The Spitfire Boys were the first

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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 Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

to release a

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 ...

(" British Refugee" c/w "Mein Kampf"). The Spitfire Boys were mainly notable for including in their line-up Peter Clarke, who went on to

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

for

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 ...

and later

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

and

the Creatures The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie (musician), Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first extended play, EP ''Wild Things (EP), Wild Things'' in ...

(as well as marrying

Siouxsie Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

) as Budgie, and Paul Rutherford, later better known for being a member of 1980s pop band

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

. Jones (a.k.a. guitarist David Littler) went on to join

the Photons The Photons was a punk/ new wave band active between 1977 and 1978. They are most notable for their vocalist Steve Strange, who went on to form Visage. Two of Visage's early singles, "Tar" and " Mind of a Toy", were originally Photons' songs ...

, which also included

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...

( Visage) and Vince Ely (

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

History

Liverpool era

In early 1977, David Littler saw

the Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry N ...

live at

Eric's Club Eric's Club was a music club in Liverpool, England. It opened on 1 October 1976 in the basement of The Fruit Exchange in Victoria Street, with performances by The Runaways and The Sex Pistols (their only Liverpool gig) before soon moving around ...

, in

, and asked them about a band he had, but really didn't exist, and the group gave him a place to support them alongside

Slaughter and the Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...

and

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

at Warrington Parr Hall,

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, in May. The band was formed shortly afterwards by Littler as guitarist, alongside his friends, bassist Peter Griffiths and lead vocalist Michael Rigby, and Steve Platt a drummer. A short time later, while preparing for the gig, the band changed their name to the Spitfire Boys as a suggestion of Wayne County. For their first gig at Warrington Parr Hall, they played covers of

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 their debut gig, the band had their first drummer, Peter Clarke, then an art student and member of Albert Dock, later

Yachts A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

. With that new line-up, the band played their second gig at Eric's Club. After that, the group sacked off Michael Rigby, who was replaced, as suggestion of Clarke, by Paul Rutherford. They released their first single, ''British Refugee'' 7", on 7 October 1977, on RKO Records. During the brief era of that line-up, they toured UK. They also supported

the Prefects The Prefects were a punk band from Birmingham, England, with members that would later form The Nightingales. They were one of the first UK punk bands.Robb, John (2009) ''Death to Trad Rock'', Cherry Red Books, History In 1976 singer Robert L ...

and

(later Clarke's band), and also played a gig with

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...

. In December,

Pete Wylie Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...

(formerly of

Crucial Three The Crucial Three were a short-lived band that existed for approximately six weeks in early 1977. They are nevertheless notable on account of the individual success of all three founding members: Julian Cope formed The Teardrop Explodes and ha ...

and The Mystery Girls) joined the band, but only for a few rehearsals. On 22 December 1977, the band split up, Clarke, Griffiths and Wylie formed the Nova Mob (along

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

), and Paul Rutherford formed the Opium Eaters, while Littler moved to London in January 1978, where he joined the Photons, alongside

(later Visage). Griffiths joined turned his back on the entire music scene, citing the growing trend in drug abuse, and general disillusionment as his reasons. In July 2006, the band had "British Refugee" re-released on a

Korova Records Korova was a record label, named after the fictitious Korova Milk Bar that was featured in the film ''A Clockwork Orange'', 'korova' () also being the Russian word for 'cow'. The imprint was founded in London, UK in 1979 as a division of Warner ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, entitled ''North by Northwest'', which was compiled by

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983 and has since written for a wide range of publications as well as writing his own books. He was a co-founder of the record label ZTT Re ...

Wales era

After Littler disbanded the short-lived Photons, he moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales, in October 1978, where he formed a band, the White Boys, but changed their name to the Spitfire Boys, as pressure by a financer of the band, who thought the name would sell better. That time, the line-up was formed by Littler (as David Francis) on vocals and guitar, and former Nylonz members Peter Millman on guitar, Kurt Prasser on bass and Chris Brazier on drums. That alineation recorded and released the 7" single, " Funtime" in 1979. In October 1979, the band moved to London, where they recorded some demos with RKO Records. By 1980, despite the interest of Major Label,
/ref> they disbanded, and Littler joined White Brothers.

Discography

* " British Refugee" (RKO, 7 October 1977) * " Funtime" (Impeccable, 1979)

References

External links