The Prisoners
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The Prisoners were a mod revival/1960s garage band formed in 1982 in Chatham, Kent, England. They were a regular live fixture on the London "psychedelic revival" mini-scene of the early 1980s, and often toured with sparring partners The Milkshakes who included Billy Childish on guitar. The Prisoners' sound combined catchy, retro flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a Steve Marriott-esque vocal style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Hammond organ. The Prisoners never met with much commercial success during their original lifespan but have latterly been likened to Paul Weller and The Charlatans. Indeed Tim Burgess of the Charlatans has cited the Prisoners as a major influence.
The band's lineup was: Graham Day (vocals and guitar), Jamie/James Taylor (hammond organ), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums).
After releasing several self-financed records and spending a year with Big Beat Records, in 1985 the Prisoners signed a new management deal with Acid Jazz that saw them move away from the London garageband tag and instead directly into the Mod revivial mainstream. They also made a patchy final album, "In From The Cold", for the ailing Stiff Records label. These deal were unsuccessful and the band split up acrimoniously in 1986. They have however reformed for live shows several times since then, and managed to release a final one-off single in 1997.
Since splitting up the members of The Prisoners have featured in a wide range of bands. James Taylor and Allan Crockford formed mainstream jazz funk band the James Taylor Quartet in 1986, although Allan Crockford is no longer part of their line-up. The Solarflares, who released four albums before splitting up in 2004, were Graham Day and Allan Crockford basically reprising The Prisoners sound along with drummer Simon "Wolf" Howard and Mr Parsley on organ. Other bands who have featured former members of The Prisoners are Planet, The Buff Medways, The Prime Movers, The Mighty Caesars and The Stabilisers ... among many others.
[edit] Albums
- A Taste Of Pink
- The Wisermiserdemelza
- The Last Fourfathers
- In From The Cold
- Rare And Unissued
- Hurricane (the best of)
