The Bus Station Loonies are a 'cabaret punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

' band from Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. They have been described as a cross between Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....

, Undertones

The Undertones

The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...

, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias

Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias

Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias were a comedy rock band, formed in Manchester, England in 1973. Their story is told in the book When We Were Thin...

 and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...

.

The band formed in 1995 in an attempt to put fun into the anarcho-punk

Anarcho-punk

Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

 movement. Original Loonies Tony Popkids (drums) and Chris "Felcher" Wheelchair (real name Chris Willsher

Chris Willsher

Chris Willsher ), is an entertainer, musician, punk singer, drummer, actor and writer of London Irish extraction, now residing in Plymouth. He is also known as Chris Wheelie, Wheelchair and Felcher.His bands include the Bus Station Loonies, Oi Polloi, Disorder , Eastfield and HIV and the Positives...

 b.1971 in Ilford

Ilford

Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

) (vocals, keyboards, kazoo; ex-drummer with Oi Polloi

Oi Polloi

Oi Polloi are an anarcho-punk band from Scotland that formed around 1981. Starting as an Oi! band, they are generally associated more with the anarcho-punk genre. More recently the band have become notable for their contributions to the Scottish Gaelic punk subgenre...

, Disorder (band)

Disorder (band)

Disorder are a hardcore punk band that formed in the Bristol area of the United Kingdom in 1980, and has existed with varying line-ups to this day. Faithful to anarcho-punk ethics, Disorder are a band who aligned with politically-charged punk bands like Crass and Conflict.-History:Disorder formed...

, Riot/Clone

Riot/Clone

Riot/Clone was a punk band often associated with the anarcho-punk scene, active from 1979–1983 and then revived in the early 90's until they split up again in 2005. The band were originally known as Riot but the name became Riot/Clone after two members of the original lineup wanted the band's name...

 and DIRT

DIRT (band)

DIRT were an anarcho-punk band from the UK. Initially formed in 1980 , the band frequently played with fellow anarchists Crass, before releasing their first EP, Object, Refuse, Reject, Abuse on the Crass Records label...

, among others), sharing a mutual love of such U.S. punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 outfits such as The Dickies

The Dickies

The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...

, still continue with the band today, having recruited approximately 30 other band members over 15 years.

During their initial UK tour of April 1996, with contemporary punk bands PMT and The Filth, The Loonies were billed as "a vicious headbutt between Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped were a mid 1970s English punk rock group from south London, who once had Chrissie Hynde and Captain Sensible within their ranks.-Biography:...

 and Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...

".

The band was featured in the UK's Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 documentary, Punx Picnic. The Bus Station Loonies were the first band to set the official world record for the most concerts/gigs performed in 12 hours (25 different shows) on 29 Sept 2001 in and around Plymouth, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, UK raising money to buy musical equipment for pupils of the Dame Hannah Rogers (special needs) school in Ivybridge

Ivybridge

Ivybridge is a small town and civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Plymouth. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales and lies along the A38 "Devon Expressway" road...

, Devon.

The band featured in the Guinness Book of World Records, until 2006, when the record was beaten.

Music journalist Mick Mercer

Mick Mercer

Mick Mercer is a journalist and author best known for his photos and reviews of the goth, punk, and indie music scenes. He has photographed the bands Tragic Venus and Blondie in the UK and Europe.He publishes a monthly online magazine called "The Mick"....

's 1997 book The Hex Files: The Goth Bible, references The Bus Station Loonies for their 18-minute reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 rendition of The Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...

 composition, "Temple of Love". In October 2008, said version (from their debut album) was nominated on a live broadcast on BBC Radio 6 as 'one of the best cover versions of all-time' (The Music Week with Julie Cullen and Matt Everitt).

The Bus Station Loonies recently completed recording their second full-length album. Entitled Midget Gems, it is due for release on their own Ruptured Ambitions record label in Summer 2010 and features eighth guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Angus Old (real name Phil Cawse) and recently recruited ninth guitarist Chris "The Machine" Mildren.

The band's frontman, Chris Wheelie, is currently involved in a solo project Harakiri Karaoke, as well as drumming with several friends' bands on a stand-in basis (including Eastfield, Anarcho Folko, HIV and The Positives, and his old band, originally formed in 1989, C.D.S.).

Discography

• "Dodgy Cider Fix" cassette (1995)
• "Squiffy on a Small Amount" 7" EP (Campary Records 1996)
• "Everyday Bullshit" track on A Scream From the Silence vol.4 LP (Loony Tunes 1996)
• Split cassette with Fungi Gone West (1996)
• "In Cider We Trust" split cassette with Combat Shock (1997)
• "Save Our Cider" and "The Blacksmith's Arms" tracks on Punks, Skins and Herberts vol.1 LP (Helen of Oi! 1997)
• "Charlie Harper" track on Bare Faced Hypocrisy Sells Records 7"EP/CD (Ruptured Ambitions 1998)
• "The Sideboard Song" track on The New Wave of Chas'n'Dave CD (Spanking Herman 1998)
• "Ensure Your Needle is Clean and Free from Dust" split 7" EP with Anal Beard (Ruptured Ambitions 1998)
• Mad Frank's Zonal Disco LP/CD (Ruptured Ambitions 1999)
• "The Last Post" track on It Don't Come Right to Me CD (Beat Bedsit 2000)
• "Can't Cheat Karma" track on Angry Songs and Bitter Words CD (Ruptured Ambitions 2003)
• "Hungry, Hungover and Skint" (live tape)
• "You Won't Find a Bigger Knob" (live tape)
• "The Blacksmith's Arms" track on UK Punks Vol.1 CD (Pumpkin/EHC 2005)
• "Dick Dastardly" track on Blackpool Bounce (Through the Net 2006)
• Midget Gems CD (to be released on Ruptured Ambitions Autumn 2010)
• Music to Send You Tonto CD (to be released on Ruptured Ambitions 2011)

External links

• Bus Station Loonies Myspace page
• Bus Station Loonies website
• Contact Bus Station Loonies direct