MySpace a place for friends

The Machines hail from the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, which is about 32 miles East of London. Vocalist / Guitarist Nick Paul formed the band in 1977, recruiting Duf (Ian Duffy) on Bass, and drummer John Dee. Nick was immensely fired up by punk, having bought The Damned's New Rose single on the day it came out, and literally had a life changing experience seeing The Clash at the 100 Club Punk Festival in September 1976. Nick had loved The New York Dolls / Stooges / MC5 and had started playing along those lines in his proto-punk band, Raw Power (alongside Stephen 'Tash' Reddihough). They folded in 1975 however, and after a short period in-between stints of moving to and from London, Nick was back in Southend in 1977 and inspired by the new punk scene he saw emerging, wanted to get a new band together.

After meeting Duf through an advert in The Evening Echo, they met John down the pub a couple of months later and began getting their set together and began gigging in August 1977. Their first gig was in a local Rock Contest at The Queens Hotel and they stunned everyone by playing a blinding performance and winning their heat! Jointly managed by Richard and Dave (Strange Stories Fanzine editors), the band began playing in earnest. Regarding Machines gigs of the era, speaking to Southend Punk.com Nick said "In addition to the already known gigs (Roxy, Vortex, City of London Poly, The Queens Hotel) we played the Alex about 4 times and the Roundacre youth club in Basildon about 4 times and the Shrimpers once. Our first would have been around July 1977 and our last about March 1978. In total I reckon we only played about 30 gigs. The life of a may fly really. Still it seemed longer at the time..."

Nick had been writing a lot of songs, with titles such as 'Racing', 'Tomorrow', 'Parents Zone', 'Weird Phone Calls', 'Chain Gang', 'Don't be Fooled' and 'Head on Crash'. Thus the band decided to get something down on tape and put out an EP on local label Wax Records. They went into Spectrum Studios in Westcliff and recorded four songs: 'True Life', 'Everything's Technical', 'You Better Hear' and 'Evening Radio'. The single did well, soon selling it's pressing of 1,000, and even entered the lower reaches of the Alternative Chart, as published in Sounds.

As well as various local gigs, the band played in London at The Vortex (on the 07.11.77 with The Maniacs, Bazooka Joe & The Monotones), The City of London Polytechnic (on the 02.12.77) and the legendary Roxy Club (on the 17.01.78 with the Deviators). Things looked like they were going pretty well, however Nick had grown a bit restless and had decided to change the line up of the band, and moved to London in April 1978, effectively splitting the band. When asked about this, Nick said "I fully intended to rebuild a new Machines and even had a piece in the NME about the next planned release 'The Machines Turn On' but it wasn't to be. Endless auditions for drummers and bass players led to nothing and in (I think it was late April 1978) a piece went into the music papers to the effect the Machines were over."

"I dial a number on my telephone, answering machine says there's no one home, so I'm just talking down the line, to a technical gadget, not a friend of mine." 'Everything's Technical'.

After the demise of the first line up of The Machines, Nick would return with the more power-pop orientated 'The Collectors' in 1980, whom released a 7" single titled 'Different World', on Central Collection Records that year. Duf became a painter and John Dee continued drumming, in 1978 finding time to help out fellow Southend punks The Vandals, whom featured Alison 'Alf' Moyet on Vocals. He then joined his brother Paul in a band called The Electric Shocks, and later on played in reggae-orientated bands Bushfire and Charas.

In 2005 Nick Paul had found a rare recording of a live demo the band had recorded in September '77, before the recording of the EP, containing songs 'Racing' and an early version of 'You Better Hear', and Dizzy at Detour / Bin Liner Records released these songs on a compilation called 'Bored Teenagers Vol 4' in July 2006. Before that though, in 2005, Nick Paul and Stephen 'Tash' Reddihough (Raw Power) had linked up again after many intervening years, and then in February 2006 they were joined by Steve Pegrum (Kronstadt Uprising / Sinyx) to play some songs that hadn't been heard in a long time and to take things as far as they would go. These songs included 'True Life', 'Evening Radio', 'You Better Hear', 'Everything's Technical', 'Chain Gang', 'Parents Zone', 'Racing' and 'Head on Crash'.

There was a great chemistry between the three members, with Nick and Steve Pegrum's mutual love of heartbreak Punk Rock 'n' Roll (being epitomised by Johnny Thunders) being a key shared reference. Combined with a mutual calling to play high energy rock 'n roll, they decided to play some shows and take the band forward, and The Machines underwent a kind of 'rebirth'. The first gig was at the Boston Arms, Tufnel Park in London at the launch party for the Bored Teenagers compilation CD and was a fantastic evening, and after this success more shows were booked, including a brilliant homecoming show at Chinnerys in Southend in 2007.

The next stage was recording and over the summer the guys laid down two live 5 track promo eps, with minimal overdubs. Songs included 'Racing', 'Don't Be Fooled', 'Cyclone', 'Girl in Black', 'Weekend' and many more. The rest of 2007 was spent gigging and writing new material such as the infectious 'Rocket Red' and band anthem 'With The Machines'. Key gigs at this time included great blitzkrieg shows at the 12 Bar Club and Bar Monsta in London, and The Engine Room in Brighton. Various fanzines and 'Net Radio Stations started picking up on the band, describing them variously:

"Classic punk, served New York Style" - Bubblegum Slut Fanzine

"The Machines are pretty bloody fantastic" - Total Rock Radio

"The Machines are brilliant" - Noisy! Fanzine

"Their sound contains something fresh and vibrant, which is missing from so many bands doing the rounds today, if fact they sound much better than many of the larger punk bands which have reformed" - Street Voice Ezine

"The songs are all pretty catchy, in a Ramones / Heartbreakers style, but in a similar fashion to The Phobics, the lyrics and vocals are very much grounded in a distinctly English style" - Fear and Loathing Fanzine

"You guys still have an incredibly honest sound" - Lucy Hell, Mystery Island, U.S.A

2008 has seen the band writing more new material, with songs such as the infectious 'Mainline' and 'Denmark Street'. The year started with a flurry of gigs at various London haunts such as Tommy Flynns, The 12 Bar Club as well as a very special gig at The Bridge House 2 in Canning Town. The Machines wanted to try and play further afield too, and to this end small tours incorporating places such as Bedford, Westcliff, Brighton, Trimley, Brandon and more were undertaken. Towards the end of their summer dates the band played the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool and were gratified to meet many fans there and find inspiration in their love of the band.

2009 and beyond will hopefully see a Machines CD materialise, as well as a range of Machines merchandise, and even potential shows much further afield.

"I cruise the streets With The Machines, I spend my time With The Machines, I’m hanging out With The Machines, I spend my life With The Machines." 'With The Machines'.

The Machines are:

Nick Paul - Guitar and Vocals

Stephen 'Tash' Reddihough - Bass and Backing Vocals

Steve Pegrum (aka Steve Machine) - Drums