Single Bullet Theory was an American new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 band from Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

They are not to be confused with the Philadelphia band, also called Single Bullet Theory which has released a series of metal rock albums starting in 2000. Their first album was self-released; since then they have released albums on the Phoenix-based label, Crash Music.

History

The band was founded in 1976 under the name X-Breed; the new moniker was adopted after the addition of a guitarist and bassist to the original three-person lineup. They self-released an EP in 1977 and by 1979 were opening for Patti Smith

Patti Smith

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....

. After landing a song on the Asylum

Asylum Records

Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...

 Sharp Cuts compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, they signed with Mike Curb Productions, but left the label before releasing any material. In 1982 they signed to CBS Records

CBS Records

CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...

 subsidiary Nemperor and released a full-length album. The single "Keep it Tight" appeared on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and reached #78 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, A second single "Hang on to your Heart" was test marketed in the United States Virgin Islands and reached #1 but CBS pulled all promotion on the band; the single was never released and the group disbanded shortly after.

Members

• Michael Maurice Garrett - vocals
• Frank Daniel - guitar, bass
• Dennis Madigan - drums
• Gary Alan Holmes - guitar
• Michael Muller - bass
• Barry Fitzgerald - keyboards
• Davey Wynn - bass
• Mudd Herman - guitar
• Keith MacPhee - bass
• Band members changed over the years; the final line-up included Garrett/Madigan/Holmes/Muller and Fitzgerald

Discography

• Single Bullet Theory EP (Self-released, 1977)
• Single Bullet Theory LP (Nemperor, 1982)
• SBT: 1977-1980 Download Compilation (Free Music Archive, 2010)
• Complete Discography Single Bullet Theory Discography