| Dirk McQuickly and Punk Floyd | |
|---|---|
 Dirk McQuickly in 1975. | |
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Origin: |
London, England |
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Genres: |
Punk rock - progressive punk - art punk - noise rock |
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Years Active: |
1971-1981, 2014, 2022 |
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Past Members: |
Dirk McQuickly |
Dirk McQuickly and Punk Floyd (also known simply as Punk Floyd) was a punk rock group formed by Dirk McQuickly in 1971 that primarily consisted of himself, his then wife Martini Lafleur, and Denny Laine.
In their first line-up, Punk Floyd released Wild Life at the Gates of Dawn (1971) and A Shitload of Secrets (1972), which both sold poorly and were badly received critically. Their next three albums (Punk Shart Mother, The Dirk Side of the Moon, Red Sauce Speedway),were actually liked by the public and solid well. This was then followed up with Punk Floyd at the Speed of the Brick in the Wall, a commercially successful concept album about a man's intent to brew the perfect tea, the album Venus and Marbles, and the live album Pulse over America.
The Punk Floyd's second line-up added several other punk musicians, including vocalist Johnny Rotten (born John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassists Glen Matlock and Sid Vicious. The only album the band made with this line-up, Nevermind The Rollocks, Here's Punk Floyd (1977) was a UK number one and is regarded as seminal in the development of punk rock. The band's final albums, Animal's Town and Wish You Were The Egg, were recorded by the initial duo. Punk Floyd disbanded in 1981 after Dirk decided to pursue a solo career in both music and comedy.
The Punk Floyd have been recognised as a highly influential band. They became one of the most culturally influential acts in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspired many later punk, post-punk and alternative rock musicians, while their clothing and hairstyles were a significant influence on the early punk image.
History[]
After becoming disillusioned with the idea of "Rutle-esque", Dirk created the punk group Punk Floyd (consisting of himself, his wife Martini Lafleur, and Mouldy Greens founder Denny Lanie) and released the group's first song "Listen to the Noise That the Small Girls Make While They Participate In Various Primitive Games For Their Own Amusement", which was shorter than the time it would take the average individual to say. He instantly fell in love with this fast-paced, nonsensical style of music. In 1972, Punk Floyd decided to go on a spontaneous tour of British primary schools to promote their upcoming three albums. They were very quickly arrested for supplying small children with Tea. Dirk was quoted as saying, "We saw lots of children and five of them grew up illegal".
In their first line-up, Punk Floyd released Wild Life at the Gates of Dawn (1971) and A Shitload of Secrets (1972), which both sold poorly and were badly received critically. Their next two albums (The Dirk Side of the Moon, Red Sauce Speedway),were actually liked by the public and solid well. This was then followed up with Punk Floyd at the Speed of the Brick in the Wall, a commercially successful concept album about a man's love for brewing tea, the album Venus and Marbles, and the live album Pulse over America.
The Punk Floyd's second line-up added several other punk musicians, including vocalist Johnny Rotten (born John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassists Glen Matlock and Sid Vicious. The only album the band made with this line-up, Nevermind The Rollocks, Here's Punk Floyd (1977) was a UK number one and is regarded as seminal in the development of punk rock.
By the time Punk Floyd began work on their next album, it was back to the core trio of Dirk, Martini and Denny again. Much of the album Animal's Town was recorded in the back of a lorry which drove around Central America. After the lorry crashed one day, a member of the group chipped his nail, which prompted him to quit the band. They got sued multiple times for playing too loudly. Animal's Town provided a scathing critique of capitalism but ironically ended up selling millions of copies.
After the release of the album Wish You Were The Egg, Punk Floyd went on a tour of Japan. After the customs discovered a fireman's helmet in Dirk's luggage, he was promptly sent to the local fire station to fight fires. After 10 days, he had learned enough Japanese to tell the locals that he wasn't, in fact, a fireman. It cost Punk Floyd their tour, and resulted in Dirk being sued by all the venues that had to cancel gigs, as well as all the houses he let burn down.
Dirk continued to tour with Punk Floyd until 1981, when he and Martini told the group to fuck off as he left to pursue a solo career in music and comedy. In 2014, Denny Laine announced that an album consisting of material recorded during the Wish You Were The Egg and Punk Floyd at the Speed of the Brick in the Wall sessions would be released under the name The Endless Grift.
Members[]
Principal members[]
- Dirk McQuickly - bass, lead vocals (1971-1981)
- Martini McQuickly - keyboards, not vocals (1971-1981)
- Denny Laine - guitar, backing vocals (1971-1981, 2014; died 2023)
Other members[]
- Johnny Rotten – backing lead vocals (1976–1977)
- Steve Jones – guitar, backing vocals; bass (1977)
- Paul Cook – drums (1976–1977)
- Glen Matlock – bass, backing vocals (1976–1977)
- Sid Vicious – bass, backing vocals (1977–1978; died 1979)
Discography[]
- "Wild Life at the Gates of Dawn" (1971)
- "A Shitload of Secrets" (1972)
- "Punk Shart Mother" (1972)
- "Red Sauce Speedway" (1973)
- "The Dirk Side of the Moon" (1973)
- "Venus and Marbles" (1975)
- "Punk Floyd at the Speed of the Brick in the Wall" (1976)
- "Pulse over America" (1976)
- "Nevermind The Rollocks, Here's Punk Floyd" (1977)
- "Animal's Town" (1978)
- "Punk Floyds Worst Cuts" (1978)
- "Wish You Were The Egg" (1979)
- "Punkpan" (2001)
- "The Endless Grift" (2014)