Misspent Youth were a

glam punk Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short-lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. History Glam punk has been seen as a backlash to ...

band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Formed in 1975, they were heavily influenced by the rock bands,

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

. They released the single "Betcha Wont Dance" backed with their anthem "Birmingham Boys" on ex-

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

manager Jim Simpson's record label

Big Bear Records Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

in 1979 and could "boast quite a following" in Birmingham.

Career

The band's initial line-up consisted of Jon Buxton (guitar, vocals) Iain Hewitt (bass guitar) and Terry Boazman (drums). They made their debut early in 1976 at The Golden Eagle, Birmingham supporting Supanova (whose guitarist Keith Rimell would later join The Killjoys).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, They later added Dave Banks (vocals); Tony McIlwain replaced Boazman on drums. The band recorded their first demos "School Report," "Suzie’s Shinin'" and "Misspent Youth" at Nest Studios in Birmingham. Soon after Dave Banks left and subsequently Iain Hewitt left and was replaced on bass guitar by Stevie Cull. The new line-up again went into the studios, this time Outlaw Studios, Birmingham to record "Nightclub," "Its a Raid" and "Birmingham Boys," which were featured on local radio station

BRMB Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...

. After recording their most commercial song at Horizon 16 track Studios, home of Two Tone records, the band approached local entrepreneur Simpson about releasing it through his Big Bear label; called "Betcha Wont Dance" b/w "Birmingham Boys," it was given the catalogue number of BB20. Due to constant delays on the release date, the band lost patience and went to the plant where the record was pressed (in Dagenham) and removed 950 copies. Most were put into the local dump. After bass player Stevie Cull left to be replaced by Peter Chapman, a 1000-strong petition from fans was gathered and sent to the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, which resulted in the appearance of Misspent Youth on "Look Hear" which took place in Dec 1979 at

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

, Birmingham. Introduced by

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays an ...

, they supported the

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

. The band went their separate ways in 1980. They were considered by some "to be Birmingham's finest live band of the era" and "one of the more popular under achieving punk bands of the era." In November 2002 Garden Records released a CD compilation of their work titled ''The Punk Years 1976-1980'' "that goes some way to capturing the bands appeal".

References

English punk rock groups {{UK-rock-band-stub Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands