The Innocents were an English punk rock band, that formed in the spring of 1978 and played frequently with

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The original lineup was predominantly female with four women and one male. The band began when Sarah Hall, (ex- Flowers of Romance) approached Marguerite Martin, later

Marguerite Van Cook Marguerite Van Cook (née Martin) (born 1954) is an English artist, writer, musician/singer and filmmaker. She was born in Portsmouth, England and now resides in New York City on the Lower East Side, in the East Village. She attended Portsmouth ...

, in the

Vortex Club The Vortex Jazz Club is a music venue in London, England. It was founded by David Mossman in the 1988. Background The Vortex started as a jazz club in 1988 and was located in Stoke Newington Church Street, north London. But after the acquisit ...

on Wardour Street in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and invited her to start a band. Sarah Hall borrowed a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

from

Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz a ...

, and they invited Greg Van Cook, who was in the process of breaking away from the Electric Chairs, to play guitar. Greg Van Cook was an original member of the New York Backstreet Boys of Max’s Kansas City, who became The Electric Chairs. He co-authored the punk anthem, "Fuck Off" with

Jayne County Wayne Rogers (born July 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), ...

. The lineup was completed by the addition of Fiona Barry on the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and Susy Hogarth on

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 ...

s. They performed self-penned

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 ...

songs. The Innocents played gigs at multiple punk friendly venues in

, among them several at Acklam Hall opening for The Slits. In early November 1978, Sarah Hall asked The Clash if The Innocents could join them on their upcoming "''Sort It Out Tour''". They agreed and the lineup for the tour was set with the Innocents opening for The Slits and The Clash. The "''Sort It Out Tour''" began in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and covered stops all over

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 ...

, though several of the venues were canceled due to ad-hoc town ordinances that banned The Clash in fear of the influence of punk. Including the tour, The Innocents played thirty-one gigs in a row with only a single day’s break to end at the tour at the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

. The DJ on the tour was Barry (Scratch) Myers. These gigs included the

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

Benefit Gig. They also played with

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 ...

at the Music Machine in London, before the 3 January 1979 date with The Clash, which was added due to an overbooking of the "Sid Vicious Defense Fund" benefit show. After the tour, Sarah Hall quit the band and was replaced on bass by Jo Hurst. Greg Van Cook joined Front and then

The Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

, but continued to perform with The Innocents as well, except at the Marquee when The Innocents opened for The Vibrators and Henry Silver played guitar with The Innocents. Terry Smith took over as drummer. The band ended in 1980. Terry Smith was approached by Marguerite to come with them to New York to do a small tour. after three rehearsal's at Halogan's in Holloway Rd where Smith worked. Soon they left for New York, and ended up playing at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

for one gig in November. They disbanded soon after. Smith went back to the UK to continue his career as a drummer with The Nipple Erectors, The Barracuddas, and The Temper.

Recordings

The Innocents recorded songs for an EP with

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

producer and musician, Dave Goodman, but the tapes never were made available to the public. A reported record deal with "Sticky Records" never materialized."Innocents Sign," Record Mirror 13 October 1979: 5

References

External links

The Arteries Group / Marguerite Van Cook

{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocents (UK punk band), The All-female punk bands English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups from London