Happy Refugees
| Happy Refugees | |
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The Happy Refugees lineup that released Last Chance Saloon, photographed in 1982. From left: Paul Johnston, Nick Flynn, Tim Shutt, Kevin Rodgers, Paul Lamb, Paul Harvey.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, Lo-fi, DIY |
| Years active | 1981–1986, 2010–present |
| Labels | Gymnasium, Acute |
| Associated acts | The Pits / Garage Class, The Hotel Complex, Pauline Murray, Penetration |
| Website | www |
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| Past members |
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Happy Refugees are a British post-punk band from London, formed in 1981. The band are noted for their quirky mix of DIY garage rock, shambling post-punk, and delicate introspection. They are considered to be one of the last bands of the DIY era, and have been compared to The Fall, Swell Maps, and Captain Beefheart.
After leaving Stoke-based group The Pits in 1980, Tim Shutt moved to London. In February 1981, he decided to rerecord two of The Pits' songs: "Hamburger Boy", and "Switch". Phil Bourne and Dave Robbins from The Colors Out of Time played guitar and bass for the session, Shutt's then-housemate Kevin Rodgers filled in on drums, and an old bandmate of Shutt's, Paul Johnston, came along to help out. This recording was to be the beginning of Happy Refugees.
Shutt has since explained their choice of name: "I [liked] the idea of us all being refugees from something. 'Happy' was added to the band name. [Paul Johnston] was adamant that it should not have 'The' added. The name of the band was to be Happy Refugees."
The band was initially a four-piece, made up of Shutt, Johnston, and Rodgers, with a friend from college, Paul Lamb, playing bass. Their first formal release as a group was the double A-sided single Warehouse Sound / Enshrined in a Memory in 1982. It was released on their own imprint, Gymnasium Records, and distributed by Red Rhino, a member of the Cartel. This first single was met with acclaim, albeit underground. Nick Flynn and Paul Harvey joined later that year on keyboard and guitar, and the band began to write material for their first studio album, Last Chance Saloon, as well as playing in clubs around London. Last Chance Saloon was recorded in a single day in May 1983 to save money, and was released in early 1984.
Although the band split up weeks after recording the album, Shutt and Johnston carried on performing under the Happy Refugees moniker until 1986. Rodgers and Flynn formed their own band with their friend Clive Williams, called The Hotel Complex, while Harvey moved to Newcastle to join Pauline Murray's band, and was later to join the reformed Penetration in 2001.
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