The Saints: Encyclopedia II - The Saints - Rise to prominence

The Saints - Rise to prominence

In 1976, with bass player Kym Bradshaw, The Saints independently recorded and distributed copies of their debut single "(I'm) Stranded". Following Sounds magazine in the UK declaring it "Single of this and every week", the band was signed to a three-album contract with EMI. Later the same year they recorded their first LP, released in February 1977, also called (I'm) Stranded.

In mid-1977 the band moved to the UK, where it became apparent that they and their label had different ideas as to how they should be marketed. EMI planned to sell The Saints as a typical punk band complete with ripped clothes. The Saints insisted on wearing collared shirts and sweaters, and left their hair long. Nevetheless one single, "This Perfect Day", showed potential of a breakthrough when it made #34 in the UK charts; this was frustrated when EMI allegedly failed to press enough copies of record to satisfy demand.

Later in 1977, with bass player Alisdair ('Algy') Ward, The Saints recorded a second album, Eternally Yours. This demonstrated the band moving towards a more R&B style of rock, including a brass section on songs like "Know Your Product". Another track on the album, "Private Affair", focussed on what the band members saw as the pigeon-holing, hype and commercialisation of punk:

The Saints continued their musical development with the jazz-blues influenced LP Prehistoric Sounds in 1978; many critics see the 'jazz-punk' sound of Kuepper's next band, The Laughing Clowns, germinating on this record. Its commercial failure led to EMI dropping the band.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Rise to prominence", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki