The Chords

By late 1978 punk's brief dominance had clearly faded, allowing new ensembles to surface that revered earlier sounds while filtering them through punk's scorched remains. Southeast London outfit the Chords formed in January 1979 after singer-guitarist Billy Hassett and bassist cousin Martin Mason ran an NME advertisement that yielded guitarist and chief songwriter Chris Pope. Founding drummer Paul Halpin soon vacated the stool to become the band's tour manager, replaced by Brett "Buddy" Halpin, enabling the group to begin live work by March.

Continuous gigs followed through spring and summer, highlighted by headline appearances at two mod festivals at the Marquee and an initial Radio One session for John Peel in early July. Momentum built swiftly, drawing early champions Paul Weller, who attended one of their debut shows, and Sham 69's Jimmy Pursey, who signed them to JP Productions without delay.

Several demos were tracked for Pursey before the alliance collapsed after he heckled the Undertones during a concert the Chords supported. Polydor promptly stepped forward with a contract. Choosing "Now It's Gone" from the Pursey recordings, the quartet recut the track for a September 1979 single that reached number 63 on the U.K. chart. January's "Maybe Tomorrow" followed, propelled by glowing press notices into the Top 40. A second Peel session occurred in March, and April brought the third single "Something's Missing," which previewed debut album So Far Away yet stalled at number 55. Any doubts about the LP evaporated when it landed in May and entered the Top 30 on the strength of a U.K. tour.

"The British Way of Life," issued in July, managed only number 55, while October's "In My Street" performed slightly better. Road work continued without interruption until a November 1980 date at London's Music Machine, after which Hassett was removed under circumstances that remain undisclosed. Ex-Vibrators singer Kip Herring took over vocals, though the previous lineup still appeared on the sleeve of May 1981 single "One More Minute," another commercial failure mirrored by August's "Turn Away Again." The Chords disbanded the following month. Their catalog later resurfaced: the 1980 live set No One's Listening Anymore arrived in 1986, the two-CD anthology This Is What They Want followed in 1996, and the Peel sessions reached stores the year after.