The Chords
Encyclopedia
The Chords are a 1970s British
pop music
group, commonly associated with the 1970s mod revival
, who had several hits
in their homeland, before the decline of the trend brought about their break-up. They were one of the more successful groups to emerge during the revival, which was popular in the UK
in 1979, thanks in part to The Jam
's popularity (and their affection for mod music and style) and the release of The Who
's Quadrophenia
, a film centred around the mod subculture of the 1960s, and based on their 1973 rock opera
. They re-formed with the four original members for a UK tour during 2010.
group, formed in 1978 when singer/guitarist Billy Hassett and his bassist cousin, Martin Mason, advertised for musicians in the NME
and found guitarist and songwriter, Chris Pope. Original drummer Paul Halpin did not stay long, at least behind his drum kit, and eventually became the group's tour manager
. In his place came Brett "Buddy" Ascott, and by March 1979 The Chords were taking the stage. They gigged
continuously over the spring and summer, headlining two mod festivals
at London's Marquee Club
and recording
their first BBC Radio 1
session for DJ John Peel
in early July. They also featured, along with some of their fans, on the cover of Time Out magazine. Amongst their early supporters were Paul Weller
, who saw one of their first concerts, and Sham 69
's Jimmy Pursey
, who signed the group to his JP Productions company.
The quartet recorded a handful of demos
for Pursey, before the relationship soured after he heckled The Undertones
at a concert which the Chords had opened. Polydor
then signed the band to a recording contract
. For their debut single, the Chords chose one of the songs recorded for Pursey, "Now It's Gone", re-recorded it and had it released in September 1979. It rose to #63 in the UK Singles Chart
.
They followed it up in January 1980 with "Maybe Tomorrow", which, bolstered by rave reviews in the press, shot in to the UK Top 40. A second Peel session was recorded in March, and the next month their third single, "Something's Missing", arrived. This taster for their debut album, So Far Away
, reached #55. The album made #30 in the UK Albums Chart
in May, bolstered by a UK tour. The album included two cover version
s; Sam & Dave
's "Hold On, I'm Comin'
" and The Beatles
' "She Said She Said
". Allmusic gave So Far Away 4.5 stars, the second highest rating possible.
"The British Way of Life" single arrived in July and reached #55, and "In My Street", released in October, topped out at #50. The group continued touring, until a show at London's Music Machine in November 1980. Hassett was relieved of his duties and the former Vibrators' singer Kip Herring stepped in. The old line-up was featured on the cover of their next single, "One More Minute", which arrived in May 1981. It was a flop, as was August's "Turn Away Again", and the Chords called it a day the following month.
In 1986 a live album
entitled No One's Listening Anymore was issued, which was recorded back in 1980. A decade later, the double album compilation
CD, This Is What They Want was released.
In August 2010, The Chords went back on the road with their original line-up, promoting the single, "Another Thing Coming", and playing gigs across the UK.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group, commonly associated with the 1970s mod revival
Mod Revival
The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
, who had several hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in their homeland, before the decline of the trend brought about their break-up. They were one of the more successful groups to emerge during the revival, which was popular in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1979, thanks in part to The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
's popularity (and their affection for mod music and style) and the release of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia (film)
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based around the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as a Mod named Jimmy. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut...
, a film centred around the mod subculture of the 1960s, and based on their 1973 rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
. They re-formed with the four original members for a UK tour during 2010.
Career
The Chords, a South East LondonSouth East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
group, formed in 1978 when singer/guitarist Billy Hassett and his bassist cousin, Martin Mason, advertised for musicians in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and found guitarist and songwriter, Chris Pope. Original drummer Paul Halpin did not stay long, at least behind his drum kit, and eventually became the group's tour manager
Tour Manager
A tour manager is the person who helps to organize the administration for a schedule of appearances of a musical group or artist at a sequence of venues .-Background:...
. In his place came Brett "Buddy" Ascott, and by March 1979 The Chords were taking the stage. They gigged
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
continuously over the spring and summer, headlining two mod festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
at London's Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
and recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
their first BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
session for DJ 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...
in early July. They also featured, along with some of their fans, on the cover of Time Out magazine. Amongst their early supporters were Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
, who saw one of their first concerts, and Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
's Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey is an English singer and record producer. He was the founder and frontman of the English punk rock band, Sham 69 from 1976 to 1980, and from 1986 to 2006.-Biography:...
, who signed the group to his JP Productions company.
The quartet recorded a handful of demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
for Pursey, before the relationship soured after he heckled The 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...
at a concert which the Chords had opened. Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
then signed the band to a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
. For their debut single, the Chords chose one of the songs recorded for Pursey, "Now It's Gone", re-recorded it and had it released in September 1979. It rose to #63 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
They followed it up in January 1980 with "Maybe Tomorrow", which, bolstered by rave reviews in the press, shot in to the UK Top 40. A second Peel session was recorded in March, and the next month their third single, "Something's Missing", arrived. This taster for their debut album, So Far Away
So Far Away (album)
So Far Away is The Chords debut album. It reached a peak of number 30 on the U.K. albums chart in a three-week chart run. The cover was inspired by the second LP by The Spencer Davis Group.-Track listing:Side One#"Maybe Tomorrow"...
, reached #55. The album made #30 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in May, bolstered by a UK tour. The album included two cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s; Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor voice was Samuel David Moore , and the baritone/tenor voice was Dave Prater .Sam & Dave are members of...
's "Hold On, I'm Comin'
Hold On, I'm Comin' (song)
"Hold On, I'm Comin" is a 1966 single recorded by soul duo Sam & Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966.The song was written by the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who came up with the title of the song...
" and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "She Said She Said
She Said She Said
"She Said She Said" is a song written by John Lennon and released by The Beatles on their 1966 album Revolver...
". Allmusic gave So Far Away 4.5 stars, the second highest rating possible.
"The British Way of Life" single arrived in July and reached #55, and "In My Street", released in October, topped out at #50. The group continued touring, until a show at London's Music Machine in November 1980. Hassett was relieved of his duties and the former Vibrators' singer Kip Herring stepped in. The old line-up was featured on the cover of their next single, "One More Minute", which arrived in May 1981. It was a flop, as was August's "Turn Away Again", and the Chords called it a day the following month.
In 1986 a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
entitled No One's Listening Anymore was issued, which was recorded back in 1980. A decade later, the double album compilation
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...
CD, This Is What They Want was released.
In August 2010, The Chords went back on the road with their original line-up, promoting the single, "Another Thing Coming", and playing gigs across the UK.
Singles
- "Now It's Gone" (1979) – UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#63 - "Maybe Tomorrow" (1980) – UK #40
- "Something's Missing" (1980) – UK #55
- "The British Way of Life" (1980) – UK #54
- "In My Street" (1980) – UK #50
- "One More Minute" b/w "Who's Killing Who" (1981)
- "Turn Away Again" (1981)
- "Another Thing Coming" (2010)
External links
- The Story Of the Chords by Chris HuntChris HuntChris Hunt is a magazine editor, journalist and author. He has worked in journalism for over twenty years, most often writing about football or rock music. He was managing editor of Match from 1993 to 2001, a period that saw the weekly title become Britain's biggest selling football magazine...
, sleevenote to The Mod Singles Collection by The Chords - The Chords On Cheggers Plays Pop!
- The Mod Revival by Chris HuntChris HuntChris Hunt is a magazine editor, journalist and author. He has worked in journalism for over twenty years, most often writing about football or rock music. He was managing editor of Match from 1993 to 2001, a period that saw the weekly title become Britain's biggest selling football magazine...
, published in the NMENMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
mod special edition, April 2005 - Trouser Press Biography
- Fan site