Eater

Eater were an early British punk band from London who took their name from a Marc Bolan lyric. In 2001, the band’s second single, "Thinking of the USA" (originally released in June 1977), was included in a leading British music magazine’s list of the best punk-rock singles of all-time. In 1999, the track also re-appeared on the five CD box set ‘1-2-3-4: A History of Punk & New Wave’ (MCA Records / Universal Music Group). The band was formed in 1976 by four high school friends; Anglo-Egyptian singer and guitarist Andy Blade (real name: Ashruf Radwan), Brian Chevette (guitar), Roger “Dee Generate” Bullen (drums) and Ian Woodcock (bass). The band's name came from the song ‘Suneye’, taken from the 1970 album T. Rex: “Tree wizard puretongue, The digger of holes, The swan king, The Elf lord, The eater of souls. Lithon the black, The rider of stars, Tyrannosaurus Rex, The eater of cars”. Later they recorded a cover version of T-Rex's "Jeepster." Despite originating in north London, the band made its first public performance in Manchester, featuring The Buzzcocks as their support act. Eater’s live set at this gig, back in November 1976, was built mainly around speeded-up versions of Velvet Underground and David Bowie songs such as "Queen Bitch" and "Sweet Jane". Closer to home, the band became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of the now-legendary Roxy Club. They topped the bill twice in January 1977, the second time they were supported by The Damned. They headlined again in February, this time supported by Johnny Moped, and twice more in March, supported first by The Lurkers and then by Sham 69.