999

小簡(jiǎn)介
One of the longest-lived groups of the punk era, 999 formed in London in December 1976. Led by vocalist/guitarist Nick Cash, a onetime student at the Canterbury College of Art under the tutelage of Ian Dury and a former member of the pub rock units Kilburn and the High Roads, the band also included guitarist Guy Days, bassist Jon Watson, and drummer Pablo LaBrittain. After dispensing with a series of names — including 48 Hours, the Fanatics, and the Dials — 999 quickly established themselves as a popular fixture on the London punk circuit, issuing their incendiary debut single, Im Alive, on their own LaBrittain Records in late 1977.
The single won the quartet a deal with United Artists, who issued both Nasty Nasty and Emergency in 1978; an eponymously titled LP debut, produced by Andy Arthurs, followed later in the year. For their sophomore effort, 1978s Separates, 999 enlisted producer Martin Rushent, resulting in a more polished, mainstream veneer for material like the near-hit Homicide and High Energy Plan. After LaBrittain suffered injuries in a vehicular accident, drummer Ed Case was brought in to pick up the slack for a major U.S. tour preceding the release of 1980s The Biggest Prize in Sport; issued a short time later, The Biggest Tour in Sport EP collected
material recorded live during the groups American dates.
A healthy LaBrittain rejoined 999 full-time for 1981s Concrete, an album buffered by covers of Lil Red Riding Hood and Fortune Teller — an indication that the groups wellspring of creativity was running dry.
1983s 13th Floor Madness was universally panned for its disco-like grooves, although 1985s self-released Face to Face was acclaimed as a melodic return to form. At the end of the year, Watson exited the groups ranks and was replaced by bassist Danny Palmer in time to record 1987s Lust, Power, and Money, a live set cut in London.
Palmer left the band in 1991, replaced by former Lurkers member Arturo Bassick (aka Peter Arthur Billingsly), who has remained with the band since. In 1993, 999 returned with their first studio album in eight years, You Us It! Though the material didnt quite reach the heights of their
earlier releases, it certainly proved that the band was still vital and alive. Further live performances throughout the rest of the decade (at punk festivals and mini-tours) cemented the fact that the band was here to stay.