Tim Souster - Sw1t Dr1mz (1977)

"Afghan Amplitudes" by Tim Souster


One of the primary composers for Hitchhiker's was Tim Souster, an electronic composer whose most notable work on the radio program was his iteration of "Journey of the Sorcerer" (the main theme).  Souster released his first album of recordings Sw1t Dr1mz on Transantlantic Records in 1977.

Here is the discography surrounding Tim Souster's debut album:

The Future Is Now (1977 single)
Sw1t Dr1mz

"Spectral" by Tim Souster


"Journey of the Sorcerer" by Tim Souster


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Dead Boys - Young Loud and Snotty (1977)

"All This and More" by Dead Boys


We end our tour of the survivors from Rocket from the Tombs with Gene O'Connor and Johnny Madansky.  They were the only ones who kept their stage names from their Cleveland days and are still known as Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz, respectively.  They formed the band Dead Boys with frontman Stiv Bators.  After a move to New York, they released their debut album Young Loud and Snotty in 1977.

Here is the discography surrounding Dead Boys's debut album:

Eve of the Dead Boys (EP compilation of 1976 material as Frankenstein)
Sonic Reducer (1977 single)
Young Loud and Snotty
Live at The Waldorf (1977 live bootleg)
Younger Louder and Snottier (1977 rough mixes)

Interview with CBGB's


Dead Boys Live at CBGB's


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Steve Martin - Let's Get Small (1977)

"Mad at My Mother" by Steve Martin


"Let's Get Small" by Steve Martin


Bowling for Soup's band name was derived from a Steve Martin comedy bit.  Steve Martin was born in Waco, Texas but raised in the greater Los Angeles area.  As a young man, he worked at Disneyland for three years as a salesman and then as a magician in Fantasyland.  He learned to juggle, do various tricks, and make balloon animals all of which he'd later incorporate into his comedy act.  After graduating high school, Martin took interest in acting and joined a comedy troupe and supplemented his learning with English and drama classes.  He'd pursue a major in Philosophy at UCLA before dropping out in 1967 due to a job he got writing bits for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  For his work on the show, he'd win an Emmy for writing in 1969 at the age of 23.  He got more work writing for other variety shows and performing his standup as an opening act for a number of bands.  Still success wasn't as close as it seemed as it would take a better part of a decade before Martin became a household name in comedy.  But when he did, Steve Martin was huge.  Extremely popular, his guest appearances on TV shows (SNL, Johnny Carson,...) spiked viewership ratings, the various stops on his comedy tour sold out around the country and so did his records.  In 1977, his debut comedy album Let's Get Small sold for platinum.  Martin would use his success as a comedian to write his own screenplays and jumpstart his career as an actor with his first notable work being the Academy Award nominated short "The Absent Minded Waiter".

Here is the discography surrounding Steve Martin's debut album:

Let's Get Small
Let's Get Small (1977 single)

1977 Live Act and other acts by Steve Martin


"Excuse Me" by Steve Martin


"The Absent Minded Waiter" A Steve Martin Short


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Wire - Pink Flag (1977)

"Three Girl Rhumba" by Wire

Elastica had a hit with their second single "Connection" when it reached #17 on the UK charts.  It got a little bad press, too, as it borrowed the opening riff from the 1977 song "Three Girl Rhumba" from punk band Wire's debut album Pink Flag.  Wire took the dispute to court but it was eventually settled out of it.

Here is the discography surrounding Wire's debut album:

1976 Demo (1976 demo)
Live at the Roxy (1977 live bootleg)
Mannequin (1977 single)
Pink Flag

"Mannequin" by Wire


"12 X U" by Wire

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Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

There was a time early in Sex Pistols's lifetime when they had all the core members but still needed a lead singer/front man to really sell the group. Before they settled on John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), whom they picked (much like Sid Vicious a couple years later) more for his look than his singing ability, Malcolm McLaren tried to use his connections in New York to bring over Richard Hell, one of the major players in the New York punk scene, to no avail.

Richard Hell's first contribution to the nascent punk scene is in the formation of the short-lived band The Neon Boys in 1972 with Tom Verlaine and Billy Ficca. The Neon Boys reformed in 1973 as Television and recruited new member Richard Lloyd. Lloyd and Verlaine played guitars, alternating between lead and rhythm and developing a dueling style together. Ficca manned the drums, and Hell supplied the bass. Hell and Verlaine, both once-aspiring poets, provided material and alternated on lead vocals. However, conflict between Hell and the rest of the group soon festered as Ficca, Verlaine, and Lloyd's skill developed on their instruments while Hell remained obstinately untrained and manic in his approach to performing. The divergent views and a lack of a solid recording contract ended up forcing Hell out of the group. Television recruited Fred Smith as a replacement on bass.

They were one of the founding bands of the New York punk scene, and they were by far the most technically proficient, but they never met the commercial success due to them that their contemporaries (Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie,...) earned. Their 1975 debut single "Little Johnny Jewel" failed to chart as did their debut album Marquee Moon released two years later. Still, the album earned universal praise from critics and fared well in European markets. Although Television were figureheads of the NY punk movement, their music does not sound punk. They transcend the genre, absorb others (new wave, art rock) and get lost in headier sonic territories. Each song from the album features guitar solos from either Verlaine or Lloyd (sometimes both). While Lloyd's solos are marked by sturdier tones, Verlaine's are spacier and more ethereal. Both, however, improv solos that intertwine with the rhythm section rather than stand above and alone.

Here is the discography surrounding Television's debut album:

That's All I Know (Right Now) (1973 demos as The Neon Boys)
Fairland (1974 demos)
Double Exposure (1975 demos)
Little Johnny Jewel (1975 single)
Marquee Moon (1977 single)
Marquee Moon
Prove It (1977 single)



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. Remember this band/artist and the next one have to be connected in some way.

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Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols (1977)

Here's the complete discography for Sex Pistols:

Anarchy in the UK (1976 single)
God Save the Queen (1977 single)
Pretty Vacant (1977 single)
Spunk (1977 alternate debut album bootleg)
Holidays in the Sun (1977 single)
Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
No One Is Innocent (1978 single)
Something Else (1979 single)
Silly Thing (1979 single)
C'mon Everybody (1979 single)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1979 compilation album)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1979 single)
Some Product: Carri on Sex Pistols (1979 interview album)
(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone (1980 single)
Flogging a Dead Horse (1980 compilation album)
Sex Pack (1980 compilation album)
Anarchy in the UK - Live at the 76 Club (1985 live album)
Kiss This (1992 compilation album)
Filthy Lucre Live (1996 live album)
Spunk/This Is Crap (1996 compilation album)
Live at Winterland 1978 (1997 live album)
Jubilee (2002 compilation album)
Sex Pistols Box Set (2002 box set)
Raw and Live (2005 live album)
Agents of Anarchy (2007 compilation album)
Live & Filthy (2008 live album)





If you have any suggestions for where the tour should go next, please give a shout.

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The Jam - In the City (1977)

The Who's song "In the City" was pretty unremarkable and, as a b-side to the non-album single "I'm a Boy", rarely saw compilation release. To say that this particular song inspired anything is a bit of a stretch but maybe not so much in the case of British punk band The Jam, whose first single and album were also called "In the City". The Who's cut on youth in the city doesn't get away from girls, fun in the sun, and a light undertone of rebellion. Contrastingly, The Jam's lyrics reveal a "young idea" sweeping the city that neither harkens for lawlessness nor revolution (like most punk music of the time), but instead mourns the loss of identity and respect ("Whatever happened to the great Empire?") and the rising movement to reattain them.

The Jam formed in 1972 around Paul Weller in Woking, Surrey, England with the rest of the band made up of various secondary school friends that played Rhythm and Blues covers in the local pubs. By '75, the band lineup solidified with Weller on bass, Bruce Foxton and Steve Brookes on guitars, and Rick Buckler on drums. Punk innovators The Clash and Sex Pistols refocused The Jam onto an edgier and faster punk sound. At the same time, The Jam fell into the mod lifestyle (predicated by bands such as The Who) as the movement had revived in working class England. Paul Weller would purchase his own Italian scooter and the band's look showed off tailored suits (while most other punks wore ripped clothes and leather jackets). Mod bands like The Who also played an important role in the evolution of The Jam's sound that synthesized classic rock and the contemporary punk scene. Brookes left the band just before The Jam signed to Polydor Records. He was not replaced, and Weller took over guitar duties from Foxton who moved took over on bass.

The Jam released their debut single "In the City" in April of 1977 that found its spot in the Top 40 of the UK charts. The album of the same name, released soon after, was successful both critically and commercially in the UK. It consisted mostly of original songs penned by Weller and rounded off with two punk covers of Larry Williams's "Slow Down" and the "Batman Theme". The album's pervasive theme was the previously mentioned "young idea" that accurately reflected "pre-20s delusions" according to Record Mirror's Barry Cain. It could be found in songs like "In the City", "Sounds from the Street", and "Bricks and Mortar" that proclaimed British pride and a nostalgia for an idyllic England of a previous generation. The fast-paced album is broken up by the slower "Away from the Numbers" that has Paul Weller strangely moving away from the potentially superficial "young idea" movement and instead separated himself from the herd. With their debut such a success, The Jam would find themselves back in the studio for their sophomore effort with 1977 yet to conclude.

Here is the discography surrounding The Jam's debut album:

In the City (1977 single)
In the City





If you have any idea for where the tour should go next, please give a shout.

Pass the Headphones!!