The Claim were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

from

Cliffe, Kent Cliffe is a village on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile (4.8 km) journey along the B2000 road. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers views of So ...

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 ...

Biography

They formed around 1980, as part of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Medway scene The Medway scene consists of the bands and related cultural activities of the Medway Towns, north Kent, England. Main towns involved (from West to East) are Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham. The Medway scene is typically dated ...

around the nearby towns of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and Gillingham and influenced by classic acts such as

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

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 ...

and

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

. Stylistically, they shared much in common with fellow Kent band

The Dentists ''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 ...

and early

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

acts such as

The Jasmine Minks The Jasmine Minks are a British indie pop band, whose early singles were amongst the first releases by Creation Records. History Formed in Aberdeen in 1983, the band were initially a quartet of Jim Shepherd (guitar/vocals), Adam Sanderson (vo ...

. Between 1985 and 1992, The Claim released two albums and various singles and EPs, first on their own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, and then via Kevin Pearce's Esurient Communications imprint, Bob Stanley's Caff label and the German-based label A Turntable Friend. Their first outing, ''Armstrong’s Revenge & Eleven Other Short Stories'' (1985) was followed by the 12" EP ''This Pencil Was Obviously Sharpened By a Left-Handed Indian Knife Thrower'' (again on Trick Bag Records). By the time of 1988's ''Boomy Tella'' LP, the quality of their politically fused, bittersweet songs had matured considerably, and it is now regarded as their high-water mark. Meanwhile, their single "Wait And See" was recorded at ex-

Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

drummer

Rick Buckler Paul Richard Buckler (born 6 December 1955) is an English musician who is the former drummer of The Jam. Early years Buckler was born in the town of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. He received his education at Sheerwater Secondary Sch ...

's studio with ex-

producer

Vic Coppersmith-Heaven Vic Coppersmith-Heaven (born Victor Smith, August 1945, England) is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with the Jam. Career Smith worked in the recording studios at Polydor after leaving school in 1 ...

. The Claim also teamed up with the poet and ex-

Dentists A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial comp ...

drummer Vic Templar (an alias for Ian Smith) for various evenings which combined a play, featuring members of The Claim, with a musical performance by the band. Templar also collaborated with The Claim for the song "Mike The Bike", issued as the B-side to perhaps The Claim's most impressive outing, "Birth Of A Teenager", issued as a limited edition single housed in a sleeve designed by the

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...

scene's most multi-faceted talent,

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

. For another gig, Welsh band

The Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

played their debut London show supporting The Claim. The Claim played their final show in January 1993. None of The Claim's music appeared on CD at the time. Recently, the band themselves compiled a retrospective, ''Black Path'', which was released on

Rev-Ola Records Rev-Ola Records is a British independent record label formed in 1990 that specializes in reissues, as well as select new releases. The label is headed by Joe Foster, a former child actor and musician/producer. He, along with Alan McGee and ...

in September 2009. The band played a reunion gig in Rochester, Kent on 19 September 2009 to coincide with the project's release. On Thursday 25 March 2010, they played at a second reunion show with fellow Medway band

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

in Camden Town, London.

Discography

Singles

* "Wait And See" / "Business Boy" / "God, Cliffe And Me" (Esurient Comms PACE 04, January 1989) * "Losers Corner" / "Picking Up The Bitter Little Pieces" (Esurient Comms PACE 07, January 1990) * "Birth Of A Teenager" / "Mike The Bike" (limited edition, Caff CAFF 008, 1990) * "Sunday" / "Sporting Life" (Esurient Comms PACE 10, 1991) * "Say So" / "Plastic Grip" / "Waiting for Jesus" (A Turntable Friend TURN 08, 1992)

EPs

* ''This Pencil Was Obviously Sharpened By a Left-Handed Indian Knife Thrower'' (Trick Bag cu-0388, spring 1987)

Albums

* ''Armstrong’s Revenge & Eleven Other Short Stories'' (Trick Bag TBR001 u-0387 December 1985) * ''Boomy Tella'' (Esurient Comms PACE 003, June 1988) * ''The New Industrial Ballads'' (A Turntable Friend Records, May 2019)

Retrospective CD

* ''Black Path'' (Rev-Ola, September 2009)

References

External links

Official band myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claim (band), The English indie rock groups Musical groups from Kent