Sham 69 are a punk rock band that came together in 1976 to make music driven by angst.
The band’s breakthrough came in the form of the single “Borstal Breakout” which was released at the beginning of 1978. It was followed shortly after by the single, “Angels With Dirty Faces” which reached number 19 in May 1978. “If The Kids Are United”, was their biggest single of the year, reaching number 9 in July 1978. They earned the accolade of the only punk rock band to released five singles that had five singles make it to the Top 20 chart in the UK. Their debut album “Tell Us The Truth” which was released on February 18th 1978, charted in the UK reaching number 25. Their following album “That’s Life” which was released in late 1978, peaked at number 27.
Sham 69 took a different direction with their music, moving gradually away from punk rock, and releasing an album called “The Adventure of the Hersham Boys” in 1979. Despite mixed reviews, it still became their highest charting album to date, reaching number 8 in the UK. Unfortunately, nearing the end of 1979, following the band’s fourth album, “The Game”, the band disbanded for a decade.
Front man Jimmy Pursey, made a comeback with a brand new line up, and released an album entitled “Volunteer” it featured the singles “Rip And Tear” and “Outside the Warehouse”. Over the next ten years, the band would go through a similar routine of touring the last record, going into the studio to write a new one, release it and tour. Across this time, it saw the band have their song “If the Kids Are United” used in a McDonald’s advertising campaign. It was also used during UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s arrival at the Labour Party Conference. “Hurry Up England – The People’s Anthem”, released on June 12th 2006 gave the band their first top ten hit in 26 years.
In 2014, Pursey made it apparent on social media that he was re-forming the 1977 line-up of the band.
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