The Records formed out of the ashes of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock group featuring drummer Will Birch. In 1977, John Wicks joined the band as a rhythm guitarist, and he and Birch quickly started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist. The Kursaal Flyers dissolved three months after Wicks joined, but he and Birch continued to write songs together with the hopes of starting a new four-piece group with Birch on drums and Wicks on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Birch soon came up with a name for the formative band: The Records. The group's line-up initially included bassist Phil Brown and lead guitarist Brian Alterman, whose guitar riffs have been compared to that of the Byrds. Alterman played on two early demos that were later included on the album Paying for the Summer of Love, before joining another band. Alterman was replaced by Huw Gower in 1978. Like Birch and Wicks, Gower and Brown were music veterans: Gower had played with a band called the Ratbites from Hell and Brown had been the bass player for the Janets.
The new group was heavily influenced both by British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Kinks and early power pop groups such as Badfinger, Big Star, and Raspberries. Power pop was experiencing a renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in large part to the burgeoning punk/new wave movement.
They were hired to back Stiff Records singer Rachel Sweet on the "Be Stiff Tour '78". The Records opened the shows with a set of their own. Birch and Wicks also wrote a song for Sweet's debut album entitled "Pin a Medal on Mary". The songwriting duo also penned "Hearts in Her Eyes" for the Searchers, who made an unexpected comeback with their power pop oriented album The Searchers in 1979.
Based on their demos (later released as Paying for the Summer of Love), the band was signed to Virgin Records in 1978. Their debut single, "Starry Eyes", was released in the UK that December and has since become their best-known song and an oft-covered power pop standard. Allmusic called it "a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s". Due in part to its clear influence by American power pop, the song was a bigger hit in the US than in the UK; it peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1979.
The group prepared their debut album with producers Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Tim Friese-Greene. Huw Gower produced "The Phone", which was added to the album in preference to one of Lange's efforts, a cover of Tim Moore's "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter". The debut LP Shades in Bed yielded another single, "Teenarama", their second-best known song. The album was released in the US in July 1979 as The Records with different song sequencing and with the original single version of "Starry Eyes" replacing Lange's re-recording that appeared on the UK edition. The album was sufficiently well received to peak on the Billboard chart at No. 41. Gower also produced the bonus four track disc of cover tunes included in the album release, which also received FM airplay, notably the version of Spirit's "1984", which was strong enough to become short-listed by Virgin as the second single off the album.
That was the pinnacle of their success. Returning to the UK, Will Birch engaged the services of producer Craig Leon to record two new songs and to remix two tracks from Shades in Bed for a possible single release. Huw Gower acted as co-producer. After an aborted German tour with Robert Palmer, Gower left the band and relocated to New York, where he joined forces with New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen. Their collaboration led to the successful album Live It Up.
Jude Cole, a 19-year-old American, who had been in Moon Martin's backing group The Ravens, joined for the album Crashes (1980). The album was not a hit, and did not yield any successful singles, and record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the US, while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. Previously, most of the songs had been sung by Wicks, but with other members frequently taking lead vocals for individual songs. Birch has since declared that the decision to recruit a lead singer was made "perhaps unwisely". This line-up recorded a third album for Virgin, 1982's Music on Both Sides. Like its predecessor, the album was not a hit.
After this, the band effectively broke up. Birch turned to tour managing, running 'Rock Tours', a sightseeing London Bus venture, producing and writing. In 1990 the original band briefly reformed to contribute a track for the 1991 Brian Wilson tribute album, Smiles, Vibes & Harmony. Birch, Brown and Wicks cut the basic track for "Darlin'" in London; Gower added his parts and mixed it in New York. The same year also saw the US release of Paying for the Summer of Love. Both recordings received great press, but were not enough to outweigh unresolved past issues within the core membership, which effectively killed any possibility of restarting the group. Wicks relocated to the US in 1994 and was writing, recording and performing both solo and with a new incarnation of the band up until 2018.
John Wicks died on October 7, 2018 in Burbank, California.
Teenarama
The Records Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You sure had a lot
To say every night
I thought that a younger girl
Could show me the world
That was right
Co-co-co-cola
The way you smile
The way you wink
Teenarama
Is what you're givin' me
(What you're givin' me)
Teenarama
Injections in the knee
(Injections in the knee)
Teenarama
All that mellow drama
Gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme
Teenarama
I wanted a change of style
To be with a juvenile
For a week
So I rented an apartment
Then you went and lost the key
Sugar candy
Is all you ever eat
You're so skinny
You're so sweet
Teenarama
Is what you're givin' me
(What you're givin' me)
Teenarama
Injections in the knee
(Injections in the knee)
Teenarama
All that mellow drama
Gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme
Teenarama
Monday
School day
You wait
Weeks late
Dirty star
Coffee bar
First bra
Too far
Ahhhh
Co-co-co-cola
Is all you ever drink
The way you smile
The way you wink
Teenarama
Is what you're givin' me
(What you're givin' me)
Teenarama
Injections in the knee
(Injections in the knee)
Teenarama
All that mellow drama
Gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme
Teenarama
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
Gimme, gimme, gimme
Teenarama
The Records’ song “Teenarama” is a catchy pop-rock tune with an underlying meaning that critiques society’s obsession with youth and superficiality. In the song, the singer is tired of his adult life and seeks a break from it, hoping that being with a young, carefree girl will help him escape. However, he soon realizes that this girl’s life, much like the popular drink Coca-Cola she constantly consumes, is full of artificiality and superficiality. The song presents a critical outlook on the youth-obsessed culture, with lyrics like “teenarama is what you’re giving me” and “injections in the knee” suggesting the pressures young people feel to maintain their youthfulness at all costs.
The song also delves into the trials and tribulations of adolescence, with references to experiences like buying your first bra and hanging out at the local coffee bar. The last verse seems to tie together the themes of youth and superficiality, with the repeated refrain of “co-co-co-cola” symbolizing the ultimate superficiality of the youth culture the singer is trying to escape. Overall, “Teenarama” is a cleverly written critique of society’s obsession with youth and external appearances, and it highlights the flaws in the quest for eternal youth.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanted a holiday
I wanted a break from my normal routine
You sure had a lot to say every night
You talked a lot every night
I thought that a younger girl could show me the world that was right
I believed that being with a younger girl would bring excitement and new experiences
Co-co-co-cola is all you ever drink
You only drink Coca-Cola
The way you smile, the way you wink
I find your smile and wink attractive
Teenarama is what you're givin' me (What you're givin' me)
You're giving me a teenage-like experience
Injections in the knee (Injections in the knee)
You're causing me physical pain
All that mellow drama
You're causing unnecessary drama
Gimme gimme gimme gimme, gimme gimme
I want more and more of the teenage-like experience you're giving me
I wanted a change of style to be with a juvenile for a week
I wanted to change my appearance to be with a younger girl
So I rented an apartment, then you went and lost the key
I rented a place to be alone with the younger girl, but then she lost the key
Sugar candy is all you ever eat
You only eat candy
You're so skinny, you're so sweet
You're thin and attractive
Monday, school day, you wait, weeks late
You have to wait a long time to see the younger girl because of school
Dirty star, coffee bar, first bra, too far
These lines do not have a clear meaning
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
I want more and more of the teenage-like experience you're giving me
Contributed by Zoe B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
KELLY Lake
Listened to this album all the time in 1979....I was 21. RIP John Wicks.
packanick
Saw The Records many times, just brilliant. Loved the crisp sound and great guitar drive. Will has a great book on pub rock called No Sleep to Canvey Island.
Nick Lopez
There was a record store in Long Beach, CA called ZED RECORDS that opened up in the late 1970's. It was our first true "Punk & New Wave" record location. I walked in, and they had their first album. Didn't know anything about them (late 1979) but I bought it on a hunch. I must have played it 25X in a row. Just loved their sound. This single should ave been as big as anything "The Romantics " ever did. Just pure Power Pop.
Robert Gonzalez
r.i.p. ZED records. In the early 90's my roommate and I would go up there for records and mexican food 2 doors down at a great place called El Cilantro.
Bunne Rabb
If you haven't, check out Bram Tchaikovsky.
Mike Poitras
I remember Cheap Trick briefly being called power pop when they emerged. This band should have found a far larger audience. Recall hearing this and Starry Eyes on a local radio station which briefly flirted with new wave and punk before going back to mostly mainstream. Too bad for them. Great,underrated band. Thanks.
LEAFYANKEE65
Cheap Trick was the first band I ever saw live, they opened up for KISS in 1977 on the "Love Gun" tour. I was 12 yrs. old, and Cheap Trick blew my mind !I've seen them 7 more times since that first show.My uncle Tommy took me to that show, and he also introduced me to "The Records", and I still listen to their debut album, it stands the test of time !!!
Mark Graham
Will Birch's book is essential reading. Inside story on the kursaals and the records.
Mike Poitras
David Z: Absolutely. Far,far better than the Romantics. No comparison.
mike corbett
why arent these guys more popular there pretty cool and one of rocks best kept secrets