Lurkers

The Lurkers, who formed in the late 1970s, are an English punk rock group from Uxbridge, West London. They are notable for being on the first-ever release by Beggars Banquet Records.
The Lurkers formed late in 1976 and played their first gig at Uxbridge Technical College in the December supporting Screaming Lord Sutch to an audience of 10. The original line-up consisted of Pete Stride on guitar, Pete "Manic Esso" Haynes on drums, Howard Wall on vocals and Nigel Moore on bass. Stride was the band’s main songwriter.
The band were one of the pioneering punk outfits that played live in the first few months of the now-legendary Roxy Club in London. Nigel was swiftly replaced by Arturo Bassick. They supported The Jam in February 1977, Eater in March, and Slaughter & The Dogs in April ... (Read more at Wikipedia.)
== Links to Peel ==
thumb|right|335 px
The Lurkers were one of Peel's favourite bands of the punk era, recording four sessions for his show between 1977 and 1979. Won over by their "fundamental" approach, the DJ selected both sides of their debut single on Beggars Banquet for his self-chosen 1977 Festive Fifty.
Writing in Margrave Of The Marshes (hardback, p310), Sheila Ravenscroft included the Lurkers among the "second wave of punk bands ... with no art or fashion background ... groups of rowdy youths battling to burst through the door kicked open by the Sex Pistols."
In the 1996 Punk Fiction documentary, Peel commented:
"Punks with A levels tended to be a bit dismissive of the Lurkers. I think they thought they were a sort of punk Status Quo, but I liked Status Quo and I also liked the Lurkers, along with other bands like the Models, the Cortinas, even eventually Sham 69." 
The DJ featured the Lurkers' first two albums heavily on his show, but no new material after the band split for the first time in 1980, although he did play tracks from guitarist Pete Stride's subsequent collaboration with John Plain of The Boys.
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*1977 Festive Fifty: Shadow #12
*1977 Festive Fifty: Love Story #31
== Sessions ==
Four sessions. Officially released on The BBC Punk Sessions CD, 2000 (Captain Oi! ‎AHOY CD 137)
1. Recorded: 1977-10-18. First broadcast: 27 October 1977. Repeated: 28 December 1977 (best sessions of 1977)
*Freakshow / Total War / I'm On Heat / Then I Kissed Her / Be My Prisoner
2. Recorded: 1978-04-18. First broadcast: 24 April 1978. Repeated: 17 May 1978
*Ain't Got A Clue / Pills / Tell Her / Jenny
3. Recorded: 1978-07-25. First broadcast: 07 August 1978. Repeated: 22 August 1978.
*Here Come The Bad Times / God's Lovely Men / In Room 309 / Countdown
4. Recorded: 1979-01-24. First broadcast: 30 January 1979. Repeated: 28 February 1979, 16 May 1979.
*Whatever Happened To Mary / Take Me Back To Babylon / Out In The Dark / See The World
== Other Shows Played ==
;1977
*12 August 1977: Shadow / Love Story (7" - Shadow c/w Love Story (Free Admission Single)) Beggars Banquet BEG 1Ken Garner, The Peel Sessions p.218.
*24 August 1977: unknown (7" - Shadow c/w Love Story (Free Admission Single)) Beggars Banquet BEG 1
*22 September 1977: Shadow (7" - Shadow c/w Love Story (Free Admission Single)) Beggars Banquet BEG 1
*03 November 1977: Be My Prisoner (v/a album - Streets) Beggars Banquet BEGA 1
*04 November 1977: Freak Show (7") Beggars Banquet BEG 2
*26 December 1977: Love Story (7" - Shadow c/w Love Story (Free Admission Single)) Beggars Banquet BEG 1 (FF#31)
*27 December 1977: Shadow (7" - Shadow c/w Love Story (Free Admission Single)) Beggars Banquet BEG 1 (FF#12)
;1978
*10 July 1978: It’s Quiet Here (LP – Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*14 July 1978: Pills (single) Beggars Banquet
*Punk 78 (exact date unknown): Jenny / Time Of Year / It's Quiet Here (LP - Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet (JP: "Well, the experts may tell you that people no longer want to hear music as fundamental as that, but the experts, as they often are I think, are wrong. Those are the Lurkers from the LP Fulham Fallout.")
*27 July 1978: I’m On Heat (LP – Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*02 August 1978: I Don't Need To Tell Her (LP Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*08 August 1978: Jenny (LP - Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*15 August 1978: I Don't Need To Tell Her (7 inch) Beggars Banquet
*16 August 1978: Hey You (album - Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*17 August 1978: Ain’t Got A Clue (single) Beggars Banquet (Ripped & Torn Top 13)
*01 November 1978: I Don’t Need To Tell Her (7”) Beggars Banquet
;1979
*11 January 1979: Just Thirteen (7”) Beggars Banquet
*16 January 1979: Countdown (7”) Beggars Banquet
*17 January 1979: Just Thirteen (7”) Beggars Banquet
*25 January 1979: Just Thirteen (7") Beggars Banquet
*29 January 1979: Just 13 (Single)
*01 February 1979 (Paul Gambaccini): Just Thirteen (7") Beggars Banquet
*14 February 1979: Just Thirteen (7 inch) Beggars Banquet
*06 March 1979: Just Thirteen (7") Beggars Banquet
*07 May 1979: Jenny
*26 May 1979 (BFBS): Cyanide (7" - Out In The Dark) Beggars Banquet
*05 June 1979: Cyanide / Whatever Happened To Mary / Take Me Back To Babylon (album - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet BEGA 8
*11 June 1979: Seven O'Clock Someday / Sleep On Diamonds / Bad Times (album - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet BEGA 8
*27 June 1979: She Knows (album - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet BEGA 8
*04 July 1979: God's Lonely Men (album - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet BEGA 8
*09 July 1979: Cyanide (album - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet BEGA 8
*04 August 1979 (BFBS): Room 309 (LP - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet
*04 August 1979 (BFBS): Take Me Back To Babylon (LP - God's Lonely Men) Beggars Banquet
*30 October 1979: New Guitar In Town (single) Beggars Banquet
*03 November 1979 (BFBS): New Guitar In Town (7") Beggars Banquet BEG 28
*05 November 1979: New Guitar In Town (7”) Beggars Banquet
*04 December 1979: Shadow (single) Beggars Banquet
;1980s and later
*02 February 1980 (BFBS): Shadow (2x7") Beggars Banquet BACK 1
*09 September 1981: I Don't Need To Tell Her (JP: 'All our yesteryears, those loveable Lurkers from way back when. I can be a real disc jockey, you know, I'm working well tonight.' )
*07 February 1982 (BFBS): Ain't Got A Clue
*06 June 1982 (BFBS): This Dirty Town (I Can't Find My Way Out) (7") Clay CLAY 12
*23 June 1982 (BFBS): This Dirty Town (I Can't Find My Way Out) (7") Clay CLAY 12
*11 August 1982 (BFBS): Shadow (2x7") Beggars Banquet BACK 1
*12 June 1983 (BFBS): Just Thirteen (7") Beggars Banquet BEG 14
*09 October 1987 (BFBS) (Peel 070 (BFBS)): Go, Go, Go (LP-Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*25 June 1988 (BFBS): Go, Go, Go (LP-Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*12 July 1988: I Don't Need To Tell Her (7") Beggars Banquet
*26 July 1988: Ain't Got A Clue (LP - Fulham Fallout) Beggars Banquet
*Best Of Peel Vol 4 (May 1990): 'I Don't Need To Tell Her (7 inch)' (Beggars Banquet) John mentioned the previous night that he listened to a mixtape he made some 11 years ago and this was on it.
*29 October 1994: Shadow (CD - Greatest Hit - Last Will And Testament) Beggars Banquet
*22 April 1999: Shadow (5xCD: 1-2-3-4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979) Universal
*25 April 1999 (BFBS): Shadow (7") Beggars Banquet
*11 April 2001: Shadow (7") Beggars Banquet (Lurkers punk oldie, the first ever release on Beggar's Banquet, played after Peel saw the band advertised as playing in Ipswich the previous week, although Lammo has informed him that only the bassist remains from the original lineup.)
;Other
*Punk Fiction: Freak Show
;Pete Stride / John Plain
*04 June 1980: School Girls (album - New Guitars In Town) Beggars Banquet BEGA 17
*11 June 1980: He'll Have To Go (album - New Guitars In Town) Beggars Banquet BEGA 17
== See Also ==
* 1978 Top Twenty Albums
*Sounds
== References ==
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Official site
* Other
Category:Artists