Masters of The Backside

Masters of the Backside was an early British punk rock group. They never released a recording or performed beyond practice sessions, but the group's members went on to greater success: Chrissie Hynde later fronted The Pretenders, and Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, and Rat Scabies all became founding members of The Damned. Dave Zero was the only other member.

The band was managed by future Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, who wanted to create a band with the musical sound of The Ramones and the style of former Television member Richard Hell, both of whom he had seen perform at CBGB.

They broke up before playing live or recording any material after the members became tired of McLaren's need to control their activity. McLaren had more success with his second band, the Sex Pistols, and Hynde eventually joined the Pretenders while Vanian, Sensible, and Scabies teamed up with former London SS member Brian James to form The Damned.

Masters of the Backside has since gone on to attain semi-legendary status among the punk community alongside bands like the London SS, The Flowers of Romance, and The Subterraneans.

It is unclear when the band began using the name "Masters Of The Backside" as The Damned acknowledge many of their members first performed together in a group with Hynde but they refer to the project as being unnamed.

The Damned

Dave Vanian

  • Captain Sensible
  • Stu West
  • Monty Oxy Moron
  • Pinch
  • Brian James
  • Rat Scabies
  • Lu Edmunds
  • Algy Ward
  • Paul Gray
  • Roman Jugg
  • Bryn Merrick
  • Henry Badowski
  • Kris Dollimore
  • Alan Lee Shaw
  • Moose Harris
  • Patricia Morrison
  • Jon Moss
  • Lemmy
Studio albums
  • Damned Damned Damned
  • Music for Pleasure
  • Machine Gun Etiquette
  • The Black Album
  • Strawberries
  • Phantasmagoria
  • Anything
  • Not of This Earth
  • Grave Disorder
  • So, Who's Paranoid?
Live albums
  • Live Shepperton 1980
  • Live at Newcastle
  • The Captain's Birthday Party
  • Not the Captain's Birthday Party?
  • Final Damnation
  • Ballroom Blitz – Live at the Lyceum
  • Molten Lager
  • Live at the 100 Club
Compilation albums
  • Light at the End of the Tunnel
  • The Radio One Sessions
  • Smash It Up: The Anthology 1976–1987
EPs
  • Friday 13th EP
  • Testify
Singles
  • "New Rose"
  • "Neat Neat Neat"
  • "Stretcher Case Baby"
  • "Problem Child"
  • "Don't Cry Wolf"
  • "Love Song"
  • "Smash It Up"
  • "I Just Can't Be Happy Today"
  • "White Rabbit"
  • "The History of the World (Part 1)"
  • "There Ain't No Sanity Clause"
  • "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde"
  • "Wait for the Blackout"
  • "Lovely Money"
  • "Dozen Girls"
  • "Lively Arts"
  • "Generals"
  • "Thanks for the Night"
  • "Grimly Fiendish"
  • "The Shadow of Love"
  • "Is It a Dream?"
  • "Eloise"
  • "Gigolo"
  • "Anything"
  • "Alone Again Or"
  • "In Dulce Decorum"
  • "Fun Factory"
  • "Prokofiev"
  • "Shut It"
  • "Little Miss Disaster"
Associated acts
  • Masters of the Backside
  • London SS
  • The Lords of the New Church
  • Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords
  • Naz Nomad and the Nightmares
Related articles
  • Discography
  • Stiff Records
  • Chiswick Records
  • Bronze Records
  • Nitro Records

Famous quotes containing the words masters of, masters and/or backside:

    Men at some time are masters of their fates,
    The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
    But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    To be an editor, as I was.
    Then to lie here close by the river over the place
    Where the sewage flows from the village,
    And the empty cans and garbage are dumped,
    And abortions are hidden.
    —Edgar Lee Masters (1869–1950)

    Every man has his moral backside which he refrains from showing unless he has to and keeps covered as long as possible with the trousers of decorum.
    —G.C. (Georg Christoph)