Formed: Hay Mills, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK
As Identikit Punk as Identikit Punk got, these Brummies were signed to a label called Pogo (actually a WEA subsidiary) and wrote songs like 'Young Power' and 'I Hate School'. They were treated with a great deal of skepticism throughout their short career, with accusations of bandwagon-climbing and being fake punks. Nonetheless, they headlined OVER The Clash in October '76 (admittedly The Clash had just started playing, and it was on the Studs' home turf in Birmingham), and gigged relentlessly throughout 1976 and 1977.
Their original lineup was:
Eddy Zipps (real name Eddie Hunt) - lead vocal, guitar
Keith Owen - lead guitar, backing vocals
Paul Morton - bass, backing vocals
Steve Poole - drums, backing vocals
Steve Harrington - saxophone
Their debut single was Questions (backed with 'No Faith'), which came out in July '77 without a picture sleeve. The single featured the original five-piece lineup of the group, with Steve Heart on saxophone. However, some others in the band felt saxophones weren't punk, and the single was re-pressed with a different mix, omitting the saxophone, as No Faith (with 'Questions' relegated to the B-Side). Heart moved on, turning up shortly after in Neon Hearts.
October 1977 saw the band embarking on a tour with AC/DC, followed by a Peel Session in December, where they recorded 'Suburban Stud', 'I Hate School', 'Necro' and 'No Faith'.
Their sole album Slam came out the following March and - I don't care what you say - I think t's a good generic romp, with seventeen short songs touching on all the normal subjects, mainly inner city violence ('The Rumble'), congestion ('Traffic Jam'), sex ('Throbbing Lust'), suicide ('Razor Blades'), the law ('Panda Patrol'), punk ('Bondage') and – this being Birmingham, and home of Black Sabbath - Satanism ('Necro'). Throughout, the band are tight, zippy and musical, turning derivation to their own dopey advantage with some memorable hooklines and plenty of sneery, bratty attitude, particularly on the record's finest moments, the immortal 'I Hate School' and the blazing 'No Faith'. It's a fine album to file alongside Eater and The Drones.
I Hate School, one of the best tracks on the record, came out as a single at the same time, coupled with another song from the LP, 'Young Power'. After this the band struggled on for a short while, eventually splitting later that year. They reformed in 1996 for a one-off show at the first Holidays In The Sun festival in Blackpool with two founding members (Zipps, Owen) and a new rhythm section (Roger Wilson, bass, Dave Fell, drums).
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles / Albums
| Questions (7"', 1977) |
No Faith (7"', 1977) |
I Hate School (7"', 1978) |
Slam (LP, 1978) |
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Extraneous Releases |
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| Slam: The Complete Studs Punk Collection (CD, 1993) |
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Various Artists
Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival UK 2xLP 1978 (Warner Bros): I Hate School
Punk And Disorderly - Further Charges UK CD 1994 (Anagram): I Hate School
Holidays In The Sun Volume Two UK CD 1997 (Visionary Communications): No Faith
1-2-3-4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 UK 5xCD 1999 (Universal): I Hate School
Gary Crowley's Punk And New Wave UK 3xCD 2017 (Edsel): I Hate School
