Malvern punk band find themselves stars in the States

11:29am Friday 2nd May 2008

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THE Tights, Malvern's own legendary punk band, have found fame on the other side of the Atlantic with a new generation of teenage fans.

The band, which formed as teenagers themselves at the height of the Punk era, enjoyed a couple of years of success in the late seventies but split in 1979.

Now, more than 25 years later, the, now middle-aged, punks are one of the hottest bands on the US skateboarding scene.

Having reformed "for a laugh" in 2004 the four-man band were oblivious, until recently, that one of their old tracks, Cracked, released in 1978, had been used in a skateboarding film called Beautiful Breakdown.

"The star of the film, celebrity street skater Corey Duffel, chose our song because we were his favourite band," explained Gary Marsden, the band's bass and keyboard player.

The next thing the band knew they were being inundated with emails from American teenagers begging them to release an album and visit the States.

Then an American skate and surf clothing manufacturer, Split usa, offered them a sponsorship deal.

In the seventies the teenage punks had released two singles with Malvern-based Cherry Red records. The first, Bad Hearts, was played by John Peel and went to number 6 in the indie charts. They played gigs at Malvern's Winter Gardens and at pubs and clubs around Worcestershire before moving to London.

The band are currently recording an album for their old label Cherry Red, at GLOW Studios in Colwall which should be available this summer.

And the band are heading for LA in August to play their first ever US concert dates. If you want to hear The Tights - Gary Marsden(bass), Malcolm Orgee(vocals), Robin Banks(guitar) and Robert Hodges(Drummer) - they will be playing their first indoor show in Malvern in 30 years at The Lamb, West Malvern, on Friday, May 9.