The Ignerents formed in Whitstable, Kent, in 1977 with Steve Harris on guitar, Chris Harris on bass, Stan Gretsch on drums and Mark Leighton on guitar. Ben Challis joined the band as vocalist three days before their first gig which was in a local church hall on April 16th 1977. Mark Leighton didn’t last that long and the band continued to play live and record and produced demos for Step Forward Records and the band recorded and released their first single Radio Interference b/w Wrong Place Wrong Time on Ace Records in 1979. Stan died in 1981 and the band released a single (Platform 5 b/w The Trouble With You) as the Beekeepers with Nick Appleton joining as a second guitarist. Chris died in 1994 and the remaining band members performed a tribute concert that year and Ben and Steve compiled a full album (Woodbines, Tears & Jealousy) in 1997 featuring 14 Ignerents’ tracks, many unreleased.

See Punk 77 for more at

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/ignerents.htm

Great website for all things Punk in '77

Have a loook at http://www.punk77.co.uk. The Ignerent's gig at the Vortex is logged at http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/vortex_gigs.htm - the Vortex misspelt the band as The Ignerants! We supported Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Local Operator and the Killjoys on September 6th 1977. The Ignerents supported a number of other punk bands at that time including 999 (Margate Dreamland), Chelsea (Marquee, August 10th 1977)and The Only Ones.

Paul at Punk77 has written a great page on the Ignerents at http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/ignerents.htm