The Pointed Sticks formed in Vancouver, Canada, in 1977 when singer Nick Jones returned from England where he had witnessed the excitement of the British punk rock scene.
Taking the name Pointed Sticks from a Monty Python sketch, Jones recruited guitarist Bill Napier-Hemy, bassist Tony Bardach and drummer Ian Tiles and after a few months of gigging, the band added Gord Nicholl on keyboards. Johnny Ferreira later joined the band on sax.
The band released their debut single, What Do You Want Me to Do? with the Canadian independent label Quintessence Records, followed in 1979 by The Real Thing and Lies.
The group became one of the key bands of the Canadian punk/new wave scene in the late ’70s, playing sharp, uptempo pop music with guitars and drums and witty and cynical lyrics.
They also became a popular attraction on the US West Coast underground music scene and landed a deal with the fabled British independent label Stiff Records, who released their single, Out of Luck, in 1979.
The group recorded an album for Stiff, produced by Nigel Gray, but the label eventually opted not to release it. The tracks were later bootlegged and earned an official release in Japan in 2008.
The Pointed Sticks recorded a second “debut” album, Perfect Youth, which was released by Quintessence in 1980, the same year the band appeared as themselves in the film Out of the Blue, directed by Dennis Hopper.
Tony Bardach left the band shortly thereafter and was replaced by Scott Watson. Drummer Ian Tiles also bowed out to be replaced first by Robert Bruce and later by Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery. The group called it a day in 1981.
The band staged a short reunion tour in 2005, playing a handful of dates in Japan (where they enjoyed something of a cult following) as well as Canada with the original lineup of Nick Jones, Bill Napier-Hemy, Gord Nicholl, Tony Bardach, and Ian Tiles.
The band continued to play occasional concerts, and in 2009 they recorded a second album, Three Lefts Make a Right, and returned to Japan for live shows in 2010.
In 2015, the Pointed Sticks unveiled another album of new material, this time simply titled The Pointed Sticks.
Nick Jones
Vocals Bill Napier-Hemy
Guitar Tony Bardach
Bass Ian Tiles
Drums Gord Nicholl
Keyboards Johnny Ferreira
Saxophone Scott Watson
Bass Robert Bruce
Drums Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery
Drums
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The band released their debut single, What Do You Want Me to Do? with the Canadian independent label Quintessence Records, followed in 1979 by The Real Thing and Lies.
Nick Jones
