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Vice Squad Wiki Information

Vice Squad is a punk band formed in 1978 in Bristol, England. The band formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. Songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Louise Bond ) has been with the band since the original line-up. She is often cited as being the first punk pin-up featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such as Melody Maker , NME , and Smash Hits .

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History

Original band

Vice Squad formed in 1978 with an initial line-up of Beki Bondage (vocals), Dave Bateman (guitar), Mark Hambly (bass), and Shane Baldwin (drums), and played their first gig at Bristol University's Anson Rooms on 12 April 1979. ^[1] Bateman and Baldwin had previously been members of the TV Brakes. The first release by the band was the track "Nothing", which was included on the 1979 compilation Avon Calling . Members of the band were involved in setting up the Riot City label with Simon Edwards, the label becoming one of the major punk labels of the era. The band took some time to make further impact, only playing six gigs in 1980, but 1981's debut single "Last Rockers" was well-received, selling over 20,000 copies and spending almost forty weeks in the UK Indie Chart, reaching number 7. The follow-up, "Resurrection", reached number 4, and the band undertook a tour supporting UK Subs. The singles received airplay and support from BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and they would go on to record two sessions for his show, in 1981 and 1982. ^[2]

In 1981 the band signed with major label EMI (their Zonophone subsidiary), prompting criticism from many within the DIY punk scene. ^[3] Their debut album, No Cause For Concern , was released in late 1981, reaching number 32 in the UK Album Chart. A second album followed in 1982, and the band embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada. On returning from the US, Bondage announced that she was leaving the band. She went on to front Ligotage and later Beki and the Bombshells, and without her, Vice Squad were dropped by EMI. The band carried on, however, replacing Bondage with a new singer called Lia (who was previously known as Jools and had been the singer for local band Affairs of the Heart). The new line-up, also including the band's manager Mark "Sooty" Byrne on second guitar, signed with Anagram Records, and recorded a session for David Jensen's BBC radio show. Indie hits continued with singles such as "Black Sheep" and "You'll Never Know", but sales began to dwindle, and the band split up in 1985. Dave Bateman died in 2007.

New band

Bondage formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997, along with former members of The Bombshells, after being persuaded to perform the old material at the Holidays In The Sun festival. The line-up was initially Bondage on vocals, Paul Rooney (guitar), 'Stilton' (bass), and 'Pumpy' (drums). The rhythm section was replaced by Michael Giaquinto (bass) and Tony Piper (drums) in late 1999/early 2000. This new line-up has recorded several albums and they continue to tour Europe and the United States. In 2006, they released the album Defiant , produced by guitarist Rooney.