Drawing inspiration from 1960s garage rock and the defiant edge of late-1970s punk, the London quartet the Stabilisers first formed as a trio. Jon Bott, Francis Braithwaite, and Simon Corbey built a devoted local audience through repeated London gigs until Allan Crockford, guitarist from Billy Childish’s Thee Headcoats, joined initially as a session player. Rising demand for their shows soon converted Crockford from temporary sideman to permanent member.
The group issued its debut album, Last Chance Saloon, in 2004 on the Italian label Skipping Musez and simultaneously released the EP Evil Picnic through Italy’s Nicotine imprint. A more widely circulated follow-up, Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing?, appeared in 2006 on the U.K. label Acid Jazz, exposing the band to additional listeners including E Street Band member and Sopranos actor Little Steven. Steven signed the Stabilisers to his Wicked Cool label, assembled tracks from earlier recordings, and issued them as a separate album also titled Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing? in 2007.
