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Johnny Moped
Johnny Moped
Origin	Croydon, South London, England
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1976–1978
Labels	Chiswick Records,; Deltic
Associated acts	The Pretenders,; The Damned
Former members
	Dave Burk; Fred Burk; Ray Burns (aka Captain Sensible); Paul Halford (aka Johnny Moped); Chrissie Hynde; Slimey Toad

Johnny Moped were a late 1970s English punk rock group from south London, notable for once having Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of The Damned) within their ranks.

[edit] Biography

Formed in Croydon in mid 1976, the band were present at UK punk’s birth.

Johnny Moped became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of London’s now-legendary Roxy Club. They played two gigs in February 1977, one supporting Eater and one backing The Damned. Again, in March, they played another two gigs, one supporting Slaughter & The Dogs and the other backing The Damned. In April, they were on a bill that included Wire, X-Ray Spex and the Buzzcocks.^[1]

Johnny Moped’s "Hard Lovin’ Man" appeared on the hit various artists album Live at the Roxy WC2 (Harvest Records, 1977). "Incendiary Device" made number 15 in BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel’s ‘Festive Fifty’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977.^[2] They signed for Chiswick Records and released three singles, including ‘Little Queenie’ (a cover of the Chuck Berry classic), and one album before splitting up. "No-One" featured on the Chiswick various artists sampler album Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two) in 1978.

Sixteen years after its release, the publishers of The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, named Cycledelic as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time.^[3]

[edit] Reviews

Johnny Moped’s style has been variously described as:

‘Moronic punk ‘n’ roll fusing future Chiswick label-mates Motörhead with the manic humour of John Otway’.^[4]

‘They were one of Chiswick’s top bands because they bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub rock and the beery end of punk’.^[5]

Cycledelic was “absolute madness. The greatest songs, the sloppiest playing, a voice to make Billy Bragg feel grateful and the sheer immortality of the since-oft-covered "Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby". Rating: nine out of ten”.^[6]

‘Johnny Moped had been about for a few years practising their sonic terrorism in & around Croydon by the time Punk Rock broke. That didn’t stop them signing to Chiswick Records & releasing the utterly superb 45 No One (NS 15) & the equally frenetic LP, Cycledelic (Wik 8). Perennially written off by the snobbier elements of the Punk elite, mates of Captain Sensible & part time roadies for The Damned - Johnny Moped had it all’.^[7]

Legends… ‘In any discussion of punk’s greatest legends the name of Johnny Moped forever looms large – not necessarily for the vitality of their vinyl, although few would deny that the Moped had few peers in that arena. Nor through the brilliant chaos of their live shows, although a good Moped gig could keep you grinning for a week. No, Johnny Moped was a legend because with a reputation and a presentation like theirs, what else could they be?’ ^[8]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio Albums

Cycledelic (April 1978: Chiswick Records, WIK 8)
The Search For Xerxes (May 1991: Deltic)

[edit] Compilations

Basically: The Best of (September 1995, Chiswick)
The Bootleg Tapes: I & II (September 2007, Damaged Goods)

[edit] Appearances on various artist compilations (Selective)

Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:

"Hard Lovin’ Man" featured on the Live at the Roxy WC2 compilation album (24 June 1977: Harvest Records SHSP4069) #24 UK Albums Chart^[9]
"No-One" featured on the Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two) sampler album (1978: Chiswick Records CH 5)

[edit] Singles

No One / Incendiary Device (August 1977: Chiswick, 515)
Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby / Something Else / It Really Digs (January 1978: Chiswick, NS 27)
Little Queenie / Hard Lovin’ Man (June 1978: Chiswick, NS 42)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;
^ John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net;
^ Larkin, Colin (1994) “All Time Top 1000 Albums”, Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Chapter 9;
^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 102;
^ Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 234;
^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. pp. p.749. ;
^ Jean Encoule (March 2004) “A-Z Of Punk Rock”, trakMARX, Issue No.13;
^ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 84;
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[edit] External links

Johnny Moped at Allmusic
Johnny Moped on www.punk77.co.uk

[0] Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;

[1] John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net;

[2] Larkin, Colin (1994) “All Time Top 1000 Albums”, Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Chapter 9;

[3] Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 102;

[4] Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 234;

[5] Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. pp. p.749. ;

[6] Jean Encoule (March 2004) “A-Z Of Punk Rock”, trakMARX, Issue No.13;

[7] Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 84;

[British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums-8] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

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