I Have Never Heard These Bands That Start With The Letter I

I'm aware of two bands called The Invaders - one that was an early incarnation of Madness and one that had a rather nondescript punk / pop single released on (EMI? Polydor?) for no other reason than that they were being championed (and produced IIRC) by Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69 and there were apparently plans to let him sign-up bands / release singles as he saw fit although as far as I can recall thsi plan stalled after the first 2 releases, despite the fate the other one ("I'm An Upstart" the second Angelic Upstarts single) was quite a success.

I'm So Hollow is ringing all sorts of bells but I can't quite remember why.

Disappointed you didn't mention The Idols (Jerry Nolan's short-lived post NY Dolls, post Heartbreakers outfit).

Ike Yard - American synth/industrial band who released a couple of things on Crepuscule and possibly Factory (I should *know* this!). Not very good.

One was from somewhere round Worcestershire that had one single that I know of called "Launderama" around 1980, it's on Killed By 7" #10. I have the original 7" of that, found it in a Worcester record shop. I wonder if it's worth anything, given the usual price of records on Killed by Death comps.

The other one I know of was kind of power-pop, but pretty good, I think they may be the band Stewart's talking about cos they were on Polydor, I only know one song but I really like it. Didn't know Jimmy Pursey was involved, they sound nothing like the Cockney Rejects or Angelic Upstarts.

I can see a single sleeve in my mind ("Invaders" written like the old "Thunderbirds" title) but can't remember what it was called.

Dreams to fill the Vacuum! Brilliant single, oft Peel played, never heared from them again!

But what was that label that Jimmy had? JP Records? Something like that?

i think they were attempting power pop, but without hooks and good melodies it's pretty much just standard 1980s "not even good enough for college radio" crap

http://punkmodpop.free.fr/

(sorry I don't know how to do html stuff)

that site probably lists a whole load of these bands Scott's interested in actually!

That certainly rings a bell: certainly something went very, very badly wrong between the fantastic stuff on Fatal Microbes split 12" with The Poison Girls; the qually good first Honey Bane solo single / EP on Cr@ss; and the appalling shite she subsequently released on EMI!

As I recall her next bid for notoriety was in a stage play with Richard Jobson (ex Skids) in which the sex scenes were alleged to have not been faked.

Well the logo on the second sleeve they've got there certainly looks how I remember it but neither of the sleeves and none of the titles ring any more bells.

i hang my head in shame.

I've just finally managed to get hold of a DVD of "Kids Like Me & You", which was filmed on the Friday and features Penetration, Sham 69, Ultravox!, The Jam, and.... errrrr.... The Pirates (apparently included for no better reason than they happened to appear on stage between Sham and Ultravox! - something which made no sense to me in 1978 and still makes no sense to me now).

It's a shame no-one's unearthed the rest of the footage - and it's an even bigger shame it doesn't also include any footage of Radio Stars (Andy Ellison scaling the speaker stacks and swinging from the lighting gantry!), John Otway, TRB, Automatics, Bethnal, Gruppo Sportivo, Squeeze (complete with flasher macs and songs about making obscene phone calls!), TRB, The Motors or Patti Smith - but on the plus side, we did actually manage to spot a 15 year-old me, pogoing away like a complete eejit, with my old mate Cally; so if you were there it's quite possible that your ugly mug's in there somewhere too!

Yeah, 'cos everyone reads me, obv.

I wish they'd stop mind: especially when I'm trying to sleep and they keep trying to turn me over because they want to read the other side.

So, no pogoing on film for me then...

Insect Surfers - somebody DEFINITELY famous in this one: the rock critic Robert Palmer. *Hoboken Saturday Night*, good album, from 1970, though I totally forget what it sounds like. Christgau was a huge fan; I think he told me he's writing the liner notes for the reissue....Oops, sorry, that was INSECT TRUST. (Why does this keep happening?) Never mind. (Insect Surfers do sound vaguely familar, tho)

Ippu-Do -- Scott, I think you HAVE heard this band, because I think you gave me my copy of their album! They are weirdo goofy Japanese robot dance pop, unless I am totally confusing them with somebody.

Turns out Luc Sante wrote a Del-Byzanteens song (they were Jim Jarmusch's band, from Scott's D bands thread), not an Ike Yard song:

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0209,frere-jones,32605,22.html

I have never heard these "I" bands from Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 book:

(At least I don't think I have. At least not much):

Icicle Works
Icon
Ill Al Skratch
Illegal
Illinois Speed Press
Illusion (Rennaisance-associated jazz rock sextet)
The Illusion (Long Island rock quintet)
Immature
Impellitteri
Incognito
Indecent Obsession
The Independents
Insiders
International All Stars
Invisible Man's Band
Isle Of Man

I had to have heard It's A Beautiful Day, right? They had five albums chart, including one that went Top 30 in 1970. No idea if they were any good though.

I also didn't realize until just now that Icehouse and Icicle Works were two different bands -- weird!

You've never heard Icicle Works?

Illinois Speed Press - don't know much about them other than the fact that one of them ended up in Poco

You've never heard Icicle Works?

Maybe I did. (And maybe I never heard Icehouse instead.)

Ippu-Do's 'Night Mirage' is one of my top 5 favorite albums later. By that point that had turned away from that robot/Plastics you guys mentioned upthread in favor of more organic, lush, and complex synth pop featuring Percy Jones on fretless bass, Yann Tomita on steel drums, and some members of the band Japan (Jansen and Barbieri). Their live album 'Live and Zen' is another must-own.

Icicle Works = epic windswept post-Bunnymen Liverpudlian tosh... well not tosh really, they actually weren't that bad

I remember Immature being kind of a Another Bad Creation cash-in. I was all excited about them when I was 12, but don't remember actually hearing them.

Incognito - UK Jazz funkers, briefly featured Carleen Anderson. Biggest hit 'Always There' which had Jocelyn Brown on vocal iirc.

I though Chuck would have heard of The Icicle Works, esp since they cracked the US top 40 with Birds Fly. A bit hit and miss, but some of their stuff was fantastic.

invisible man's band is basically the funk/disco reincarnation of the five stairsteps of "ooh ooh child" fame. i've got the s/t first record. pretty good stuff, especially opening track "full moon."

ike yard i've now heard of thanks to dan selzer!

http://acuterecords.com/releases/act008_ikeyard.html

Impellitteri -- metal band taking the name of its shredder guitarist. Known for infrequent journeyman metal records and a revolving cast of leather-lunged hack singers like Jeff Scott Soto. Graham Bonnet, an unusual frontman who looked like a lounge singer and gave Blackmore's Rainbow one of its best albums also starred for them briefly.

"ike yard i've now heard of thanks to dan selzer!"

same here!

oops, that was me scott.

Illinois Speed Press is the band Paul Cotton was in before he replaced Jim Messina in Poco. I think.

I LOVE the first Illinois Speed Press album. It's really all over the place, but i dig it a ton.

There's no WAY you haven't heard Icicle Works or (especially) Icehouse's respective big hits, Chuck.

Okay, I believe you! (But which Icemaking band is better, then?)

(Somebody should start a TS thread, but not me. Also curious about Midnight Star vs. Atlantic Starr.)

Icicle Works 'Understanding Jane' is my pick, Ramones fronted by Scott Walker, much better than their usual psych/jangle schtick.