Fingerprintz – in session for John Peel – November 28, 1978 – BBC Radio 1 –
Fingerprintz to start off the week. Probably not familiar to a lot of people on this side of the Atlantic, and my ring a few bells to some on the other side of the Atlantic. A relatively short-lived band, Fingerprintz were on the groundfloor of what became New Wave in the late 1970s. Begun in 1978 and dissolved by 1981, Fingerprintz had one ep and three albums during that time – for all intents and purposes, a good run. Their initial ep release featured a song by founder Jimmie O’Neill, Dancing With Myself. Ironically, it came out around the same time as Generation X released the Billy Idol penned Dancing With Myself – the songs have nothing to do with each other, but I’m sure it created some confusion around record stores at the time. I know it did for me.
This is another example of a band with all the earmarks of a successful run, who were one of the first bands to embrace the genre to become known as New Wave, but yet they didn’t achieve recognition and broke up after three years. It was intimated by a few that they were “too slick” for audiences at the time and were perhaps out of step, or just not at the right place at the right time. New Wave, if you remember, did have a certain stylish slant to it; skinny ties and skinny jeans. But there were other bands doing relatively the same thing – Fingerprintz were one of those bands; why they didn’t become as well known is a mystery.
After their breakup in 1981, founding members Jimmie O’Neill and Cha Burns formed The Silencers in 1987 which did have a successful run, so the story is completely downbeat.
Tonight it’s their first (and only) session for John Peel – recorded at BBC Radio 1 on November 28, 1978, it comes around the time of the release of their debut album The Very Dab, which was well received and sold moderately well.
If you remember them, here’s a memory refresher – if you have no idea who they are, kick back and have a listen for the next 13 minutes. You may find yourself looking for a skinny tie tomorrow.
