A little background on the members for the uninitiated or very young. Glen Matlock is best known as the ousted, goodie-goodie Sex Pistol who was replaced by Sid Vicious. Matlock didn't exactly retire from the music business after that debacle-quite the opposite. Little known fact-shortly after leaving the Pistols in '77, Matlock played in a band called the Rich Kids with Steve New and Vicious, his Pistols replacement. Interestingly, Sid behaved during his short stint with the Vicious White Kids. He contributed bass playing instead of self-laceration to the band. In 1978, Matlock vocalist Midge Ure and guitarist SteveNew, released a few albums as the Rich Kids and achieved moderate success in new wave hungry Britain. The critically acclaimed album Ghosts Of Princes In Towers. The title track was a Top 30 hit in the UK in '78.
Matlock released several albums in the late 1980s and onward, both solo and with his backing band, the Philistines. The latest Matlock solo outing "Open Mind" was released in 2000. The music itself is melodic rock, although one could argue it's more pop. Some of the songs would fit in with an adult contemporary playlist, save for the lyrics, which are a bit more complicated than what's usually played on such stations. The lyrics, for example are thoughtful and mature, not the usual drek that accompanies melody-driven pop/rock. "Idiot" contains the snappy chorus "shit for brains." Glen may have been the "nice" one, but after all, he was still a Sex Pistol.
Slim Jim Phantom, DMW's drummer and most recent addition, is fresh from a reunion gig with the Stray Cats at this year's Hootenanny festival in California. One of MTV's (and the world's) biggest bands in the 1980s, their catchy hits remain indelibly etched on fans' eardrums.
Mike Peters, vocalist for spiky haired '80s band, The Alarm. Known primarily for hits like Spirit of '76 and "Presence of Love, the band survived comparisons to U2 and released such popular albums as Declaration and Strength. The acoustic based influence of their first few albums gave way to an electric guitar based sound on later LPs. The Alarm did sound like U2 without the political pretense. Unfortunately, this didn't boost their record sales as the '80s drew to a close and they broke up in 1991. The Alarm is back for the '00s, though, and they will do a short tour of American clubs later this year. Via their website, www.thealarm.com, the Alarm released an ambitious five album project late last year titled In The Poppy Fields.
Go To Page: 1 2
