GARY GRANT (aka GARY OLSEN) - VOCALS	FAEBHEAN KWEST - GUITAR
NIGEL MOORE - BASS	CHRIS BASHFORD - DRUMS

 

 

 

Formed in London in February, 1977 after the arrival of ex-Lurkers bassist Nigel Moore, "Swank" were another short lived punk group sadly destined to never rise above support act status.

Notable gigs included supporting Adam and The Ants at the Man In The Moon pub in Kings Road, a slot with Chelsea at the Vortex and being first on with Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Roxy Club during the summer of 1977.

 In their six month existence others members would come and go, but the above line up featured names that would become well known on both stage and screen.

 When the band folded in the Winter of '77, Nigel & Glenn Garzke joined another Roxy club outfit "French Lesson".

Faebhean went on to form one of the best punk acts of the era, "Raped".

Chris went on to play drums with what many consider to be the classic line up of "Chelsea" in 1978.

Their peroxide spiked lead singer, Gary, was notorious for having the number "26" tattooed on his arm and always stated that he would kill himself if he wasn't famous by that age.

But his persistence of finding fame paid off, In 1979 he played Rory Storm in the film "The Birth Of The Beatles", followed by parts in the films "The Wall" and "Party, Party" during the early eighties, and after appearing in the "Comic Strip" TV series he took on the roll of PC Dave Litten in ITV's "The Bill". This in turn led to eight years playing the part of Ben Porter, (alongside the fabulous Belinda Lang), in the hugely successful  "2 Point 4 Children"  BBC TV comedy.

The series ground to a halt in 1999 after Gary was diagnosed with cancer and he sadly passed away in September, 2000 at the age of 42. 

 

Vortex, London, 29.08.77

Southside Club, Hampstead 05.09.77

Southside Club, Hampstead 26.09.77

Marquee Club, London 25.11.77

Upstairs At Ronnie Scott's, London 14/12/77

 

 

 

JOE PUBLIC

2007