APB

APB is a Scottish post-punk band, formed in 1979 (reformed 2006), in the town of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland that successfully blended funk-rock, punk rock and New Wave music. The group had only modest success during its brief run, yet their influence can be heard in the sound of such current bands as Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Ignoring their remote location the boys took inspiration from the punk do it yourself ethic of the burgeoning independent music scene.

APB is a Scottish post-punk band, formed in 1979 (reformed 2006), in the town of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland that successfully blended funk-rock, punk rock and New Wave music. The group had only modest success during its brief run, yet their influence can be heard in the sound of such current bands as Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Ignoring their remote location the boys took inspiration from the punk do it yourself ethic of the burgeoning independent music scene. With a hard-working approach to writing, rehearsing and performing, George Cheyne (drums), Glenn Roberts (guitar) and Iain Slater (bass, vocals) became APB.

Meanwhile in Aberdeen, a small independent record company called Oily had started to release records and they were impressed enough by the band's live shows to release a single in 1981. The song was "Chain Reaction", which had long been a favourite at gigs. It was basically a two and a half minute punk/pop song with fuzzy distorted guitar and Scottish inflected vocals, but already the band was evolving with a sparser and more rhythmical sound. Bootsy, Clinton, GO4, ESG, Buzzcocks, Clash, were all filtered through three teenagers from Aberdeenshire and came out as infectious and rhythm-driven pure ! The change in sound first became evident with their second single for Oily, "I'd Like To Shoot You Down" (1981).

The single did well and sold out its first pressing, with some copies finding their way to New York City. Soon it was regularly played at most of NYC's underground dance clubs.Unaware of the poplularity of 'Shoot You Down' in the USA the band and Oily were busy pushing their third seven-inch, "Palace Filled With Love" (1982). 2011 saw a new mini album called "Jaguar" on Jim Shepherd (Jasmine Minks label) OATCAKE RECORDS. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..