Hi there! Thanks to everyone who came to see our set at this year’s Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. We had a great time and hope you did too!

Photo: julerocks

London were a four piece formed in London in 1976. The original line-up was Riff Regan (vocals), Steve Voice (bass/vocals), Jon Moss (drums) and Dave Wight (guitar).

They were managed by Simon Napier-Bell and recorded two singles, a 4 track EP and an album for MCA Records in 1977. Most of their songs were written by Riff Regan (including the first two singles Everyone's a Winner and Summer of Love) or by Riff Regan and Steve Voice. All their records were produced by Napier-Bell at the IBC Studios in London.

They toured extensively throughout 1977, first supporting The Stranglers and then as headliners in their own right. Their third release, the single Animal Games, was featured on the notorious Sex Pistols edition of the British TV show So It Goes.

Their final gig was at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street on the 8th December 1977. The band broke up shortly afterwards. On leaving, Moss joined The Damned and then formed Culture Club with Boy George. Riff Regan released solo records on MCA and CBS before reverting to his real name of Miles Tredinnick and becoming a comedy writer; Steve Voice formed a new band The Original Vampires and Dave Wight following stints in Metro and Holly and the Italians reverted to his real name of Colin Wight and became an academic (recently appointed Professor of International Politics at the University of Exeter). Simon Napier-Bell went on to manage George Michael and Wham! before becoming a best selling author of rock 'n' roll books.

MCA Records released the band's one and only album, Animal Games, in February 1978.

London The Punk Rock Collection, a CD containing all their MCA recordings, is currently available on the Captain Oi! Label.

The new line-up is Riff Regan (vocals), Steve Voice (bass/vocals), Hugh O’Donnell (guitar/vocals) and Colin Watterston (drums). Here they are in their own words.

Steve Voice (bass/vocals)
People often say to me “Steve Voice - bass? You really should be a singer with a name like that!"... Actually I ... "and that Riff Regan, he should play guitar. Riff... guitar... get it?"Well actually he... oh never mind.

I am Steve Voice, bass player with London. Started out way back in the day as a spotty schoolboy, fresh out of short trousers and trying to impress and get into the knickers of (almost) every girl around. First bass was a Woolworth's Top Twenty and first amp a Selmer Truvoice that needed a brick on top to stop it hopping round the room as I bashed out the latest psych/garage classic...

Fast forward etc... etc

Met Riff in West Hampstead in 76 and had a great time being part of the early punk scene. I had never been in a "real" band before London and the Stranglers tour was a baptism of fire. Without the prerequisite "hit record" under our belt our enterprising drummer Mr Moss jumped the sinking ship to play with The Damned (check out the live CD "The Captain's Birthday Party" to hear what the future Culture Clubber is really capable of!). Soon after that London bit the dust (boo hoo), and so did that version of The Damned (ha ha). Dave disappeared and I played in the early line up of Jon's band The Edge until they found a real bass player. I drifted into session work and lost contact with the others.

Fast forward blah... blah...

Riff and myself made contact and decided to put London back together. Dave was up for it but lives "up norf" and Jon is too busy with his other bands so we borrowed Hugh and Colin from a great punk band The DB'S. The new London has worked hard to be as good as the first line-up and Riff is still one of the great front men around.

Early days my fellow Droogs but the word is spreading that punk’s most elusive band London is back on the scene where it rightly belongs.

Music runs in my family, it would seem. My cousin Bob Voice plays with the great psych/mod band Fire, and his brother, the other Steve Voice, was a successful and very talented singer/ songwriter/producer (Voice/singer - I know). Check them out!

Here's my (current) Top Ten.
1. The Great Banana Hoax - The Electric Prunes
2. Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
3. Father's Name is Dad - Fire
4. Loose - The Stooges
5. Song for a Baker - Small Faces
6. Jimmy Mack - Martha and The Vandellas
7. Heartland - The Sound
8. Alone again or - Love
9. I'm so Bored - The Decline
10. Ahead – Wire
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Riff Regan (vocals)
When Steve and I decided to put London back together we had two big questions. Would we still be able to remember the songs and would anybody turn up? Fortunately the answer to both was yes.

Steve and I formed the original London in 1976 with Jon Moss and Dave Wight. We had a great year in 1977 touring as the support act to The Stranglers but by December the band just fell apart. After we split up I made some solo records and then completely changed direction and got into writing comedy scripts. I must be the only punk rocker who has written scripts for Frankie Howerd!

Anyway, here we are in 2010 walking out on stage and knocking out ‘Everyone’s a Winner’ and ‘Summer of Love’ like the intervening sabbatical never happened. Steve’s still the best bassman in the business and new boys Hugh and Colin are superb musicians too. To knock out the old numbers (and one or two new ones - watch this space!) is a great way of spending an evening. I sometimes think how lucky I am to have played in not one great band but two!

Hope to see you at some of the gigs!
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Colin Watterston (drums)
Hi, I'm one of the new guys in the band and I'm the one at the back 'tub thumping'.

I started playing drums at age 19 in a local band called the Nosebleeds, The band included my wife’s brother Garry and London management guru, Leigh Stone. What a fine racket we made! The Nosebleeds changed their name to The Detail and with a new line-up played in and around our local area for a few years, pausing briefly to change our name yet again to Come Clean, (which we did), and finally disband a short while later.

Various stints with a variety of other bands including a punk band (Passchendaele, where the saxophone player would scale the walls of the pub while the rest of the band rehearsed), a MoR band, (the name escapes me - damn this getting old), where every song we played, no matter what it was, would be sung in an Elvis style with lots of hip thrusting and bare chestedness. Is there such a word?

After playing for about 12 years I thought that was it, I've got it out of my system, oh! and electronic drums were everywhere, so I finally hung up my sticks.

Fast forward a few years and I was asked to take up sticks once again for a one off gig with The Detail for one of The Nosebleeds’ 40th Birthday Bash. What a great night that was which consequently rekindled the flames for my playing the drums again. Playing with the Salisbury punk band the DB’S was a fantastic experience playing The Jam, The Buzzcocks, The Cure, The Stranglers. In fact any band with “The” in front of their name.

I feel very lucky indeed to have been asked by Steve and Miles, (Riff to those who don't know, shame on you), to fill the seat left vacant by Jon Moss. And to play the venues with these guys who have already been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and made an album and a couple of singles on the way. Cheers guys.
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Hugh O’Donnell (guitar/vocals)
Hugh’s biog got lost in the post but we’ll put it up as soon as it arrives!
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We’ve just released an official bootleg live CD Get Out Of London. It was recorded at a gig without our knowledge, we then heard it, liked it and decided to put it out ourselves. Tracks: No Time; Speed Speed; Swinging London; Summer Of Love; Handcuffed; Get Out Of London; Animal Games; Siouxsie Sue; When The Night Falls; Friday On My Mind; Everyone’s A Winner; Loose. It will be available to buy at our gigs (£5) or directly from our merchandise page (£5 + p&p).

Thanks to everyone who has put up their videos of us onto YouTube etc. You can see some of them on our media page or go straight to our YouTube ‘London’ page.

Our next gig is at The Gaff , 382 Holloway Road, London N7 6PN on Wednesday 29th September. Hope to see you there.

Riff, Steve, Hugh and Colin

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