the prisoners

1980 & 1981The Prisoners first emerged from the Medway region of southern England in early 1980 when three sixteen year olds, Graham Day (guitar, vocals), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums) started rehearsing a set of R’n’B and soul covers and a few Day penned songs. They took the name from fellow Medway band the Vapours first single 'Prisoners', and not the TV program as is commonly assumed.They made their live debut at The Red Lion in Gravesend on the 1st of June supporting a local punk band called ‘Naked’ and went down well not suprisingly as according to Allan Crockford “we did know everyone in the audience”.Some of the first songs to come out of this early incarnation of the Prisoners were the unreleased ‘Talking about my baby’ and ‘Don’t call my name’ which later appeared on their debut L.P. Rough demos of all these songs are in existence.Nothing of note really occurred during 1981 as the band, not taking things too seriously, made no further live appearances.1982A pivotal moment in the group’s history occurred in early 1982 when their ranks were expanded to include one James Taylor on organ. Up until Jamie’s’ inclusion the band had been more of a school boy hobby. After their first gig with Jamie, again at the Red Lion in Gravesend, on the 21st of February the new four piece spent the next ten or so months gigging around the Kent and Medway area, including numerous appearances at the MIC Club Chatham, the Red Lion Gravesend and Bogarts in Strood. Demoralised after a distinct lack of interest from the music industry, the group decided to record an LP for a keepsake and for the local following that they had built up over the previous year or so.The 12 songs that came out of a days stint in Oakwood Studios in Herne Bay, Kent on the 12th September (according to Crockford the live recording was left unmixed “because we could only afford 8 hours studio time”) were released on their own ‘Own Up Records’.‘A taste of pink’ came out later that month (see the discography section for other details and LP review). The LP’s production credits were shared between the group and Russ Wilkins and was engineered by Graeme Qinton-Jones. The cover featured photos of the group by Eugene Doyen and artwork by Graham Day. Their debut proved to be a very successful one and was well received by the critics, going on to three pressings - the initial pressing included 500 on pink vinyl- selling almost 10,000 copies before its deletion in 1985. It was also re-issued in CD format in 1994 after interest in the group was rekindled following their reformation in 1993.The band arranged a series of dates in the Medway Delta to promote the record and with the record selling well went from strength to strength with progressively more and more gig offers coming in.1983March of 1983 saw the band travelling up to London for a series of support slots with fellow Medway group Thee Milkshakes (a group who the Prisoners would go on to befriend, gig and record with in the future). The support slots were well received with many of the venues inviting the Prisoners back to headline later in the year. After the Hope and Anchor gig in London (the venue made famous in the mid to late 70’s with the advent of Punk and one that would become a regular on their roster) the French Label Skydog came in with an offer to allow them to license ‘A taste of pink’ to the French market. Copies of the initial pressing had found their way over the channel and stoked up quite a bit of interest in the band. The deal was struck and to coincide with it’s release a French only 7” single (Skydog SK6103) featuring two recently recorded tracks ‘There’s a time’ b/w instrumental ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ was also released in March. Day, in his sleeve notes for the ‘Rare and Unissued’ LP , was later to comment that the single was recorded for “a very dodgy Frenchman who never paid us a centime!” The band popped over the Channel at the end of May to play a couple of nights at the Gibus Club in Paris, returning for a string of London dates. The great irony was that despite a growing reputation of their live shows and the good reception of the debut LP, the Prisoners were without a record contract in the UK. This was a fact that had not gone unnoticed by Roger Armstrong at Big Beat Records. The band had earlier impressed him when he caught them supporting Thee Milkshakes in St Albans in August. Meanwhile unperturbed by the lack of a record deal, the Prisoners continued to record and demo new material for their follow up LP and also recorded a session for Radio Medway which included the songs ‘Far away’ and ‘He’s in love’ (both takes later resurfacing on the ‘Rare and Unissued’ LP).The record deal the Prisoners had been waiting for finally materialised when Roger Armstrong offered the band a short-term deal on Big Beat. This was the Prisoners first taste of the music industry, an industry that the band became increasingly wary and disdainful of with the passage of time. The band was booked into I.C.C. studios in Eastbourne with Phil Chevron in the producer’s chair that autumn. The resulting LP, ‘TheWiserMiserDemelza’ released in November (see the discography section for other details and LP review) was a more polished affair than their debut LP, one track even featuring a brass section. The band were not over ecstatic with the results, however, claiming that the LP had been ‘forcibly over-produced’ by Chevron, resulting in them losing the raw sound of their first LP and live appearances (a sentiment echoed by Day on his sleeve notes accompanying the ‘Rare and Unissued’ LP). Nevertheless the LP received some good press and its release was accompanied by the 7” single ‘Hurricane’ b/w ‘Tomorrow she said’. The former was considered by many to be the strongest track on the LP and the non-LP B-side later resurfaced on the CD reissue of the Wisermiser LP on Big Beat in 1990. After the LP and single release the band spent what was left of the year in France on some promotional dates.1984Having disapproved of the treatment their sound got at the hands of Chevron, the band opted for the production of Russ Wilkins, base player with the Milkshakes, to give them a more “raw, vibrant and energetic” sound for the four tracks they recorded for a new Big Beat EP. The ‘Electric fit’ EP was released in August and featured three new tracks: the excellent ‘Melanie’, ‘What I want’ and ‘The Last thing on your mind’ plus ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ - a song which previously appeared as the B-side of their French Skydog 7”. On the EP’s sleeve notes by Peter Niss he says, “the boys tell me it is their favourite selection of songs to date”, a sentiment many of the fans agreed with. Shortly after the EP’s release the band made their UK TV debut appearance on the Tube. The Joolz Holland and Paula Yates fronted show featured four ‘garage’ bands playing live at the Pindar of Wakefield near Kings Cross, London on the 2nd of August. The quartet of bands was completed with friends Thee Milkshakes, the Tallboys and the Stingrays. Their performance of ‘Reaching my head’ went down in legend, as the band appeared on stage in full Star Trek regalia. Big Beat released all four Tube tracks on their ‘Four on four’ EP. Strangely the Prisoners never released a studio version of this live favourite, however the Tube version subsequently appeared as one of the bonus tracks on the CD reissue of Wiser (and the US only ‘Revenge of..’ LP). The Prisoners also contributed a live version of Deep Purple’s ‘Hush’ to the compilation LP ‘Don’t let the Hope close down’ - an LP released to aid the cause of the ailing Islington Hope and Anchor - a venue that had paid witness to many a sizzling Prisoners shows.Around this time the Prisoners were offered the chance to test the waters of the US market when American label Pink Dust, a subsidiary of Enigma, paid for the right to license an album’s worth of Prisoners material. The result was ‘Revenge of the Prisoners’, an album that is still very much sought after Prisoners fans (see the discography section for other details and LP review). Side one consisted of the four tracks from the ‘Electric fit’ EP, a re-record of ‘Coming Home’ from ‘A taste of Pink’, ‘Reaching my head’ from the ‘Four on Four’ EP and the previously unreleased ‘Love changes’. Side two featured a selection of six tracks from the Wiser LP - including ‘Hurricane’, ‘Here come the misunderstood’ and ‘Far away’. Spike Sommer of Sounds certainly liked the disc giving it the five stars stating “the music is a rich tapestry of trashy 60’s style beat and psychedelia with an explosive 80’s approach which makes the Prisoners so much more than an exercise in nostalgia”. Meanwhile it was all change yet again on the record label front as the Big Beat deal, which was only a short term deal anyway (they released only one LP and two EP’s) was allowed to lapse by mutual consent.1985The Prisoner’s first release of the New Year was a split LP with Thee Milkshakes aptly titled ‘Thee Milkshakes Vs The Prisoners’ on Media Burn records. It was recorded ‘live’ on the 23rd of September of the previous year in front of an invited audience at Oakwood Studios in Canterbury. Featuring seven songs, the LP is now much sort after for the version of ? and the Mysteron’s ‘96 Tears’ and the full version of ‘American Jingle’ (later that year to appear in truncated form on their next LP).After demo-ing new material the band decided to again use the production skills of Russ Wilkins as the band started recording their third LP. The band decided to go back to their own ‘Own Up’ records and ‘The Last Fourfathers’ was released in June receiving rave reviews from the music press (see the discography section for other details and LP review). Critics, fans and the band alike now regard the album as their best and most representative of their four studio albums proper. The twelve track album, including the excellent instrumentals ‘Nights of the Nazgul’ and ‘Explosions on Uranus’ was given four (out of five) stars by Sounds while Melody Maker described its as “a squirming, groovy album: go-go music in the old sense of the word...tough, dirty, modern dance”. The strangest thing about the ‘Last Fourfathers’ was its failure to yield a single- particularly strange given that the album was brimming with classic three-minute explosions of pop. Perhaps this could be explained, in part, by the lack of a record deal and the Prisoners own penchant for recording material, putting it out and immediately moving on to the next thing.The Prisoners set-off on the road for the majority of the year to promote the album. In Europe they played dates in Germany, France and Austria. Back in the UK a support slot with The Truth took them all over the country - establishing a reputation as one of the hardest working live acts in the country.Although no singles followed that year the band joined forces for a second time with their live playmates Thee Milkshakes to release another split LP, this time recorded at the MIC Club in Chatham. ‘Live at the MIC’ was released independently on Empire Records and captured seven live cuts from the last ever gig at the MIC on the 18th of January 1984. Although the sound is a little rough it is notable for two cover-versions on the bands live roster at the time - ‘Runaway’ and ‘Sitting on my sofa’ and ‘Little shadows’ – a Day original that is unique to the LP.Despite all the critical acclaim the group had received over their third LP and the time they had put in touring the band yet again found themselves at the end of the year without a major deal and with the big time still eluding them. The first signs of trouble in the Prisoners ranks could be detected as arguments about the direction and image of the group and the distinct lack of money set in.1986January saw the Prisoners off to Italy for a five-date mini-tour. Early 1986 also saw an offer of a deal including a sizeable advance from Countdown, an offshoot of Stiff (the home of 2-tone favourites Madness). Taylor and Symons were keen to sign the deal while Day and Crockford, content to continue of their own label and develop a progressively heavy sound (a desire that was eventually achieved through the Prime Movers), signed with reservation. The band very quickly set about recording their fourth LP with Troy Tate of Teardrop Explodes fame in the producer’s chair, re-introducing a brass section together with a more clean and commercial sound. The album was preceded by a 7”/12” release on the 24th March (only their third UK single in nearly six years!!) - a re-recorded version of ‘Whenever I’m gone’ b/w ‘Promised land’ (and instrumental track ‘Gravedigger’ on the 12”). The LP was released in May amid arguments between the band and the record company over the album’s publishing rights and the band’s general dissatisfaction with the albums over-clean production and weedy sound (see the discography section for other details and LP review). Reading the sleeve notes of ‘Rare and Unissued’ it is plainly clear that Day was neither happy with how the songs on the album turned out nor the final choice of tracks. The subsequent lack of promotion by Stiff and the album’s withdrawal two months later limited sales, making this album almost impossible to find today. This was all a great shame given that some of the songs on the album were the most accomplished the band had written. Standout tracks included the upbeat ‘All you gotta do is say’, ‘Deceiving eye’ and the excellent ‘The more that I teach you’.Ironically May saw the Prisoners at their busiest and best live. The band landed the support for the UK leg the Ramones tour, thirteen dates that took the band to the biggest venues they had played to date. In June the bands gruelling live schedule continued with nineteen dates in their own right including two nights in Madrid.Sadly the stress began to take its toll. Squabbles with Stiff records over lack of artistic control and the lack of mainstream success finally started to manifest itself within the band, with arguments over such trivial matters as the loudness of guitar versus the organ at gigs. Their disregard for the music industry and Stiff Records in particular was all but evident in one of the last two tracks the band recorded in late August (‘Pop star party’) having already decided to split. When the band tried to retrieve the master-tapes of the two songs from the safe in Stiff’s offices the tape snapped in the ensuing tug of war!! Both ‘Pop star party’ and ‘Happiness for once’ both subsequently turned up on Hangman’s 1988 ‘Rare and Unissued’ retrospective LP, with the break in the master-tape on ‘Pop star party’ clearly audible!! The band played their penultimate gig at the Fulham Greyhound on the 5th of September and officially split-up on the 16th of September, fulfilling the commitment of a previous booking at the 100 Club on London’s Oxford street two days later. The officially band split-up on the 16th of September fulfilling the commitment of a previous booking at the 100 Club on London’s Oxford street two days later.The reformation1993In the autumn of 1993 rumours started to circulate that The Prisoners were back together and rehearsing again. This was confirmed when the band announced a reunion show at the Subterainia Club on December the 16th. The show was a sell-out as all of the 80’s Prisoners fans came out of the woodwork. The band seemed visibly chuffed by how well their sixteen-song set was received and clearly enjoyed being back - “this is the golden hour” mused Allan Crockford.1994At first the show of the previous year appeared to be a one-off. However on the 6th of June the band made their second appearance, this time at the Clapham Grand in South London - and a few days later flew out for four dates in Italy where the band had built up a keen following their mini tour of 1986. This was then followed two months later by another four dates in Germany in August. The rest of the year passed without any activity- fairly unsurprisingly given the busy work schedule of James Taylor and his Quartet.1995 & 1996While nothing happened in 1995, the reunion continued on an ad-hock basis in 1996 with a cracking Leadmill show on 6th April. The only other activity was a handful of support slots – perhaps not unsurprisingly – with the James Taylor Quartet.19971997 was the year that the Prisoners as Allan Crockford puts it “decided to grab a little slice of respect”. Quite understandable in the face of all the critical praise that had been heaped on copyist bands such as the Charlatans and Kula Shaker. A high profile gig at the Forum in London on 24th January for the first time saw the appearance of new songs, hinting that there may in fact be more to the reunion than playing a few gigs. During the back end of the last year and first few months of 1997 the Prisoners had been writing, demo-ing and recording new tracks. A one-off deal was stuck with Deceptive records and the first fruits of the Prisoner’s reformation was released. The excellent single ‘Shine on me’ b/w another two new songs, ‘Judgement Song’ and ‘Small’ came out on the 6th of June, as Allan Crockford stated “to test the water”. Musically the songs picked up from where they left off in the 80’s - big Hammond organ riff driving the song along, powerful guitars and impassioned vocals. However this time the sound had matured with the band finally finding the slick production their songs deserved. In May Steve Lamacq stated that "Style, that's what you get with The Prisoners" in his review of the single which he duly played on his Radio 1 evening show. When an article by Ted Kessler appeared in the NME on 4th of June praising the band to high heaven, The Prisoners at last seemed to be getting the recognition they deserved. The band put together a string of dates to support the single. These shows took in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Cambridge, Brighton- a fairly disastrous show at Sankey’s Soap in Manchester, Sheffield Leadmill -(a venue where the band had gone down so well the previous year) and a gig in the Capital at the Garage. More new songs featured in their set including ‘Hold your head up high’ and ‘All I ever wanted’ in addition to the three tracks on the new single. The gigging culminated with a noon slot on the Saturday of the Pheonix festival, an experience that Crockford described as ‘underwhelming’. Prisoners fans old and new awaited the new album (which rumour had it had been recorded earlier in the year) and more gigs. And waited...and waited....and waited. In 1998 an email on the web from Graham Day shed a little more light on the album’s non-appearance – “We nearly did another album, but we decided we like the old stuff too much, anyway, the fans seem to love being in a time-warp”.1998At the back end of the year Graham Day and Allan Crockford were back together again working on a new three-piece band ‘The Solarflares’ featuring Wolf (from the Prime Movers and JTQ) on drums and started to do the odd gig here and there. New material from Graham Day also started to appear along side some old Prisoners and Prime Movers songs and a handful of obscure covers. Crockford described the band as one with “no frills, loads of energy”. Everything was pointing towards the end of the Prisoners... until...2000With Johnny Symons "earning an honest living" somewhere in London, Jamie busy with his quartet and Allan and Graham working together in the Solarflares, fans may have been forgiven for thinking that they had seen the last of the Prisoners. However, early into the new Millennium rumours started to circulate that the Prisoners were to headline a Mod All-dayer at the Forum in London. These rumours turned out to be true and the boys will play on Sunday the 30th April. Will it be a final chance to see Medway’s finest? Who knows? Just make sure you’re there!!