Ian Carnochan (Knox) Nigel Bennett Pete Honkamaki John 'Eddie' Edwards
Past members
Pat Collier John Ellis Gary Tibbs Dave Birch Don Snow Ben Brierly Greg van Cook Kip Ian Woodcock Phil Ram Adrian Wyatt Noel Thompson Mickie Owen Mark Duncan Darrell Bath Nick Peckham Robbie Tart
The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, "We Vibrate". The band also backed Spedding on his single, "Pogo Dancing".
The Vibrators recorded sessions for John PeelatBBC Radio 1 in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978.[2] They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's Roxy Club. They headlined in January 1977, supported by the Drones, and in February they played twice at the venue.[3] In March 1977, the band supported Iggy Pop on his British tour. Later that year, they backed ex-Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter.
Their follow-up album, V2, narrowly missed the UK top 30. The only single to be taken from that album, "Automatic Lover", was the only Vibrators' single to reach the UK top 40 where it reached No. 35.[7] It earned the band a TV appearance on the prime-time TV show Top of the Pops. The Vibrators' final single on Epic, "Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)", was released in June 1978. It reached No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart.[7] Years later it was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.[8]
During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with Peter Gabriel, as well as recording and touring frequently with Peter Hammill, then subsequently the Stranglers, eventually joining the latter full-time in the 1990s. Pat Collier went on to work closely with the Soft Boys, producing their seminal album Underwater Moonlight, and Robyn Hitchcock, producing and mixing some of his solo albums (to which Knox also sometimes contributed). Phil Ram went on to form Able Ram and brought out two singles, "Disco in Moscow" and "Hope We Make It", although without any chart success. Despite numerous line-up changes, the Vibrators continued to record and tour as a three-piece, with "Eddie" being the only original member.[9]
In 2020, the original lineup of Knox, Eddie, Ellis and Collier reunited to record and release the studio album Mars Casino with Chris Spedding providing production, additional guitar, and vocals.[10]
In January 2022, the Vibrators released the new single "He's a Psycho". In July that year, the line-up of Knox, Honkamaki, Bennett and Eddie announced Fall into the Sky, which was claimed to be the final Vibrators album.
The band Stiff Little Fingers took its name from the Vibrators' song of the same title. The song was penned by John Ellis, and appeared on the Vibrators' debut album Pure Mania. Second wave punk band the Exploited covered the Vibrators' song "Troops of Tomorrow" and used it as the title track for their 1982 album. A cover of "Troops of Tomorrow" was also recorded by the Polish death metal band Vader, and released as a bonus track on the band's 2011 album, Welcome to the Morbid Reich.
^Thompson, Dave (2000). 20th Century Rock & Roll-PUNK. Collector's Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada. pp. 61–62. ISBN978-1-896522-27-2.
^Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 710. ISBN0-87930-607-6. Flashes of sheer brilliance ('Whips & Furs'), weirdness (the many Ramones go down the pub songs), and endearing gaucheness (the perfect pop of 'Baby Baby' pummelled by the Stones-whipped lead guitar).
^Deming, Mark. "Pure Mania Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. both Knox (aka Ian Carnarchan) and Pat Collier had a genius for writing short, punchy songs with sneering melody lines and gutsy guitar breaks. If the Vibrators were into punk as a musical rather than a sociopolitical movement, it's obvious that they liked the music very much, and on that level their debut album stands the test of time quite well.
