The Diodes
When punk first broke in 1976, The Diodes (Paul Robinson, John
Catto, Ian Mackay, John Hamilton and, later, Michael Lengyell)
were in the front line.
By the time they signed to CBS Records in
August 1977 The Diodes had already run Canada's first punk club
(the legendary Crash 'n' Burn), played CBGB's in New York, and
had been written up in Melody Maker, NME, Creem,
Billboard and
the Toronto Star .
Their self-titled debut album was released in
October 1977, and their single, Red Rubber Ball (a revved up
version of The Cyrkle's 60's hit) was the first new wave single
on the Canadian charts. The LP was released in France, Sweden,
Germany, Holland, and was a top selling import in the USA and the
UK.
In November 1977, The Diodes headlined the notorious Max's
Kansas City in New York with Wendy O' Williams from The
Plasmatics introducing them on stage.
During a 1978 US tour, the
group released the single Tired Of Waking Up Tired . It rocketed
onto US radio stations including KROQ (Los Angeles), KSJO (San
Jose) and WTBS and WBCN (Boston), and - as an import - made it to
Number 36 on the Sounds ' Best of 78' chart. The NME hailed the
single and respected rock critics Jon Savage and Greg Shaw called
it a "classic track".
The Diodes remained an active
force on the Canadian and US music scene, touring with the likes
of U2, The Ramones , Talking Heads, Ultravox and The Cramps, and
played a key role in the development of the Canadian alternative
music scene.
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