The Mods were a
punk rock band from Toronto during the first wave of late 1970s punk. They formed in 1978 with
members Greg Triner (vocals), Scott Marks (guitar), Mark Dixon (bass) and David Quinton Steinberg (drums). The Mods were obviously influenced by
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 1 ...
and had a similar look and sound. Where other bands were wearing black leather, T-shirts and tight jeans, The Mods chose to wear suits and ties. Unlike many of the rowdier Toronto bands of the era, the Mods were known for being tight and professional.
The band played heavily in the Toronto area as well as further afield than most other Toronto bands of the era, playing in New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. In November 1979, The Mods opened for
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
when they made their Toronto debut at the
Danforth Music Hall. They also opened for
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...
,
Squeeze and Ultravox.
In 1978, they independently recorded the singles "Step Out Tonight" and "You Use Me". They recorded another album's worth of material but a proposed major label record deal fell through. They briefly changed their name to 'The News' before breaking up in 1980. David Quinton and Scott Marks would go on to play on
Stiv Bators solo album.
The Mods complete recordings, along with some live tracks, were released in 1995, in the album ''Twenty 2 Months''. Since then the band has periodically reformed for reunion gigs, the last of which was in November 2013 at
The Rivoli
The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian comedy and mu ...
in Toronto.
A Mods 1978 performance is included in the 2013 documentary about the Toronto punk movement, ''The Last Pogo Jumps Again''. They also appear on the soundtrack.
In 2018, Ugly Pop Records released a collection of the bands song on the album ''Reactions''.
Discography
* "Step Out Tonight" (single, B: "You Use Me"), 1978, Independent
* ''Twenty 2 Months'', 1995, Other People's Music
* ''Reactions'', 2018, Ugly Pop Records
References
*Worth, Liz. ''Treat Me Like Dirt'' Bongo Beat, 2010
*Sutherland, Sam. ''Perfect Youth, The Birth Of Canadian Punk'' ECW Press, 2012
*B.George & Martha DeFoe. ''International Discography Of The New Wave 1982-1983 edition'' Omnibus Press, 1983
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mods, The
Musical groups from Toronto
Canadian punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups with year of disestablishment missing