The 70's was a decade in which punk took off and became a it's own gebre and movement. Bands from the U.K. were exploding onto the scene and playing their loud, fast, and downright insane blasts of songs to a young and eager audience. One of 1977's forgotten (and best) bands are the Adverts. Pushing their own way onto the scene in '77, on a "wave of disbelief." Behind the music was exceptional lead singer T.V. (Tim) Smith, guitar player Howard Pickup, female (rockin') bassist Gaye Advert, and drummer Lorry Driver. Within their first year as a band, they became the main band at London's Roxy Club and recorded live their first single, "Bored Teenagers." Around the same time, The Damned guitarist Brian James heard the Adverts raw, rocking sound and offered them a spot on their tour, AND the opportunity to sign a deal with the new Stiff Records along the way. Following their successfull tour with The Damned, they released their debut single on Stiff Records called "One Chord Wonders", April 22, 1977. At this time there were only 2 bands signed to Stuff Records: The Damned and the Adverts, the latter just having released one of the most highly regarded punk singles of the class of '77. Following this moderate achievement, The Adverts decided to sign with much larger record label Anchor (thanks to the "visual appeal" of their female bassist, Gaye) However, the success of "One Chord Wonders" was completely overshadowed by the unlikely popularity, and eventual "fame" of their next single; "Gary Gilmore's Eyes", a psuedo-parody about Gary Gilmore: a convicted murderer who had his retina transplanted after his execution. "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" went on to break the Top 20 chart (peaking at only 18, though), and be a widely rechognized punk song today (for me, at least). By the end of the year the Adverts relaesd another single, "Safety in Numbers" and signed with Bright Records after the financial downfall of their former label, Anchor. Then, at long last in February of 1978, they released their much-anticipated LP: "Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts." Critics dubbed the bright-red records "The Great Lost Brit-Punk Album", despite the fact it did not contain one of their only big hits, "Gary Gilmore's Eyes." Aftter this, however, the Adverts went on a complete and total downslide. Changing drummers twice within the same year, they still managed to release another single, "No Time to be 21." Things got much worse. Shortly after signing with mainstream label RCA Records their second LP, "Cast of Thousands", enjoyed absolutely zero success whatsoever, prompting the quitting of guitarist Howard Pickup and Gaye Advert, the bassist. T.V. carried the broken shell of a lineup through a dozen or so more gigs before officially terminating the Adverts in late 1979. T.V. would later return in early 1980 with his new band, T.V. Smith's Explorers. He continues to tour today. Though only enjoying a brief time in the punk limelight, the Adverts still have that raw sound that shot them to short-lived "fame." They are truly one of the forgottens, and deserve as much hype and popularity as other bands of the time enjoyed...
-InflamableMaterial
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