Salford Jets

The Salford Jets, a punk group, assembled in Salford, England, during 1976. Vocalist Mike Sweeney, previously a member of a later lineup of the mutant blues-rock band Stackwaddy, assembled the first roster alongside guitarist Don McKintyre, bassist Diccon Hubbard, and drummer Dave Morris. Rod Gerrard stepped in on guitar for McKintyre toward the end of 1977, and once keyboardist Geoff Kerry joined, the Salford Jets recorded their initial single, "Looking at the Squares," which WEA put out in 1978. A shift to EMI brought the follow-up single "Manchester Boys" in 1979, after which the band moved to RCA for the four-track EP Gina. The 1980 single "Who You Lookin' At?" climbed to number 72 on the U.K. pop chart and stood as the Salford Jets' strongest commercial showing. During the same year the group also taped two Radio 1 sessions hosted by DJ Mike Read. Their final RCA single, "She's Gonna Break Your Heart," preceded a move to the independent Lunar label for "City Youth," although the 1981 release "Soldier of Fortune" surfaced on Polydor. McKintyre rejoined in 1982, displacing Kerry, yet the band split after issuing "Pain in My Heart" the following March. Sweeney later appeared with the Thunderbyrds, a unit that spent time supporting Wayne Fontana, famed for "The Game of Love," while also establishing a thriving radio career on Britain's Capital Gold network. Sweeney and Hubbard reconvened the Salford Jets in 1996 to re-record "Who You Lookin' At?" with assistance from the Inspiral Carpets' Clint Boon, and again in summer 2003 to accompany Adventures in Lo-Fi, a self-released three-disc set containing nearly every track the band cut between 1977 and 1982.