Blitzkrieg Bop

Blitzkrieg Bop were an English punk rock band formed in Teesside, England in February 1977. They were named after a song by the Ramones with the same name. They released three singles. These were "Let's Go"/ "Bugger Off" / "9 Till 5" (Mortonsound – June 1977); "Let's Go" (re-recorded) / "Life Is Just A So-So" / "Mental Case" (Lightning – December 1977); and "(You're Like A) UFO" / "Viva Bobby Joe" (Lightning – September 1978). A collection of all these tracks, plus other unreleased material, was released in 1998 entitled Top of the Bops (Overground), but it is currently out of print. Career The core line-up of the band (John Hodgson aka Blank Frank, Alan Cornforth aka Nicky Knoxx & Damian (Dimmer) Blackwell aka Telly Sett) evolved from a rock band called Adamanta Chubb who started in 1974. After several false starts and many line-up changes this trio finally emerged as Blitzkrieg Bop in February 1977, joined in line-up No. 1 by Mick Hylton (aka Mick Sick) and Anne Hodgson (aka Gloria, no relation to John Hodgson). An eight-week residency at the Speedway Hotel cemented their local reputation. Buoyed by their local success they recorded their debut single "Let's Go" / "Bugger Off" / "9 Till 5", and released a limited run of 500 copies in early June 1977. By this time guitarist Dimmer Blackwell had left. The band decided to carry on as a four piece. The single sold out within days and received some favourable reviews in the national music papers, most notably the NME. Keith Yershon of Lightning Records read this review and asked the band to re-record the A-side for their second single, together with two new songs for the B-side, "Life Is Just A So-So" and "Mental Case".