One Way Ticket...the Nerves Story and Show # 194

The Nerves formed in LA in 1976. the group consisted of Peter Case (bass), Jack Lee (guitar), and Paul collins on drums; all three wrote and sang the songs. The band did not last long (1975-1978) and only ever had one release during their time, an EP. The Nerves EP came out in 1976 and only contained four songs, the most notable one being "Hanging On the Telephone". A Lee composition the song was covered later by Blonde for their album Paralell Lines and became a big hit for Blondie cracking the UK top 5 in 1978. The other songs on the EP were equally as good "When You Find Out" (Case), "Give Me Some Time" (Lee), and "Working Too Hard" (Collins).

The band did do a tour and even supported the likes of the Ramones. The band was only around for a short period of time, but are still known (probably due to the excellent cover done by Blondie) and are classified as a power pop band, despite being around at the time of punk. After the Nerves broke up Case and Collins formed the short lived group The Breakaways, then the Plimsouls, and finally The Beat. In 1993, two songs from The Nerves EP were put on a compilation DIY: Come Out and Play - American Power Pop I (1975-1978). In 2005, an unreleased Nerves track was put on a compilation by Rhino Records called Children of Nuggets. In 2001, The Nerves released a compilation containing more previously unheard tracks.

Play List:

1. The Specials - Gangsters
2. The Slackers - Estranged
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
4. Elvis Costello & the Attractions - The Beat
5. Strokes - What Ever Happened?
6. Young Canadians - I Hate Music
7. Evaporators - Where's The Butterknife?
8. Modernettes - Celebrity Crackup
9. Unknowns - Teenage Terrorist
10. The Negatives - Echoes
11. The Scabs - Amory Building
12. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - All By Myself
13. The Nerves - Hanging on the telephone
14. Diodes - Tennis (Again)
15. The Breeders - It's The Love
16. The Old Haunts - Sister City
17. The Black Lips - M.I.A.
18. Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
19. Compulsive Gamblers - Stop & Think it Over
20. Sloan - I Can't Sleep
21. Sloan - Ana Lucia
22. Queens Of The Stone Age - Infinity
23. David Bowie - Panic in Detroit
24. Ramones - Bad Brain
25. The Clash - The Leader
26. The Clash - Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)

Scavengers, Nerves, and a Police Reunion? Show #127

As my first show of the year 2007 I played a couple of bands I've never played on my show before. First was The Scavengers. The Scavengers were a band from Auckland, New Zealand in 1977. They were influenced by bands such as Sex Pistols, The Stooges, and The New York Dolls. They broke up around 1978/79, and never had any album released officially. They did record a 12 song demo, that finally saw the light of day in 2003 (they have had various songs released on compilations before hand). The band split up and would go onto other bands, Brendan Perry would later form Dead Can Dance.

The Nerves were a band formed by Jack Lee, Peter Case, and Paul Collins. The Nerves EP would be released in 1979, it contained four songs. "Hanging On The Telephone" was the song played on tonight's show, but most people mistake it as a Blondie song. Blondie did cover the very same song, but it was originally done by The Nerves. After the short Nerves career, Peter Case would form the Plimsouls, and Paul Collins The Beat;Jack Lee had a short solo career.

Compulsive Gamblers are a band from Memphis Tennessee. They formed in the 90's, "Stop & Think It Over" was the song played on tonight's show. I first heard the song being covered by the Swedish punk band, The Hives. The song is taken from the bands 2000 album, Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing. I also played songs from various John Peel BBC sessions form Buzzcocks, The Cure, and Madness.


Also it has circulated around the Internet as a rumour that The Police will be reforming for a tour this year. It is just in the rumour stage, but it looks likely that this will happen. Along with a tour, a set of releases are set to come out as part of the 30th anniversary of their single "Roxanne".

Here's the play list:

1. The Jam – Billy hunt
2. The Nerves – hanging on the telephone
3. The Scavengers – true love
4. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – flight (early demo)
5. Undertones – you’ve got my number (why don’t you use it)
6. Buzzcocks – what do I get (BBC session)
7. The Demics – the 400 blows
8. Teenage Head – brand new cadillac
9. The Saints – this time
10. The Clash – groovy times
11. The Clash – capital radio two
12. Iggy Pop – girls
13. The Cure – 10:15 Saturday night (BBC Session)
14. Talking Heads – who is it (1975 cbs demo)
15. Ramones – we want the airwaves
16. Ramones – you sound like your sick
17. The Police – someone to talk to
18. Hot, Hot, Heat – eyes ear mouth (demo)
19. Sloan – live on
20. The Rakes – retreat
21. Compulsive Gamblers – stop & think it over
22. The Specials – ghost town
23. The D4 – omerta
24. Madness - the prince (BBC Session)