The Outcasts are a punk rock band from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

formed in 1977.

History

The band formed in early 1977, with an initial line up of Blair Hamilton (

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 ...

), Greg Cowan ( bass), Colin "Getty" Getgood (lead guitar), and Greg's brothers Colin Cowan (drums), and Martin Cowan (rhythm guitar).Glasper, Ian (2004) "Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980 - 1984", Cherry Red Books, , p. 352-359 According to Greg Cowan, their name derived from the fact that they were banned from five clubs in one week. Hamilton left the band within a month of its formation, with Greg Cowan taking over vocals. The band played their first gig in May 1977, playing a mixture of their own songs and

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 of songs by

The Sex Pistols ''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 m ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

, The Damned and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. After building a strong local following, they were picked up by the local It record label, who released the band's debut single, "Frustration", in May 1978. They were then signed to

Terri Hooley Terence Wilfred "Terri" Hooley (born 23 December 1948) is a prominent figure in the Belfast punk scene and founder of the Good Vibrations record shop and label, responsible for bands such as The Undertones, Rudi, Protex and The Outcasts making ...

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

label, who released "Just Another Teenage Rebel" in November 1978, which saw the band receiving airplay on national radio from

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 ...

. A further single and the band's debut album, ''Self Conscious Over You'' followed in 1979. Shortly before the album was released, Greg Cowan was involved in a serious car crash that left him in traction for fourteen weeks and unable to play bass, so Gordy Blair (of another Belfast band,

Rudi Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...

) joined, with Raymond Falls also joining on drums, because, according to Cowan, "Colin was such a bad drummer". Trouble followed the band around, and this led to them being sacked from Good Vibrations, so their next release was on their own GBH label in 1981, the "Magnum Force" single. This was followed by the band's first Peel Session for

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, ...

. GBH became Outcasts Only, and their next releases was the ''Programme Love'' EP in 1981. In 1982 they released a cover of

The Glitter Band The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glittermen on the first f ...

's "Angel Face", which spent over two months in the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

, peaking at number 21. The band were struck a massive blow when Colin Cowan was killed in a car crash. Colin was described by his brother Greg as "the core of the band. He started The Outcasts, he even gave the band its name". The large attendance at Colin's funeral prompted the band to play a thankyou gig at the Harp Bar, and the positive reaction convinced the band that they should carry on. They recorded a second Peel session and released the ''Blood and Thunder'' album on Abstract Records, which reached number 20 in the indie album chart. A few more singles and the ''Seven Deadly Sins'' mini-album followed, but the band split up in early 1985. Greg Cowan, Martin and Getty started a new band, Time To Pray, but this only lasted until 1986. Ray Falls joined the army. Greg Cowan returned in 2003 with an "Irish punk supergroup" along with members of Rudi and Stalag 17, performing at the book launch of ''It Makes You Want to Spit!'', which is still going as Shame Academy. In August 2011 The Outcasts played on Rebellion festival in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. In 2020 The Outcasts played on Toy Dolls Tour. On 11th July 2022, the band announced the retirement of their guitarist, Petsey Burns. They said "We’re sad to announce that Petsey’s hanging up his guns as Outcasts guitarist …but so happy to welcome Buck Defect as permanent replacement !!!! We thank Petsey so much his talent and friendship both on and off the stage and wish him all the best for the future !! But can’t wait for you to hear this new exciting lineup with Buck debuting at Rebellion and carrying on with all future gigs !!"

Discography

Chart placings shown are from the

.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits: 1980 -1989'', Cherry Red Books,

Singles

*"Frustration" (1978) It *"Justa Nother Teenage Rebel" (1978) Good Vibrations *"Self Conscious Over You" (1979) Good Vibrations *"Magnum Force" (1981) GBH *''Programme Love'' EP (1981) Outcasts Only *"Angel Face" (1982) Outcasts Only (#21) *"Nowhere Left to Run" (1983) Anagram *"Seven Deadly Sins" (1984)

New Rose "New Rose" by The Damned (band), The Damned was the first single by a British punk rock group, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Written by guitarist Brian James (guitarist), Brian ...

(#40) *"1969" (1985) New Rose ;Split singles: *''Battle of the Bands'' (1979) Good Vibrations: "The Cops are Comin'"

Albums

*''Self Conscious Over You'' (1979) Good Vibrations (#20) *''Blood and Thunder'' (1983) Abstract (#20) *''Seven Deadly Sins'' (1984) New Rose (#19)

Compilations

*''The Outcasts: Punk Singles Collection'' (1995) Anagram *''Blood and Thunder''/''Seven Deadly Sins'' (1998)

Captain Oi! Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Outcasts", in ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate,

References

External links

*Thompson, Dave " ''The Punk Singles Collection'' Review, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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The Outcasts - The Punk Singles Collection
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Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

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Details of The Outcasts' Peel Sessions
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