Biography
Formed in Yorkshire during 1978, the Jags came together as a four-piece amid the late-seventies British power-pop wave and would later be recalled as a classic one-hit wonder. Nick Watkins supplied lead vocals and John “Twink” Adler handled guitar duties for the songwriting partnership, while Steve Prudence played bass and Alex Baird sat behind the drums. The group landed a deal with Island Records in July 1978 and promptly issued a promising four-track EP. Their first full-length album, Evening Standards, appeared in 1980 and spotlighted the catchy though plainly derivative single “Back of My Hand,” which had already reached the U.K. Top 40 the preceding autumn. Follow-up single “Woman’s World” managed only the faintest chart showing. Although the album offered a strong batch of brisk power-pop tunes, reviewers trained their attention on Watkins’s vocal resemblance to Elvis Costello and labeled the band mere copyists. As enthusiasm for the style cooled, the quartet tried altering its approach on 1981’s No Tie Like the Present, yet the modest stylistic shift attracted little notice. The Jags officially split in 1982, though “Back of My Hand” later resurfaced on several compilations throughout the 1990s.
Albums
