Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped es un grupo de punk rock inglés formado en el sur de Londres a mediados de la década de 1970, que alguna vez tuvo como miembros a Chrissie Hynde (más tarde de The Pretenders ) y Captain Sensible (más tarde de The Damned ). ^{[ 1 ]}

Formada en Croydon en mayo de 1974, la banda era una banda protopunk . Inicialmente se llamaban Johnny Moped and the 5 Arrogant Superstars, pero en agosto cambiaron su nombre a Assault and Buggery, luego a Commercial Band, antes de volver a llamarse simplemente Johnny Moped en enero de 1975. ^{[ 1 ]}

Johnny Moped se convirtió en una de las bandas pioneras del punk que tocaron en vivo durante los primeros meses del Roxy Club de Londres . Dieron dos conciertos en febrero de 1977, uno como teloneros de Eater y otro acompañando a The Damned. Al mes siguiente dieron dos más, uno como teloneros de Slaughter & the Dogs y el otro acompañando a The Damned. En abril, compartieron cartel con Wire , X-Ray Spex y Buzzcocks , y también telonearon a Motörhead en el Hammersmith Odeon . ^{[ 2 ]}

"Hard Lovin' Man" de Johnny Moped apareció en el exitoso álbum de varios artistas Live at the Roxy WC2 ( Harvest Records , 1977). La banda firmó con Chiswick Records y lanzó tres sencillos, incluyendo " Little Queenie " (una versión de la canción de Chuck Berry ), y un álbum – Cycledelic – antes de separarse. ^{[ 1 ]} El primer sencillo "No-One" apareció más tarde en el álbum recopilatorio de varios artistas de Chiswick Long Shots, Dead Certs and Odds on Favourites en 1978, mientras que la cara B "Incendiary Device" llegó al número 15 en la 'Festive Fifty' del DJ de BBC Radio 1 John Peel , la llamada 'lista perdida' de 1977. ^{[ 3 ]}

Dieciséis años después de su lanzamiento, los editores de la Enciclopedia Guinness de Música Popular nombraron a Cycledelic como uno de los cincuenta mejores álbumes de punk de todos los tiempos. ^{[ 4 ]} La mayoría de la banda se reunió para grabar un segundo álbum, The Search For Xerxes, en 1991. ^{[ 1 ]}

A documentary about the band, Basically, Johnny Moped, produced by Fred Burns, premiered in September 2013.^[5][6]

In 2015, the band, that now featured Rob Brook on second guitar, and long time bassist Jacko Pistorious alongside Johnny, Slimey and Dave, entered the Panther Studios in Surrey, with producer Dick Crippen, to record a new album. The first single to be taken from it was "Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie" backed with "Super Woofa", which came out on Damaged Goods Records on 31 July 2015 as a limited 7" and download. 2018 saw the band back at Panther Studios with producer Dick Crippen to record their fourth studio album.

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’.^[7]
• 'They were one of Chiswick’s top bands because they bridged the gap between mid-seventies pub rock and the beery end of punk'.^[8]
• 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".^[9]
• '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'.^[10]
• 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?’^[11]

The band's single, 'Darling Let's Have Another Baby', features among 'The 12 Greatest Punk Rock Records Ever Made' – a listicle published by Danny Baker on his Patreon blog.^[12]

• Lista de grupos punk del Reino Unido
• Lista de músicos de punk rock de la década de 1970
• Música del Reino Unido (años 70)

• Johnny Moped at AllMusic
• Johnny Moped Punk77 page
• Damaged Goods page
• Punky Gibbon page
• Dave Berk interview
• Johnny Moped website