Biography
The Lambrettas came together in Brighton when Jez Bird on guitar, vocals, and keyboards joined Doug Saunders on guitar, Mark Ellis on bass, and Paul Wincer on drums. Taking their name from a scooter long associated with the mod scene, the group adopted matching mohair suits and boarded the late-1970s mod-revival wave sparked by the Jam. Although the influence was obvious, the quartet earned lasting affection among revival enthusiasts because Bird’s knack for hooks steered the songs toward straightforward pop rather than mod-scene posturing or exclusivity.
In 1979 the band landed a deal with Rocket Records, the label run by Elton John. After the single “Go Steady” failed to register, their version of the Leiber & Stoller composition “Poison Ivy” reached the U.K. charts. Two follow-ups, “D-a-a-ance” and “Another Day (Another Girl),” also entered the British listings; the latter track, first called “Page Three,” drew press attention and a legal threat from the Sun after its lyrics mocked the tabloid’s habit of featuring topless models on that page. The 1980 album Beat Boys in the Jet Age gathered those early singles alongside similarly styled originals and scraped into the British charts, yet the broader revival had already begun to fade. Later singles and the 1981 album Ambience met with indifference despite deliberate attempts to move beyond mod constraints, prompting the Lambrettas to disband after a final London performance on April 14, 1982.
Bird revived the name during the 1990s for occasional low-key shows across England and cut several unreleased demos intended for a new album. He succumbed to cancer in 2008 at the age of fifty. The following year Saunders and Wincer staged what was meant to be a solitary reunion gig, then kept the band active by adding Philip Edwards on guitar and Chris Venzi-James on bass. Periodic tours continued through the United Kingdom and Europe, where mod-revival interest had never entirely disappeared; when Venzi-James departed, Ant Wellman assumed the bass chair. A three-piece horn section—Mark Mansell on saxophone, Helen Kane on trumpet, and Dan Rehahn on trombone—was later brought in. In 2017 the Lambrettas issued their first new recording since 1981, the four-song EP Go 4 It.
In 1979 the band landed a deal with Rocket Records, the label run by Elton John. After the single “Go Steady” failed to register, their version of the Leiber & Stoller composition “Poison Ivy” reached the U.K. charts. Two follow-ups, “D-a-a-ance” and “Another Day (Another Girl),” also entered the British listings; the latter track, first called “Page Three,” drew press attention and a legal threat from the Sun after its lyrics mocked the tabloid’s habit of featuring topless models on that page. The 1980 album Beat Boys in the Jet Age gathered those early singles alongside similarly styled originals and scraped into the British charts, yet the broader revival had already begun to fade. Later singles and the 1981 album Ambience met with indifference despite deliberate attempts to move beyond mod constraints, prompting the Lambrettas to disband after a final London performance on April 14, 1982.
Bird revived the name during the 1990s for occasional low-key shows across England and cut several unreleased demos intended for a new album. He succumbed to cancer in 2008 at the age of fifty. The following year Saunders and Wincer staged what was meant to be a solitary reunion gig, then kept the band active by adding Philip Edwards on guitar and Chris Venzi-James on bass. Periodic tours continued through the United Kingdom and Europe, where mod-revival interest had never entirely disappeared; when Venzi-James departed, Ant Wellman assumed the bass chair. A three-piece horn section—Mark Mansell on saxophone, Helen Kane on trumpet, and Dan Rehahn on trombone—was later brought in. In 2017 the Lambrettas issued their first new recording since 1981, the four-song EP Go 4 It.
Albums
Live
