| The Only Ones |
The
Only Ones, left to right, Alan Mair, John
Perry, Mike Kellie and Peter Perrett
|
| Background information |
| Origin |
 South
London, England |
| Genre(s) |
Rock
Punk;
Power
pop; New Wave |
| Years active |
1977–1981,
2007 |
| Label(s) |
CBS |
Associated
acts |
The Beatstalkers
England's Glory
Spooky Tooth
The One
Love Minus Zero
Freddie Stevenson
|
| Members |
Alan Mair
John Perry
Mike
Kellie
Peter Perrett |
The Only Ones are an English rock
and roll band. They were initially active in the late 1970s and were
associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical
territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock,
with noticeable influences from psychedelia. The band reformed in 2007
following the bands biggest hit "Another Girl, Another
Planet" being used in a Vodafone ad campaign in 2006. They completed a
small UK tour in June and more dates are planned for the rest of the
year.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Influence
- 3 Discography
and filmography
- 3.1 Albums
- 3.2 Posthumous
releases
- 3.3 Home
video
- 4 External
links
|
Biography
The Only Ones were originally formed in August 1976 by Peter
Perrett. Perrett had been recording demos
since 1973, and in late 1975 was introduced to guitarist John
Perry as a temporary bass guitar player. (The guitarist at
that time was Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze).
Perry wanted to concentrate on playing guitar, so by August 1976 he and
Perrett then found drummer Mike
Kellie (ex-Spooky Tooth); and bassist Alan Mair
who had previous success with The Beatstalkers. Their first single
"Lovers Of Today", self-released on the Vengeance record
label, was immediately made 'Record of The Week' by three of the four
main music papers. A year later they
signed to CBS.
Their next single "Another Girl, Another
Planet" was a very popular and influential song, and unquestionably the
band's best known song.
It is often featured on various musical box-sets featuring a punk rock or
New
Wave theme. An album was released The
Only Ones in 1978 and was well received by
reviewers and fans. Their follow-up album was Even
Serpents Shine released in the next year. A
year later their final studio album Baby's
Got A Gun was released. In 1982 the band
officially disbanded. In subsequent years the band gained a fierce cult
following and posthumously released records - live performances, BBC TV and radio shows, and compilation
albums - now outnumber their official albums. Unusually, the Only Ones discs
were never deleted from the CBS catalogue, and remain in print today.
Reunion (2007)
In the 10 November 2006 issue of the Scottish tabloid
newspaper, The Daily Record, it was
suggested that Mair may reform The Only Ones after their Summer 2006 Vodafone advertisement
success [1]. On the 21 February 2007, Perry
confirmed via his MySpace
page that the band would reform for a five date UK tour in June. They
appeared at All
Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England on 27 April and will also play at
the Connect Music Festival in Scotland on the 1 September.
News of the tour prompted coverage in several UK national newspapers [2][3] and the dates were met with
positive reviews[4][5]. During these gigs, the band
played a new song called "Dreamt She Could Fly".
It has been reported in the press that 3 of the band are keen
to record a new studio album following the tour, but Perrett appeared
to back away from the idea. A live DVD of a gig from the band's last
U.S tour is planned for release, and the band's back catalogue is due
for re-release in remastered and expanded form via Sony BMG this
year.
Influence
Their musical proficiency distinguished them from most of
their peers, although their dominant drug-related lyrical themes, on
songs such as "Another Girl, Another Planet," and "The Big Sleep," fit
in with the Zeitgeist
of the era on both sides of the Atlantic. Perrett and Kellie caught
the eye of Johnny Thunders, founding member of the New
York Dolls and the Heartbreakers, and worked as sidemen on his
solo debut album, So Alone, notably
appearing together on the classic "You Can't
Put Your Arms Around a Memory". However, drug
addiction, particularly heroin use, derailed their career, and
singer/guitarist/songwriter Perrett has only sporadically been heard
from since, though he resurfaced in the mid 1990s with the
album, Woke Up Sticky.
Lead guitarist Perry went on to play as an active session
guitarist for artists
including The Sisters of Mercy and Marianne Faithfull.
More recently, he has written several well received music
biographies - on The Who's seminal hits compilation
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy,
The Rolling Stones'
double album Exile On Main Street
and in 2004, Jimi Hendrix's Electric
Ladyland. During 2005/6, he was heard playing
and recording with the singer-songwriter, Freddie
Stevenson.
The Only Ones have been very influential on the indie rock
and alternative rock scenes ever since,
on bands such as The Replacements, Blur
and Nirvana,
and more recently The Libertines. Several
bands have covered their song "Another Girl, Another Planet",
including, The Libertines (at London
Forum with Peter Perrett guesting), The
Replacements and Blink 182. [6].
"Another Girl, Another Planet" was also used as part of
Vodafone UK's Summer 2006 commercial campaign [7].
Discography and filmography
Albums
-
- The Only Ones
(1978)
- Even Serpents Shine
(1979)
- Special View
(1979)
- Baby's Got A Gun
(1980)
Posthumous releases
- Remains
(1984)
- The Peel Sessions Album
(1989)
- Live
(1989)
- Live in London
(1989)
- The Big Sleep
(1993)
- The Immortal Story
(1991)
- Darkness & Light
(2002)
- Why Don't You Kill
Yourself? (2004)
- Another
Girl Another Planet: The Best of (2006)
Home video
- The
Only Ones Faster Than Lightning (1991)
External links
|
v • d • e
The Only Ones |
| Alan Mair | John
Perry | Mike Kellie | Peter
Perrett |
| Discography |
| Albums: The
Only Ones | Even
Serpents Shine | Special
View | Baby's
Got a Gun |
| Compilations & live albums: Remains
| The
Peel Sessions Album | Live
| Live in London
| The Big Sleep
| The Immortal Story
| Darkness & Light
| Why Don't You Kill
Yourself? | Another
Girl Another Planet: the Best of the Only Ones |
| Singles: "Another Girl, Another
Planet" | "The Whole of the Law" |
| Related articles |
| The Beatstalkers | England's Glory | Spooky
Tooth | The Ones | Love
Minus Zero |
