The Purple Hearts are the bad boys of mod. The boys that don’t wear suits, the boys that don’t smile on stage. The boys that snarl "I get frustration I wear it like a suit, but the jacket fits too tightly and there’s lead inside my boots.
In a pub in Hackney The Purple Hearts proved to me that they may not be your run-of-the-mill clean-cut mod band but their (purple) hearts are in the right place. I’d given them a bad review calling them a blatant progressive punk band! But they didn’t hold any grudges against me.
"Look we’re obviously after punk that’s why call us post punk" explains lively vocalist Bob Manton. "We’ve been influenced by loads of different styles from The Stooges to The Searchers.
The bands first two singles "Millions Like Us" and Frustration" on the Fiction label are fine proof of their commercial ability. Both are knockout singles full of searing guitar work and classy hook lines. And why wasn’t the atmospheric "Millions Like Us" a hit? "Well we are pleased that our first single got to number 57 but if we’d got the airplay that "Time For Action" did then we’d have been up there with them" comments Bob.
Yet again lack of airplay for the bands new single "Frustration" means that it could disappear into cult obscurity. It’s a pity because the single has all the right pop ingredients and The Purple Hearts really do deserve more recognition because they were in at the beginning of mod.
"In May 1978 we did our first gig as the Purple Hearts" says guitarist Simon Stebbing "We started doing youth clubs playing such songs as "Watcha Gonna Do About It" , "Let’s Dance" , and Wilson Picket’s "If You Need Me"" .However the Hearts history dates back further to June 1977 when Bob, Simon , Geof Gladding and drummer Nick played a North London Technical College supporting the Buzzcocks.
"We only heard about the gig two weeks before we did it " says Geoff. "None of us could pay instruments. But we rehearsed in my garage calling ourselves The Sockets and we even managed to get an encore with the Buzzcocks. We did seven gigs as The Sockets, playing the Roxy three times. Even in those days we were doing songs like "My Generation".
After Nick (now the Roadie) broke his leg Gary Sparkes came in on drums. The Hearts gigged solidly around London building up a loyal mod following.
Of Coarse the Hearts were inspired by punk to form a band. In fact Bob’s horse vocals and the band’s powerful sound have drawn comparisons with Punk dinosaurs Generation X.
The band see this as compliment "Generation X were a mod band with their bullseye T-shirts and "Your Generation" We’ve all seen them loads of times and Billy Idol has been along to a couple of our gigs.
And bullseye T-shirts leads us onto pop-art to which the band feel a strong allegiance. Bob asserts that pop-art is making a comeback. "We think pop-art’s never been used properly by any group".
Extraordinary Sensations"(the b.side of the new single Frustration) is real pop-art music. And the single’s cover is ripped off Liechtenstein , which means that when the kids buy the single they are not only getting a great single but they are also getting a work of art"!
The Purple Hearts are not trying to ram mod down anyone’s throats. Any open minded music fan should appreciate their aggressive brand of late seventies pop music.
As Bob is so keen to point out: "We’re just in the great tradition of British bands like The Kinks,The Small Faces and the Who as well as Slade and T-Rex, we’re only associated with punk because we’re angry and we write about everyday life. If we’re a punk group then The Who were the first PUNK group."
Article unknown (probably from Record Mirror) anyone help?
