Tenpole Tudor stood out as one of Stiff Records’ most eccentric and lighthearted acts during an era when the imprint specialized in unconventional talent. Fronted by Eddie Tudor—born Edward Tudorpole, a onetime actor whose vocal abilities were limited—the quartet blended punk, roots rock, pop, and British dancehall into an irreverent yet consistently engaging sound. The lineup came together in 1974 when Tudor recruited guitarist Bob Kingston, bassist Dick Crippen, and drummer Gary Long. Prior to completing the group’s first full-length record, Tudor made an appearance in the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle, performing the song “Who Killed Bambi.” Following an initial single issued on Korova Records, the band signed with Stiff and issued “Three Bells in a Row.”
The debut album Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary arrived in 1981 and achieved respectable sales, spawning the additional minor hits “Wunderbar” and “Swords of a Thousand Men.” Later that same year the band returned with Let the Four Winds Blow, another solid commercial performer. In 1982 Eddie Tudor dissolved the original configuration; he retained the Tenpole Tudor name for a new, Cajun-tinged project while the remaining members rebranded themselves as the Tudors. When that revised edition proved unsuccessful, Tudor departed Stiff and turned his attention to jazz and swing ensembles alongside a return to acting. Fresh iterations of Tenpole Tudor surfaced periodically in the years that followed, yet Tudor devoted most of his energy to screen work until 2009, when he unveiled the third album Made It This Far. A nationwide tour ensued, which the singer described as “an electronic one-man stadium show.”
