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I started playing in a band when I was 14 in Warwickshire with some friends from school. We played in the local pubs Beatles and Black Sabbath songs. Then I moved to Worthing and met up with Rick Leyland, working the VW garage. He had some drums and I got an electric guitar. For a laugh we started messing about playing songs by groups we liked Dave Bowie, Roxy Music and Velvet Underground. I thought AC/DC were great and then my brother Mike bought a Ramones Album back from his English teacher at Worthing College. It was the first time I’d heard them and thought they were brilliant. The first punk album I got was the Damned’s first album. After that the Pistols came along. We also listened to 999, the Lurkers and the Clash.

I started writing songs when Rick and I started playing together. I’ve no idea what made me write "OBE". We weren't political, but mainly very drunk and having a laugh.

We went around London with tapes of our songs looking for a contract including Richard Branson when he was a long haired teenage hippy operating from almost a kiosk off Ladbroke Grove.

We handed out loads of leaflets and posters and records around South London, sleeping in a caravanette, touting around the record companies.

(I saw in the NME gig dates which were not us and thought at the time we're not playing there but didn't think about it anymore - we were too busy being naughty!)

We replied to an advert that 'Patrick Allen' had put in the local paper looking for local bands. He wanted a song to be written about football, which wasn’t a major interest to us, but it got us a record made, and we snatched his arm off.

Patrick Allen's management was absolute crap and we weren’t promoted at all, the only publicity we got was from our own efforts and the efforts of family and friends.

John Peel played the "South’s Gonna Rise" a few times, including I’ve been told, on his 40th birthday.. "OBE" the A side wasn’t played by Radio 1 because of the National Anthem. We got air play with 'David Hamilton' and 'Paul Burnett'.

Even with airplay the record had not been distributed very well so no one could actually buy it anywhere!

Rick and I were appearing in court more often than on stage at the time. We had been told not to associate with each other and were both given 18 months probation. Needless to say we ignored this and carried on playing for a while. My daughter was born in September 1979 and I stayed at home to look after her. When my mum broke her ribs I went to help out in her bar in Narbonne, France.

Every time Rick and I got together we continued playing but did not make anymore records.

It was a brilliant laugh from beginning to end and Rick and Dot, his mum would have been so chuffed to know that there was interest in the band 30 years on.

The above is an original A5 pamphlet called 'The Worthing Town Tatler' which was a given away free in the Worthing area. This issue is from August 1979 and featured an article on "F-X" on the back page.