The Stiffs (UK punk band)

The Stiffs are an English band, variously referred to as punk rock, pop punk and power pop, hailing from Blackburn, Lancashire. Championed by Radio 1 DJ John Peel, their most successful singles were "Inside Out" and "Goodbye My Love". Band members are Phil Hendriks (vocals, guitar), Ian "Strang" Barnes (guitar, vocals), "Big" John McVittie (bass guitar, vocals) and Tommy O'Kane (drums). The Stiffs were formed in 1976 by 14-year-old school pals Phil Hendriks (lead vocals, guitar) and Ian "Strang" Barnes (guitar, vocals), joined by Tommy O'Kane (drums) and Mark "Ossie" Young (bass guitar) and played their first gig at East Lancs Cricket Club in 1977. Following several local church hall and youth club bookings playing a mixture of covers and original Hendriks/Barnes compositions, Young was replaced by "Big" John McVittie (bass guitar, vocals). Their first single "Standard English" b/w "Brookside Riot Squad" / "DC-RIP" was released on their own Dork Records label in early 1979, now regarded as rare and collectible. In December 1979 the band, having tightened by this time into a powerful live act despite being legally unable to order a pint at gigs, released their second single "Inside Out"/ "Kids On The Street", recorded at Oldham's Pennine Sound Studios on a budget of £75, produced by engineer Paul Adshead and the band. A mistake at the pressing plant led to the first 1,000 copies having the labels printed on the wrong sides. John Peel played the record incessantly on his show, quoted as saying on air that "Inside Out" was "the greatest record in the history of the universe". Championing the band Peel, interrupted DJ Mike Read's show on air to insist that he play the record. The Skids and The Ruts had enjoyed Peel's patronage in 1978 and 1979, and similar was forecast for The Stiffs. Following Peel and Read radio sessions the single became an indie chart hit, the single was reissued by EMI's Zonophone subsidiary label in early 1980. The Stiffs signed a long-term deal with EMI in mid-1980, the band now managed by Hedley Leyton, the brother of the musician and actor John Leyton. Initial recordings were produced by Dale Griffin and Pete Overend Watts of Mott the Hoople (Griffin was later to occupy the drum stool for the band on a later Peel session). The resulting tracks "Innocent Bystander", "Volume Control" and "Best Place In Town" were not to EMI's liking and, despite re-mixes, the tracks were consigned to their vaults. This meant that the Stiffs still had no follow-up record to "Inside Out". At this point, their A&R man Chris Briggs left EMI for Phonogram Records, leaving the band unrepresented. New songs were being demoed but no-one at EMI seemed in any hurry to release any product by the band. Eventually, EMI booked the band into Rockfield Studios with production duties by engineer Pat Moran and former Rockpile and Love Sculpture bassist, John David. This time EMI were happy with the results and released "Volume Control" as the new single, backed with "Nothing To Lose", a demo recorded in September at EMI's Manchester Square Studios, a song reflecting this difficult situation with some humour. "Volume Control" was afforded considerable Radio 1 daytime airplay, DJ Paul Burnett naming them "The Slade of the 1980s". Journalist Gary Bushell enthused "...pile driving pop-punk of the first order... a band to be reckoned with I'd wager." The record climbed the Oi charts, while at the same time fooling rock DJ's that they were part of the new wave of British heavy metal. The band earned the respect of their London peers and were joined by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on stage at the Marquee Club on one occasion. "Innocent Bystander" was scheduled for release, then inexplicably cancelled. Plans for an album were put on hold, leading the band's management to demand they be released from their contract. A deal with Stiff Records was secured, with the band being told to record their cover of The Glitter Band's 1975 hit "Goodbye My Love" at 12 hours notice. Dumbfounded as to why an original song had not been chosen, "Goodbye My Love" was released in February 1981 and declared by journalist Carol Clerk "Pop with steel toe caps". Despite radio and press promotion and a national tour with the UK Subs and Anti-Pasti, distribution problems ensued, in addition the single was difficult to obtain and sales were not sufficient to interest Stiff Records in a follow up. By mid-1981, six months after being hailed as a 'Slade for the 1980s', The Stiffs were now 'two years too late', by mid-1981 the original line-up split. In 1982, a short lived line up emerged featuring Hendriks and Barnes with John Mayor (drums) and Nick Alderson (bass) recording a new Peel session but it lasted less than a year. This session featured ex Mott The Hoople drummer Dale Griffin, who also took up producing duties. In December 1984, the EMI line-up reunited for a one-off gig, which had to be rescheduled for February 1985 at a larger venue, after enthusiastic fans caused the gig to be curtailed after 15 minutes due to fears for everyone's safety. Between these dates, the Stiffs recorded a fifth single "The Young Guitars"; Hendriks and Barnes recruiting John Mayer and Mark Hurlbutt (bass) with additional guitarist John Wade on the b-side "Yer Under Attack". Tommy O'Kane joined this five-piece line up on some dates throughout 1985 and 1986 in a two drummer format, and John McVittie rejoined with the band back to a four-piece with Hendriks, Barnes and Mayor. In late 1986, Liverpool drummer Mark Coleridge (Afraid of Mice, Glass Torpedoes) and bassist Steve Fielding joined with Hendriks and Barnes in a powerful 'glam punk' line up that went on to record several strong tracks and play over 250 live dates throughout Europe, finally splitting in 1988. 13 years after the Stiffs last record had been released, two of the group's songs finally appeared on CD, courtesy of Anagram Records, who released a compilation of EMI's Zonophone singles entitled The Zonophone Punk Singles Collection. March 1999 saw the release of the first complete album of Stiffs material, when Captain Oi! Records issued the Stiffs-the Punk Collection on CD. The album was a collection of the band's singles plus many hitherto unreleased demos and masters, covering the band's entire history. In 1999, The Stiffs were approached to appear in a reality TV show, the researchers interested in fractious situations relating to the reformation of a punk band. The show never went ahead, but the EMI line-up reconvened for a live show, with an overwhelming response. The gig was recorded by original Stiffs engineer Paul Adshead and released by Trojan/Receiver Records as a live album Volume Control - Live!. Summer of the year 2000 found the original line-up re-united once more to play the UK 'Holidays in the sun' festival, which coincided with the release of the 'Volume Control - Live' album and towards the end of the year, negotiations took place with both EMI and Angel Air Records for the release of two separate retrospective albums. It was decided that the EMI album, Innocent Bystanders, would focus on the band's early career up to the end of 1980, while the Angel Air project, Stiffology, would take the story from 1981 to 1988. January 2000 saw the release of the Stiffology CD album. Rarities included the 1982 session recorded with Mott the Hoople's Dale Griffin performing the drums. Griffin also wrote the sleevenotes. The EMI retrospective compilation album Innocent Bystanders, was issued in April 2001, just days after the original line up's two appearances at the 'Alternative Rock Weekend' at Butlins Minehead, a celebration of 25 years of punk, featuring many of the original bands such as The Damned, UK Subs, and Chelsea. The album received a 4K review in Kerrang! magazine who referred to the band as "one of the (punk) era's best kept secrets that's only just been let out". In early 2002, another Stiffs track featured on the EMI compilation