The Jags were a British

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

formed in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

, England, in 1978, composed of Nicole Watkinson (

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 ...

), John Alder (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

), Steve Prudence ( bass), firstly Neil Whittaker and then Alex Baird (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), Michael Cotton (bass/backing vocals) and Patrick O'Toole (piano/keyboard). A Scarborough-Guildford-Glasgow combo, The Jags marked their signing to Island Records in 1979 with a four-track debut 12” EP ("Back of My Hand" / "Double Visions" / "Single Visions" / "What Can I Do?"). "Back of My Hand" was described as "simply one of the best records Elvis Costello didn't write". The song was included on the band's debut album ''Evening Standards'', which was released the following year. Starting out in 1978 playing London pubs and college gigs, by 1979 The Jags' sound had moved to jangly power-pop.

Career

They signed to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

in July 1978 and initially released a four-track EP. On 8 September 1979, the

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

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 ...

" Back of My Hand",

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

by Watkinson and guitarist Alder, entered the

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 ...

. It had a

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life of 10 weeks and peaked at number 17. "Back of My Hand" was included on their debut

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 ...

''Evening Standards'', which was released the following year. Their follow-up single "Woman's World" entered the UK chart on 2 February 1980 at number 75 - dropping out the next week. 1981 saw the release of their second, and what proved to be, final album, ''No Tie Like a Present''. The Jags disbanded in 1982.

Discography

Albums

* ''Evening Standards'' (1980) (US No. 205) * ''No Tie Like a Present'' (1981)

Singles

* " Back of My Hand" (1979) – UK No. 17, US No. 84 * "Woman's World" (1980) – UK No. 75 * "Party Games" (1980) * "I Never Was a Beachboy" (1980) * "Here Comes My Baby" (1981) * "The Sound of G-O-O-D-B-Y-E" (1981) Only "Back of My Hand" and "Here Comes My Baby" were released in the US.

References

External links

The Jags Sounds Powered By Glasgow Mods Website
Multimedia portal of Mod Life In Scotland * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jags, The Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 English new wave musical groups English power pop groups Island Records artists