The Prefects were a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

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 ...

, with members that would later form

The Nightingales Nightingales (a.k.a. The Nightingales) are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', record ...

. They were one of the first UK punk bands.Robb, John (2009) ''Death to Trad Rock'', Cherry Red Books,

History

In 1976 singer Robert Lloyd, with guitarist/drummer brothers Alan and Paul Apperley formed The Prefects after an advert was placed by the Apperley brothers in the ''

Birmingham Evening Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire a ...

''.Ogg, Alex (2006) ''No More Heroes: A Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 431-432 Unsuccessful previous applicants had included

Nikki Sudden Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending So ...

and Frank Skinner. Lloyd also brought his friend and colleague from the band Church of England, Graham Blunt, into the band. They were Birmingham's first punk group, and played their first gig on 12 March 1977 at a private party which ended in a police raid. At their first gig at a recognized venue (''Rebecca's'' in Birmingham) later that month they were driven off stage by thrown bottles after premiering their new song, "Birmingham's a Shithole". The band were part of

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 w ...

's '

White Riot "White Riot" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, released as the band's first single in March 1977 and also included on their self-titled debut album. Versions There are two versions of the song: the single version (also appeari ...

Tour' (playing on the bill of four shows), supported Buzzcocks, played with

The Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

, The Fall, The Damned and many others. Paul Apperley left the band in February 1978, to be replaced briefly by Stephanie (of Manchester band Manicured Noise) and then Adrian Moran. They recorded two sessions for the John Peel radio show in 1978 and 1979. The band acquired legendary status in the UK, partly because no records were released until the band had split up, and then, only one posthumous single ("Motions"/"Things" - from the

Peel Sessions 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 ...

) on Rough Trade, which the band agreed to on the condition that Rough Trade record Lloyd's new band

. The band briefly reformed to play a few gigs in 2001. In November 2004 (following a semi-official retrospective, ''The Sound of Tomorrow on Rush Release'') a retrospective compilation ''Amateur Wankers'' was released by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

label Acute Records which, twenty five years after the group's demise, garnered praise all over, from webzines to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. The interest was such that a ''Live in 1978'' CD was also released on British label Caroline True in 2005. Their seven-second opus "I've Got V.D." remained a favourite with John Peel.

Discography

Singles

*"Going Through the Motions"/"Things in General" (1979) Rough Trade/Vindaloo *''Peel Session'' EP (2001) Strange Fruit

Albums

*''The Prefects are Amateur Wankers'' (2004) Acute *''Live 1978 - The Co-op Suite Birmingham'' (2006) Caroline True

John Peel Radio 1 sessions

August 1978: *Things In General *Escort Girls *The Bristol Road Leads to Dachau *Agony Column January 1979: *Going Through the Motions *Faults *Total Luck *Barbarellas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prefects, The English punk rock groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands