Maximum Joy

In 1979, trumpeter and saxophonist Tony Wrafter launched the Bristol, England post-punk outfit Maximum Joy after Glaxo Babies dissolved, teaming with vocalist and clarinetist Janine Rainforth. Bassist Dan Catsis and drummer Charlie Llewellin, both previously of Glaxo Babies, came aboard soon afterward, joined by ex-Pop Group guitarist John Waddington. Several personnel shifts marked the group’s brief run, among them the arrival of a young Nellee Hooper. On the Y label, Maximum Joy put out three 12" and 7" singles, with “Stretch” as the standout, before cutting their only album, Station MXJY (1982), alongside Adrian Sherwood. After issuing a Dennis Bovell-produced rendition of Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can't We Live Together,” the band disbanded. Two decades later, the compilation Unlimited (1979-1983) appeared. Wrafter, Rainforth, and Llewellin revived Maximum Joy for a show at Bristol’s Simple Things Festival 2015.