The Vibrators – In Session for John Peel – June 13, 1977 – broadcast June 22, 1977 – BBC Radio 1 –
The Vibrators tonight. One of the first wave of Punk Bands to descend on an unsuspecting public (well . . .mainstream public anyway), The Vibrators first came to light in that watershed year of 1976, backing Chris Spedding, who in turn introduced them to the legendary Mickie Most where they were signed to Most’s Rak label and where he produced their first single, We Vibrate, along with backing Chris Spedding on his single, Pogo Dancing.
This was their second session for John Peel – their first, from 1976 puts them in a period of evolution; breaking away from Hard Rock and embracing Punk as the genre of the future. They were one of the first bands to play the legendary Roxy Club in London, which became Ground Zero for the Punk movement.
By the time this session was recorded they had released their debut album, Pure Mania, which went on to become a classic, and even listed in the Guinness Encyclopedia of Pop Music as one of the 50 best Punk albums of all time. In March of that year they were supporting Iggy Pop‘s UK tour, and later in the year were the backing band for Ian Hunter.
The Vibrators enjoyed a string of successes which lasted all the way to the early 80s, when tastes began to change and Punk was giving way to New Wave. Still, they had a loyal and vocal following and it has served them well ever since. The Vibrators are still a touring, working band – even though they have gone through numerous personnel changes to the point where the only original member left is drummer Eddie Edwards.
Here is a taste of what the fuss was all about, when Punk was new and bands were snotty.
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