Divinyls 1990s: Divinyls duo Who was in the band in the 90s? The drummer for the diVINYLS sessions was Charley Drayton, who became romantically involved with Amphlett: they married in July 1999,
were they the only ones in the band?
Were Charley Drayton and Amphlett the only ones in the band?
In 1991 Divinyls released diVINYLS on Virgin Records and the single "I Touch Myself" which became their only Australian No.1 single. The song reached No. 4 in the US and No. 10 in the UK. The majority of Divinyls' hits were co-written by Amphlett and McEntee, but in this case they wrote with Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. diVINYLS reached No. 5 on the Australian album charts and No. 15 on Billboard Top 200. The drummer for the diVINYLS sessions was Charley Drayton, who became romantically involved with Amphlett: they married in July 1999, and from 2000, lived together in New York. A disagreement with Virgin Records stifled future development outside Australia where they released popular albums and achieved two more top twenty singles with "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" No. 19 in 1992 and "I'm Jealous" No. 14 in 1995. During the 1980s and 1990s Amphlett collaborated as a songwriter with other artists including Chrissie Hynde and Cyndi Lauper, and both Amphlett and McEntee worked on solo projects.  A live album, Divinyls Live, was released in 1991 but Divinyls did not provide another studio album for five years. In the early 1990s they recorded a series of cover songs for various movie soundtracks, including the Young Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), the Wild Ones' "Wild Thing" for Reckless Kelly (1993), and Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug" for Super Mario Brothers (1993).  The song "I Touch Myself" caused such a controversy it had trouble getting airplay in many US-area markets; so much to the point that while performing their song live in Texas at Austin Aqua Fest 1991 the plug was pulled on the band mid-set by organisers. This song is also mentioned in The Guide to Getting it On by Paul Joannides.  It wasn't until 1996 that Underworld, their fifth studio album, was released in Australia by BMG. Despite the success of diVINYLS Virgin had not kept them under contract and BMG did not release Underworld in the US. As with What A Life! they worked with three producers, beginning with Peter Collins recording "I'm Jealous" in Nashville, followed by Keith Forsey for "Sex Will Keep Us Together" and "Heart of Steel". Although "Heart of Steel" was chosen as a single, Divinyls discontinued working with Forsey because according to Amphlett "he was a bit too 'pop' for us" and remaining tracks were produced by their drummer Drayton. By the end of 1996, Amphlett and McEntee had a falling out and separated without formally disbanding Divinyls. CANNOTANSWER
Amphlett and McEntee
Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school uniform and fishnet stockings, and often used an illuminated neon tube as a prop for displaying aggression towards both band members and the audience.
Originally a five-piece, the band underwent numerous line-up changes, with Amphlett and McEntee remaining as core members, before its dissolution in 1996.

In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th-anniversary celebrations, named "Science Fiction" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006 and in late 2007 Amphlett and McEntee reconvened to record a new single and begin working on a new album. The band played a short series of live gigs in Australia in late 2007 and early 2008. Divinyls broke up in 2009 and Amphlett died in 2013.

Divinyls released five studio albums—four placed in the Top 10 Australian chart, while one (Divinyls) reached No. 15 in the United States (US) and No. 33 for 3 weeks in Canada. Their biggest-selling single "I Touch Myself" (1990) achieved a No. 1 ranking in Australia, No. 4 in the United States, No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK), and No. 13 in Canada.

Career

1980s: Formation, Desperate, What a Life! & Temperamental
Amphlett was the cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon Patricia "Little Pattie" Amphlett, who had been married to Keith Jacobsen—younger brother of pioneer rocker Col Joye and leading promoter Kevin Jacobsen. In her autobiography Pleasure and Pain (2005), Amphlett described breaking into the music scene from the age of fourteen, being arrested for busking when seventeen and travelling in Spain, and how her performances drew upon childhood pain.

Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee were introduced by Jeremy Paul (ex-Air Supply) in the car park of a small music venue in Collaroy, Sydney, after Amphlett and Paul had finished a gig with their then band, Batonrouge. Amphlett and McEntee met again at the Sydney Opera House where Amphlett and Paul were singing in a choral concert in 1980. They recruited keyboardist Bjarne Ohlin later in 1980 and drummer Richard Harvey in 1981, respectively, and for almost two years they performed in pubs and clubs in Sydney's Kings Cross. During this time, Paul negotiated publishing and recording agreements that led to the band signing with WEA. Australian film director Ken Cameron saw Divinyls performing in a club. This led to them providing the soundtrack for his 1982 film Monkey Grip and also gave Amphlett, Paul and McEntee supporting roles in the movie. The group released two singles from the soundtrack, Music from Monkey Grip EP, "Boys in Town", which reached No. 8 on the national singles chart, and "Only Lonely". The band was the opening act at the 1983 US Festival.

After the band's initial success, original manager and bassist Jeremy Paul left. He was replaced on bass, briefly by Ken Firth (ex-The Ferrets) and more permanently by Rick Grossman (ex-Matt Finish). Grossman left in 1987 to replace Clyde Bramley in Hoodoo Gurus. By early 1988, Divinyls consisted of Amphlett and McEntee with augmentation by additional musicians when recording or touring.

Over the decade Divinyls released four albums, Music from Monkey Grip EP on WEA in 1982, Desperate on Chrysalis Records in 1983, What a Life! in 1985 and Temperamental in 1988. The latter two albums were also released by Chrysalis in the United States. They had hit singles in Australia with, "Science Fiction" No. 13 in 1983, "Good Die Young" No. 32 in 1984 and "Pleasure and Pain" which was written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman and went No. 11 in 1985. Their later manager Vince Lovegrove organised Divinyls' transfer from WEA to Chrysalis and their first tours of the United States. They established a fan base there, without achieving major commercial success. Divinyls also had Australian hits with cover versions of The Easybeats' "I'll Make You Happy", and Syndicate of Sound's "Hey Little Boy" ("Hey Little Girl" with the gender switched) which reached No. 25 in 1988. Amphlett became a controversial and highly visible celebrity for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.

Image transformation
At the start of their popularity, Divinyls were considered to be a hard rock band. At some point, many fans referred to Amphlett as the female Angus Young, as both had similar mannerisms on stage and wore black-and-white school uniforms while performing in the early 1980s. The band's image gradually changed after the release of the album What a Life! when the band began wearing elaborate clothing and producing more songs in the pop music genre. By the time of the release of their album Temperamental, Divinyls' image had changed to a glamour fashion style where they produced modern pop music.

1990s: diVINYLS & Underworld
In 1991, Divinyls released diVINYLS on Virgin Records and the single "I Touch Myself" which became their only Australian No.1 single. The song reached No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in the United Kingdom. The majority of Divinyls' hits were co-written by Amphlett and McEntee, but in this case they wrote with Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. diVINYLS reached No. 5 on the Australian album charts and No. 15 on Billboard Top 200. The drummer for the diVINYLS sessions was Charley Drayton, who became romantically involved with Amphlett: they married in July 1999, and from 2000, lived together in New York. A disagreement with Virgin Records stifled future development outside Australia where they released popular albums and achieved two more top twenty singles with "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" No. 19 in 1992 and "I'm Jealous" No. 14 in 1995. During the 1980s and 1990s Amphlett collaborated as a songwriter with other artists including Chrissie Hynde and Cyndi Lauper, and both Amphlett and McEntee worked on solo projects.

A live album, Divinyls Live, was released in 1991 but Divinyls did not provide another studio album for five years. In the early 1990s, they recorded a series of cover songs for various movie soundtracks, including the Young Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), the Wild Ones' "Wild Thing" for Reckless Kelly (1993), and Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug" for Super Mario Brothers (1993).

The song "I Touch Myself" caused such a controversy it had trouble getting airplay in many US-area markets; so much to the point that while performing their song live in Texas at Austin Aqua Fest 1991 the plug was pulled on the band mid-set by organisers.

It wasn't until 1996 that their fifth studio album, Underworld, was released in Australia by BMG. Despite the success of diVINYLS, Virgin had not kept them under contract and BMG did not release Underworld in the United States. As with What a Life!, they worked with three producers, beginning with Peter Collins recording "I'm Jealous" in Nashville, followed by Keith Forsey for "Sex Will Keep Us Together" and "Heart of Steel". Although "Heart of Steel" was chosen as a single, Divinyls discontinued working with Forsey because according to Amphlett "he was a bit too 'pop' for us" and remaining tracks were produced by their drummer Drayton. By the end of 1996, Amphlett and McEntee had a falling out and separated without formally disbanding Divinyls.

1998–2005: After the separation
Following Underworld, Amphlett pursued a stage career. In 1998, she played the role of Judy Garland in the Australian stage production of the life story of entertainer Peter Allen, titled The Boy from Oz. The production was a success and Amphlett's interpretation of Garland, during her final troubled years, brought her critical acclaim: she was nominated for the Helpmann Award for 'Best Female Actor in a Musical'.

Amphlett and McEntee concentrated on solo projects and collaborations with other artists. Amphlett and Drayton lived in New York City from 2000, while McEntee ran a clothing label, Wheels and Doll Baby, in Perth with his partner, Melanie Greensmith. In November 2005 Amphlett published her autobiography Pleasure and Pain: My Life co-written with Larry Writer; she detailed her achievements, drug and alcohol abuse, love affairs and triumphs while a member of Divinyls.

2006–2012: Hall of Fame and reformation
On 16 August 2006, Divinyls were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and made their first performance for 10 years at the award ceremony. They reformed shortly afterwards and a compilation, Greatest Hits, was released by EMI Music Australia in August 2006. The band recorded four new songs via a satellite link: Amphlett and Drayton at Palm Studios in Las Vegas and McEntee in Perth. A single and B-side, "Don't Wanna Do This"/"Asphyxiated", was released in November 2007, with a third track, "All Pretty Things", released on a compilation album for the Homebake Festival. Amphlett stated that the band would return to the studio to record a full album provided they "survived" their Homebake headline gig and national tour.

They performed during the Australian Idol grand final at the Sydney Opera House, on 25 November 2007, although their performance of "Boys in Town" (also performed by Idol winner Natalie Gauci) had to be repeated after Network Ten's transmission feed was interrupted. A national tour of Australia followed in December 2007 with a touring band featuring Drayton on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, Charlie Owen on guitar and newest member Clayton Doley on keyboards. Amphlett revealed on 7 December 2007 that she had multiple sclerosis in an interview with Richard Wilkins on Network Nine's A Current Affair—nevertheless, she was looking forward to touring with Divinyls. The next day, Divinyls headlined the Homebake music festival where Amphlett displayed an emotional fragility when attempting to get the crowd to sing along with her. In August 2009, Amphlett announced that Divinyls were finished and she had a new band in New York.

2013–present: Death of Amphlett, McLean and abortive reformation
Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City after a protracted battle with breast cancer since 2010. Amphlett stated that she had been unable to receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy as treatment for the cancer due to her multiple sclerosis. Amphlett's cousin Patricia Thompson announced the news in an official public statement: "Our beloved Chrissy peacefully made her transition this morning. Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity." In 2014, some of Australia's leading female artists came together to cover "I Touch Myself" to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.

In 2017, the band performed a one-off show in Perth with The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi and Jack Moffit joining as guests on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, respectively. McEntee, Grossman and Harvey completed the line-up.

In December 2018, McEntee announced he would be reforming the group with new singer Lauren Ruth Ward, ex-Divinyls guitarist Frank Infante and a new rhythm section for an Australian tour, to begin in 2019. However, this announcement was criticised by Drayton and several fans as an "ultimate disrespect", with Drayton stating that anyone other than Amphlett who fronted the Divinyls should "seek some trustworthy advice". On 6 February 2019, the Australian tour was cancelled.

In early January 2021, former band drummer Warren McLean died.

Band members

Former members
 Chrissy Amphlett — lead vocals (1980–1996, 2006–2009; died 2013)
 Mark McEntee — guitar, occasional keyboards (1980–1996, 2006–2009)
 Charlie Owen — guitar (2006–2009; touring member in 1991)
 Jeremy Paul – bass (1980–1982)
 Rick Grossman — bass (1982–1987)
 Tim Millikan – bass (1988–1989)
 Randy Jackson — bass (1990–1991)
 Jerome Smith – bass (1991–1996, 2006–2009)
 Richard Harvey – drums (1980—1985)
 J. J. Harris — drums (1985–1986)
 Tommy "Mugs" Cain — drums (1987)
 Warren McLean – drums (1988; died 2021)
 Tim Powles – drums (1989)
 Charley Drayton — drums (1990–1996, 2006–2009)
 Bjarne Ohlin – keyboards (1980–1986)
 Kenny Lyon — keyboards (1987)
 Roger Mason – keyboards (1988–1990)
 Benmont Tench — keyboards (1990–1991)
 Clayton Doley — keyboards (2006–2009)

Touring/substitute musicians
 Ken Firth — bass guitar (1982)
 Matthew Hughes – keyboards, bass guitar (1987–1988)
 Frank Infante — guitar (1987)
 Jim Hilbun – bass (1991)
 Lee Borkman – keyboards, guitar (1991)
 Mark Meyer – drums (1991)
 Duane Jarvis – guitar (1988)
 Randy Wiggins – guitar (1993–1995)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums:
 1983: Desperate
 1985: What a Life!
 1988: Temperamental
 1991: Divinyls
 1996: Underworld

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Divinyls were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

|-
| 1991
| "I Touch Myself"
| Single of the Year
| 
|-
| 2006
| Divinyls
| ARIA Hall of Fame
|

Countdown Australian Music Awards
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

|-
| rowspan="3" |1981
| rowspan="2" | "Boys in Town"
| Best Australian Single
| 
|-
| Best Debut Single
| 
|-
| Themselves
| Best New Talent
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1982
| Monkey Grip
| Best Debut Album
| 
|-
| Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls)
| Most Popular Female
| 
|-
|1983
| Desperate
| Best Australian Album
| 
|-
| 1984
| Christina Amphlett - "In My Life" (Divinyls)
| Best Female Performance in a Video
| 
|-

MTV Video Music Awards
Originally beginning as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards were established in the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year.

!Ref.
|-
| rowspan=3|1991
| rowspan=3|"I Touch Myself"
| Video of the Year
| 
| rowspan=3|
|-
| Best Group Video
| 
|-
| Viewer's Choice
|

See also 

 Tony Mott

References

Further reading
 Amphlett, Christina; Larry Writer, (November 2005). Pleasure and Pain: My Life. Sydney : Hachette Livre Australia. .
 Stieven-Taylor, Alison, (15 October 2007). Rock chicks : the hottest female rockers from the 1960s to now. Sydney : Rockpool Publishing. .

External links
 Official MySpace page

1980 establishments in Australia
2009 disestablishments in Australia
APRA Award winners
ARIA Hall of Fame inductees
Australian new wave musical groups
Australian rock music groups
ARIA Award winners
Chrysalis Records artists
Musical groups established in 1980
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Musical groups reestablished in 2006
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups from Sydney
New South Wales musical groups
RCA Records artists
Virgin Records artists
Pub rock musical groups
Female-fronted musical groups
Peter Albert Neil Perrett (born 8 April 1952) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is the singer, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter for the rock band the Only Ones.

Prior to forming the Only Ones, who were initially active between 1976 and 1982, Perrett formed England's Glory whose recordings were finally released in 1987. Following the break-up of the Only Ones, Perrett retreated from public life before forming the One in 1994. The Only Ones reformed in 2007, and Perrett released a solo album, How the West Was Won, in 2017. Humanworld, his second solo album was released on 7 June 2019.

Early years
Peter Albert Neil Perrett was born on 8 April 1952 in Camberwell, south London, Perrett's father was first a police officer in post-war Palestine and then a builder, and his mother was an Austrian Jew. Perrett boarded at Bancroft's School, from where he was expelled at the age of 15 for rebellious behaviour. He was again expelled from his next school, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College, at age 16. He left home after that and learned how to support himself within the London drug scene.

Prior to forming the Only Ones, Perrett had recorded material with England's Glory in 1973. At that time, his singing style was so similar to Lou Reed's that it nearly led NME journalist Nick Kent to believe that he was listening to unreleased Velvet Underground material. Although the band did not officially release any material at the time, an album of demos was released in 1987 due to interest in Perrett's next band, the Only Ones.

Career
Perrett formed the Only Ones in 1976 with his wife Zena as manager. After self-releasing their debut single "Lovers of Today", the band signed a recording contract with CBS Records and released three studio albums: The Only Ones (1978), Even Serpents Shine (1979), and Baby's Got a Gun (1980), before breaking-up in 1982.

Perrett re-emerged in 1994 with a new band called the One. The band released their debut EP Cultured Palate via their manager's record label Dwarf Records, before signing to Demon Records and releasing their debut album Woke up Sticky in 1996. The band split up that same year, with Perrett disappearing again until April 2004 when he made an appearance on stage with the Libertines. He also appeared on stage with his sons Jamie and Peter Jr.'s band Love Minus Zero. Long hiatuses in his music career have been ascribed to his enduring struggles with heroin and crack cocaine addictions.

The Only Ones reunited in 2007, following the use of "Another Girl, Another Planet" in a Vodafone advertising campaign and a subsequent request to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead. The band first played a brief UK tour in April and June of that year, and then continued performing as far afield as Japan through 2009. Despite reports that the band was working on a new album and performing new songs live, including "Dreamt She Could Fly" and "Black Operations" (which the band played on Later... with Jools Holland), the band went on hiatus again without releasing any new material.

After the Only Ones performed in Japan in 2014 without their drummer Mike Kellie, a press release announced that Perrett would play a one-off solo date at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire in January 2015. Perrett played the gig to good reviews with his two sons performing as the backing band.

In April 2017, Perrett announced his debut solo album, How the West Was Won, which was released on 30 June by the  Domino label. Also on Domino, a second solo album was released on 7 June 2019, titled Humanworld. The album was preceded by two official videos, "Once is Enough" and "I Want Your Dreams" in April 2019 and an audio only track titled, "Heavenly Day" in May the same year.

The release of Humanworld was accompanied by a UK tour, which included a reunion of the three remaining members of The Only Ones when Perrett appeared at Somers Town Festival in July 2019.

Personal life
At age 16, Perrett ran away with his girlfriend, Xenoulla "Zena" Kakoulli. They married in 1970. Zena is a clothing designer and was the manager of The Only Ones from 1977–1981. Both suffer from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) as a result of drug abuse.

Perrett now lives in North London.

Discography
Solo
 How the West Was Won (2017)
   Humanworld  (2019)

The Only Ones

 The Only Ones (1978)
 Even Serpents Shine (1979)
 Baby's Got a Gun (1980)

The One
  Woke Up Sticky (1996)

References

External links
Peter Perrett Official Website
The Only Ones Official Website

1952 births
Living people
English male singers
English male singer-songwriters
English rock guitarists
People from Camberwell
The Only Ones members
Singers from London
Musicians from London
British alternative rock musicians
English punk rock singers
English punk rock guitarists
English new wave musicians
Male new wave singers
People educated at Bancroft's School
English male guitarists The Only Ones were an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia.

The Only Ones reformed in 2007 after their biggest hit "Another Girl, Another Planet" experienced a resurgence of public interest. The band completed a comeback UK tour in June 2007, and continued touring throughout 2008 and 2009. New material was recorded in 2009 and played live, but was never released.

History
The Only Ones were originally formed in August 1976 in South London by Peter Perrett. Perrett had been recording demos since 1972, and in late 1975 he was looking for a bass player. He was introduced to John Perry as a possible candidate, but Perry wanted to concentrate on playing guitar instead. By August 1976, Perry and Perrett had found drummer Mike Kellie (ex-Spooky Tooth) and bass guitarist Alan Mair, who previously had huge success with the Scottish band The Beatstalkers. Their first single, "Lovers of Today", self-released on the Vengeance record label, was immediately made "record of the week" by three of the four main music papers. A year later they signed to CBS. Their next single "Another Girl, Another Planet" became a popular and influential song, and remains the band's best-known song. It is often featured on various musical box-sets featuring a punk rock or new wave theme. After its inclusion on the 1991 compilation album The Sound of the Suburbs, it was re-released as a single and reached no. 57 in the UK singles chart.

The band released their debut studio album The Only Ones in 1978, which was well received by both reviewers and fans. The band's follow-up album, Even Serpents Shine, was released the following year. A year later, they released their final studio album, Baby's Got a Gun. In the summer of 1980, they supported the Who on their tour of the United States, and in 1982 the band officially disbanded. In subsequent years, the Only Ones retained a following and their posthumously released records – live performances, BBC Television and radio shows, and compilation albums – now outnumber their studio albums. Unusually, The Only Ones' discs were never deleted from the CBS catalogue and remain in-print.

Reunions
In an interview published in the 10 November 2006 issue of the tabloid newspaper, The Daily Record, Alan Mair commented that he was set to reform The Only Ones after "Another Girl, Another Planet" was used in a Vodafone ad campaign in 2006, and picked up as the introduction theme to Irish DJ Dave Fanning's radio show. On 21 February 2007, Perry confirmed via his MySpace page that the band would reform for a five-date UK tour in June. Besides these dates, they played a number of festivals, debuting at All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England, on 27 April. During the summer, they also played at the two-part Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London, Harewood House, (near Leeds), and the Connect Music Festival at Inveraray Castle in Scotland on 1 September.

News of the tour prompted coverage in several UK national newspapers and the dates were met with positive reviews. During these gigs, the band played a new song called "Dreamt She Could Fly".

The press also reported that three of the band were keen to record a new studio album following the tour, but that Perrett seemed hesitant. In April 2008, the band were seen on Later... with Jools Holland performing their song, "Another Girl, Another Planet", and a new song entitled "Black Operations". The band also played other new songs including "Is This How Much You Care" and "Magic Tablet" live on a Canal+ TV special in Paris and an acoustic/unplugged session for Radio 6 Queens of Noize. A live DVD of the Shepherd's Bush Empire show was released in March 2008. Other rumoured releases included DVDs from a show on the band's last US tour, and a re-release of Faster Than Lightning, which was released on VHS in 1991 and on DVD in 2012.

All three CBS studio albums, remastered by Alan Mair, were re-released with bonus tracks in February 2009. "Another Girl, Another Planet" was used in the film D.E.B.S. (2004), as well as in the 2010 hit film Paul. Sony BMG announced a January 2012 release date for an Only Ones box set in the "Original Album Classics" series. The set comprised the three remastered studio albums, plus various B-sides and out-takes. The Only Ones topped the bill at the 2012 Rebellion Festival in Blackpool on 4 August of that year.

In late 2014, the Only Ones (minus Mike Kellie) played some gigs in Tokyo, co-headlining with the Flamin' Groovies. In August 2014, Perrett began playing solo shows (Felipop festival, Spain) using his sons' band Strangefruit, followed by more dates in 2015 (Hebden Bridge, Bristol, London etc.) with the same formation. The band ceased activity after the death of drummer Mike Kellie, but Perrett, Mair and Perry reunited to play a three-song set in summer 2019

Influence
The band members' musical proficiency distinguished them from most of their peers. Their dominant drug-related lyrical themes on songs such as "Another Girl, Another Planet," and "The Big Sleep," also fit in with the Zeitgeist of the era on both sides of the Atlantic. Perrett and Kellie caught the eye of Johnny Thunders, founding member of the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers, and worked as sidemen on Thunders' solo debut album, So Alone, notably appearing together on the classic "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory". However, drug addiction, particularly heroin use, derailed their career, and singer/guitarist/songwriter Perrett has only sporadically been heard from since the band split in 1982. He briefly resurfaced in the mid 1990s with the album, Woke Up Sticky, and released his debut solo album, How The West Was Won in 2017.

Lead guitarist Perry went on to play as a session guitarist for artists including The Sisters of Mercy, Evan Dando and Marianne Faithfull. More recently, he has written several well received music biographies on the Who's seminal hits compilation Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, the Rolling Stones' double album Exile on Main Street and in 2004, Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. During 2005–2006, he played and recorded with singer-songwriter Freddie Stevenson.

The Only Ones have been influential on the indie rock and alternative rock scenes ever since their initial success, on bands such as The Replacements, Blur, Nirvana, and more recently The Libertines. Several bands have covered their song "Another Girl, Another Planet", including The Libertines (at London Forum with Perrett guesting), The Replacements and Blink 182. Their song "The Whole of the Law" was covered by Yo La Tengo on their album, Painful.

Discography

Studio albums
 The Only Ones (1978)
 Even Serpents Shine (1979)
 Baby's Got a Gun (1980)

References

External links
 

English punk rock groups
English new wave musical groups
Musical groups established in 1976
Musical groups disestablished in 1982
1976 establishments in England
1982 disestablishments in England
Musical groups from London
English power pop groups
English indie rock groups
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Columbia Records artists
Epic Records artists