The Piranhas 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, ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

-influenced

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 ...

from

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. They are best known for their

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 ...

of the song "

Tom Hark "Tom Hark" is an instrumental South African kwela song from the 1950s, believed to have been composed by Jack Lerole. The song was arranged for penny whistle and first recorded by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes—a South African band formed by ...

Career

The Piranhas formed in 1977, and were originally part of the Brighton punk scene, first coming to prominence when DJ

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 ...

started playing their

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 ...

"I Don't Want My Body" on his

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, ...

programme, but achieved their biggest success with their

of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

kwela Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music h ...

song "

". This had been an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

in 1958 for Elias & His Zig Zag Jive Flutes, and had already been covered in a ska style by

Millie Small Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit "My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...

and by

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

on his 1964 EP "Rhythm & Blue-Beat". With new

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

written by the band's

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

"Boring" Bob Grover (allegedly en route to the recording studio), and with

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterm ...

on executive production duties, it was a Top 10 hit in 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 ...

in 1980. It was the first

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

to feature on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

programme, ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', when it returned in 1980 after being blacked out for nine weeks by industrial action. During the obviously mimed performance the drummer played using a pair of plastic fish as drumsticks. Much later it also became a popular chant amongst British

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

. It is also popular at limited-overs cricket games, often being played when a boundary is hit, and the tune was also used in the novelty

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

song "We're England", performed by the presenters of the radio station talkSPORT with adapted lyrics for the 2006

FIFA World Cup Finals FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. Two years later the band's version of

Lou Busch Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lou (German singer) * Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...

's "Zambesi" - produced by

Pete Collins The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1999, by order of first appearance. Ezra Dingle Ezra Dingle is Zak Dingle's brother. He appeared in 1999. Ezra appears a few times during 199 ...

- was a Top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Guitarist Johnny Helmer went on to become a

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. He is best known for writing

for

Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...

's second incarnation with

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...

, after the departure of original singer

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. He also published a novel entitled ''Mother Tongue'' in 1999. As a day job, he works in marketing for a Brighton company (as of 1999). The band gave their blessing to a song that entered the UK chart in 2005, a remake of their biggest hit entitled "

Tom Hark (We Want Falmer) "Tom Hark" is an instrumental South African kwela song from the 1950s, believed to have been composed by Jack Lerole. The song was arranged for penny whistle and first recorded by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes—a South African band formed by ...

", recorded under the name of Seagulls Ska, featuring Brighton resident

Attila the Stockbroker John Baine (born 21 October 1957), better known by his stage name Attila the Stockbroker,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 208 is an English punk poet, multi instrumentalist musician and songwriter. He pe ...

and members of the ska band, Too Many Crooks. This was to help raise money for a new

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

for Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. (nicknamed "The Seagulls") at

Falmer Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also the site of Brighton & Hove Albion's Falmer ...

. Grover received a co-writing credit for the Seagulls Ska version of the song. In 2015 Grover and Helmer featured in the BBC's ''Top of the Pops: The Story of 1980'' documentary. Alongside their 1980 performance and interviews with both, the film also features rare tour footage and John Peel soundbites. In 2018 drummer Dick Slexia (real name Richard Adland), died of terminal lung cancer.

Original line-up (1977–1981)

* Bob Grover -

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er * Dick Slexia (real name Richard Adland; died 2018) -

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using 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 mem ...

* Johnny Helmer (born 1956) - guitarist, vocals * Reginald Frederick Hornsbury -

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

* Zoot Alors (real name Phil Collis) -

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Al Hambra (Alan Bines) - stand in saxophonist, who played whilst Collis recuperated from the effects of a car accident.

Discography

Studio album

Compilation albums

* ''Tom Hark - The Piranhas Collection'' (Anagram Records, 2004) * ''The Complete Collection'' (Anagram Records, 2021)

Singles

References

External links

Band biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piranhas, The English new wave musical groups English punk rock groups Second-wave ska groups Musical groups from Brighton and Hove