Formed: London, England, UK
Discography
Utterly unprofessional classic-77 band.
The Unwanted were formed in March 1977 by Ollie Wisdom, who ran a clothes shop in Kings Road, allegedly after he pinned a "guitarist wanted" advert to the back of his leopard skin jacket! His wish was answered by Mark Curzon, who was "a student at a private educational establishment" and a rank amateur guitarist, Within weeks they were gigging, and by April their "classic" lineup had gelled with the addition of Paul Grotesque (real name Paul Gardiner) and Danny Destroy, and by June they had become semi-famous when they appeared on The Roxy London WC2 (Jan-Apr 77) comp album, with a totally incompetent rendition of their non-song 'Freedom', probably a real eye-opener for people who had never heard such a glaring lack of musicianship on a record.
Lineup instability dogged them throughout their short career, which trundled on into Autumn 1978, with band members including Robin Wills (later of The Barracudas), Vince Elite (later Vince Ely of The Psychedelic Furs, also one of the culprits behind The Moors Murderers), Dave Postman (ex-Flowers Of Romance) and Robbie 'Captain Birdseye' (ex-Peroxide Romance).
Their first single, Withdrawal, was an inspired mess, presenting three very standard-issue punk tunes played with no finesse whatsoever. It went on to become one of Raw Records' lowest selling offerings. It's great. One more single followed in 1978: the mediocre reggae-inflected Secret Police, backed by a spiffing version of 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'. A third single ('Memory Man'/'Guns Of Love') never made it to the shops.
The band called it quits when Ollie was sentenced to six months in the stripy hole for nicking a Union Flag from a flagpole. He later turned up in Batcave favourites The Specimen.
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DISCOGRAPHY
Singles & Albums
Withdrawal (7", 1977)
Secret Police (7", 1978)
Extraneous Releases
Secret Past (LP, 1985)
1984 / Bleak Outlook (7", 2000)
Bootlegs
The End Is Nigh! (CDR)
Various Artists
The Roxy London WC2 (Jan-Apr 77) UK LP 1977 (Harvest): Freedom
Oh No It's More From Raw UK LP 1978 (Raw): Withdrawal / 1984 / [extra track on CD reissue:] I'm Not Me
Punk Collectors Series Vol 1: Raw Records UK CD 1991 (Damaged Goods): 1984 / Bleak Outlook
Raw Records Punk Collection UK CD 1993 (Anagram): Withdrawal / Bleak Outlook / 1984 / Secret Police / These Boots Are Made For Walking / I'm Not Me / The End Is NighThe Roxy London WC2 - A Live Punk Box Set UK 6xCD 2005 (Castle Music): Freedom
Action Time Vision (A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979) UK 4xCD 2016 (Cherry Red): Withdrawal
1977: The Year Punk Broke UK 3xCD 2019 (Cherry Red): Bleak Outlook
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