Sham 69 - WikiHQ

Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, and they appeared in the rockumentary film D.O.A.. The original unit broke up in 1980, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career.

In 1987, Pursey and guitarist David Parsons reformed the band, joined by new personnel. Although subsequently going through a number of line-up changes, Sham 69 remained active and were still playing gigs as of 2024.

History

Formation

Sham 69 formed in Hersham, Surrey in 1975, although originally known (according to some sources) as Jimmy and the Ferrets. 'Sham 69' is said to have derived from a piece of graffiti that co-founder Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall. It originally said Walton and Hersham '69 but had partly faded away, and made reference to when Walton & Hersham F.C. secured the Athenian League title in 1969.

The 12 November 1976 issue of NME noted that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although only Pursey would remain from this early line-up twelve months later. Original guitarists Johnny Goodfornothing (a.k.a. John Goode) and Neil Harris were replaced by Dave Parsons, and drummer Billy Bostik (a.k.a. Andy Nightingale) by Mark Cain. Albie Slider (a.k.a. Albie Maskell) remained for the group's first single in 1977 before being replaced by Dave Tregunna. The Pursey/Parsons/Tregunna/Cain line up then remained stable until 1979,

Recordings

left|thumb|Sham 69 performing in 1978

Sham 69 released their first single, "I Don't Wanna", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, produced by John Cale (formerly of the Velvet Underground), and its success in the independent charts prompted Polydor Records to sign the band. Their major label debut was "Borstal Breakout" in January 1978, followed by UK Singles Chart success with "Angels with Dirty Faces" (reaching No. 19 in May 1978) and "If the Kids Are United" (No. 9 in July 1978).

The band eventually started to move away from punk rock, to embrace a sound heavily influenced by classic British rock bands such as Mott the Hoople, The Who, the Rolling Stones and Faces. This was demonstrated by their third album, The Adventures of the Hersham Boys.

Demise

thumb|Original singer [[Jimmy Pursey in 2012]]

The original incarnation of Sham 69 disbanded in 1980, following the release of the band's fourth album, The Game. Pursey was enormously critical of the album, calling it "a pile of shit" in a 1989 Flipside interview, noting:

"I was forced into making it, you understand? I called it The Game because that's how the music business had become to me. Like a little roulette wheel where everything we did had all of this political value to it, but it didn't make any difference because you spin the wheel and if it landed on the right number you were all right, the wrong number and you were not all right."</blockquote>

Pursey formed the short-lived band Sham Pistols with former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook, before moving on to a solo recording career. NME reported that a statement released by Parsons included the message: "Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey on the eve of their 30th anniversary. The band had become increasingly fed up with Jimmy's lack of interest in playing live and continually letting down both promoters and fans by pulling out of gigs at the last moment". Parsons and Whitewood continued as Sham 69 with Tim V on vocals and Rob Jefferson on bass. This line-up performed tours of the United States, played at many punk festivals across Europe, and released the album, Hollywood Hero, in August 2007.

Pursey and Sargent formed a new band Day 21 with Rev & Snell from Towers of London. The band was named after the last Sham 69 album and also to avoid confusion with the fans over the name. Day 21 recorded an album titled 4:10am which was not released, although a CD single, "'Aving It Rock 'N' Roll", was released in 2009.

Bassist Rob Jefferson left Parsons' Sham 69 and was replaced by the former U.K. Subs member Alan Campbell. In 2009, Sham 69 was the first major punk band to tour China. They released an album titled Who Killed Joe Public, in late 2010.

2011–present

In May 2011, Parsons stated on his website that he had disbanded Sham 69, although this was disputed by the other members. In July 2011, Pursey announced on Twitter the re-formation of most of the 1977 line-up, comprising Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna. This meant that there were two active bands using the same name, with three of the classic line-up (Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna) in one band, and Harris in the other. In June 2012, Pursey registered the name as a trademark. As of 2016, both bands were still touring using the name, with the Pursey version often using the "Original 1977 line-up" tagline, and the other using the "Tim V" name.

On 28 January 2018, Sham 69 co-founder Neil Harris died from cancer at the age of 63. Drummer Robin Guy died from cancer on 12 September 2024, at the age of 54.

Legacy

Sham 69 have been cited as a major influence on the Oi! musical subgenre of UK punk in the late 1970s, and also on the working class street punk musical subgenre of the 1980s.

Members

File:Sham 69 (27435122361).jpg|Pursey

File:Sham 69 6.jpg|Parsons

File:Sham 69 (27408268862).jpg|Tregunna

File:Memoriam RudE 2022 11.jpg|Smith

</gallery>

Current line-up

Jimmy Pursey – vocals (1975–1980, 1987–2006, 2011–present)
Dave Parsons – guitar, backing vocals (1977–1980, 1987–present)
Dave Tregunna – bass, backing vocals (1977–1980, 2011–present)
Spike T. Smith – drums (2023–present)

Former members

Neil Harris – guitar (1975–1977; died 2018)
John Goode – guitar (1975–1977)
Albie Slider (Albert Maskell) – bass (1975–1977)
Billy Bostik – drums (1975–1977)
Mark Cain – drums (1977–1979)
Ricky Goldstein – drums (1979–1980)
Andy Prince – bass (1987–1993)
Mat Sargent – bass (1994–2006)
Ian Whitewood – drums (1987–2011)
Tim V – vocals (2007–2011)
Rob Jefferson – bass, backing vocals (2007–2009)
Al Campbell – bass (2009–2011)
Danny Fury – drums (2011–2012)
Robin Guy – drums (2012–2023; died 2024)

Timeline

Tim V version

thumb|Tim V's version performing in 2008

Current members

Tim V – vocals (2007–present)
Paul Brightman – guitar (2014–present)
Chris James – bass (2024–present)
Chris Bashford – drums (2024–present

Former members

Dave Parsons – guitar, backing vocals (2007–2011)
Neil Harris – guitar (2011–2018; died 2018)
Tony Feedback – guitar (2011–2014)
Rob Jefferson – bass, backing vocals (2007–2009)
Al Campbell – bass (2009–2011)
John Woodward – bass (2011–2016)
Ryan Monshall – bass (2016–2021
Tom Austin-Morgan – bass (2021–2023
Ian Whitewood – drums (2007–2023

Timeline

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

! Title

! Year

! width=40|UK<br />

|Tell Us the Truth

|rowspan="2"|1978

| style="text-align:center;"|25

|That's Life

| style="text-align:center;"|27

|The Adventures of the Hersham Boys

|1979

| style="text-align:center;"|8

|The Game

|1980