) was replaced by Paul Simon (previously in Neo,

Radio Stars Radio Stars were an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also included ex-John's Children v ...

and

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); Jacks by Allan Rawlings and

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and man ...

(

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

member), who recorded some material in 1980 with the band, but they were replaced by ex-

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

Steve Shears; and Hughes (who joined

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) by Lee Robinson of

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fame but later replaced by Pete Jones shortly afterwards; the last band alineation (Lockie, Charles, Jones, Simon and Shears) did the last band tour, which ended at the Kantkino Theatre in Berlin. The band split up in late 1980. After the dissolving of the band, Lockie pursued a solo career, with collaborations of other former members, Simon and Shears, then other musicians who played in different bands with trajectory. Also by this time, and along with Pete Jones, he joined

, reuniting with Keith Levene but his membership was brief, dedicating to producing music, but retired in the mid-1980s. Simon formed

The Fallout Club The Fallout Club was a British synth-pop and new wave band formed by Irish singer Trevor Herion, the experimental drummer Paul Simon, future successful Thomas Dolby on keyboards, and bassist Matthew Seligman in 1981. Herion and Simon formed the ...

, worked with

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

and

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only albu ...

, and he now works with his brother Robin in AjantaMusic. Shears formed Faith Global, and later retired from the music business. Charles' whereabouts are unknown. In 2003, Lockie reissued the original album along with non-album material and alternate mixes on the compilation album '' Revisited''. He also revived Cowboys International, and began to work on more original material on ''The Backwards Life of Romeo'', which was released in 2004.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' The Original Sin'' (1979) *'' The Backwards Life of Romeo'' (2004)

Compilations

*'' Revisited'' (2003)

Singles

* "Thrash" (b/w "Many Times (Revised)") (1979) * "Aftermath" (b/w "Future Noise") (1979) * "Nothing Doing" (b/w "2 Millions") (Virgin, 1979) * " Today Today" (b/w "Fixation") (February 1980)

Legacy and influence

The song "Wish" from '' The Original Sin'' was an inspiration for the song "You Ain't Got Me" by French cyberpunk band Punish Yourself as stated on the sleeve notes of their ''Pink Panther Party'' album.

References

External links

Official site

Official MySpace site

Former Cowboys bass player Pete Jones' site

rateyourmusic.com
{{Authority control English pop music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Musical groups reestablished in 2003