Interview Demob Please give a brief history of the band, including current line up.DEMOB was formed in late 1978 by
Terry Elcock (Rhythm Guitar) & Johnny Melfah (Drums). They both lived
in one of the most notorious neighborhoods in Gloucester. Famous nationally
for its mental institution Coney Hill. The two became aware of the Punk
Rock movement of this time and decided to create the first Punk Band in
their native city and called it DEMOB.
The duo soon attracted a lot of local attention, due to the rehearsal room that was being used; Terry's bedroom in his mothers 4-bedroom council house. In the beginning, there were like most punk bands of this time a number of line-up changes, and then the band became a stable unit consisting of: Mark (Miff) Smith Vocals Terry Elcock Guitar Paul (Fatty) Price Bass Guitar Johnny (Ringo) Melfah Drums The group's first gigs were played at local concert halls to help get the youth off the streets, these were held with the full backing of the authorities to help reduce crime and muggings taking place on most Saturday afternoons in Gloucester City's town centre. DEMOB's first big break came in the summer of 79 when they fooled the authorities into letting them have a place in Gloucester's annual carnival parade. The now ever increasing support and following for the band resulted in a mass riot between the Punks and Bikers and the suspension of the carnival. This riot made national press and interest from a local record label Round Ear Records, who agreed to finance the release of the first singleAnti-Police.John Peel(BBC Radio I) andGarry Bushell(Sounds Music Paper) helped promote the initial success of the hand because they both liked the serious undertones of the lyrics in the bands first singleAnti-Police.The group went on to support a lot of acts around the punk circuit at this time such as U2,UK Subs, andThe Angelic Upstarts,Discharge,The Beat, to name but a few. Most gigs ended with police presence and violence due to the now notorious following The Demob Riot Squad.A second single, "No Room For You" quickly followed to add to their success but then as happened with a lot of bands in this era, musical indifferences soon developed within the band and they split to pursue separate musical avenues. In September this year DEMOB have reformed for 2 reasons: one, America's calling, and two, to help the new generation of music lovers, enjoy this time revisited.The new line-up is as follows: Terry Elcock- Guitar Johnny Melfah- Drums Andy Kanonik- Vocals Richy Baldwin Bass
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