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The Motors
The Motors were a British pub rock band formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter. Their biggest success was with the McMaster-penned song "Airport", a number 4 UK hit single in 1978.
Having left Ducks Deluxe in early 1975, Garvey formed a band called The Snakes with Slaughter and vocalist Robert Gotobed, who would later form the post-punk band Wire. The group released only one single before splitting up. At the suggestion of his manager, Richard Ogden, Garvey formed his own band. He began recording demos with former bandmate Andy McMaster in January 1977. The Motors' debut live performance was at the Marquee Club in March 1977, and they recorded three songs for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show the same month (22 March 1977).
By May they had been signed to Virgin Records and recorded material for another John Peel session on 12 September of that year. The Motors' original recording line-up released two albums, both of which met with modest success; 1 released in October 1977 and Approved by the Motors the following year.
Their first single "Dancing the Night Away", which was released in September 1977 reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart. Two other sizeable hits followed. In 1978, the band released "Airport" – which proved to be the band's biggest seller – and which peaked at number 4. The song was also a minor hit in the United States. The follow-up, "Forget About You", was released two months later.
The Garvey/McMaster/Tchaikovsky/Slaughter line-up split when Tchaikovsky left after they played at the Reading Rock Festival on 28 August 1978. It would become The Motors’ final UK concert. They played as first support to Status Quo. Slaughter also left the group soon afterwards. Tchaikovsky would subsequently release three solo albums, the first of which took him into the American Top 40 with the power pop song "Girl of My Dreams".
Following the departure of Tchaikovsky and Slaughter, bassist Martin Ace and drummer Terry Williams were recruited to fill in the Motors' studio line-up. Martin and Terry had together made up the rhythm section for 1970s rockers Man; Martin later relaunched Man whilst Terry joined Rockpile and later had a stint with Dire Straits.
Following the release of The Motors' third album, 1980's Tenement Steps, which contained the minor chart hit "Love and Loneliness", Garvey and McMaster finally announced that they had dissolved the group.
Tchaikovsky was – if briefly – the most visible former member of the group thanks to his solo career. His band toured with The Joe Perry Project, The Cars and Alice Cooper and performed on Don Kirshner's syndicated Rock Concert television programme. Following the release of his final solo album (1981's Funland, produced by Garvey) he operated a recording studio during the 1980s and occasionally played blues gigs in the early 1990s. Garvey released one solo album (1982's Blue Skies) following the final split with McMaster and did session work with Paul McCartney and others through the 1980s. He produced (with the band) the third album by The Sunnyboys, Get Some Fun, released in 1984. McMaster is reported to still be recording music and living in a small town in the southeast of England, and Slaughter continued to play with a number of bands through the 1980s, including Fallen Angels, which included Knox, former lead vocalist of The Vibrators (and Slaughter's cousin).
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The Motors
The Motors were a British pub rock band formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter. Their biggest success was with the McMaster-penned song "Airport", a number 4 UK hit single in 1978.
Having left Ducks Deluxe in early 1975, Garvey formed a band called The Snakes with Slaughter and vocalist Robert Gotobed, who would later form the post-punk band Wire. The group released only one single before splitting up. At the suggestion of his manager, Richard Ogden, Garvey formed his own band. He began recording demos with former bandmate Andy McMaster in January 1977. The Motors' debut live performance was at the Marquee Club in March 1977, and they recorded three songs for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show the same month (22 March 1977).
By May they had been signed to Virgin Records and recorded material for another John Peel session on 12 September of that year. The Motors' original recording line-up released two albums, both of which met with modest success; 1 released in October 1977 and Approved by the Motors the following year.
Their first single "Dancing the Night Away", which was released in September 1977 reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart. Two other sizeable hits followed. In 1978, the band released "Airport" – which proved to be the band's biggest seller – and which peaked at number 4. The song was also a minor hit in the United States. The follow-up, "Forget About You", was released two months later.
The Garvey/McMaster/Tchaikovsky/Slaughter line-up split when Tchaikovsky left after they played at the Reading Rock Festival on 28 August 1978. It would become The Motors’ final UK concert. They played as first support to Status Quo. Slaughter also left the group soon afterwards. Tchaikovsky would subsequently release three solo albums, the first of which took him into the American Top 40 with the power pop song "Girl of My Dreams".
Following the departure of Tchaikovsky and Slaughter, bassist Martin Ace and drummer Terry Williams were recruited to fill in the Motors' studio line-up. Martin and Terry had together made up the rhythm section for 1970s rockers Man; Martin later relaunched Man whilst Terry joined Rockpile and later had a stint with Dire Straits.
Following the release of The Motors' third album, 1980's Tenement Steps, which contained the minor chart hit "Love and Loneliness", Garvey and McMaster finally announced that they had dissolved the group.
Tchaikovsky was – if briefly – the most visible former member of the group thanks to his solo career. His band toured with The Joe Perry Project, The Cars and Alice Cooper and performed on Don Kirshner's syndicated Rock Concert television programme. Following the release of his final solo album (1981's Funland, produced by Garvey) he operated a recording studio during the 1980s and occasionally played blues gigs in the early 1990s. Garvey released one solo album (1982's Blue Skies) following the final split with McMaster and did session work with Paul McCartney and others through the 1980s. He produced (with the band) the third album by The Sunnyboys, Get Some Fun, released in 1984. McMaster is reported to still be recording music and living in a small town in the southeast of England, and Slaughter continued to play with a number of bands through the 1980s, including Fallen Angels, which included Knox, former lead vocalist of The Vibrators (and Slaughter's cousin).