The next thing to do was decide on a band name and then later, in August ’79, we performed our first gig.

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What’s Your Name?

By the time the band had been offered our first gig we had a handful of songs we could call upon to play.  We’d been through a few band names by now.  Eggy and the Chips, Neat Lard, Short Talk, 2112.

“I can remember we were all sitting in Lee’s bedroom one evening trying to think of a band name, but I was more worried about missing the last bus home.  He had one of those 24-hour digital clocks on the shelf, and it was displaying 21:12 as the time, so I said, “Let’s call ourselves 2112 so I can go home.””

Steve C

There was even talk of R.G. Bargy & The Jostlers but I think we concluded we were far too serious for such a frivolous name (sadly) and then we decided on The Pressure Stops. 

I came up with it and the others liked it.  I could waffle on about how the name was an ironic reflection of a dystopian future of urban decay in a New Town in the present, but I’d be lying.  It was just some words I liked the sound of. We were talking about band names in The Hare one evening and I said to Steve, “How about “pressure” something?” He agreed, so we just went through different words until we found something we liked the sound of.

Pressure Performances

Our debut gig was at the Lower Meadow Playbarn in Harlow and was called the “Commonside Festival”.  We played alongside local luminaries The Rabbits, Howard Like and The Receivers (later The Firm).  It was the 18^th August 1979 and someone had set up a small PA at one end of the tarmac playground.  I was so frightened that when we came to play, I stood with my back to the audience for the whole gig, which lasted about twenty minutes.  

My stage attire of choice was black trousers or jeans, a white shirt, skinny black tie and a black waistcoat with a black Only Ones badge on it.  We were rubbish but we got a good response from some of the crowd who clearly enjoyed ‘experimental punk’ played at full volume.  Experimental in this instance means to experiment with playing at the same tempo, in the same key and the same song as everyone else.

“I think we got the gig through The Rabbits because I knew Roger Milton (The Rabbits singer) through Tony Doherty, James’ brother. They were his friends.¹“

Roy

“Lower Meadow was Howard Like’s last ever gig.  Because Alan Main had already been chucked out.  They’d already done some sessions with Peter Powell (Radio 1 DJ), who was going to get them a record deal and get them on the radio but then it all fell apart.  I think Mick Cowley and Dave Austin were going off to University.”

Steve C

The band continued to rehearse and play the odd gig.  I refer to the notes I made at the time:-

Gig 2: – Saturday 3^rd November 1979

Futuristic Party

Magdalen Laver Village Hall

We played for about fifteen minutes before one of the organisers pulled the plug.  Richard Holgarth of The Gangsters played lead guitar even though he wasn’t in the band and hadn’t rehearsed any of the songs.  I was told, one of the girl organisers had a thing for a soul-boy who was in attendance, and he didn’t like our music so threatened to leave.

I also remember overhearing someone complaining about the girls because they ‘had to arrange a party better than anyone else’.  “Not only is it a ‘futuristic’ party,” she said, “but they have to have a band.  Not only that but they have to have two DJ’s.” Which was true. They did have two DJ’s. There was so much gear on the stage we had nowhere to stand, and Richard had to stand on the floor where we’d shout over to him what key the next song was in. Then, when the DJ introduced us, he introduced us as The Precious Tops. It was the final insult. Except it wasn’t. Having the plugged pulled was even more embarrassing.

“We played three songs and then we were told to get off.  We said, “We’ve only got one more!””

Roy

“Jackie and Diane asked us if we wanted to play the gig, even though the other organisers made up most of the bands Howard Like and Pre-Set.”

Steve C

Gig 3: – Wednesday 19^th December 1979

Party for children of one parent families

Harlow Technical College

With “No Warning” (paid £3.30 each)

I have no memory of this gig whatsoever, all I know is it was a children’s party and they all burst into tears when we slammed into the first number, so I’ll let Roy explain.

“We played in the main hall, on the main stage and it was organised by Sue Milton, sister of Roger Milton from The Rabbits.  It was a Christmas party for Gingerbread, which was a one parent family charity.  I was living in her flat in Abbotsweld and she asked me if we would do a gig at the college for some kids. That was it.  I was like “yeah, definitely!”  We asked Martin Brown of No Warning if he wanted to do it as well and he said yes, as long as he was headlining.“

Roy

“It was an afternoon thing, so we got set up and started playing and there were just these little kids.  Little five, six, seven and eight year-old kids.  And we started playing and my abiding memory was all the kids holding their ears and crying and the helpers taking them outside to another room.   So, we were playing to an empty room.  We did our customary four songs and got off.“

Roy

“Then Martin Brown’s lot came on and they asked him to do…and this is the ideal punk ethic thing…they asked him to play musical statues.  So, they’re up there, playing a song and then stopping and all the kids would stop, then they’d carry on and do it again a little while later.  That was quite surreal.  I have that down as our worst ever gig.”

Roy

Gig 4: Wednesday 20^th February 1980

Square One

With “No Warning” (paid £4.00 each)

Steve and I spent the gig ad-libbing and ridiculing Roy and Clive in equal measure.  At one point I said, “Well what do you expect from Clive.  Who would honestly wear glasses like that?  Apart from Sean of course,” and I pointed to Sean Folen, in the audience.  Sean was a friend from The Hare who was putting together his own band.  The reason he wore glasses was because he was blind in one eye.  He didn’t find it as amusing as everyone else and never let me forget it.

“We put up posters all over the town centre for that one.  Including all over a Henry Moore statue.  We got a call the next day telling us not to put up any more posters.  I think we were one of the first ever bands to play at Square One, because they’d just renamed it from the Galaxy Club.”

Steve C

You can read all about the history of Harlow Bands and The Square at the following link.

Harlow Bands Archive

Gig 5: – Wednesday 27^th February 1980

The Triad, Bishops’ Stortford

With “No Warning”

We played to three punks and the other band.  The punks sat with their backs to us and talked through the whole set.  Until we played Breakdown by The Buzzcocks.  They cheered at the end of that song.  Because we didn’t know all the lyrics, Steve sang his own. 

“I’m looking at the amps and they’re looking at me. 

One’s a Flame and the other’s a Peavey. 

They’re gonna breakdown, they’re gonna breakdown yeah.”

Gig 6: – Wednesday 30^th April 1980

Square One

With “Pre-Set” (paid £2.00 each)

Pre-Set was Sean Folen’s band.  He’d just about forgiven me for the quip at the earlier gig.  That’s the trouble with ad-libs.  They come out before you’ve had time to think about them.

Gig 7: – Wednesday 7^th May 1980

Local Pop Group Talent Competition

Tye Green Community Centre

With “Tequila” & “Dutch Courage”

The other bands played covers.  We couldn’t because I could never work out the chords.  Unless it was a Buzzcocks song.

I broke a string at this gig, but I felt this was a talent competition for pub bands really. 

“You broke a string at every fucking gig as far as I remember.”

Roy

So, there are some things Roy can remember. String breaking aside, what these gigs clarify is, as a band we:-

1. had to find our own gigs, very rarely did anyone offer us one.
2. played live very infrequently
3. usually played in Harlow
4. didn’t get paid much, if at all
5. played a lot on a Wednesday

And if you think those gigs were chaotic, the next one was even better, or worse, depending on how you view it, as we never even got to the end of the first song.

NEXT – PART 11 – GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS

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1. It transpires that we were offered the gig by Mick Cowley, guitarist with Howard Like. Mick, you may remember from a previous blog, had met both Roy and Steve C at Harlow Technical College around ’76 – ’77