The Gents (British band)

The group began as a cover band, playing songs originally recorded by The Who, The Kinks, The Jam, The Lambrettas and Madness, along with original material and other contemporary covers. They attracted attention after winning a competition hosted by EMI, the prize of which was studio time at Abbey Road Studios. The result was their debut single, the double-a-sided "The Faker"/"Le Pink Pantser" in 1981 although not recorded at Abbey Road as they decided to decline the one-single deal which was the prize in favour of recording it themselves back at home in the north. The single was not a commercial success and as the vinyl record was of a limited run copies have sold for up to £100.[1]

The band developed a live following in the UK, playing up to five times a week in working men's clubs in the North and North-East of England. They were particularly appreciated at mod events, including the 100 Club on Oxford Street and also on the 1980s scooterist scene. They released a number of singles which appeared on independent charts in New Musical Express and Melody Maker,[2] but their biggest commercial success, a cover of The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" was the only one to reach the top 100 in the UK singles chart.[3][4]

The Gents were active from 1980 to February 1989, having released nine 7" singles (three with accompanying 12" versions), two vinyl albums and one cassette-only sampler album. They have also appeared on several multi-artist compilation albums over the years. In 1981 the band won a "Battle of the Bands" type competition called the EMI Tetley Supergroup competition, culminating in a final at the Compton Arms in Leeds and resulting in a prize of recording time at Abbey Road Studios in London and a one-single deal with EMI. In the mid-1980s they became involved with the nationwide mod scene through Mark Johnson's The Phoenix Society of London and played at many mod events at this time, plus undertook a national tour known as the "New Direction National Tour", from May to June 1985 and named after their single release of that time. The Gents also played at the Mod-Aid all-day Band Aid charity event at Walthamstow Town Hall on 15.12.85 and were featured on the double vinyl LP recording of that event. They later disavowed Mark Johnson.

From 2010, Detour Records commenced a programme of reissuing the group's albums on the CD format as they had only ever been released on vinyl and cassette at the time of the band's recording career and this led to the band briefly reforming to play a selection of local concerts in South Yorkshire as a three-piece, without founding keyboard player Steve Kendell.[5]

On 13 April 2018, the band played a sold-out concert billed as their final ever, at Birdwell Venue in Barnsley, to launch the final instalment of their CD release schedule, a singles' album in the form of a CD/DVD box set entitled The Rise and Fall of the Gents and also the release of a new 7" vinyl release entitled "The Unfinished Business EP", both released on Detour Records. This concert also marked the return of the previously absent founding keyboard player Steve Kendell to the lineup.