Fleet, Hampshire

Controls from Fleet, Hants formed in December 1978 (as Bright Young Things) from the remnants of three bands - the Grunties, Keine Namen and The Fastnets.  The band name changed to Controls in July 1979.

 The band played around 30 gigs over the following 18 months including various pubs, clubs and schools and was part of the ‘punk and mod’ season staged at the Tumbledown Dick in Farnborough, winter ’79 (other bands playing included Angelic Upstarts, The Wall, the Nips and the Purple Hearts).

 Controls released two tapes on the Stupid Rabbit Tapes label:

 ‘Sock it to ‘em, Dave’ Stupid Rabbit Tapes SRT001 April 1980

Cassette only, issued with hand-drawn/written Photostatted cover, some with white labels  (circa 500 copies)

 Intro (heckling from band’s first gig)/So soon I forget/Secrets/Nobodies (sic) Daughter/Invited Few/Outro (lifted from an early Star Trek broadcast).

 ‘Don’t Adjust the Controls’ Stupid Rabbit Tapes SRT002 July 1980

Cassette only, issued with hand-drawn/written Photostatted cover, some with Photostatted labels (circa 100 copies)

 Invited intro/ So soon I forget / Proximity / Vices / Mars Baby/

Videosville/ She’s so dirty/ Apology to David/ Observers/Metropolis

 The band line-up changed in August 1980 to:

 Kerry Kirk (drums)

Tim Naylor (bass/vocals)

Mick Pendleton (guitar/vocals)

Jim Rump (vocals)

 This line-up played a further 20 or so gigs including a headline at the Wooden Bridge in Guildford and the West End Centre, Aldershot and issued another tape on Stupid Rabbit Tapes:

 ‘Late Night Love Songs’ Stupid Rabbit Tapes SRT003 April 1981

 Apprehension/ Childhood / Over Now / Shadows and Echoes / late Night Love (in a launderette / So soon I forget / Videosville / Secrets / Mars Baby

 This was then re-issued on the Reading-based X-Cassettes label as ‘Dance’ with additional tracks (X-003).  The band also appear on two X-Cassette compilations – ‘Anything Could happen in the next half hour’ (X-002) and ‘Bits’ (X-005). 

Thanks to Tim Naylor

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