Diving into the 80s this morning with a set by The Vapors – recorded at The Landsdowne in Boston on September 11, 1980.
If you didn’t already know who The Vapors were, or had only heard about through some unreliable and AI driven websites, you would think The Vapors were one-hit wonders who didn’t last very long and faded into the woodwork, never to be heard from again.
Not so – true; they had only one international hit, “Turning Japanese”, but they had several others and were doing well in Europe all the way up to the time they called it quits in 1982. Short lived; maybe. They did break up in 1982, but have since reunited and have released a new album, Wasp In A Jar in February of this year.
In the interim, several different career paths followed but they eventually led to reuniting in 2016.
A little background:
Based in Guildford, Surrey, an early version of the group were playing at The Three Lions pub in Farncombe when The Jam’s bassist Bruce Foxton spotted them. The group’s line-up stabilized with David Fenton (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Howard Smith (drums), Edward Bazalgette (lead guitar) and Steve Smith (bass). Howard Smith and Steve Smith were not related. The group were originally named The Vapours but had removed the “u” to help garner more attention in America. Foxton then offered the group a few gigs and agreed to jointly-manage them with John Weller (father of Paul Weller).[1] The Vapors were then offered a slot supporting The Jam on the Setting Sons tour in 1979.
The group released two albums; New Clear Days (1980) and Magnets (1981). New Clear Days contained “Turning Japanese” and displayed a new wave sound with socially-conscious lyrics. That album reached the middle of the charts in the UK, Canada, and US. Magnets revealed a power pop sound and darker lyrics, with the song “Jimmie Jones” making reference to cult leader Jim Jones. That album sold poorly and the band broke up in 1982.[1] Fenton alleged in a later interview with Record Collector magazine that lack of record label support was the chief reason for the band’s split, while a planned single release was cancelled without explanation.
After the Vapors broke up, David Fenton joined the legal profession in the early 1990s, concentrating on the legal aspects of the music industry, and from 1999 he worked as a London-based in-house solicitor for the Musicians’ Union. Edward Bazalgette became a television director; his credits include a 2005 BBC documentary about Genghis Khan and two episodes of Doctor Who in 2015. For many years Howard Smith ran an independent record shop, People Records in Guildford, the band’s home town. Steve Smith formed the band Shoot!Dispute, which appeared in John Peel sessions, and toured in support of Bruce Foxton; and later joined the rap/rock band 1ST.
After 34 years of inactivity, David Fenton, Ed Bazalgette, and Steve Smith appeared on stage at the Half Moon in Putney on 30 April 2016. With a guest drummer standing in for Howard Smith, they played “Turning Japanese” and then left the stage. Rumors of a reunion were rife, and the Vapors completed a four-date tour in October–November 2016 with Michael Bowes on drums. The Vapors continued with six more concerts in 2017 and 10 in 2018. That included three dates in New York City with David Fenton’s son, Danny, standing in for Ed Bazalgette on lead guitar, where they played several new tracks, including “Sundown River”, “Letter to Hiro (No11)”, “The Right Stuff”, “One of My Dreams”, and “King L”.
In August 2024, the band announced plans to crowdfund the production of their fourth album, to be released in March of 2025. The album, Wasp in a Jar, was released on 28 February 2025.
So now you know. Bands don’t really die – they rest, regroup and become rejuvenated or they morph into something totally different.
Check them out in 1980 for a sample.
