Formed: Coventry, England, UK
Band Bio / Lineups / Discography
Just two years before of Two-Tone put Coventry on the musical map, The Flys were making exceptionally good noises in what they (sarcastically) called 'Fun City'. Never as popular as they should have been, they moved out of the city just as the place started attracting media attention, and also pre-dated the Mod movement by a year or so, where their poppy punk songs could well have fit in with the likes of The Chords or The Vapors. As it happened, The Flys were never even remotely fashionable, never troubled the pop charts, and remain a footnote in the history of punk and new wave. Which is grossly unfair, because most of their singles had Top Ten potential, and both of their albums compare favourably with anything by The Members or Skids.
They formed as Midnight Circus in 1974, but went punk in early 1977 after copping an earful of 'New Rose' and 'Anarchy In The UK'. They quickly entered Pathway Studios and released the excellent Bunch Of Five EP on Zama Records, a label set up by their manager Chris King, who was the brother of their drummer, Pete. The main song, 'Love And A Molotov Cocktail' was a shining example of punk/power pop with a hard edge, and was probably the song that caught the ear of EMI. They released two LPs - Waikiki Beach Refugees (1978) and Own (1979) - and eight singles for the label, all of which sold poorly.
The band split in 1980, with O'Connor going on to write songs and act as producer for his sister, Hazel. (He produced for other people and bands as well.) Freeman and bassist David Hughes formed new wave duo The Lover Speaks and wrote 'No More “I Love Youʼsˮ for Annie Lennox. Freeman went on to make some solo records in the 1990s. Hughes could be more recently found in country/folk band Cicero Buck. King spent four years in prog-turned-new wave band After The Fire.
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DISCOGRAPHY
Singles & Albums / Extraneous Releases / Various Artists
Bunch Of Five (7", 1977)
Love And A Molotov Cocktail (7", 1978)
Fun City (7", 1978)
Waikiki Beach Refugees (7", 1978)
Waikiki Beach Refugees (LP, 1978)
Beverley (7", 1979)
Name Dropping (7", 1979)
We Are The Lucky Ones / Living In The Sticks (7", 1979)
Own (LP, 1979)
Four From The Square (7", 1980)
What Will Mother Say? (7", 1980)
Extraneous Releases
The Flys (LP, 1980)
The Flys (LP/CD, 1991)
Today Belongs To Me - The Complete Recordings 1977-1980 (2xCD, 2019)
Various Artists
Meet The New (Punk) Wave Holland LP 1978 (EMI): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
From Punk To New Wave Israel LP 1978 (Epic): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
The Rare Stuff? UK LP 1979 (Harvest): E.C.4. / Love And A Molotov Cocktail / Can I Crash Here? / Civilization
What's All This, John? Germany LP 1980 (EMI): Night Creatures
Seeds IV: Punk UK LP 1987 (Cherry Red): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
1-2-3-4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 UK 5xCD 1999 (Universal): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
Movement: BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions 1977-1979 UK 2xCD 2011 (BBC Worldwide/EMI): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
Action Time Vision (A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979) UK 4xCD 2016 (Cherry Red): Love And A Molotov Cocktail
Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81 UK 4xCD 2018 (Cherry Red): Name Dropping
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Links
Neil O'Connor Site - Includes Flys bio and discography
