London, UK · punk

Eater

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Punk's original teenagers — the band members were barely fifteen when the first wave broke, and the songs still sound like a school-night escape.

Eater formed in 1976 among four school friends from Finchley in North London: singer and guitarist Andy Blade, guitarist Brian Chevette, and Blade's brother on drums, going by Social Demise. The name came from a Marc Bolan lyric describing "Tyrannosaurus Rex, the eater of cars," and the band later recorded a cover of T. Rex's "Jeepster."

Members were between fourteen and seventeen when the group started. Drummer Dee Generate, who took over from Social Demise and was around fourteen, and bassist Ian Woodcock, who joined in time for their first London show in November 1976, filled out the lineup. Their first gig anywhere had been at Manchester's Holdsworth Hall that September, supported by the Buzzcocks.

The band became regulars at London's Roxy Club, topping the bill there several times in early 1977, and contributed two tracks to the club's live compilation, The Roxy London WC2. Singles including "Outside View" and "Thinkin' of the USA" followed, along with an album that year; "Thinkin' of the USA" was later named among the best punk rock singles of all time by Mojo magazine.

The music itself is fast, short and unadorned, built from basic chord changes and shouted vocals, with debts to the pub-rock and glam records the members had grown up on.

Eater split before the decade was out but have reconvened periodically, including a 2022 version led by Andy Blade alongside the band JoJo & The Teeth. Their early recordings remain fixtures of first-wave punk collections.

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