Desperate Bicycles

Desperate Bicycles were an English punk band who released a series of independent recordings in the late 1970s and inspired many other bands to do likewise. The Desperate Bicycles pioneered the do-it-yourself ethic of punk, adopting a proselytising role exemplified by their ardent exhortation: "it was easy, it was cheap – go and do it!". The group have been described as "DIY's most fervent evangelists".

The Desperate Bicycles formed in March 1977 "specifically for the purpose of recording and releasing a single on their own label". The band initially consisted of Nicky Stephens (keyboards), Roger Stephens (bass), Danny Wigley (vocals), Mel Oxer, (drums) and Paul LeClerc (guitar). The band's name derives from a passage in J. B. Priestley’s 1930 novel Angel Pavement:

Turning into Angel Pavement from that crazy jumble of buses, lorries, drays, private cars, and desperate bicycles…

In October 1978 vocalist Danny Wigley expressed the motivation driving the Desperate Bicycles' independent stance: "The biggest hurdle is just believing you’ve still got some control over your life, that you can go out and do it".

In March 1977 the Desperate Bicycles booked a studio at Dalston in East London to record their first single. The band possessed only an amp and a bass-guitar and the studio supplied the other instruments and equipment; "with a lot of courage and a little rehearsal" they recorded two songs, "Smokescreen" and "Handlebars". The first record was released in August 1977 as an edition of 500 pressings on the band’s own Refill Records label. The records cost £153 to produce, which comprised the three hours studio time, the price of pressing and the sleeves. The record was unusual in that it featured the same tracks on both sides and was a mono recording. The song "Handlebars" ends with the Desperate Bicycles' strident DIY rallying cry "it was easy, it was cheap - go and do it!". Roger Stephens and Danny Wrigley hawked the "Smokescreen" single around the small independent record shops, and distributors such as Virgin and Rough Trade. The first pressing sold out within four months resulting in a profit to the band of £210. Using this money a second pressing of 1,000 was made, which sold out in a fortnight. The profit from that was used to finance the pressings of the Desperate Bicycles' second single.

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