Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "

If the Kids Are United "If the Kids Are United" is a song by English punk rock band Sham 69. The single, backed by the B-side "Sunday Morning Nightmare", was a success and reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1978. The song was also featured on their 1980 ...

" and " Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', and they appeared in the rockumentary film, ''

D.O.A. DOA may refer to: * Dead on arrival * Dead or Alive (disambiguation) Film * ''D.O.A.'' (1949 film), a ''film noir'' * ''D.O.A.'' (1988 film), a remake of the 1949 film * '' D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage'' (1980 film), a documentary on the gene ...

''. The original unit broke up in 1979, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career. In 1987, Pursey and guitarist David Parsons reformed the band, joined by new personnel. Although subsequently going through a number of line-up changes, Sham 69 remained active and were still playing gigs as of 2022.

History

Formation

Sham 69 formed in Hersham,

in 1975, although originally known (according to some sources) as Jimmy and the Ferrets. 'Sham 69' is said to have derived from a piece of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

that co-founder Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall. It originally said ''Walton and Hersham '69'' but had partly faded away, and made reference to when Walton & Hersham F.C. secured the Athenian League title in 1969. The 12 November 1976 issue of ''

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 ...

'' noted that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although only Pursey would remain from this early line-up twelve months later. Original guitarists Johnny Goodfornothing (a.k.a. John Goode) and Neil Harris were replaced by Dave Parsons, and drummer Billy Bostik (a.k.a. Andy Nightingale) by Mark Cain. Albie Slider (a.k.a. Albie Maskell) remained for the group's first single in 1977 before being replaced by Dave Tregunna. The Pursey/Parsons/Tregunna/Cain line up then remained stable until 1979, when Ricky Goldstein took over on drums for the band's fourth album. Sham 69 did not have the art school background of many English punk bands of the time, and brought in football chant backup

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and an implicit political

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

. The band attracted a large skinhead following (

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, right wing and non-political). Their concerts were plagued by

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

, and the band ceased live performances after a 1979 concert at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

in Finsbury Park was broken up by National Front-supporting white power skinheads fighting and rushing the stage.

Recordings

Sham 69 released their first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, " I Don't Wanna", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, produced by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

(formerly of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

), and its success in the independent charts prompted

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

to sign the band. Their major label debut was "Borstal Breakout" in January 1978, followed by

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

success with " Angels with Dirty Faces" (reaching No. 19 in May 1978) and "

" (No. 9 in July 1978). These were not included on the group's debut album, '' Tell Us the Truth'', a mixture of live and studio recordings. The group had further chart success with " Hurry Up Harry" (No. 10 in October 1978), which came from their second LP and first full

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' That's Life''. The band's popularity was enhanced by their performances on ''

'', and the band performed in the film, ''

'' around this time (although the film was not released until 1980). Sham 69 would ultimately be one of the most successful UK punk rock bands, releasing five singles that cracked the Top 20 of the

. The band eventually started to move away from punk rock, to embrace a sound heavily influenced by classic British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

bands such as Mott the Hoople,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and Faces. This was demonstrated by their third album, '' The Adventures of the Hersham Boys''.

Demise

The original incarnation of Sham 69 disbanded in 1980, following the release of the band's fourth album, ''The Game.'' Pursey was enormously critical of the album, calling it "a pile of shit" in a 1989 '' Flipside'' interview, noting:

"I was forced into making it, you understand? I called it ''The Game'' because that's how the music business had become to me. Like a little
roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
wheel where everything we did had all of this political value to it, but it didn't make any difference because you spin the wheel and if it landed on the right number you were all right, the wrong number and you were not all right."Al Kowalewski, "Jimmy Pursey 1988: Sham 69 Round Two: A Decade to Think," ''Flipside,'' whole no. 58 (Winter 1989), pp. 24–27.

Pursey formed the short-lived band

Sham Pistols The Sham Pistols were a short-lived punk rock supergroup composed of guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, with vocalist Jimmy Pursey and bass player Dave Tregunna of Sham 69. Although now referred to as The Sham Pis ...

with former

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

members

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

and Paul Cook, before moving on to a solo recording career. Pursey's first solo album was with

, the label for which Sham 69 had recorded, but was a commercial and critical failure. The second solo album, ''Alien Orphans,'' was recorded with CBS Records France. For his third solo album, ''Revenge Is Not the Password,'' Pursey paid for the recording out of his own pocket in order to maintain artistic freedom. In 1981, Pursey collaborated with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

on the single "Animals Have More Fun" which was commercially unsuccessful. He also became occupied with video production in London, making use of snippets of found video in an effort "to do something really anarchic." Rick Goldstein, Dave Parsons, and Dave Tregunna joined the 1980s glam punk/

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band the Wanderers with

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords ...

of the Dead Boys. Tregunna and Bators later recruited Nick Turner of

the Barracudas The Barracudas are an English surf music, surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (Singing, vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (Bass guitar, bass and vocals) and Adam Phil ...

and Brian James of the Damned to form the Lords of the New Church.

Re-establishment

1987 and later

In 1987 Pursey and Parsons resurrected Sham 69 with new members; Ian Whitewood on drums, Andy Prince on bass, Tony Hardie-Bick ("Tony Bic") on keyboards and Linda Paganelli on saxophone, releasing the album '' Volunteer'' and the singles "Rip and Tear" and "Outside the Warehouse". The album ''Live at CBGB's'' also features this line-up. The next studio album, ''

Information Libre ''Information Libre'' is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1991. Track listing All songs by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons unless noted # " Break on Through (To the Other Side)" – 2:47 ( Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek, Morrison) # "Uptow ...

'', has Patricia de Mayo on keyboards. Andy Prince went on to join the Magic Mushroom Band, and Whitewood was replaced on drums by Sonny Boy Williamson, who played on the '' Soapy Water and Mister Marmalade'' album and the singles "Uptown", "Action Time & Vision" and "Girlfriend".

2006 break-up and aftermath

In late 2006, Sham 69 broke up and Dave Parsons stated his wish to independently continue as 'Sham 69'. On 26 January 2007,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

announced that Sham 69 had split because of a bitter fallout between Pursey and Parsons. ''NME'' reported that a statement released by Parsons included the message: "Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey on the eve of their 30th anniversary. The band had become increasingly fed up with Jimmy's lack of interest in playing live and continually letting down both promoters and fans by pulling out of gigs at the last moment". Parsons and Whitewood continued as Sham 69 with Tim V on vocals and Rob Jefferson on bass. This line-up performed tours of the United States, played at many punk

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

across Europe, and released the album, ''

Hollywood Hero ''Hollywood Hero'', released as ''Western Culture'' in the UK, is an album by punk band Sham 69. It was released in the US on August 21, 2007 by SOS Records and in the UK on November 26, 2007 by Bad Dog Records. This is the first Sham 69 album ...

'', in August 2007. Pursey and Sargent formed a new band

Day 21 Day 21 were a short-lived England, English punk rock group, led by Jimmy Pursey. On 21 January 2008, Pursey announced that, due to ongoing confusion to fans, he would no longer be associated with the name Sham 69, and that his new musical ense ...

with Rev & Snell from Towers of London. The band was named after the last Sham 69 album and also to avoid confusion with the fans over the name. Day 21 recorded an album titled ''4:10am'' which was not released, although a single, "Having It Rock and Roll", was released in 2008. Bassist Rob Jefferson left Parsons' Sham 69 and was replaced by the former

U.K. Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

member Alan Campbell. In 2009, Sham 69 was the first major punk band to tour

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. They released an album titled ''

Who Killed Joe Public ''Who Killed Joe Public'' is the Eleventh studio album by punk rock band Sham 69 and the second album not to feature original singer Jimmy Pursey. During the making of the album Pursey put up on his official site a message saying "Who Killed S ...

'', in late 2010.

2011–present

In May 2011, Parsons stated on his website that he had disbanded Sham 69, although this was disputed by the other members. In July 2011, Pursey announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

the re-formation of most of the 1977 line-up, comprising Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna. This meant that there were two active bands using the same name, with three of the classic line-up (Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna) in one band, and Harris in the other. In June 2012, Pursey registered the name as a trademark. As of 2016, both bands are still touring using the name, with the Pursey version often using the "Original 1977 line-up" tagline, and the other using the "Tim V" name. On 28 January 2018, Sham 69 co-founder Neil Harris died from cancer at the age of 63.

Legacy

Sham 69 have been cited as a major influence on the

Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was p ...

musical subgenre of UK punk in the late 1970s, and also on the working class street punk musical subgenre of the 1980s.

Members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:950 height:auto barincrement:22 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1975 till:06/01/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id: Guitars1 value: green id:Guitars1 value:teal legend:Lead_Guitar id:Guitars2 value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1975 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1975 LineData = at:02/18/1978 color:black layer:back at:10/28/1978 color:black layer:back at:09/01/1979 color:black layer:back at:05/01/1980 color:black layer:back at:04/01/1988 color:black layer:back at:10/01/1991 color:black layer:back at:07/07/1995 color:black layer:back at:07/01/1997 color:black layer:back at:10/09/2001 color:black layer:back at:08/21/2007 color:black layer:back at:12/14/2010 color:black layer:back at:09/01/2013 color:black layer:back at:11/06/2015 color:black layer:back at:04/30/2021 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Pursey text:"Jimmy Pursey" bar:TimV text:"Tim V" bar:Harris text:"Neil Harris" bar:Parsons text:"Dave Parsons" bar:Goode text:"John Goode" bar:Feedback text:"Tony Feedback" bar:Brightman text:"Paul Brightman" bar:Maskell text:"Albie Maskell" bar:Tregunna text:"Dave Tregunna" bar:Prince text:"Andy Prince" bar:Sargent text:"Mat Sargent" bar:Jefferson text:"Rob Jefferson" bar:Campbell text:"Al Campbell" Bar:Woodward text:"John Woodward" bar:Monshall text:"Ryan Monshall" bar:Austin-Morgan text:"Tom Austin-Morgan" bar:Bostik text:"Billy Bostik" bar:Cain text:"Mark Cain" bar:Goldstein text:"Ricky Goldstein" bar:Whitewood text:"Ian Whitewood" bar:Fury text:"Danny Fury" bar:Guy text:"Robin Guy" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Pursey from:01/01/1975 till:07/01/1980 color:Vocals bar:Pursey from:01/01/1987 till:12/01/2006 color:Vocals bar:Pursey from:07/15/2011 till:end color:Vocals bar:TimV from:02/01/2007 till:end color:Vocals bar:Harris from:01/01/1975 till:05/31/1977 color:Guitars1 bar:Harris from:01/28/2011 till:01/20/2018 color:Guitars1 bar:Goode from:01/01/1975 till:05/31/1977 color:Guitars2 bar:Parsons from:06/01/1977 till:07/01/1980 color:Guitars1 bar:Parsons from:06/01/1977 till:07/01/1980 color:Guitars2 width:3 bar:Parsons from:03/01/1987 till:end color:Guitars1 bar:Parsons from:03/01/1987 till:end color:Guitars2 width:3 bar:Feedback from:01/01/2011 till:06/01/2014 color:Guitars2 bar:Brightman from:03/01/2014 till:end color:Guitars1 bar:Maskell from:01/01/1975 till:05/30/1977 color:Bass bar:Tregunna from:06/01/1977 till:07/01/1980 color:Bass bar:Tregunna from:07/15/2011 till:end color:Bass bar:Prince from:03/01/1987 till:12/31/1991 color:Bass bar:Sargent from:01/01/1995 till:12/01/2006 color:Bass bar:Jefferson from:02/01/2007 till:06/01/2009 color:Bass bar:Campbell from:06/01/2009 till:07/01/2011 color:Bass bar:Woodward from:07/01/2011 till:11/01/2016 color:Bass bar:Monshall from:12/01/2016 till:08/30/2021 color:Bass bar:Austin-Morgan from:09/01/2021 till:end color:Bass bar:Bostik from:01/01/1975 till:07/31/1977 color:Drums bar:Cain from:08/01/1977 till:08/31/1979 color:Drums bar:Goldstein from:09/01/1979 till:07/01/1980 color:Drums bar:Whitewood from:03/01/1987 till:end color:Drums bar:Fury from:07/15/2011 till:05/31/2012 color:Drums bar:Guy from:05/31/2012 till:end color:Drums

Current

* Jimmy Pursey – vocals (1975–1980, 1987–2006, 2011–present) * Dave Parsons – guitar (1977–1980, 1987–present) * Dave Tregunna – bass (1977–1980, 2011–present) * Robin Guy – drums (2012 –present)

Former

* Neil Harris – lead guitar (1975–1977, 2011–2018; died 2018) * Pete Nash – (1975) * Jonathan Phillips – rhythm guitar, songwriting, vocals (1975) * John Goode – rhythm guitar (1975–1977) * Albie Slider (Albert Maskell) – bass (1975–1977) * Andy Prince – bass (1987–1991) * Mat Sargent – bass (1995–2007) * Billy Bostik – drums (1975–1977) * Mark Cain – drums (1977–1979) * Ricky Goldstein – drums (1979–1980) * Sonny Boy Williamson – drums (1990) * Tony Bic – keyboards (1987–1988) * Linda Paganelli – saxophone (1987–1991) * Rob "Zee" Jefferson – bass (2007–2009) * Danny Fury – drums (2011–2012)

Current (Tim V version)

* Tim V – vocals (2007–present) * Paul Brightman – guitar (2014–present) * Tom Austin-Morgan – bass (2021–present) * Ian Whitewood – drums (1987–present)

Former

* Neil Harris – guitar (2011–2017) * Tony Feedback – guitar (2011–2014) * Billy Wood – bass (2015–2016) * John Woodward – bass (2009–2018) * Ryan Monshall – bass (2018-2021)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Source:

Compilation albums

*'' The First, the Best and the Last'' (1980) *''

The Punk Singles Collection 1977–80 ''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 ...

'' (1998) *''Angels With Dirty Faces 2-CD Anthology'' (1999) (Castle Music ESDCD 780) *''Laced Up Boots and Corduroys'' (2000) *''If The Kids Are United - The Best of Sham 69'' (2001) *''The Best of Sham 69: Cockney Kids Are Innocent'' (2002) *''The Complete Collection: 3-disc'' (2004) *''Sham 69 - Set List: The Anthology'' (Re-recorded Greatest Hits on CD & LP) - Secret Records *''Hurry Up Harry: The Collection'' (2017)

Compilation appearances

*''Lords of Oi!'' (1997) *''Teenage Kicks'' (4 April 2005) *''The Original Punk Album'' (2007) *''Punk 77/2007 30th Anniversary'' (2007)* *''DOA movie, Rip Off" Performed by Sham 69; recorded live at Roundhouse Studios "Borstal Breakout" Performed by Sham 69; recorded live at Roundhouse Studios (1981)

Live albums

*''

Live and Loud!! ''Live and Loud!!'' and ''Live and Rockin are series of live albums released by the British label Link Records. The label started releasing live albums by punk bands under the name ''Live and Loud!!'' in 1987 and released them through 1992. In 19 ...

'' (1987) *''

The Complete Sham 69 Live ''The Complete Sham 69 Live'' is a live album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music). Track listing # "Hurry Up Harry" - 2:36 # "I Don't Wanna" - 1:53 # "If the Kids Are United" - 3:26 # "Borstal Breakout" - 3:03 # "Angels w ...

'' (1989) *''

Live at the Roxy Club ''Live at the Roxy Club'' is a live album by punk band Sham 69, recorded at the Roxy and released in 1990 (see 1990 in music). Track listing # "Rip Off" - 2:03 # "Ulster Boy" - 2:51 # "Borstal Breakout" - 2:11 # "Everybody's Innocent" - 2:19 # ...

'' (1990) *'' Live in Italy'' (1996) *'' Live at CBGB's'' (1998) *'' Green Eggs & Sham'' (1999) *''SHAM 69 Live'' (2011)

Notes

References

External links

Website of Sham 69/PURSEYWebsite of Sham 69/Tim VBBC article on use of Sham 69 song at Labour Party conference
{{Authority control Musical groups from London English punk rock groups Oi! groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1979 Musical groups reestablished in 1987 Parlophone artists Polydor Records artists Skinhead Street punk groups 1975 establishments in England Musical groups from Surrey