The Only Ones
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The Only Ones were an influential British rock and roll band in the late 1970s who were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia.
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Biography
The Only Ones were originally formed in August 1976 by Peter Perrett. Perrett had been recording demos since 1973 and was introduced to future guitarist John Perry as a bass player. The original guitarist was Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. John no longer wanted to play rhythm and turned to guitar and Perret then found drummer Mike Kellie and bassist Alan Mair by August 1976. Their first single "Lovers Of Today" was released through an independent record label and a year later they signed to CBS. Their next single "Another Girl, Another Planet" a very popular and influential song. Arguably the band's best know song. It is often featured on various musical box-sets featuring a punk rock or new wave theme. An album was released The Only Ones in 1978 and was well received by reviewers and fans. Their followup album was Even Serpents Shine released in the next year. A year later their final studio album Baby's Got A Gun was released. In 1982 the band officially disbanded. In the years following the band would gain a cult following which would include many posthumous releases.
Influence
Their musical proficiency distinguished them from most of their peers, although their dominant drug-related lyrical themes, on songs such as "Another Girl, Another Planet" and "The Beast", fit in with the zeitgeist of the era. Drug addiction, particularly heroin use, derailed their career, and singer/guitarist/songwriter Peter Perrett has only sporadically been heard from since. They have been very influential on the indie rock and alternative rock scenes ever since, on bands such as The Replacements and Nirvana, and more recently The Libertines. The Replacements also covered Another Girl, Another Planet and it was featured on their All For Nothing/Nothing For All album.
Lead guitarist John Perry went on to play as an active session guitarist for bands like The Sisters of Mercy [[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sisters_of_Mercy)] and Marianne Faithful[[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Faithfull)]. More recently, he has written several well received music biographies on The Who's seminal album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy[[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Who)], The Rolling Stone's double album Exile On Main Street[[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones)] and in 2004, Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland[[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix)]. Most recently, he has been seen and heard playing with a new singer and songwriter, Freddie Stevenson.
Albums
- The Only Ones (1978)
- Even Serpents Shine (1979)
- Baby's Got A Gun (1980)
- Remains (1984)
- Darkness & Light (2002)