Johnny Moped are an English punk rock group formed in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

in the mid-1970s, who once had

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

(later of

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

) and

Captain Sensible Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...

(later of the Damned) as members.

Biography

Formed in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in May 1974, the band were a

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

band. Initially calling themselves Johnny Moped and the 5 Arrogant Superstars, by August they changed their moniker to Assault and Buggery, then the Commercial Band, before reverting to just Johnny Moped by January 1975. Johnny Moped became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's Roxy Club. They played two gigs in February 1977, one supporting

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' (w ...

and one backing the Damned. The following month they played two more, one supporting

Slaughter & the Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...

and the other backing the Damned. In April, they were on a bill that included

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X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

and the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

and the band also supported Motorhead at The

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

. Johnny Moped’s "Hard Lovin’ Man" appeared on the hit various artists album ''

Live at the Roxy WC2 ''The Roxy London WC2'' is a live album of recordings taken from various punk bands that played at The Roxy club in Covent Garden, London between January and April 1977. Overview The original Harvest Records release in 1977 (cat. no. SHSP 4069 ...

'' (

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

, 1977). The band signed with

Chiswick Records Chiswick Records was a British independent record label. Established in 1975, Chiswick was the "first true ' indie' label to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the " punk era". It re ...

and released three singles, including "

Little Queenie "Little Queenie" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. Released in March 1959 as a double A-side single with " Almost Grown", it was included on '' Chuck Berry Is on Top'' (1959), Berry's first compilation album. He performed the song in ...

" (a cover of the

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

song), and one album - ''Cycledelic'' - before splitting up. First single "No-One" later featured on the Chiswick various artists sampler album ''Long Shots, Dead Certs and Odds On Favourites'' in 1978, while b-side "Incendiary Device" made number 15 in

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

’s ‘Festive Fifty’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977. Sixteen years after its release, the publishers of ''

The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...

'', named ''Cycledelic'' as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time. Most of the band reformed to record a second album ''The Search For Xerxes'' in 1991. A documentary about the band, ''Basically, Johnny Moped'', produced by Fred Burns, premiered in September 2013. In 2015 the band, that now featured Rob Brook on second guitar, and long time bassist Jacko Pistorious alongside Johnny, Slimey and Dave, entered the Panther Studios in Surrey, with producer Dick Crippen, to record a new album. The first single to be taken from it was "Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie" backed with "Super Woofa", which came out on Damaged Goods Records on 31 July 2015 as a limited 7" and download. 2018 saw the band back at Panther Studios with producer Dick Crippen to record their fourth studio album.

Reviews

Johnny Moped’s style has been variously described as: * ‘Moronic punk ‘n’ roll fusing future Chiswick label-mates

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

with the manic humour of

John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography 1970s and 1980s Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Although his first single, "Gypsy"/"Misty Mounta ...

’. * ‘They were one of Chiswick’s top bands because they bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub rock and the beery end of punk’. * ''Cycledelic'' was "absolute madness. The greatest songs, the sloppiest playing, a voice to make

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

feel grateful and the sheer immortality of the since-oft-covered "Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby". Rating: nine out of ten". * ‘Johnny Moped had been about for a few years practising their sonic terrorism in & around Croydon by the time ''Punk Rock broke''. That didn’t stop them signing to Chiswick Records & releasing the utterly superb 45 No One (NS 15) & the equally frenetic LP, Cycledelic (Wik 8). Perennially written off by the snobbier elements of the Punk elite, mates of Captain Sensible & part time roadies for the Damned - Johnny Moped had it all’. * Legends… ‘In any discussion of punk’s greatest legends the name of Johnny Moped forever looms large – not necessarily for the vitality of their vinyl, although few would deny that the Moped had few peers in that arena. Nor through the brilliant chaos of their live shows, although a good Moped gig could keep you grinning for a week. No, Johnny Moped was a legend because with a reputation and a presentation like theirs, what else could they be?’ The band's single 'Darling Let's Have Another Baby' features among 'The 12 Greatest Punk Rock Records Ever Made' - a

listicle In journalism and blogging, a listicle is an article that is structured as a list, which is often fleshed out with additional text relating to each item. A typical listicle will prominently feature a cardinal number in its title, with subsequent su ...

published by

Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fam ...

on his

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

blog.Danny Baker (August 2020) "The 12 Greatest Punk Rock Records Ever Made"
Baker sums up the appearance of guitarist Slimey Toad as follows: "It was as if God was intending to make a twin brother for

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

but had run out of materials halfway through."

Discography

Studio albums

*''Cycledelic'' (April 1978:

, WIK 8) *''The Search For Xerxes'' (May 1991: Deltic) *''It's A Real Cool Baby'' (25 March 2016: Damaged Goods) *''Lurrigate Your Mind'' (24 May 2019: Damaged Goods)

Live albums

*''Johnny Moped Live in Trafalgar Square'' (1983) (13 December 2019: Damage Goods)

Compilations

*''Basically: The Best of'' (September 1995: Chiswick) *''The Bootleg Tapes: I & II'' (September 2007: Damaged Goods)

Appearances on V/A compilations (Selective)

*"Hard Lovin’ Man" - ''

'' compilation album (24 June 1977: Harvest Records SHSP4069) No. 24

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

*"No-One" - ''Long Shots, Dead Certs and Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two)'' sampler album (1978: Chiswick Records CH 5) *"Incendiary Device" - ''

Pogo A Go Go! ''Pogo A Go Go!'' is a cassette album released by '' NME'' Magazine in 1986 (later released as a CD NME RE 501), reflecting on the punk/new-wave era. It contains some rare or unreleased tracks by well-known artists such as the Sex Pistols, The C ...

'' cassette compilation (1986:

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

Magazine NME 021)

Singles

*"No One" / "Incendiary Device" (August 1977: Chiswick, 515) *"Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby" / "Something Else" / "It Really Digs" (January 1978: Chiswick, NS 27) *"Little Queenie" / "Hard Lovin' Man" (June 1978: Chiswick, NS 42) *"Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie" / "Super Woofa" July 2015: Damaged Goods, DAMGOOD446) *"Real Cool Baby" / "Never Never Time" (12 February 2016: Damaged Goods) *"Everything is you" / "Post Apocalyptic love song" April 2016 Damaged Goods. *"Catatonic" / "Hard Lovin Man" 18 August 2017 Damaged Goods DAMGOOD483 *"Motorhead" / "City Kids" September 2018 Damaged Goods DAMGOOD503 *"Living in a Dream Word" / "Save the Baby Seals" April 2019 Damaged Goods, DAMGOOD513 *'Hey Belinda' / 'Hiawatha' 23 August 2019 Damaged Goods, DAMGOOD521

References

External links

*
Johnny Moped Punk77 page

Unofficial band site

Damaged Goods page

Basically Johnny Moped website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnny Moped English punk rock groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in England People from Croydon