Cuban Heels formed in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1977 and was headed by John Milarky, who had previously been a member of Johnny & the Self Abusers, a Scottish punk band that metamorphosed into Simple Minds.
Initially, an R&B band who played the odd punk track, they soon found growing popularity with the mod revival crowd.
Consequently, their live set balanced original songs like Modern Girl, Too Much Too Loud, Samantha’s World and Young Pretender with covers such as Cat Stevens‘ Matthew and Son and Cliff Richard’sOn The Beach.
Their debut single – released on the Edinburgh-based Housewives Choice label in March 1978 – was a pop-punk reworking of Petula Clark‘s hit Downtown.
A line-up change saw Nick Clarke (bass) and drummer Ali McKenzie replacing Paul Armour and Davie Duncan.
The band maintained a gruelling live schedule – supporting bands ranging from The Stranglers and The Jam to Graham Parker And The Rumour – and released two more independent singles (Little Girl and Walk on Water) but a lack of commercial success prompted the group to settle on a more comfortable pop sound with an image to match.
A deal with Virgin Records saw the album Walk Our Way To Heaven and a string of singles – Sweet Charity, My Colours Fly and a remake of Walk On Water – suffer the same fate as previous offerings.
The band called it a day in 1982.
John Milarky
Vocals Laurie Cuffe
Guitar Paul Armour
Bass Davie Duncan
Drums Nick Clarke
Bass Ali MacKenzie
Drums
You May Also Like
10cc Vocalist/guitarist Graham Gouldman was a songwriter of pop hits during the 1960s. Amongst his many compositions are…
Stiff Little Fingers While many of the punks with whom they shared a stage opted for a brand of…
Merle Haggard Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash both learned the value of prison at around the same time. For Cash…
Voyager Voyager formed in Newbury (Berkshire) - originally as The Paul French Connection - and charted in…
Johnny Moped Johnny Moped formed in Croydon, South London, in 1974 and bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub…
Little Feat One of the more offbeat and interesting bands to emerge in the 1970s, Little Feat left…
Donnie Elbert American soul singer was born in New Orleans on 25 May 1936, moving with his family…
Dio Formed after Ronnie James Dio's departure from Black Sabbath, Dio's first self-titled outfit featured the considerable…
