"I'm hungover with a head like a monster"
- Above: Barmy London Army UK release, 1980, front & back cover.
Click to enlarge.
Cat. No: GEMS 35 (PB 9558)
Label: GEM Records
Recorded: 1980
Released: 4 July 1980
A-Side: Barmy London Army (C. Harper) 3.12
Run-out groove: BILBO GEMS 35 - A - 1 A1I W
B-Side: Talk Is Cheap (C. Harper) 3.39
Run-out groove: BILBO. TA1PE GEMS 35 - B - 1 'W' A1 K
Line Up
Vocals: Charlie Harper
Guitar: James Stevenson
Bass: Steve Slack
Drums: Pete Davies
Charlie's first solo outing featuring ex-Subs bass player Steve Slack, then current drummer Pete Davies and ex-Chelsea guitarist James Stevenson.
'Barmy London Army' was written about following Sham 69 on tour, hence the 'Kids are united' outro which Sham's publishers tried to sue Charlie for using!
Released on olive vinyl only, some promo copies have cropped up on Ebay but these are very obvious fakes. It reached number 68 in the charts (week ending 19 July) and was advertised (see below) as being released on July 4th. It only lasted the one week before dropping out of the top 75.
Click on images to enlarge
- Above: Music Press Ad, Sounds 12th July 1980 page 5.
- Above: News article reporting the split of the Slack/Davies Subs line-up and release of Barmy London Army, Melody Maker, 28th June 1980.
- Above: Similar news article from unknown source (probably Sounds)
- Above: Yet another news article, unknown source, from the Pete Davies Archive
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