The Members

(c’76-83) Nick “Nicky Tesco” Lightowlers (vocals), Gary Baker (guitar), Steve Morley (bass), and Steve Maycock (drums).

This Camberley punk band was started by Tesco with Baker in Camberley, along with Morley and Maycock. Maycock was replaced by Clive Parker (drums) early on. In ’76, the band’s first gigs were all in London and Jean Marie “JC” Carroll (vocals / guitar) was invited to join in ’77, with his first gig with the band supporting the UK Subs at the Red Deer, Croydon.

Thanks to an interview with Malcom Wyatt we know that Carroll’s desire to get into music was triggered by T-Rex (Nov ’70) and David Bowie’s (May ’73) gig’s at the Civic Hall, Guildford. Stints in a number of school bands followed and after a chance meeting at The Three Mariners, Bagshot; he and Graham Parker produced a two-track bedroom demo; but clerking at a bank was his lot until The Members.

They put out “Fear on the Streets”, produced by Steve Lillywhite as a demo, which was picked up by Beggars Banquet and put on the labels first release, the punk compilation “Streets” in ’77. “Solitary Confinement”, with its incorporation of reggae, introduced the band’s softening and was their first single. Released on Stiff Records in May ’78, it was produced by Larry Wallis and became record of the week in NME. The promotion for this single is probably what secured The Members the headline slot at Brighton’s Festival Fringe held at Top Rank, Brighton on 16 May ’78 with The Piranhas and Nicky & the Dots in support. A change in personnel kept Tesco, Carroll and Lillywhite, but replaced Morley and Parker with Chris Payne (bass) and Adrian Lillywhite (drums), the brother of the “Fear on the Streets” producer.

Through ’78/’79 the band played the London circuit and toured the UK supporting – along with The Magnets – Eddie and the Hot Rods in ’79 that visited the Civic Hall, Guildford on 26 March ’79, and the Locarno, Portsmouth the next night, the on to Kingswest, Brighton on 28 March ’79. The band would headline the Civic Hall two months later on 13 May. They were getting regular mentions in the music press and championed by John Peel, with two sessions in ’79 and one in ’81. On 26 June ’79 the band headlined at Sheffield University.

In ’78 they had signed to Virgin Records, putting out the bands biggest chart success “The Sound of the Suburbs” – a moniker appropriated by the current ‘punk/new wave/alternative’ night at The Holroyd, Guildford. “Offshore Banking Business”, the follow-up single, was not so well received. The Members’ first album, “At the Chelsea Nightclub” [V2120] was released in ’79 and quickly followed by a second, both on Virgin, titled “1980 – The Choice Is Yours” [V2153] which was recorded with the addition Steve “Rudi” Thomson (sax) and Simon Lloyd (horns / keyboards). We know the band were touring in early ’80, including a visit on 23 April to Routes, Exeter. “1980 – The Choice Is Yours” it turned out was their final album. They toured the US in ’81, with Bruce Springsteen attending their Stone Pony, Asbury Park appearance, and coming backstage after the show; with a reciprocal invite when he come to England. “1980…” was issued in the US as “Uprhythm, Downbeat” in ’82, and it surfaced in the UK a year later, re-titled “Going West”. It carried the singles “Radio,” which made the Top 10 in Australia, and “Working Girl,” the music video for which gave the band exposure on MTV. The band dissolved in ’83, when Tesco left the band following a US tour.

Lillywhite went on to collaborate with Bruce Foxton after The Jam split in ’82, to record what would eventually be known as Touch Sensitive. He then joined the band King in the mid-’80s just before their second album. Lloyd joined the Australian band Icehouse, remaining with them for their charting “Electric Blue” and “Crazy.” Tesco appeared in the film “Leningrad Cowboys Go America” in ’89, about a fictional Russian rock band touring the US; which then actually toured and recorded “Thru the Wire”, written by Tesco. Tesco also worked as a journalist for Music Week and has commented on new releases for BBC 6 Music’s “Roundtable”. Carroll had a solo career and co-ran The Dispensary, Notting Hill Gate with Sophy Lynn from the late ‘80s onward, expanding to four shops popular with the early acid house scene and counting Kylie Minogue as a customer. Carroll also worked as a film and TV score composer with credits for Don Juan DeMarco (’94) and Loch Ness (’96) and a number of music documentaries, plus a prog-rock opera “The Golborne Variations”. Parker went on to form Lopez and the Waveriders after leaving The Members.

In 2007, The Members were reunited at The Inn on the Green, London. In 2008, Carroll, Payne and Nick Cash resumed touring. In 2009 a new single “International Financial Crisis” (a re-write of “Offshore Banking Business”) was released, recorded by Tesco, Carroll, Payne and Bennett. This line also played Glastonbury and Isle of Wight festivals. Carroll, Payne and Rat Scabies (drums) performed from 2010 to 2013, playing over 90 shows including 3 European tours and New Zealand and Australian tours. In 2012, the Members released their fourth studio album, “InGrrLand”, featuring Carroll, Payne, Bennett, Cash and Rat Scabies. In December 2013, Nigel Bennett rejoined the Members. Nick Cash rejoined The Band in 2014, the year they tour the US. In 2015, the band began work on their fifth studio album in studios in London and West Byfleet featuring a nucleus of Carroll, Cash, Payne and Bennett together with guest appearances from Guy Pratt and former The Jam guitarist Steve Brookes. “One Law” was released in early 2016.

It was announced, on 26 February 2022, that Tesco had died, at the age of 67.

Gallery: