The Flys - Me And My Buddies (1980)

The Flys evolved from Coventry band Midnight Circus, which comprised Dave Freeman on guitar and vocals, Joe Hughes on bass, Neil O'Connor on guitar and keyboards, and a string of unnamed drummers. In 1976 their manager's brother, Pete King, joined on drums, and following a name change to The Flys they found themselves regularly opening for Manchester punks Buzzcocks. In late 1977, with Lyn Dobson on saxophone, they self-released the 'Bunch Of Five' EP, and the record caught the attention of EMI Records, in particular the track 'Love And A Molotov Cocktail', leading to a record deal with the label. Their initial release on EMI featured two tracks from the 'Bunch Of Five' EP, 'Love And A Molotov Cocktail' and 'Can I Crash Here?"' along with new track 'Civilisation', and the record garnered some positive reviews. In April they released 'Fun City' as a single, with another new track, 'E.C.4.', on the flip, and this was followed in October by the release  of their debut album 'Waikiki Beach Refugees'. The group spent early 1979 sharing the bills with such acts as The Psychedelic Furs, The Pretenders, and Black Slate, and it was around this time that Pete King left the band and was replaced on drums by Graham Deakin. Their second LP, 'Own', was released on 11 October 1979 and contained fourteen new tracks, but it was their last release on EMI, as the lack of chart success for any of their records prompted a move to Parlophone Records. In 1980 they released the EP 'Four From The Square', which included two songs from the last album plus two tracks from an aborted single release of 'Energy Boy', and then a final single, 'What Will Mother Say?' came out before they disbanding later in the year. Although they were rooted in the 1970's British punk scene, and influenced by The Damned and Buzzcocks, their music always had a power-pop element to it, and so they didn't really fit in either the punk or the new wave scene, and consequently are often overlooked. Hopefully this collection of non-album singles and b-sides will bring them to the attention of a wider audience. 

Track listing

01 Love And A Molotov Cocktail (from the 'Bunch Of Five' EP 1977) 
02 Can I Crash Here (from the 'Bunch Of Five' EP 1977) 
03 Me And My Buddies (from the 'Bunch Of Five' EP 1977) 
04 Just For Your Sex (from the 'Bunch Of Five' EP 1977) 
05 Civilization (b-side of 'Love And A Molotov Cocktail' 1978)
06 E.C.4 (b-side of 'Fun City' 1978)
07 Name Dropping (single 1979)
08 Fly V. Fly (b-side of 'Name Dropping)
09 We Are The Lucky Ones (single 1979)
10 Living In The Sticks (b-side of 'We Are Lucky Ones')
11 Lois Lane (from the 'Four From The Square' EP 1980)
12 Today Belongs To Me (from the 'Four From The Square' EP 1980)
13 I'll Survive (John Peel session 1979)
14 What Will Mother Say? (single 1980)
15 Undercover Agent Zero (b-side of 'What Will Mother Say?')