The Ignerents: useful links

http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/ignerents.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~thisispunkrock/ps/uk/2/ignerent.htm

http://www.last.fm/music/Ignerents

http://www.essential-vinyl.co.uk/audio/ignerents_radiointerference.mp3

Where are they now?

Nick Appleton, who was also a member of the London based band the Black Cillas, is now an animator working in London. See http://www.last.fm/music/Black+Cillas and http://www.blackcillas.co.uk/bcpageone.htm which contains updates to 2008. Ben briefly managed the Black Cillas and band released one much admired single, Sebastian, in 1986. This was re-released on the compilation album ‘The Sounds of Leamington Spa No 5, released in 2005 (we think) on Firestation Records. The band also provided one track on the 1987 Timebox Album (and are the band featured on the front cover, playing live at the Bull & Gate) and one track 'Live and Independent at the Bay 63', a VHS release (Nightingale Films).

Ben Challis is a music lawyer and TV producer and he works for the world famous Glastonbury Festival, amongst other things. He is also co-founder of www.agreenerfestival.com. Ben publishes monthly updates on music law - see www.musiclawupdates.com and you can see more on the Glastonbury Festival at www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Russell Lax was a member of the hugely successful OYSTER BAND and toured almost continuously with the band in the late eighties until 1990. See http://www.oysterband.co.uk/biog/

Steve Harris is now a Michelin starred chef and he and brother Phil run the Sportsman in Whitstable. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/foodandwineholidays/4539236/Restaurants-Culinary-paradise-found...in-East-Kent.html and see http://www.restaurantspy.com/node/858. Phil managed the Ignerents and was the main photographer of the band's early career.

Brothers (and sisters!): Phil, Chris and Steve's younger brother, Damian Harris, currently records and performs as the Midfield General and also ran Fat Boy Slim's 'Skint Records' for a number of years. You can see Damian’s website at http://www.myspace.com/midfieldgeneral and see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skint_Records . Their sister, Gabriel, works with Steve and Phil in their restaurant business. Ben's brother, Aiden (Tig) Challis, was the drummer of another local band, Wasteland. Wasteland released the Wasteland EP (Disaster Records, 1979) which featured Ono / Bombsite Baby / Our Radio Nation Burns (Bombsite Baby was written by Ben Challis along with original Ignerent Mark Leighton) and Wasteland released a second vinyl offering Leave Me Alone b/w Friends, Romans Countrymen on Invicta Records in 1980. For more see http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/WASTELAND.htm. Tig died in January 2009.

The Ignerents: Discography

1979 RADIO INTERFERENCE B/W WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME
ACE RECORDS

1980 HARBOUR STREET, I WON'T BE THERE
ON FIRST OFFENDERS, COMPILATION, CRIMINAL RECORDS

1981 PLATFORM 5 B/W THE TROUBLE WITH YOU (AS THE BEEKEEPERS)
RUNDOWN RECORDS

1994 WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME
ON BACK TO FRONT VOL IV INCOGNITO RECORDS

1997 WOODBINES, TEARS & JEALOUSY
Radio Interference
I Won't Be There
Wrong Place Wrong Time
Call Me Irresponsible
Harbour Street
Commuter Zone
Rundown
Black Doctor Martens
I Like You
Collector's Item
You're So Stupid
Uganda Calling
The Trouble With You
Woodbines, Tears & Jealousy
RUNDOWN RECORDS


1997 RADIO INTERFERENCE and WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME on RAW AND RARE VOL 1
(R+R 001)


2002 CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE
ON PUNKS, SKINS AN RUDEBOYS NOW VOLUME III, COMPILATION, GARAZ MAGAZINE


You can buy Woodbines Tears & Jealousy here http://www.detour-records.co.uk/punk.htm



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The Ignerents - a brief history in time

The Ignerents were formed in 1977 in Whitstable, Kent, by brothers Chris and Steve Harris, joined by neighbour Mark Leighton on guitar, vocalist Kevin Holmes and drummer Stan 'Gretsch' Littlejohn. The band were an important part of the local Kent punk scene in the late seventies in Kent alongside bands like Wild Billy Childish's Pop Rivets, The Names, Naughty Thoughts and The Rivals (see http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/RIVALS1.htm)

All of the band went to Queen Elizabeth's School in Faversham. The band were managed by a third Harris brother, Phil, who was quick to recruit Ben Challis from another local punk band, The Plague, when Kevin Holmes dropped out as lead singer just before the band's first gig in Whitstable. In its final and most successful lineup (as the Ignerents), the band was a fourpiece consisting of Ben Challis (vocals), Steve Harris (guitar), Chris Harris (base) and Stan Gretsch (drums). The band released one single in 1979 (Radio Interference b/w Wrong Place Wrong Time. The Ignerents also featured on the First Offenders compilation album in 1980 with two tracks, Harbour Street and I Won't Be There. Wrong Place Wrong Timealso featured on the German Punk series 'Back To Front'. The band finally evolved into a new band, The Beekeepers, which featured Nick Appleton on guitar alongside Steve and with Chris, Ben and Stan, and then finally with Russel Lax on drums (who, in the then small Kent new wave music scene had, I think, been the Pop Rivets' drummer!). The Beekeepers released one single, Platform 5 b/w The Trouble With You in 1981.

On the live circuit the Ignerents were active from 1977-1981 with numerous gigs that included the Marquee Club and the Vortex in London and support slots with bands like 999, The Only Ones, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs and Chelsea.

The band's history has been marred by two tragic deaths: firstly, Stan, by noiw drummer with the Rivals, died in a road accident in 1981 and then in 1994 Chris died in a drowning accident whilst on holiday. Both are still much missed. The band released the Beekeepers single to celebrate Stan's life and played a final tribute gig to celebrate Chris's life at the Tankerton Arms in Whitstable in 1994 and in 1997 released a CD (Woodbines, Tears and Jealousy)which featured all of the Ignerents' previously released tracks and another ten archive tracks.

Various tracks also feature on other compilation albums (see the Discography) including Wrong Place Wrong Time on Back To Front Vol 4 and Call me Irresponsible on Punks, Skins & Rude Boys III.


The text of this Article is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).