The Members are one of the great lost bands of the punk years…
Whilst not strictly punk the band had the sharpness and the spikey energy of the movement and a reggae undertow that saw them fully embraced by the scene in the late seventies.
Their big hit ‘Sound Of The Suburbs’ (Virgin Records Feb 1979 UK Chart #12) is one of the great punk singles – powerful and inventive, with great lyrics and was a harbinger for the great debut album ‘At The Chelsea Nightclub’ (Virgin Records 1979 UK Chart #45) which we loved when it came out.
Their charismatic frontman Nicky Tesco was like a Jagger on the dole and the band really could play, switching from Clash style chops to twangy neo Shadows to dub grooves in the space of one song with the musical dexterity and the aggression like another older band who GOT IT, The Stranglers.
Nick fronted the band who appeared at the tail end of punk rock with a brilliant bright and shiny fusion of punk and reggae and scored a huge hit with the eternal classic ‘Sound Of The Suburbs’.