CHELSEA (UK)
Chelsea were formed in 1976 by front man Gene October. Spearheading the punk movement, their debut single ‘Right To Work’ was released in 1977 which brought the attention of the music press. Gene October was responsible for starting The Roxy Club in Soho where many of the early punk bands started playing and Chelsea began playing alongside the likes of The Clash, The Damned, The Police, Sham 69. Featuring in Derrek Jarman’s punk film ‘Jubilee’ Chelsea also featured on 2 John Peel sessions and the Old Grey Whistle Test at the BBC promoting their self titled first album.
After a succession of singles and release of a 2nd album Chelsea toured the U.K & America releasing their 3rd album ‘Evacuate’ in 1980. The Evacuate album saw them touring again in the U.S and in the U.K with Anti Nowhere League on the infamous ‘So What’ tour.
Through various line-up changes over 4 decades, October continued to tour with Chelsea releasing 17 singles and 12 studio albums to date.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2016 many of the Chelsea albums have been re-issued on collectors limited colored vinyl. The release of Chelsea’s complete recordings feature in the new anthology box sets 1 – 3 which include demos, previously unheard tracks, a historical biography through the albums, pictures and lyrics to all the songs.
In 2023 Chelsea was celebrating 40 years of „Evacuate“, the classic album of the band.
The latest release is the album „Meanwhile Garden“, published in spring 2021.
Available:
on tour: 20 June – 5 July 2025
for club shows and festivals available all through the year
Tourdates:
27/06/2025 PL-Zelebsko, Ultra Chaos Piknik
28/06/2025 PL-Bazyny, Paczanga Festival
Lineup:
Gene October – lead vocals
Nic Austin – guitar
Rob Miller – guitar
Mat Sargent – bass
Steve Grainger – drums
Releases:
Full length albums:
1979 – Chelsea
1980 – Alternative Hits
1982 – Evacuate
1985 – Original Sinners
1986 – Rocks Off
1989 – Underwraps
1993 – The Alternative (CD, Weser Label)
1994 – Traitors Gate (CD, Weser Label)
2002 – Metallic F.O.: Live
2005 – Faster, Cheaper and Better Looking
2016 – Anthology Box 3CDs
2016 – Re-release of former albums on vinyl
2017 – Mission Impossible (LP, CD)
2021 – Meanwhile Gardens (LP, CD)
Label:
Plastic Head
Westworld Recordings