History
The band formed in early 1978, with an original line-up of Phil Stanton (vocals), Rob "Spike" Harrington (guitar and vocals), Andy Lealand (guitar), Mark "Shark" Harris (drums), and Mark "Savage" Parsons (bass guitar). Parsons and Stanton left in 1979, with Spike moving to lead vocals, and Lealand's girlfriend Louise Wright joining on bass.
Influenced by the likes of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones, the band started off covering punk rock hits and soon started to compose their own material. They were the second band signed to Chris Berry's No Future Records label, and their debut release, the double A-sided Police story/Killing machine was released on 28 September 1981. It reached #5 on the UK Indie Chart, on the back of a tour with label-mates Blitz, and with strong support from Sounds writer Garry Bushell. Following the success of this single, The Partisans were included on the third volume of Bushell's Oi! compilation series Carry On Oi!, which reached #60 on the UK Album Chart, and won the band gig slots with Blitz, Peter and the Test Tube Babies and The Ejected, as well as a 'No Future' night at London's Zig Zag Club with Red Alert, The Lombardos, and Peter and the Test Tube Babies.
The band released its second single, 17 Years of Hell, on 27 May 1982, peaking at #2 on the Indie Charts. This was followed by their self-titled debut LP, released in February 1983. It hit #5 in the Indie Chart and #1 in the Punk Chart, amid considerable critical acclaim from the national press and the underground fanzine culture.
After the departure of Louise Wright, the remaining members relocated to Bayswater in west London, with new bassist Dave Parsons to relaunch the band. Their next release was the three-track "Blind Ambition" EP on Cloak & Dagger Records, which peaked at #23 on the Indie Chart, and got played on Prime Time Radio 1. The LP, Time Was Right, followed in 1984, described as "The Professionals meets The Clash," and reaching #20 in the Indie Chart. The album featured live recordings from a gig at the Brixton Ace, at which The Partisans supported Anthrax, Lost Cherrees, Conflict and others.
The band split up in 1984. Dave Parsons later found chart success with Transvision Vamp and, even later, became a worldwide success with Bush. Andy moved to Scandinavia. Andy and Rob recorded one more session in late 1989 for Link Records under the name Agent Orange including Andy's then partner Iggi. In the late 1990s Lealand and Harrington reformed the band along with two of Lealand's Swedish friends, Magnus Neundorff and Mikael "Gustav" Gustavsson. The band signed to American label TKO who issued the "So Neat" single in 2001, followed by a new full-length LP/CD in 2004 "Idiot Nation" on Dr. Strange. Currently the band are writing and recording new material.
In 2006 the band toured the UK with fellow Welsh hardcore punk band Picture Frame Seduction and played the Berlin festival Punk n' Disorderly in 2007. No further plans are being made to play live.
Read more about this topic: The Partisans (band)
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