The origin of Swell Maps goes back to a little gang of six teenage music fanatics inhabiting the town of Solihull, in England’s West Midlands: Jowe Head, Nikki Sudden, Phones Sportsman, Epic Soundtracks, John Cockrill and Richard Earl. Their collective musical tastes embraced a peculiar mixture of styles: T.Rex, Can, Stockhausen, Soft Machine and Sex Pistols. Swell Maps were among the pioneers of the punk ‘Do-It-Yourself’ culture, one of the first bands in that era to start a record label, and they made their first single independently in 1977.

John Peel at BBC Radio One repeatedly played that single, and the band were invited to record three live sessions for his programme “Top Gear”. They also released three more singles and two albums with Rough Trade Records, which topped the Independent Charts. However, the band broke up at their peak in 1980.

Swell Maps’ style was somewhat divisive, perhaps ahead of their time, and many people thought it was too weird and confusing, but the band attracted a loyal following of open-minded listeners. Pleasingly, those strange albums are still widely praised, and they still continue to be bought. The music still attracts new admirers in the twenty-first century, to a new generation of inquisitive music lovers.

There are plans for further performances from the current line-up of the band, which is: Jowe Head (guitar & vocals), Lee McFadden (bass guitar), Lucie Rejchrtova (keyboards) and Jeffrey Bloom (drums). The band are now known as Swell Maps C21, to mark a new era. In keeping with recent practice, guest musicians and singers shall be a common feature of the performances.

https://swellmaps.org/