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| FAST CARS "THE ORIGINAL POWERPOP BAND" From Manchester UK |
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"The signature powerpop sound: powerful guitar hooks, a driving beat, simple but heartfelt lyrics"
- Welcome to the fast cars Home Page
Since I began 'surfing the net' I've found interest on Punk / Mod / Powerpop sites in our single
Put Fast Cars on YOUR iPod: Click here
for Coming, ready or not
Click here for 'Well, you started it'
Steve appeared on local "Salford City Radio" on 24th April, to talk about the up and coming "G Festival" Click here to listen ![]()
Look at this! With the money raised at last year's "Georgia's Funraiser" Steve has achieved his 1st goal, Georgia's House, in Cambodia.
Here is the latest video from Emily's Army
Emily's Army - 'The Kids Just Wanna Dance' from Rock Rock Media on Vimeo. Full version of The Kids Just Wanna Dance by Emily's Army.
Photo taken at The Kevin Cummins Exhibition in Manchester (Jan 2012), The Factory 1979. Poster on bottom right is for our gig there in June 1979, which was also mentioned on our Granada TV appearence. Whilst searching the net to see if any new items on Fast Cars had been posted I came across a young American band named "Emily's Army" doing a cover of "The kids just wanna dance" on You Tube. Intrigued I dug further only to find out the drummer is Joey Armstrong son of Billie Joe (Green Day) and that Billie Joe himself played along on 'The Kids' at a recent gig. Not bad eh?! Keeps me going anyway (Stuart).
Steve is currently undertaking charity work in Cambodia, so for the first time we have put some full shows on You Tube; Happy Christmas !!! This is the full show filmed at The Wurlitzer Ballroom Madrid on 15th October 2010
This is the full show filmed at The Red Cloth Club Tokyo March 2008
Steve recently spent a weekend in Berlin and stepped on stage with local band 'The Not Amused' for an impromptu version
Steve is "Kidnapped" in Berlin, Germany. Here is a new (to us) song added to the set; Teenagers by MCR
This is All the small things - originally Blink 182
One of our many inspirations; Rebel Rebel (originally David Bowie)
ROCK N ROLL WITH ME
I'll be there as friends come and go
I'll be there to dry your tears
I'll be there to kick you out of bed (Georgia Louise Murray 4th June 1991 - 12 November 2010) Here is another of Steve's solo songs inspired by his daughter, "Clowns with Hearts of Gold"
I don't believe it!!!! More of our music have become 'Collectors Items' recently HERE are some examples from ebay etc. Yes the ORIGINAL 1979 line up are playing out again!!!
Still Unbeatable Festival, London, 19th June 2010 Check out these videos of the gig. Mark Cooper took some photos of us supporting The Revillos / The Rezillos at "Rafters" in Manchester on 25th Sept 1980 - here's one ...and Here's a new page (Cheers Mark)
Here's a bit of triva sent to us by Chris Connelly who is currently writing a book on Cargo Studio: An interesting fact not on your website is that when The Chameleons button-holed John Peel outside Radio 1 to get a session, the demo they gave him was on a Fast Cars cassette that Dave Fielding had taped over. Initially Peel thought that the music was Fast Cars. Any 'Fast Cars' triva is always welcome - Thanks!!
Why not buy a Fast Cars tee Shirt to wear at our gigs ?? Now available from Vinyl Revival Records in Manchester Click here for contact details.
Here is a slide show from our gig with the Purple Hearts at Manchester Academy, 17th Oct 2009. We have a mention in a new book by Alex Ogg written about the Independent record Labels that started in the late 1970's, we were on 'Streets Ahead.'
Check out These photos from our gig at Moses Gate in 2009 MEMORIES!!
Here's a great find, Karen (who was a member of Bowdon Vale Youth Club) sent us a scan of her ticket from the gig we played on 7th March 1979!!
Hey Fast Cars! I just came across your website while searching the net for material on my brother's band (Notsensibles) and seeing your videos and hearing your tracks brought memories flooding back of concerts that I used to stage at a dodgy working men's club in Burnley called The Clarion Club. I was still at school in Burnley when my mate Gilly and I decided to start promoting our own concerts and we found the Clarion Club and its brilliant stage in a quiet back street in one of the rougher areas of (a rough) town. We hired it and became mini Harvey Goldsmiths for a brief time. One of the first concerts we staged was Fast Cars and it was a sell-out (£1 a ticket) and the band were great. It was good, energetic, powerful pop-punk which (if you remember it) went down a storm with a fairly hard core punk audience. I remember that night well and it launched the Clarion Club as a brief but spectacular venue in a town starved of live music. Notsensibles played there a few times and The Reducers I remember. Gilly and I made some decent profit from the gigs and ploughed it all back into booking bigger bands and I remember inviting Fast Cars back for a return because you had been so popular. We also had The Piranhas and Joy Division booked to play at the Clarion (I still have the tickets which were printed) but unfortunately two bands from Manchester and their entourages (The Hamsters and Armed Force) clashed with locals one night resulting in a full-scale riot and the 'committee' at the club decided enough was enough and closed down the punk concerts (even though they were making more money than they had ever done in the bar. I lost a £135 deposit to Joy Division's management (50% downpayment on a fee of £270!). I never did get to see you again but it's great to hear that you're still going strong - so are Notsensibles! Maybe you could team up with them and play again at The Clarion? Happy days and thanks for bringing back memories ....oh and also for letting me know that my mint copy of The Kids Just Wanna Dance might be worth a few bob. Best wishes Peter Rawlinson Ashford, Kent.
Our 2 Detour albums are also available for download on iTunes, Coming Ready or Not Well, you started it so you have no excuse for not owning some Fast Cars music!! This is an extract from the book Rob Gretton '1 Top Class Manager' It is an entry in relation to Joy Division's time in Strawberry Studios recording 'Unknown Pleasures' and shows some of the time (13th) we used to make demos for Rabid Records. Permission given by Manchester District Music Archive to use this. Thanks Mat ! To buy the book CLICK HERE
to see some photos from the 'Quiffs, Riffs And Tiffs' exhibition at Salford Museum.
Never thought we'd end up in a museum !!! The Exhibition is on until October 2009, we also feature in 'THE SALFORD MUSIC MAP.'
IF CARSBERG DID GIGS ??!!
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Check this out The kids just wanna dance by Japanese band Water Closet. Love the energy and girl vocals !!! Check out The Smart Kidz cover of 'Everyday I make another mistake'. The band are from Milan in Italy!!
Stuart with Tim Llewellyn
Fast Cars Manager 1978-80, also designer of the famous seat belt cover on 'The kids just wanna dance!"
NEW SALES PAGE
for the LATEST reviews on our new cd: FAST CARS - 'WELL.YOU STARTED IT!'
Our new album, "WELL ... YOU STARTED IT!" was released on 8th October 2007 by Detour Records Well ... you started it! ... well we might have done, but these four musicians from Swinton, Manchester have come up with the goods again! Originally formed back in 1978 these kids saw what was happening around them with the likes of The Buzzcocks, Slaughter and the dogs, The Drones, Joy Division and wanted some of it! Then releasing their highly aclaimed anthem "The kids just wanna dance" back in 1979 they have gone from strength to strength. They are more popular now then they ever were, just take a look on the internet and at the ever popular myspace pages. They can be heard and seen on the majority of these pages from the USA & Canada, Japan, and throughout Europe. Kids that weren't even born cite them as an influence!
This new album features classic tracks from the 70's that were lost in time and now re-recorded but with the same old passion alongside new tracks that will become anthems in their own rights!
Detour Records > ![]() The Deeply Vale festivals DVD is out now and features footage of us from 1979 and a modern day interview with Steve & Stuart Murray (2004). To buy your copy contact: Telephone orders (Switch, Maestro, Mastercard, Visa accepted) on 01565 734066 or 01565 734577 Email orders to Ozit Records
Our music has been played over 96,000 times on myspace, check it out -
"If ide have been at my house in Worsley at the time i wud have gone to the gig. Last time i saw you guys play was at my school disco.. ambrose barlow.. swinton.. I was 14yrs old..1979.
You inspired me to be in a band..Grt to hear you again.." ...Not bad eh??!!
Another find!!. Paul Wainwright has been trawling through his vast amount of memoribilia and found this poster from 1978, when we supported XTC at Rafters Club, Manchester.
"The Kids Just Wanna Dance" our original single on Streets Ahead Records 1979, is now in the top 20 most collectable punk records in the UK !!!
Fast Cars live at Deeply Vale 1979
Who Loves Jimmy Anderton?, a barb at the controversial Mancunian Chief of Police, is the best song the
Buzzcocks never wrote, but it's The Kids Just Wanna Dance, a number the group
debuted here and later recorded as a single, that best encapsulates their style.
Fast and furious, wildly anthemic, and lashed with flashing and flaming lead
guitar, the band slammed pop-punk into street punk with mighty abandon. With
their tough sound, blazing delivery, and madly melodic music, the Fast Cars were
cruising straight into the modern age, creating a sound more in keeping with
modern hardcore than second-wave punk rock. So here they are, revved up and
ready to go -- the Fast Cars in all their original glory.
Hear "Who loves Jimmy Anderton" for the first time in 25 years, also "Tears are over" and "Teenage 'art" two more un-released songs written in 1978 !!!
Fast Cars on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes LIVE IN ROME, ITALY 2006
FAST CARS ON THE TELLY !!!! What's on - Granada TV 1979
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For more information
on Steve Murray and Design 9 in 1984 !!
BACKGROUND
Fast Cars were formed in 1978 by myself and brother Steven. We had been in a band together at Moorside High School in Swinton, Manchester, (1974-76) but Steve was interested in forming a punk band the rest of us were more into rock,
Deep Purple, Led Zep, Black Sabbath, Bowie Etc. so he went off, put an add in a music shop, and formed a band called "The Sirens" with Marc Riley, Craig Scanlon and Steve Hanley. We had 2 songs on "A Manchester Collection" LP, released by Manchester's Object Records (bands from the Manchester Musicians Collective) that we had recorded at Cargo Studios in Rochdale with John Brierley. Our first single "Images of you" should have been released on TJM Records but we fell out with the owner, Tony Davidson so it was never released.
We also did 2 tracks for Identity Parade but they were removed before the final pressing. We eventually signed to Streets Ahead Records, based in Altrincham, Cheshire, and released the now very collectable "The Kids Just Wanna Dance" and "You're So Funny" which was recorded at Smile Studios, in Chorlton, Manchester, produced by us and the owner Steve Foley, during 22/23 August, 1979.
We recorded a follow up single for Streets Ahead, "Images of you" (SA 4) although it was never released a few test pressings are in circulation.
We played up and down England between 1978 and 1980 and had a good following. We supported The Jam, The Buzzcocks, XTC, The Rezillos, Dillinger, The Chords, Bram Tchaikovsky and played with bands including
The Ruts, Joy Division, The Stiffs, The Extras, The Drones, Frantic Elevators, The Freshies, The Smirks, Ed Banger, John Cooper-Clarke,The Out, IQ Zero, Not Sensibles, Salford Jets, Two Tone Pinks, Sister Ray, and others, we played at the Marquee in London and various Universities, Colleges and Clubs.
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"The Kids just wanna dance" Written by Steven Murray the song is about our fans that started it all way back in 1978. We played every Saturday night
at a Pub in Pendlebury Manchester named "The Butcher's Arms". The song has also been covered several times. American band 'Manda and the Marbles' recorded a version for their CD entitled 'Seduction.' Japanese band 'Water Closet' have also recorded it for their album 4 x 10. Recently a video of American Band 'Emily's Army' has been posted on You Tube with their version of our tune.
Fast Cars & Gordon Smith Guitars !! click on logo for more
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