The Prats
Edinburgh 1978 - the spirit of punk hit high school as four friends got together to form The Prats.
Paul McLaughlin, David Maguire, Greg Maguire and Tom Robinson were then aged between 12 and 14, and while their instruments were basic - including a cardboard drum kit - their enthusiasm carried them through.
The band quickly produced a demo tape and sent it to Edinburgh's legendary indie label Fast Product (early home of the Human League). This led to the band's debut on the Fast EP Earcom 1, which featured a number of up and coming bands.
A series of singles then followed, including "General Davis" - now featured in the opening titles of Hollywood blockbuster, The Manchurian Candidate - and "Die Todten Reyten Schnell" - released on a German indie label.
A number of line-up changes then saw Elspeth McLeod joining to provide additional guitar (including on the single General Davis) with Jeff Maguire taking over bass duties from Tom Robinson.
We're 1990s pop!:
The late John Peel was a fan and long time supporter of The Prats. In 1979 the band recorded a Peel session, which the broadcaster played with considerable enthusiasm. "... this session has put me in a good mood for the rest of the weekend... it's terrific...a great session!" as he said at the time.
The legendary broadcaster also offered his fee from a DJing appearance to finance a single release.
1980 saw the release of The 1990s Pop EP on Rough Trade Music. The seminal EP contained four tracks - Disco Pope, Nothing, TV Set and Nobody Noticed. Disco Pope received significant airplay, particularly from John Peel and is still a college radio favourite in the US.
In 2003 the track featured on Rough Trade Shops' compilation CD - Post Punk Volume 1.
The end of school in 1981 meant the end of the Prats. “Bands are like marriages between four people,” Paul reflects. “You just stop getting on with each other.”
Paul McLaughlin, now living in Chelmsford, released one solo single, "Party Girl", then gave up on music and eventually became an executive with the National Union of Journalists; Dave, Jeff, Greg, Tom and Elspeth all live in the Edinburgh area.
A new chapter:
2004 began a new chapter in the history of The Prats when Hollywood director Jonathan Demme selected General Davis for the opening credits of his blockbuster The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.
The song's appearance on the soundtrack has led to a resurgence of interest in The Prats, and a compilation CD, 'Now that's what I call Prats music' was released by One Little Indian in 2005. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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