Family Trees

No.4 - New Wave

Well, well, well - some names to conjure with here. In the very beginnings of the 1980s, over on the Leyfields/Gillway side of the town and in the town centre itself we had a gaggle of schoolboys who created their very own new wave/post punk scene. Based around St. John's Youth Club, we had The Fretz, The Classified Ads, Fetch the Comfy Jigsaw and Thirty Frames a Second. And what band members made up this scene - Mark Mortimer, Sam Holliday, Donald Skinner, Andrew Baines, Matthew Lees and many more. Bands that would eventually evolve from these ‘schoolboy’ beginnings would include The Dream Factory and Bash Out The Odd. Over on the other side of the town in the Glascote and Wilnecote areas we had another group of teenagers, again influenced by punk and the Mod revival, forming bands such as The Less, The Wipeouts and The Jupiter Rhythm Kings. Also, with the New Romantic/Electronic craze that hit the town in ‘81/’82 (maybe inspired by the town’s very own Those Attractive Magnets) we also had Select Elect and The Elusive They – members who would eventually go on to form WIN. Two names from each side of the town that would meet, join up and go on to be two of the most noted of local names were Mark Brindley and Mark Mortimer.