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FAST CARS "THE ORIGINAL POWERPOP BAND" From Manchester UK
"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
"The Kids Just Wanna Dance"(currently listed in Record Collector @ £250)
so I thought I'd give anyone interested some more information.
My name is Stuart Murray I am the Bass Player and occasional backing vocalist (when my mike is switched on!!).


WHO ARE FAST CARS ?

checkout our profiles


New review of "Well... you started it!" included below, plus more information / photos added to Key dates page.


Look out for the "Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs" exhibition that will start at Salford Museum on 18th October 2008, we have provided some memorabilia.


Retro Bar Manchester 25th May 2008.

Here is a review of the Retro Bar gig:
The much anticipated Fast Cars pinged into their stride and peppered the crowd with a full on blast of melodic power pop punk that really caught my lugs and held their attention throughout.

This was fuckin’ great stuff that fizzed and frothed with sharp snappy chords and meaty riffs. I love this kind of bubbling punk and the airy, feel good vibe that runs deeply through the entire marrow of this high octane noise is a true delight.

You can’t beat this style of play and when it’s done this well I can only stand back and appreciate. This is a band I have wanted to see a long time and in no way whatsoever was I disappointed. Let’s hope this is the start of a major renaissance and the Fast Cars have a good run on the current circuit.

OMD 26th May 2008 www.Fungalpunknature.co.uk

More photos on our myspace.


Live in Fukuoka March 2008


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' it's on their myspace songplayer. The band are from Milan in Italy!!



ARIGATOU !!!

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE JAPAN TOUR HERE

There are also over 130 on our MYSPACE PICS

REVIEW of one of the Tokyo shows.

Live in Okayama movie CLICK HERE

JAPAN GETS READY !! CLICK HERE


Stuart with Tim Llewellyn Fast Cars Manager 1978-80, also designer of the famous seat belt cover on 'The kids just wanna dance!"


Here is the LATEST review (now have another 5, see new review page!!) re our new cd:
FAST CARS - 'WELL.YOU STARTED IT!'

Hailing from Manchester, The Fast Cars were very under rated and never got the breaks they so deserved, often been likend to The Undertones and many punk related bands, judge for yourself, Punk, Mod, New Wave or even Indie! Who cares? They sound f'ing awesome!, thinking back to the good old days your mind always seems to link The Fast Cars with their awesome tune "The Kids Just Wanna Dance", well pass by anything else from that period and listen to this new offering from the powerpop kings!

Formed way back in October 1977 after following their punk counterparts, The Buzzcocks, The Drones & Joy Division the quartet of Steve Murray--vocals, Stuart Murray--bass guitar, Craig Hilton--guitar & Tony Dyson on drums released their first single way back in 1979 and have rightly so, grown from strength to strength to such a level that their are more popular now than they ever were with fansites on the net all over the globe! And the highest accolade newer bands of today cite them as Influences! Up steps the remarkable undisputed king of Revival, Dizzy and his Detour Records crew to conjour up this album featuring classic tracks from the 70`s that have been lost in time and now re-recorded for our listening pleasure!

Onto the tracks now..."Here We Are Today"...Steve Murray puts alot into the vocals on this track that you feel your back in the Mod Revival period, but it`s here we are today, "Penthouse Monkeys"... don`t know about penthouse, but this tune puts those other 'monkeys' to shame! I'm sure you get my meaning on that.., "Best Friend"...just realised im listening on my headset, sod that, main speakers, let the neighbours have a blast of the best band to come out of Manchester. "Teenage 'Art"...nice to hear a slower tune from these,very very well written song and the guitar work is exellent, "Instant Popstars"...ok sorry but I can't stop singing this song in my head, but why the hell do I keep singing instant pop tarts arrrggh, help me!
, "Way Of The World"...nice use of rythmm guitar in the background in this tune, quite a soulful song to be honest, "Who Loves Jimmy Anderton"...ok air guitar in hand and looking a fool as passersby see me through the window, "Tears Are Over"...this song reminds me of The Circles, sorry I hate to compare bands like that but hey I like The Circles too, so shhh!, "So James Dean"...a real foot tapper in it`s own right, classssssssssssss!, "Turn On The Radio"...ok Tony Dyson your the man on this tune, did you ever audition for The Who??, no, well hey your a mad man on the drums dude!, Ending this repetoire is, "Piece Of England"...the guys go to town on this tune, the union jack on their backs, nice touch on the lyrics there lads!

These guys will forever be part of our movement in one form or another, and are regular visitors to Mod Radio and are played alot and so they should!, Just to finish off this review, Do yourselves a favour buy this piece of Mod, Punk, Powerpop!! whatever you may call it!! Just get out and buy it!

Reviewed By Macky Mod Radio UK


Our new album, "WELL ... YOU STARTED IT!" was released on 8th October by Detour Records
short mp3's can be found here !!

Buy it HERE and get a free copy of the cd single "Baza" not on the album !!

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!
After the success of their first album "Coming ... ready or not!", you know what you are in for !!!!!

Detour Records


5 reviews /2 comments so far CLICK HERE


VIDEOS NOW ON NEW VIDEO PAGE CLICK HERE or check this out


>

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:
Ozit Morpheus Records
PO Box 116
Northwich
Cheshire CW9 5UG

Telephone orders (Switch, Maestro, Mastercard, Visa accepted) on 01565 734066 or 01565 734577 Email orders to Ozit Records



Live at the 12 Bar Club, London 28th July 07

More photos Here

Fast Cars on Tour 2008 CLICK HERE for gigs


NEW SALES PAGE - BUY SOME OF OUR RECORDS USING "PAYPAL"
CLICK HERE
to buy now !


Want to be our friend? We already have OVER 2,000

Our music has been played over 55,000 times on myspace, check it out - we have "iNstant popstars" playing from our new album out on DETOUR RECORDS! Here's a message from our myspace page:

"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.."
Paul Ryder..Happy Mondays..

...Not bad eh??!!



At last we have been featured in a book, No More Heroes: A Complete History Of UK Punk From 1976 To 1980 by Alex Ogg.
Alex Ogg is a London-based author, he is the former editor of Spiral Scratch magazine and has written dozens of liner notes for punk bands including the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Penetration, Adverts, Skids, Ruts, Sham 69 and many others. To buy it CLICK HERE


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.


Paul was in the audience that night


"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 !!!


We feature at 19 in the May 2006 edition of "Record Collector." Did you know there are 4 different versions of "The Kids just wanna dance" ??
CLICK HERE for more on that !!


To buy our album COMING ... READY OR NOT !! CLICK HERE
- read the 5 STAR review.

CLICK HERE to read the sleeve notes written by Marc (lard) Riley from the BBC, ex The Fall etc.

CLICK HERE to buy in JAPAN - read three 5 STAR reviews !!

CLICK HERE to buy in USA - read two 5 STAR reviews !


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.
~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide

TO ORDER CLICK HERE

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 !!!
CLICK HERE for short mp3's from the album

CLICK HERE for album reviews from the UK, USA, and Germany

For more of us at Deeply Vale GO HERE


JAPANESE INTERVIEW OF FAST CARS

Here are some photos from a Japanese site, taken by someone in the crowd
at one of our TOKYO gigs CLICK HERE

Check this out Japanese fan's page about us !!!

Here's another Japanese fan's page

Japanese review Hope this is good??!!


Some fanzine reviews HERE


Some more old photos have turned up, this time live at Feltham Air Park in Middx 1979, Click here

ANOTHER DISCOVERY !! Photographer Martin O'Neill took photos of Fast Cars at Bowdon Vale Youth Club on 7th March 1979.Click here to see some more of us in our hey day !!!

PHOTOS FROM GIGS 1990 - 2006

Some photos from our Rome gig "The road to ruins festival, Nov 2006 HERE


FAST CARS ON THE TELLY !!!!

What's on - Granada TV 1979


T SHIRTS FOR SALE
Tara and her friends have got them why don't you ??
(and send us a photo wearing it and we will put it on the site !!)


CLICK HERE 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.

They were not very good at that time (although they later joined The Fall and guitarist Marc 'Lard' Riley is now a Presenter for the BBC on Radio 1 and TV), so me and Steve got our old mates together and formed Fast Cars. Our school days guitarist was Craig Hilton but he was doing something else, so our original line up was; Steve Murray vocals (and main songwriter) Haydn Jones on lead, Me on Bass and Tony Dyson on drums. After about 6 months Haydn left and Craig Hilton re joined us and that is who played on the single "The Kids Just Wanna Dance".

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.
We were nearly signed to Polydor, (we actually made demos in their studios in London) and for a short time we were looked after by Dennis Munday who was A&R man to The Jam, but it never happened, we eventually called it a day in January 1981......... but due to popular demand we reformed officially in 2001 and are currently giging and recording, and enjoying ourselves !!!



DISCOGRAPHY - CLICK HERE

Send an email

"The Kids just wanna dance"

Streets Ahead Records SA03

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". From 25th March to 21st October the kids kept coming until as it says in the song "we got banned from The Butchers Arms." We got banned because the kids danced too much, unfortunately knocking tables over, the PA fell over at the time the Landlord didn't see the funny side!!
In the last few years since we started giging again we have had 40 something blokes come up to us and say "we were one of the kids!!" totally amazing and now the song is loved by "kids" all over the world with many using it on their own myspace. It has been bootleged several times and officially re-released twice.

The song has also been covered twice, firstly by American band 'Manda and the Marbles and secondly by the Japanese band 'Water Closet.'


Gordon-Smith Guitars
Fast Cars & Gordon Smith Guitars !! click on logo for more

337435

That's right over a Quarter of a Million Views !!



Site established JAN.2001
© Copyright Fast Cars
2001-2008
all rights reserved
Designed by Stuart Murray
THIS SITE IS 393 WEEKS OLD !!

Cover of A Manchester Collection Fast Cars
as they appear on the cover of
"A Manchester Collection"
outside 'The Band on the Wall,'
Swan Street, Manchester. 1979, for more information CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE for the lyrics to all our songs

Where The Heck Are You?