Plastic Fish
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Punk, Ska & Plastic Fish Drum Sticks

The Piranhas Band & Formation

They were formed in Brighton in 1977 and were a kind of self styled punk/ska outfit

The band line up was:

  • 'Boring' Bob Grover - Guitar, Vocals, Tumpet
  • 'Dick Slexia' (aka Richard Adland) - Drums
  • Johnny Helmer - Guitar, Vocals
  • Reginald Fredrick Hornsbury - Bass
  • 'Zoot Alors' (aka Phil Collis) - Saxophone
  • 'Al Hambra' (aka Alan Bines) - Stand in Saxophone

They were probably most noted for their cover of 'Tom Hark', originally a 'kwela' song written by Rupert Bopape and recorded by Elias and his Zig Zag Jive Flutes...ย 

Catch the original here. Elias & His Zig Zag Jive Flutes on YouTube... from all the way back in 1958 and reaching #2 in the UK Charts.

It was covered many times and The Piranhas version of it is at the link 'Tom Hark'.

Oiled Up With Plastic Fish Drum Sticks

...Just loving the drummer's plastic fish drum sticks! This is from Top Of The Pops back in 1980 and evidently the first song to be played after the BBC's lengthy strike of the time. Could it have perhaps been mimed???

They changed the lyrics somewhat from the original, asking the question 'Does anybody know how long to World War Three? I wanna know, I wanna book me holiday'. Perhaps, a light hearted tongue in cheek lyric to a time when the 'Cold War' was reaching a peak and the threat seemed real? The song has been also used by many football club fans as 'chants' during matches.

2 Tone & Ska Memories

The song reached the dizzy heights of #6 in the U.K. Charts in 1980. Other acts in the charts at the time were:

Introduced by Lenny Henry, The (English) Beat with 'Best Friend/Stand Down Margaret', catch a load of some great Ska sounds with punch and political message:

Released on the legendary 2 Tone Label

And as if that wasn't 'Skatastic' enough, another bit of Ska with the wonderful Band Manners and their hit 'Lip Up Fatty'...

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Released on another U.K. Independent Label called 'Magnet Records'. I got lucky enough to see this bunch of loons at The Cauliflower Pub in Ilford/Seven Kings way back when, brilliant band and a really good night, sore legs from dancing all night! I'm pleased to say they did not disappoint and they ripped out all their best hits, I have never seen so many skinheads weeping with joy and happy memories.
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The Ska scene was in a way quite short lived, but it did have a big impact, I remember the fashion went viral at school at the time, loads of kids wearing 'Sta Press Tonics', 'Loafers, lashings of white socks, white shirts and stick pins and 'Crombie Coats' etc.
I have to say it wasn't really my 'scene' at the time, however in retrospect I can fully see why it became so popular.ย 
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2 Tone was cool in the fact it was what this blog is about (Independent Record Label Music) and as a label it released a truck load of really good sounds for the masses. It was kicked off in Coventry by Jerry Dammers from the band The Specials and spawned many stars including the afore-mentioned, The Selecter, The Body Snatchers, Madness and even bands that weren't necessarily Ska such as The Higsons. Sadly the label folded in 1982.

The Pirhanas & Indie Label

Other earlier songs by the The Pirhanas e.g. Yap, Yap, Yap were recorded on the independent Attrix Records label. By the time the song featured here was released the band were signed to Sire Records.

Attrix Records Label started off in the band's home town of Brighton, the label name taken from the founder's original Band and the label also had other acts such as Peter & The Test Tube Babies on it's books.

Video & Info Thanks Go To:

NildaStacy@dailymotion

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Info Sources:

Discogs/Wikipediaย 

Photo Source

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