1978-'82

Steve Mitchell-vocals,
Rob Thomas-bass ,
Fred Cleary-rythym guitar
Michael Gant-guitar,
Nick Boyle -drums.

 

 

 

mr fripp has layed his guitar on the floor...

Calling themselves the Disco Love Bites, Mike Gant, Fred Cleary , Nick Boyle and Rob Thomas first got together practicing Stooges and Kinks covers, as well as a few of their own compositions such as Two Trains (later covered by the Crash Action Winners) and the long-lost "Trousers" in Robs bedroom in early 1978. By the time Steve Mitchell had been merged into the line-up in September they'd changed their name to What To Wear. Their first gig was at Circles on 5th feb 79, with The Noise and Next Step -review here), Lindsay Next Step said "I enjoyed them but they didn't convince-I mean, trying to find my mainline", and life-long fan Graham Larkbey described the performance as,"one of the worst I've ever seen".

The Autonomes fanzine later had this to say about What to Wear,

"This group are quite popular but I can't find anything good about them.
There is a mass of intulectuall friends or fans who follow them to each gig they play.
This band uses too many big words, lack stage presence & Steve Mitchell sounds too much like Pete Shelly for my liking. They have a sound like velvet underground on a bad day... if you don't believe me listen to the e.p. They have nothing to do with the real world
Thats all.....????"

They were the first Swansea punk band to release a single, the poorly produced Caual But Smart E.P was released in January 1980 to less than critical acclaim. While the music showed promise the record failed to do it justice.( Although the off-centre dish pressing and appalling record cutting didn't help either)

Totally at odds with every other vaguely new wave band in the district, their originally poppy -punk became harder to understand and more complicated, alienating their audiences with songs such as "On the Way Down" and their usual closing number, "All Good Things Come In Pairs"/"MidwichCuckoos" that their audiences, being unable to cope with not leaping and jumping about but rather,expected to sit through half hour sets of two or three songs soon started to avoid their gigs at all costs. (The vast majority of course not having any clue of who, or what, Red Crayola was)

Always hugely unpopular amongst the punk elite they did write some pretty fine pop tunes, most notably "We're The Martians Now" which was released on the "Sex, Violence and The Eternal Truth E.P, "nearly two years after the band had split up) and the very wonderful (and promised but never released) "Mine"

 

 

"on tape"

After releasing two Crash Action Winners singles, Steve went on to form Loop

Steve Gregory, aka Mitchell, (once dubbed as "the mysterious Svengali/auteur behind the Pooh Sticks",) later started Fierce records after making some cash from a Charles Manson LP.

As co-creator of the Pooh Sticks(with Huw Williams) he had a good fifteen minutes worth of fame after taking a running joke and drawing it out over a clutch of albums), three John Peel sessions and a bag chock-full of limited-edition singles from 1988 to 1995.
(Pooh Sticks fan site).He Now resides in Netherlands, selling obscure 7" vinyl to fellow collectors.