They're Back Again ... The Cigarettes Story & Show # 365

In 1978 a band came out of Lincoln in the UK, they gained a good degree of local success, but on a major scale they were largely ignored. While they did receive airplay on the John Peel radio show in the UK, as well as recording some Peel Sessions for the program the band The Cigarettes only ever released an EP and a single while they were still active. The Cigarettes were a trio of musicians consisting of Rob Smith on guitar/vocals/piano, Steve Taylor on bass/vocals and Adam Palmer on drums. The band was also difficult to pinpoint due to the fact that they mixed a variety of styles and a public image that was not easily defined. Were they Punk? Were they Mod? Were they Power Pop? You could argue for either avenue of musical justification, but the truth is they were all of the above. They looked kind of like Mod’s their music mixed a variety of elements that at times sounded like Power Pop topped off with a Buzzcocks Spiral Scratch flare, but in other circumstances they also sounded like a straight up 77 era UK Punk band or a Mod Rock band. 

In 1979, The Cigarettes released a three track EP featuring the songs “They’re Back Again, Here They Come”, “I’ve Forgot My Number (Now I’m Telling You My Name)” and “All We Want Is Your Money”. This EP which was titled They're Back Again, Here They Come, mixed the previously aforementioned genres and proves to be the strongest release in the bands catalogue while they were still active. A single followed in 1980 called “I Can’t Sleep At Night”, it would be one of their last releases. The band split in 1981. The Cigarettes were also featured on a few compilations, which over the years kept them in the knowledge of the few underground musicologists. In 2002, The Cigarettes released a 30 track album compiling material from their 1979 EP, 1980 single, unreleased studio tracks, live tracks and John Peel Session tracks. The Cigarettes – Will Damage Your Health was released on Detour Records and is the definitive compilation of a short lived UK band that no matter what ingredients made up their recipe for music, the results speak for themselves.

This Week's Play List:

1. The Polymorphines - Anna Lee
2. CHAPPO - Petrified Sand
3. The Gruesomes - Your Lies
4. The Ugly - Stranded In The Laneway
5. Sneak Peak - Walk All Over Me (Live)
6. The Skeletones Four - Pick Up The Pieces
7. The British Columbians - Teeth of The Sea
8. Dog Day - Nothing To Do
9. John Doe - Never Enough
10. Mark Broadie & The Beaver Patrol - Phantom Wave
11. The Tornadoes - Moon Dawg
12. Takeshi Terauchi - The Theme of Terry
13. Chang-A-Lang - Save The Environment
14. Little Girls - Delaware
15. The Bagg Team - Flip, Flip, Flip
16. The Passengers - Face With No Name
17. The Hitmen - I Don't Mind
18. The Fun Things - Savage
19. The Primmers - You're Gonna Get Done
20. The Spelling Mistakes - Hate Me Hate Me
21. Terrorways - Short Haired Rock n' Roll
22. The Cigarettes - I've Forgot My Number (Now I'm Telling You My Name)
23. The Cigarettes - They're Back Again, Here They Come
24. The Vores - Forget That Guy
25. The MC5 - Call Me Animal
26. Devo - Uncontrollable Urge

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 16. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.