The Motors

The Motors
The Motors: Andy McMaster, Nick Garvey, Ricky Slaughter (Richard Wernham), Bram Tchaikovsky (Peter Bramall)
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Pub rock, power pop, new wave
Years active	1977–1982
Labels	Virgin Records, Atlantic Records
Associated acts	Bram Tchaikovsky
Past members	Nick Garvey Andy McMaster Ricky Slaughter Rob Hendry Bram Tchaikovsky Martin Ace Terry Williams

The Motors were a British pub rock band, formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter. Their biggest success was with the McMaster penned song "Airport", a number 4 UK hit single in 1978.

Having left Ducks Deluxe in early 1975, Garvey formed a band called The Snakes with Slaughter and vocalist Robert Gotobed, who would later form the punk band, Wire. The group released only one single before splitting up. At the suggestion of his manager, Richard Ogden, Garvey formed his own band. He began recording demos with former bandmate Andy McMaster in January 1977. The Motors' debut live performance was at the Marquee Club in March 1977, and they recorded three songs for John Peel's weekly BBC Radio 1 show the same month (22 March 1977).

By May they had been signed to Virgin Records, and recorded material for another John Peel session on 12 September of that year. The Motors' original recording line-up released two albums, both of which met with modest success; 1 released in October 1977 and Approved by the Motors the following year.

Their first single "Dancing the Night Away", which was released in September 1977 reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart. Two other sizeable hits followed. In 1978, the band released "Airport" – which proved to be the band's biggest seller – and which peaked at number 4. The song was also a minor hit in the United States. The follow-up, "Forget About You", was released two months later.