The Records are best remembered for their cult classic, Starry Eyes, a song that defined British power pop in the 70s.
While they never matched the success of that record, their high-quality output from 1979 to 1982 held up better than most of the era and has also served as a constant blueprint for the various waves of UK and US power pop since.
Within their genre, they’re seen as giants, yet the general public has, for the most part, missed them.
The band formed around 1977, after pub rockersthe Kursaal Flyers broke up. The drummer from the band, Will Birch, and vocalist/guitarist John Wicks (who had only joined the Kursaals in the last three months of their existence) began writing together, inspired by the pure-pop tradition of The Raspberries, Badfinger and Big Star.
By 1978, they had completed the group by adding bassist Phil Brown and guitarist Huw Gower.
The band received valuable early exposure on the Stiff label’s ‘Be Stiff’ tour (where they doubled as Rachel Sweet‘s backing band), which led to their signing with Virgin Records and the release of their debut single, Starry Eyes.
Despite being a sublime slice of power pop, the band’s then-manager asked co-writer John Wicks, “Where’s the hook?” Somewhat taken aback, John replied that “The whole song is a hook!”
Mutt Lange co-produced The Records’ first album, Shades In Bed, giving Starry Eyes a new arrangement along the way.
Since the original version of the single was garnering serious radio airplay as an import in the US, the American licensee, Atlantic Records, included the original track on the US version of the album rather than Mutt’s version.
The LP was also renamed for America, where it was released as simply The Records,
Guitarist Huw Gower was sacked from the band after Shades in Bed and relocated to New York, where he joined forces with New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen. He was replaced by Jude Cole, a 19-year-old American.
Crashes (1980) was not a hit and produced no successful singles, and their record company withdrew its support.
Cole stayed in the US while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. This lineup recorded the album Music on Both Sides (1982), but, like its predecessor, it was not a hit.
The band broke up in 1982, though they reformed temporarily in 1990 to contribute a track (Darlin’) to a Brian Wilson tribute album (Smiles, Vibes and Harmony).
John Wicks released a series of singles on the Prizm record label in the early 1980s, including The Way That Love Goes, Prisoner Of Love and Nowhere Left To Run. Birch went on to become a notable music critic and historian.
In 1994, John formed a new incarnation of the band, John Wicks and The Records, which played primarily in the US.
Bassist Phil Brown died on 2 February 2012 after a long illness. John Wicks passed away on 7 October 2018 in a Burbank (California) hospice following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was just 65 years old.
Mutt Lange co-produced The Records’ first album, Shades In Bed, giving Starry Eyes a new arrangement along the way.
