The Models

The Models were from Harrow and were originally called The Beastly Cads. On their first gig they got chucked off !!!

The band had original punk face about town and Seditionaries clotheshorse Marco Pirroni as guitarist who had furthered his punk credentials by playing Siouxsie & The Banshees first gig at the 100 Club Punk Festival.

Marco Pirroni The Beastly Cads were The Models, they just changed their name. It was a name I thought of, they thought it was really stupid. I wanted us to be called Lord Snooty and His Pals, because I thought that was the anti-punk name, but they said “No, that’s really fucking stupid”, so we were The Beastly Cads for two gigs, then I was outvoted and we had to change our name to The Models, which I was always hated, not being at all modelly-looking, I was always really embarrassed about it. Ms Dayglo Interview, 2006 Interview

However they are perhaps more infamous for a song they later pulled called “I Wanna Form My Own Nazi Party” arguing the song was a “cynical look at all the silly punks who wear nazi armbands” whereas Viv Goldman in Sounds slagged the band for it saying people would only remember the chorus and not get the point. It was dropped from the set.

Marco Pirroni I’ve been to Auschwitz but I was too scared to go in. I simply don’t have the words to describe what just seeing it from the outside was like. We were ignorant kids and Siouxsie does not have to justify it. Just admit it, we were thick.

Just one more thing about them fucking armbands. We just wore swastikas coz we thought they looked cool. We weren’t Nazis nor did we have any political views at all. We had no problem with Jews, Pakistanis gays or any one else. We just hated every one who wore lived in the straight world. In fact most of my friends were gay or Jewish and we all thought Rastas were cool and I think they liked us. None of us fitted in anywhere and that’s the way I liked it. Punk77 Interview, 2001

The Models produced this classic one off moment of standard ramalama punk Freeze / Man of The Year on Mark P’s of course seminal punk label (1977 Step Forward Records) and joined fellow punkers Sham 69, Cortinas and Chelsea.

Nothing like putting your heart and soul into your single to be rewarded with reviews like this by Sandy Robertson from Sounds 18.6.77…

“One step forward-two steps backward. Apart from Chelsea, the stuff on Step Forward has been of pretty low standard. Watch out for Alternative TV, though!” Don’t be put off the single is great.

Also check out their John Peel radio session from  13.7.77 which is fantastic and features Man Of The Year, Censorship, Brainwash & Freeze

Of course the band played the Roxy Club and I think lasted until the end of 1977 with most of the band already bored with punk and looking elsewhere.

Marco Pirroni Cliff Fox was just this massive Bowie fan, and he saw the whole punk thing as a springboard to something else, which we all did … he wasn’t like a real punk, he wasn’t that interested in it. He just wanted to be Bowie. Ms Dayglo Interview, 2006 Interview

Marco Pirroni moved on to be guitarist for Rema Rema and Weekend Swingers and then finally hit jackpot with Adam And The Ants. Terry Day would also join him in the Ants. Mick Allen would join Rema Rema with Marco and then form the Wolfgang Press. Cliff didn’t do anything else in music.

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