Serious Drinking were a humorous punk rock

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 Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

, 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...

 whose lyrical themes often covered football and drinking

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

.

History

The band formed in February 1981, taking their name from a Sounds

Sounds (magazine)

Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...

 headline to an interview with The Cockney Rejects, with most members having met at the University of East Anglia

University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...

. Band members were Martin Ling (vocals, formerly of The Higsons

The Higsons

The Higsons were an English funk-punk band popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s.-History:Founded in 1980 at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, The Higsons' first recording was on the Norwich - A Fine City compilation album. The band signed to the 2 Tone Records label, along with bands...

), Eugene McCarthy (vocals), Andy Hearnshaw (guitar, formerly of The Farmer's Boys

The Farmer's Boys

The Farmer's Boys were a British band from Norwich, England. They formed in the early 1980s and were briefly called 'Bang Goes My Stereo' before changing their name to The Farmer’s Boys.-History:...

), Jem Moore (bass), and Lance Dunlop (drums). Debut EP, Love On The Terraces (produced by Madness

Madness (band)

In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...

's Mark Bedford) reached number 9 on the UK Indie Chart

UK Indie Chart

The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

 in 1982, follow-up "Hangover" reaching number 4 the following year. Debut album The Revolution Starts at Closing Time also reached number 4, and was followed up in 1984 by a second album, They May Be Drinkers Robin, But They're Still Human Beings. After another single, "Country Girl Became Drugs and Sex Punk", Moore and Dunlop left the band. The new line-up continued with sporadic gigs.

The band were firm favourites of John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

 and recorded four sessions for his BBC Radio One show. "Love On The Terraces" also reached number 38 in the 1982 Festive Fifty

Festive Fifty

The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...

.

A compilation of their finest moments, Stranger Than Tannadice - The Hits, Misses and Own Goals was released in 1990 on the Worker's Playtime label, to coincide with the 1990 World Cup, with a couple of singles also emerging in the 1990s.

Singles/EPs

• Love On The Terraces EP (1982) Upright (#9)
• "Hangover" (1983) Upright (#4)
• "Country Girl Became Drugs and Sex Punk" (1984) Upright (#8)
• "Red Skies Over Wembley" (1993) Musical Tragedies
• "Back Home 1966" (1996) Damaged Goods
  Damaged Goods (record label)
  Damaged Goods is a British independent record label and online shop.- History :Damaged Goods started in 1988 from a living room in east London.Ian Damaged called it DamagedGoods. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?"...
  
  

Albums

• The Revolution Starts at Closing Time (1983) Upright (#4)
• They May Be Drinkers Robin, But They're Still Human Beings (1984) Upright (#16)
• Stranger Than Tannadice - The Hits, Misses and Own Goals (1990) Worker's Playtime