The Users

The Users were from Cambridge and formed in September 1976. Their sound was a mixture of The Stooges, New York Dolls, Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols. Young; with attitude – and plenty of it. The band was originally a five piece.

James Burkill aka (James James/James Haight)
Chris Free (aka Panic) – Guitar
Bobby Kwok – Bass
Craig Harris – guitar
Andrew Bor – Drums

Cambridge was also home to Lee Wood and his record shop ‘Remember Those Oldies.’

Lee Wood (Raw Records) … members of The Users, who had been in the shop before, asked me if I could spare the time to come and hear them rehearse. I went along and they were a five piece. I can’t remember the details but somehow we decided to make a record together. Punk77 Interview

The second guitarist is ditched and after having only done two gigs the first single Sick Of You / In Love With Today is recorded at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge in March 1977. Another two tracks, Louie louie and Message, are also recorded in the same session.

In May 1977 the single is released in a cool picture sleeve and is a cracker gaining some great reviews in the press, plays on John Peel and word of mouth. It sells in excess of 20,000 copies. In contrast to their label mates the Killjoys however, they don’t follow this up with any gigs, major music weekly interviews, or a John Peel session despite the rave reviews.

Mention of a second single coming out in September came out in ‘Love & Peace’ local Cambridge fanzine in July 1977.

The Users are the only real punk band around here, their first single is bloody good. They’ve got another single coming out round about September. Dunno what the songs are gonna be yet but if it’s as good as their last one then its gonna be fucking hot.

In actual fact the next significant event is they lose Bobby Kwok who finished his studies at the University and returns back to Hong Kong. He is replaced with local boy Pete Bevington on bass. Bassists and a stable line up would become a problem and why photos of the band often show members missing.

The next Users release is an unexpected one that they’re not even aware of on the Raw Deal album. Their warm-up version of Louie Louie is included but listed as being by The Bloodclots.

Songs in their set at the time include…

By early 1978 they had still only done 11 gigs five with the new bassist, two of them still held day jobs and they still had no equipment.

The Users: We’ve got no equipment. The gigs we’ve done, we’ve used the Soft Boys PA…it’s hard to get started and harder to stick it out. People don’t realise the position we’re in…I think in a way that although we’re really pissed off about not being out at all and getting out to see the people, we’ve improved all these months. We’ve concentrated on rehearsals… It’s a real piss off splitting up every two weeks. What brings us through is we’ve got faith.

Undeterred they recorded a second single in early April 1978 – Kicks In Style / Dead On Arrival – again at Warped Studios and produced this time by legendary producer Dave Goodman. In fanzine Chainsaw #5 from March April 1978 they announced the single as imminent in the next month on their own label backed with Russian Roulette.

No single materialises and once again gigs are sporadic. Meanwhile, the face of music is changing once more as Punk becomes New Wave becomes Power Pop and starts to disperse and hit the charts. Now there are hundreds of bands and releases.

So where were the Users? By late 1978 the band were already being called a ‘cult’.

The upsurge in activity was foreshadowed by the emergence in ‘1977 of two bands who stood out from the often complacent folk tradition. One was the USERS, whose single of Raw Records, ‘Sick Of You’ earned them a cult notoriety, loud, fast and young. They haven’t managed to capitalise on it so far, and although sporadically gigging, they haven’t yet released the follow up, ‘Kicks In Style’ produced by Dave Goodman, slated for release on their own Warped label. Although very limited the band deserve recognition for being Cambridge’s first 1977 band in 1977. Recently split down the centre, it isn’t too late for survivors James James (vx) and Chris Free (gtr) to regain lost ground

They had also lost new bassist Pete Bevington and endeavour to find a replacement via a trusty Melody Maker ‘Musician’s Wanted ad. The band picked up Alvin Gibbs and lost him in mid 1978 as he departed frustrated at the lack of movement. Alvin would become a punk legend and is still touring/recording with the UK Subs in 2024.

Rick Tucker now joins on bass round August 1978

Rick Tucker (Bass) Didn’t know much about them at all. Met Chris Free and his girlfriend, Christina, in fact I met her first – she was this very striking attractive looking punk girl – in the canteen at Cambridge College of Arts and Tech…I was studying art. Don’t really know what happened other than I got to know them all, Andrew and his girlfriend Liz, and Phil and when it became apparent they needed a bass player and we all got on, they asked me to join. Andrew used to teach me the bass lines as I’d never played it before, could only play guitar. I loved them all, great people. We used to share a rehearsal studio with the Soft Boys (Robin Hitchcock’s band)- for me it was great times, I loved playing with them. Punk77 interview

Kicks in Style was released on their own Warped label, but not until January 1979, meaning that in the year and half between releases, they had become all but forgotten. The band though were in high spirits even if they had moved away from the ‘Kicks’ sound. That all began to change though at their lack of success.

Rick Tucker (Bass) They really believed they would make it. The Users were a good band, people like Mick Jones liked them, great musicians, but had had so many personnel changes and I don’t think being based in Cambridge helped. It was an enthusiastic time. But it was difficult in those days. I don’t remember any despondency at first, we were all up for it. But we were all on the dole, money was tight.

[By ‘Kicks’] I think it had moved on, away from that totally raw sound into something more subtle, still energized and pretty raw, but with good melodies and lyrics. Even harmony vocals! We didn’t play ‘Kicks’ live. Phil and Chris were the songwriters and wanted the band to develop musically, which it did before we became a bit confused as to who or what we were. Andrew was a classically trained musician and I thought a brilliant arranger, but didn’t like the direction we eventually followed.

The desperation was always to get a record deal though and that gets in the way, because you would get these total arseholes from A&R or management companies saying they were coming to the gigs, so you always felt you had to perform for them. We didn’t have a manager, which in retrospect we could have done with. There was guy called Tony, a Cambridge university student, who managed us, but he didn’t have a clue, I don’t think. There was some interest from a management company, but it all felt a bit hopeless after a while, then we started to disagree a bit on image and direction. Frustration yes, impatience too. Punk77 interview

By the time they were gigging in London around May 1979 supporting bands like Chelsea at The Music Machine, their time had gone. What a waste. Even then though they could have been contenders. With power pop and Mod rearing its head and bands like Generation X  producing a MOR glam/punk sound The Users could have done something with the right backing. But of course it never happened.

Internally they were falling apart with the age old musical differences/direction rifts and The Users ended. Well turned in to The Selections.

Rick Tucker (Bass) Well that was the disagreement really. Andrew hated the so-called mod direction. I think Phil and Chris were desperate to make it and thought the ‘mod’ route offered us a chance. I was well into mod stuff anyway, not the bands of the time who were mostly not much to write home about, but the Jam and the soul/tamla/ska/bluebeat scene, so I didn’t mind. I thought that apart from Strummer, Weller was the only great songwriter by then. It seemed to fit, but calling ourselves The Selections wasn’t a great idea. We were basically a punk band who liked mod music. We played a few gigs in London mainly.

I think Phil had had enough and Andrew as well, but can’t really remember. Chris and I went on to form a band called Blow Up, which Weller told us was a great name, but we never got anywhere, despite writing some good songs. I was just the singer by then. Drink, drugs, arguments, the usual stuff all went on, but I do think Chris and I wrote some good stuff. Jon Moss, later of Culture Club and once of The Damned, I think, was our drummer for a while. We gigged a lot in London, even a mini tour of the South Coast, but we really weren’t very together. Punk77 interview

And reflecting on the band…

Rick Tucker (Bass) Andrew, Chris and I met at Liz’s funeral in Cambridge a few years ago now, which was a really sad occasion, but a lot of the old Cambridge punks were there and recognized us. It made me wonder about what could have been. I listen to a lot of music and still play and know that there was some real talent among us and with some of the other bands like the Soft Boys and the Sinix, but it just wasn’t to be. Punk77 interview

That wasn’t it for the boys though recording-wise as Bor & Free were involved in other releases/bands. 

Dan Wiseman (Sinix) It was the Sinix playing on both the Dave Goodman medleys. That was myself, David Speirs and Andrew Bor (ex of the Users) … Dave Goodman played bass…Andy Blade did all the vocals except Liar … [it] was released under the name of the Friendly Hopefuls which I think is Dave Goodman taking the piss out of us. Summer Of Hate, Letters

Free had the most success joining Craze on Wellers Respond label and writing ‘Give It Some Emotion’ for labelmate Tracie.

The Users – Sick of You/I’m In Love With Today

Punk77 says: The Sex Pistols had been playing for over a year and visited various studios, The Damned had various experienced band members and The Clash had Joe Strummer from the 101’ers.

Here’s the sound of a band that had played two gigs who are punching above their weight and doing what they really shouldn’t be able to. With In Love with Today The Users manage in 1.24 seconds to capture the frustration, anger, attitude and poetry all set to a backdrop of sheets of white hot guitar and sneering vocals to the toonery of Punk Rock. I can think of no finer example of top quality punk rock. Add to it being the first release in mid 1977 on an independent label Raw Records, a cool as fuck sleeve and you have the stuff of legend. If you want its perfect evil American twin, think The Pagans and Street Where Nobody Lives.

Recorded at Spaceward, by producer Mike Kemp in March 1977, along with two other tracks Louie Louie and Message.

The first 2500 were mastered poorly so a second pressing was done with numbered picture sleeves.

Lee Wood: These new records were the ones numbered 1 to 2500. I kept the number 1977 for myself. I also had a gold disc made in a frame. Still have it somewhere. So to answer your question. The numbered ones are the perfect ones.

Also as mentioned earlier the sleeve matched the music within. Photographed by Cesare Bragetti.

Lee Wood: I think The Users sleeve was the bands idea. They were very cool, switched on people and I’m sure the look is down to them. It’s not the kind of style that would come from my mind.

In 1978 a 12″ was also released of 1,000 copies with no picture cover.

Speaking of John Peel though A wooden box containing 142 singles was discovered among Peel’s belongings after the DJ’s death.

John Peel’s record collection threatened to overtake his Suffolk home. But in a small, battered wooden box, the much-loved DJ kept a precious selection of 7-inch singles that meant more to him than any of the others. Times Online 23.10.05

 Atari Teenage Riot later sampled Sick Of You on their Sick To Death single.

The Users – Kicks In Style/Dead On Arrival

Produced in March 1978 at Spaceward Studios by Mike Kemp and mixed by Dave Goodman, it once again captures the band at its best effortlessly amalgamating the sound of 60’s garage, Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, mod and punk into a succinct punk rock gem. While In Love With Today on the first single gave us the word’ shit’ spat out with force 10 venom. Dead On Arrival (aka Messages) gives us ‘jerk’ with similar gusto. Superb and housed in another cracking picture sleeve, this time by singer James James!

Originally it was to have been backed with Russian Roulette but instead, they went for a rework of Messages from their first session. Also for some reason it wasn’t released till the very end of 1978 meaning The Users had long failed to capitalise on the strengths of their first single and ensured that they were virtually starting from scratch. Other singles out at the same time were The Cure’s Killing An Arab and The Members’ Sound Of the Suburbs. The band was out of step and there would be no more releases.

For the collectors among you, there are two versions of it like the first single. Version 2 is the common one. Each sleeve is machine-numbered and comes with a postcard. The bass player on this mix is Dave Goodman.

Then there’s the first version.

…did you know that there were 2 pressings of Kicks in Style by the Users?  There were only approx 50 copies of the 1st pressing (A1 on the run out) which was a completely different mix to the second pressing, marked as A2 on the run out.  Did have both but sadly sold them 12 years ago in a moment of madness.  If you have the single I bet your copy is A2 in the run out. Dominic, 18th August, 2004

It also doesn’t have a machine-pressed number on the back of the sleeve. This rare version contains Pete Bevington on Bass. You know I never checked the version in my collection until I updated this page some 6 years later than the email I received above and blow me if I haven’t got the rare version!

 VARIOUS ARTISTS: Raw Deal (Raw January 1978)

While recording their first single at Spaceward by producer Mike Kemp in March 1977, two other additional tracks were also recorded – Louie Louie and Message. The first would be released without permission as the Bloodclots on ‘Raw Deal’ by that naughty Lee Wood and was basically the boys warming up with a fine raw romp through the garage classic. Also included on this fine compilation album was The Users first single B side I’m In Love with Today which opened the album.

Lee Wood The Users. Yes, they were the Bloodclots. They didn’t want the track released under their name. They thought it wasn’t good enough. Someone suggested the name (I think it was David Jefferies, a local designer who did all our artwork) and I used it. The band didn’t like it. I must admit I didn’t ask them first.

Sounds Review  (Jan 1978) The Bloodclots’ (I ask you, what a name) live version of `Louie Louie’ goes the usual way of `Louie Louies’ – after the initial savage impact of the chordal riff everything else seems flat. And the Bloodclot’s  drummer doesn’t help; he’s keeping the rhythm to a different universe.

The most noticeable thing overall is that even when all else on a song is dire the guitarist manages to halfway salvage it with his fretwork. Which goes to prove the dictum that when a band is formed the only one who can play any good cops the guitarist’s role.

The Users with no management got jack all publicity apart from record reviews. As far as I’m aware the only boost they got was from three local fanzines –  ‘Love & Peace,’ ‘Negative Reaction’ and the other one, Chainsaw (March/April 1978 and July 1979), are shown below.