TONIGHT: Power Pop Beginnings 1978
editTonight[1] were a 5 piece New Wave band, from Southend-On-Sea, Essex. Although only active beween June '77 to Jan '79, they played an integral part in the ever-changing music scene in the late '70's. Tonight along with The Rich Kids, were the first acts to be labelled as Power Pop, a new UK music genre term in Jan '78, first mentioned by Charles Catchpole in the Evening Standard (17/01/78}. The term was borrowed from Pete Townshend's description of The Who's music in 1967, and in 1978 put foward as a musical term, by the press/promotion office at WEA in London, to describe thier new upcoming acts. As Punk morphed into New Wave/Power Pop (Dec '77 - Jan '78) Tonight were there, scoring the first hit for the genre (Feb '78), with a single called Drummer Man reaching No.14 in the charts, thier next single Money (That's Your Problem) charted just outside the top 30, two more singles were released + an unreleased album. The Tonight guitar sound was bright, cutting & jangly, the songs were very melodic & snappy, with tempos played at a brisk pace. A perfect example of the Power Pop genre, as it was originaly described in 1978.
Musicians Involved
editChris Turner - Lead Vocals & Songwriter / Phil Chambon - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals & Songwriter / Dave Cook - Lead Guitar / Russ Strothard - Bass & Backing Vocals / Gary Thompson - Drums / Andy Arthurs - Producer & Songwriter