The Whole Nine Yards Ep 289 9.8.26 We’re going down the pub – Shambolic: British Pub Rock 1975-85

The Whole Nine Yards Ep 289 

With Roy Stannard

On Mid Sussex Radio 103.8FM

Sunday 9 August 2026  3-5pm

www.midsussexradio.co.uk/listen

We’re going down the pub – shambolic British rock

British Pub Rock wasn’t a movement that arrived with a manifesto – it stumbled in from the car park, ordered a pint, plugged straight into the wall socket and started playing. Before punk, before new wave, before the industry realised what was about to hit it, Pub Rock was already there: loud, local, unpretentious, and committed to make Friday night feel like a minor revolution.

This week on The Whole Nine Yards, we’re heading back into that world – sticky carpets, nicotine ceilings, and bands who played like their lives depended on it. The soundtrack comes from the back rooms of pubs across London, Essex, Sussex and beyond, where groups like Dr Feelgood, Eddie & The Hot Rods, The Inmates, The Motors and Sham 69 forged a raw, high‑energy British sound that shaped what came next.

So grab a stool, lean on the bar, and let’s go down the pub.

HOUR 1

Sham 69 – Hurry Up Harry (That’s Life, 1978)

The Faces – Pool Hall Richard (Single, 1973)

Ian Hunter – Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Ian Hunter 1975)

Radio Stars – Johnny Mekon (Songs for Swinging Lovers, 1977)

The Motors – Dancing the Night Away (Approved by the Motors, 1978)

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Giddy Up a Ding Dong (The Penthouse Tapes, 1976)

Yachts – Suffice to Say (Yachts, 1979)

The Outsiders – On the Edge (Close Up, 1978)

La Peste – I Don’t Know Right from Wrong (La Peste EP, 1978)

Miss Ludella Black – You Don’t Know Right from Wrong (Single, 1999)

Dave Edmunds – A1 on the Jukebox (Get It, 1977)

The Inmates – (I Thought I Heard a) Heartbeat (First Offence, 1979)

Dirty Looks – Let Go (Turn It Up, 1981)

HOUR 2

Brian Spence – Reputation (Reputation, 1985)

Secret Affair – My World (Soho Dreams, 1980)

999 – English Wipeout (Separates, 1978)

The Romantics – Rock You Up (In Heat, 1983)

Staa Marx – Crazy Weekend (Single, 1979)

The Records – Starry Eyes (Shades in Bed, 1979)

Chris Spedding – Lone Rider (I’m Not Like Everybody Else, 1977)

Rose Tattoo – All the Lessons (Southern Stars, 1984)

The Members – Sally (Uprhythm, Downbeat, 1982)

Department S – I Want (Is Vic There? EP, 1981)

The Ruts – Something That I Said (The Crack, 1979)

Dr Feelgood – Down at the Doctors (Private Practice, 1978)

Eddie & The Hot Rods – Beginning of the End (Life on the Line, 1977)