Johnny Moped

Infobox musical artist | Img_size =
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Name = Johnny Moped

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Img_capt = UK 45 rpm single picture cover: "Johnny Moped - No One"
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Origin = Croydon, South London, England
Instrument =
Genre = Punk rock
Occupation =
Years_active = 1976–1978
Label = Chiswick Records, Deltic
Associated_acts = The Pretenders, The Damned
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Dave Burk Fred Burk Ray Burns (AKA Captain Sensible) Paul Halford (AKA Johnny Moped) Chrissie Hynde Slimey Toad
Notable_instruments =

Johnny Moped were a late 1970s English punk rock group from south London, notable for once having Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of The Damned) within their ranks.

Biography

Formed in Croydon in mid 1976, the band were present at UK punk’s birth.

Johnny Moped became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of London’s now-legendary Roxy Club. They played two gigs in February 1977, one supporting Eater and one backing The Damned. Again, in March, they played another two gigs, one supporting Slaughter & The Dogs and the other backing The Damned. In April, they were on a bill that included Wire, X-Ray Spex and the Buzzcocks. [ Thompson, D. (2000) "Punk", Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;]

Johnny Moped’s "Hard Lovin’ Man" appeared on the hit various artists album "Live at the Roxy WC2" (Harvest Records, 1977). "Incendiary Device" made number 15 in BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel’s ‘Festive Fifty’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977. [ [http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/list2.html John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net] ;] They signed for Chiswick Records and released three singles, including ‘Little Queenie’ (a cover of the Chuck Berry classic), and one album before splitting up. "No-One" featured on the Chiswick various artists sampler album "Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two)" in 1978.

Sixteen years after its release, the publishers of "The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music", named "Cycledelic" as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time. [ Larkin, Colin (1994) “All Time Top 1000 Albums”, Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Chapter 9;]

Reviews

Johnny Moped’s style has been variously described as:

* ‘Moronic punk ‘n’ roll fusing future Chiswick label-mates Motörhead with the manic humour of John Otway’. [ Strong, M.C. (2003) "The Great Indie Discography", Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 102;]

* ‘They were one of Chiswick’s top bands because they bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub rock and the beery end of punk’. [ Joynson, V. (2001) "Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk", Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 234;]

* "Cycledelic" was “absolute madness. The greatest songs, the sloppiest playing, a voice to make Billy Bragg feel grateful and the sheer immortality of the since-oft-covered "Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby". Rating: nine out of ten”. [cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|pages= p.749;]

* ‘Johnny Moped had been about for a few years practising their sonic terrorism in & around Croydon by the time Punk Rock broke. That didn’t stop them signing to Chiswick Records & releasing the utterly superb 45 No One (NS 15) & the equally frenetic LP, Cycledelic (Wik 8). Perennially written off by the snobbier elements of the Punk elite, mates of Captain Sensible & part time roadies for The Damned - Johnny Moped had it all’. [ [http://www.trakmarx.com/museum/index.html Jean Encoule (March 2004) “A-Z Of Punk Rock”, trakMARX, Issue No.13] ;]

* Legends… ‘In any discussion of punk’s greatest legends the name of Johnny Moped forever looms large – not necessarily for the vitality of their vinyl, although few would deny that the Moped had few peers in that arena. Nor through the brilliant chaos of their live shows, although a good Moped gig could keep you grinning for a week. No, Johnny Moped was a legend because with a reputation and a presentation like theirs, what else could they be?’ [ Thompson, D. (2000) "Punk", Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 84;]

Discography

tudio Albums

*"Cycledelic" (April 1978: Chiswick Records, WIK 8)
*"The Search For Xerxes" (May 1991: Deltic)

Compilations

*"Basically: The Best of" (September 1995: Chiswick)

Appearances on various artist compilations (Selective)

Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:
*"Hard Lovin’ Man" featured on the "Live at the Roxy WC2" compilation album (24 June 1977: Harvest Records SHSP4069) #24 UK Albums Chartcite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages=
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]
*"No-One" featured on the "Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two)" sampler album (1978: Chiswick Records CH 5)

ingles

*"No One / Incendiary Device" (August 1977: Chiswick, 515)
*"Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby / Something Else / It Really Digs" (January 1978: Chiswick, NS 27)
*"Little Queenie / Hard Lovin’ Man" (June 1978: Chiswick, NS 42)

See also

* List of British punk bands
* List of musicians in the first wave of punk music
* Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)

References

External links

*
* [http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/johnnymoped.htm Johnny Moped] on www.punk77.co.uk