The Stupids

Formed in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, the Stupids fused the post-punk textures of Britain’s early-to-mid-1980s underground with the high-velocity drive of American hardcore. Active between 1985 and 1989, the group shifted its base to London in later years. Line-up changes were constant and often masked by aliases, yet the core personnel remained Tommy Stupid on vocals, guitar and drums, Pauly Pizza on bass, Marty Tuff on guitar and Ed Wenn on bass. Their first phase was captured on two albums and a 7-inch EP issued by Children Of The Revolution Records; the brief, explosive tracks and off-the-cuff wit reached a wide audience through BBC radio presenter John Peel, who broadcast every song from those initial LPs and invited the band to record three sessions for his programme while also championing their singular style in his Observer column. Wider circulation through Vinyl Solution Records brought overseas recognition, among other things a split 10-inch EP shared with Australian outfit the Hard-Ons. The Stupids also graced the covers of both New Musical Express and Sounds, emerging as the most prominent force in a fresh hardcore community centred in eastern England. Subsequent guitar-led acts such as the Senseless Things and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin absorbed their influence at close range. Although the band folded in 1989, they had already amassed a substantial, frequently comic body of recordings, completed tours of the USA and Australia, and grazed the lower national charts—all without major-label support. Ex-member Tom Withers resurfaced in the late 1990s as the drum ‘n’ bass project Klute.