Formed: Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, UK

A vaguely punky rock band whose two singles are now incredibly rare. "High energy rock and roll" is how they described their music, and they'd been peddling their wares for several years punk came along. Left Hand Drive's lineup changed a lot, but at one point featured two former members of Windlord: Steve Parish (vocals) and John Brassett (bass). I know absolutely nothing about Windlord other than this.

Come 1977, Parish had been replaced by Martin Harney and they issued an indie single without a picture sleeve. Jailbait sounds like the work of seasoned musicians, not punks, and goes on for over four minutes, but has a semi-punky feel to it, although I still don't like it very much. Who Said Rock & Roll Is Dead also sounds like the work of seasoned musicians, not punks, and is more of the same. Lyrics on all four songs are pretty boring, and if you ask me (you didn't) this now seems very much of its time and not in a particularly good way. However, I imagine they were a good live draw if you wore blue denim and drank ale.

After the band split in 1978, Brassett and Jack Swann (the other lead guitarist, yes, they had two) formed a new wave/power pop combo called The Russians, who issued a single entitled (tee hee) 'No Title' in 1980, which is full of slick guitars and harmony vocals and isn't my thing either.

In addition to the two singles below there is also a posthumous self-titled CDR comprising a load of songs recorded live at The Black Lion pub in Northampton in 1975. It features a mandolin, two traditional tunes ('Greensleeves' and 'Jigs') and a 10CC cover, so don't expect proto-punk. I haven't heard it, though, so I could be wrong. Dave Clemo, the mandolin-abuser on this CDR, released a covers album in 2007 on Cardinal Chimp Records, promising "a Johnny Cash skiffle medley, psychedelic Bangles, punk rock Beatles, southern fried James Taylor and 70s disco Dylan!".

If you would like to read more about Left Hand Drive and - gasp! - the mighty Windlord, buy the book Have Guitars Will Travel, Volume 2 by Derrick Thompson.

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles / Albums

Jailbait (7", 1977)	Who Said Rock & Roll Is Dead (7", 1979)
Extraneous Releases
Who Said Rock & Roll Is Dead (CD, 2017)

 

Various Artists

Live To Ride Norway LP 2009 (Heavy Metal): Who Said Rock & Roll Is Dead / I Know Where I Am

Glamstains Across Europe Vol. 1: Teenage Rampage LP 2014 (Two Sevens Clash): Jailbait

 

Links