Chelsea are an
English punk rock band, formed in
London in 1976.
Three of the four original band members went on to help found
Generation X. More than two decades after its release, "Right to Work", Chelsea's debut
single, was included in
Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.Mojo (October 2001) -
100 Punk Scorchers , Issue 95, London;
Biography
The original line-up was
frontman Gene October, William Broad (later and better known as
Billy Idol) (guitar),
Tony James (bass) and John Towe (drums, who had come from
London SS along with James). After a few
gigs, the other three left October to form Generation X. October then recruited Carey Fortune (drums), Martin Stacy (guitar) and Bob Jessie (bass), with the last two soon replaced by Henry Daze (
Henry Badowski) and
James Stevenson (who also later joined Generation X). This rapid turnover of band members (Simon Cade Williams, aka Simon Vitesse, joined the band as bassist in 1977 for UK tour and the single: "High Rise Living") was characteristic throughout Chelsea's existence, with October the only constant presence.
Their first single, "Right to Work", dealing with
unemployment, was their most popular song. After spending 1977-78
touring in the
UK and overseas, they released their first
album,
Chelsea, in 1979. Their second LP,
Alternative Hits, was released in 1980. At this time the band split and October put together a new line-up, including...
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