By Jim Rowland
One of the best kept secrets of the early days of ÜK punk is Croydon’s misfits Johnny Moped – the man, the band, the punk myth, the none-hit-wonder, the absent singer, the comeback (and back, and back again) king. Both Chrissie Hynde and Ray Burns (aka Captain Sensible) featured in their ranks at one point, and they counted one Lemmy Kilmister among their gang of ardent admirers.
In recent years, the secret of Johnny Moped has become a lot less secret following the release of the 2013 documentary film ‘Basically, Johnny Moped’ and now comes a detailed and fascinating book – ‘1-2 Cut Your Hair – The Story of Johnny Moped’ written and complied by ex-NME journalist and Fierce Panda head honcho Simon Williams to fill in even more of the blanks.
Forming in 1974, and crashing and burning by the end of 1978, Johnny Moped were very much there at the birth of punk, and were regulars on stage during the early days of the legendary Roxy venue in London. This book tells the story of those early days, as well as the sporadic reunions and comebacks since, in great detail, but not in the format of your regular rock biography by any means. Through extensive interviews and quotes from those in-the-know when it comes to all things Moped, the triumphs, tragedies and eccentricities of Johnny Moped are laid bare for all to ponder.
The book is augmented by loads of old photos from the early glory days to the more recent glorious comebacks, a very detailed Moped family tree, complete discography and diary of every gig and record release. Of great interest are loads of old ads, posters and flyers of gigs Johnny Moped did with the likes of The Damned, Motorhead, The Adverts, The Lurkers, Slaughter & The Dogs, Eater and even Cheap Trick to name but a few.
Fascinating tales are not in short supply, such as the time Lemmy wangled Johnny Moped on to the bill at Motörhead’s 1978 Hammersmith Odeon appearance on the ‘Overkill’ tour, only for the bikers and metal heads to slaughter them mercilessly, although they ended up giving as good as they got. Tales involving The Damned are also plentiful, with Moped being inextricably linked with The Damned, and the commentary of Captain Sensible clearly shows how much affection he had, and still has, for Moped the man and the band.
It’s fair to say that if you weren’t there at the time, and over the years you’ve listened your way through your Pistols, Clashes, Damneds and Buzzcocks, and then got through to the likes of the Adverts, Eater, Lurkers, Vibrators and Slaughter & the Dogs, you still may not have reached Johnny Moped yet. If that’s the case, one glimpse of this book is going to get you rushing out to get your hands on their one and only album from the original punk days, ‘Cycledelic’, at the very least.
This extremely well written and compiled book will not just appeal to ardent admirers of Johnny Moped, but to anyone with a healthy interest in the first wave of ÜK punk.
- ‘1-2 Cut Your Hair – The Story of Johnny Moped’ is published on Thursday (11 August). You can get your copy HERE.
- Johnny Moped play the Hope & Anchor in Islington on Friday (12 August). The show is SOLD OUT.
www.facebook.com/johnnymopedofficial
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.