The Homosexuals

The Homosexuals
The Homosexuals at SXSW (2009)
Background information
Origin	London, England, UK
Genres	Punk, post-punk
Years active	1978-present
Labels	Lorelei, Black Noise, Recommended Records, Hyped to Death, Serious Business Records, Goldmine Recordings
Website	http://www.astralglamour.com/
Members	Bruno Wizard Ben Harris Tom Oakes John Mathews Charlie Sundown
Past members	Anton Hayman Jim Welton Stevie Savage Susan Vida Joel Amie James Belmonte Glenn Clift Dan Fatel Mike Dos Santos Travis Harrison Dave Siegel Julian Bennett Holmes Jonathan Edelstein

The Homosexuals are an English punk/post-punk band formed in 1978, out of the ashes of previous band The Rejects. The band have been described as "punk visionaries".

The Rejects were formed in the bar of Goldsmith's College in South London in 1976, when ex-Sunderland art school students John Hazzard (real name: John Wilkins) and Glenn Hutchinson recruited Bruno Wizard (real name: Bruno McQuillan) to drum for their nascent band. He in turn introduced them to Howard H, a well known drummer, and as rehearsals got under way, Wizard took on the role of frontman and Hutchinson was sidelined. Wizard then recruited Ian Kane, who added more songs to Hazzard's original set of compositions, and to express his disquiet with the modern world and disappointment with his 1960s heroes. The Rejects played their first gig at punk club The Roxy in January 1977, without a bass player, supporting The Damned and The Vibrators. In the following five months, The Rejects played with Wire, Generation X, The Jam, Eater, 999 and Sham 69 on multiple occasions, with Wizard becoming increasingly confrontational (though no more tuneful) to their audiences. Performances routinely descended into violence, with dates at the Albany in Deptford and Barbarella's in Birmingham confirming the band as a bad risk for PA hire companies.

In the summer of 1977, Hazzard was dropped from the band, going on to form the proto-thrash group Auto da Fe. Wizard recruited Jim Welton on bass for a new lineup of The Rejects, which included David Dus on drums and occasional itinerant guitarists, including Stevie Savage. Dus was the drummer for Wayne County (later to become Jayne) during their 1977 tour of the UK. Wizard set up auditions to find a permanent guitarist, and Anton Hayman was recruited.