4 fans
The Clerks formed in Birmingham amid the burgeoning punk rock scene in 1976. Originally consisting of songwriters Paul Day (guitar & vocals) and Martin Poole (bass & vocals), with Gaz Cole on vocals and Vince Evans on drums, the band wrote their own melodic three-minute songs that combined a punk spirit with a 60's sensibility. They performed regularly in the clubs and halls in the city through '77 and into '78 and their lively pop punk set attracted a good local following. Two songs were recorded in September '78 for ROK Records with 'No Good For Me' and 'When The Lights Go Out' being released in March '79 and described by the music press at the time as 'straight out of organised 60's pop'.
Around this time the band moved to London and a change of personnel meant vocalist Gaz Cole and drummer Vince Evans were replaced by Martin Booth on vocals & guitar and Paul Cuthbert on drums. The new line up played across London and around the country through '79 and '80 and a residency in north London continued to develop the fan base. A batch of new songs were recorded in August '80 with 'Dancing With My Girl', 'On The Telephone' and 'All I Want Is You' being released as a limited edition EP and described at the time as 'all power pop, harmonies and hooks'.
However, despite a growing reputation and major record company interest, by the end of 1980 the band had split up and gone their separate ways.
Fast forward to 2022 and Detour Records re-released the studio recordings from 1978 and 1980 as three singles; 'No Good For Me b/w 'When The Lights Go Out'; Dancing With My Girl' b/w 'All I Want Is You' and the previously unreleased 'Cold About Love' b/w 'On The Telephone'. 'Live in London' an LP of twelve songs that were recorded as 'The Clerks played Live in London in February 1980' was released by Detour Records at the end of 2022.