The Inmates are a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

pub rock band, which formed after the split of The Flying Tigers in 1977. In 1982, they had a medium-sized international

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with a cover of

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best kno ...

' "

Dirty Water "Dirty Water" is a song by the American rock band The Standells, written by their producer Ed Cobb. The song is a mock paean to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its then-famously polluted Boston Harbor and Charles River. History Accordi ...

", and a UK

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit with their cover of

Jimmy McCracklin James David Walker Jr. (August 13, 1921 – December 20, 2012), better known by his stage name Jimmy McCracklin, was an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career tha ...

's track, " The Walk". "Dirty Water" reached number 51 in the United States in January 1980. The song led directly to them recording their debut album, ''First Offence'', produced by

Vic Maile Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for the Animals on their song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in th ...

for

Radar Records Radar Records was a UK-based record label formed in late 1977 by Martin Davis (managing director) who had previously worked at United Artists Records, and Andrew Lauder, who had previously been head of A&R at the UK divisions of Liberty Recor ...

. Two further albums were quickly recorded; ''Shot in the Dark'' again produced by Vic Maile, and ''Heatwave in Alaska'' produced by Stuart Coleman. Around 1981, lead singer Bill Hurley became ill following a breakdown, and his place was taken for some time by Barrie Masters, who had recently split with Eddie and the Hot Rods. The Inmates continued to record (''True Live Stories'', a live album recorded by Vic Maile at London's the Venue nightclub and, ''Five'', a studio album again produced by Maile) and tour with Masters until he decided to reform the Hot Rods, and Hurley was well enough to return to fronting the Inmates. In 1987, The Inmates recorded ''Meet the Beatles'', a live album of Beatles

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s. It was re-released on CD with bonus cuts including a live version of "Dirty Water". One of The Inmates' songs, "So Much in Love" (written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

), was covered by

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of th ...

in the mid-1990s. Another song, "I Can't Sleep" from their debut LP ''First Offence'', was included as a chapter heading in the Stephen King bestseller ''Christine''. "(I Thought I Heard A) Heartbeat" was recorded by American band

Will and the Kill Will and the Kill were an American rock band from Austin, Texas. Will and the Kill's members included Will Sexton, brother of guitarist Charlie Sexton, and David Grissom, later of Storyville. The group released one self-titled album on MCA Reco ...

, which included guitarist Will Sexton (brother of

Charlie Sexton Charles Wayne Sexton (born August 11, 1968) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Sexton is best known for his years as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band, though also has become well known as a music producer. Sexton co-founded the Ar ...

) and Dr. Feelgood on the album ''Classic'', the last release on Stiff Records. Dr. Feelgood also recorded "Sweet Sweet Lovin'" on their album ''Fast Women, Slow Horses''. As of 2013, The Inmates were still working and touring, especially in continental Europe. After thirty years, they still have four of the original five band members, and continue to play both original songs and covers. In 2022, Peter Gunn, the lead guitarist of the Inmates, released a solo album, credited to Peter Gunn & the Neatbloods, entitled ''Life Savings''. This included a guest appearance on drums by Jim Russell.

Line-up

*Bill Hurley - vocals *Peter Gunn - guitar *Tony Oliver - guitar *Ben Donnelly - bass *Eddie Edwards - drums ;Former members *Jim Russell - drums *Paul Turner - drums * Barrie Masters - vocals

Discography

*''First Offence'' (1979) US number 40 *''Shot in the Dark'' (1980) *''Heatwave in Alaska'' (1981) *''True Live Stories'' (1984) *''Five'' (1985) *''Meet the Beatles'' (1988) *''Fast Forward'' (1989) *''Inside Out'' (1991) *''Wanted'' (1993) *''Silverio'' (1997) *''Heat of the Night (Live)'' (2003) *''Back in History (Live)'' (2008)

References

External links

Official Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inmates, The English rock music groups English new wave musical groups British pub rock music groups Musical groups established in 1977 Radar Records artists Polydor Records artists