CLEM BURKE | GLEN MATLOCK
JAMES STEVENSON | GARY TWINN
When members of Blondie, Sex Pistols, Generation X and Twenty Flight Rockers form a band you know something exciting is coming together!!
All The Cats Recordings release on May 6th 2016 the bands self-titled debut album.
This 12 track album was recorded at Studio 606 in L.A. and mixed by Peter Walsh (Simple Minds, Pulp, Scott Walker). The songs are written by the four members of the band.
The ‘Gun Control’ single precedes this album release, a video for that can be seen here
The album cover is used in a scene in the ‘London Has Fallen’ blockbuster movie due out in March. It’s on a billboard in Times Square as the action passes. Still shot below.
Quotes from the band……
Clem Burke – drummer. “The Swingers are a group of long time mates, no one answered an advert to be in this band.”
Glen Matlock – bass. “The guys are the mustard.”
James Stevenson – guitarist. “Apparently according to journalist Mick Mercer I’ve been in 72% of all known bands…..but I only have one favourite band.”
Gary Twinn – singer. “For me being in The International Swingers is a lot like being in your first ever band. When you’re at school you hang out with your best mates and someone says “I’ve got drums so you be the guitarist, and you be the bass player, and you’ve got no instrument so you’ll have to be the singer”. That’s what it was like with us because we were already mates and used to hang out together, then one day I asked the others if they wanted to start a band to go on holiday to Australia. Clem plays drums, James plays guitar and Glen plays bass, and I can sing a bit. Sorted. Only difference was I had guitar too.”
Here’s the history of the band……
The International Swingers is a rock and roll group of the most electric individuals (Clem Burke – Blondie, Glen Matlock – Sex Pistols, James Stevenson – Gen X and Gary Twinn -Twenty Flight Rockers) ever to share the same stage.
Inductee members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and proprietors of rock and roll battlefield scars, The International Swingers are warriors of the punk/new wave/glam era who led onslaughts upon the pop charts with hit songs (despite being infamously banned from the radio).
Glen Matlock is best known for his indelible contributions to rock and roll history as the original Sex Pistols bass player and songwriter. Glen has worked with the Godfather of punk, Iggy Pop, The Damned, and rock-a-billy’s Robert Gordon. While pursuing his own distinctive direction where melodic and inventive rock music thrives, Glen toured with the resurrected Sex Pistols and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, along with Blondie. In 2010 Glen released “Born Running,” arguably his finest, and also joined the reformed Faces as bassist.
Clem Burke is the legendary drummer for Blondie. Clem remained with Blondie since its inception and later returned for its reunion and extensive 2009 – 2011 tour. While Blondie was on hiatus in the 80s and 90s, Clem performed with folk icon Bob Dylan, Eurythmics, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, country star Wanda Jackson, Nancy Sinatra, The Romantics, Pete Townshend, Dramarama, and The Fleshtones, amongst others.
Clem’s signature beats have been ingrained in pretty much every vein of rock and roll history. He even had a short gig as drummer for The Ramones, as “Elvis Ramone.” Clem was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 along with his other Blondie bandmates.
James Stevenson got his first taste of playing guitar professionally when he joined punk band Chelsea in March 1977 whilst still at school. While gigging only a few weeks in England, this baptism of fire stood him in good stead for a lifelong career as a guitarist. James has brought his distinctive rock n’ roll guitar sound to the rescue and revival of many, including Billy Idol’s Generation X, The Cult, The Alarm and Gene Loves Jezebel becoming a permanent GLJ member and co-writer of hit songs such as ‘Jealous’.
In the 80’s – thanks to MTV – James was somewhat of a heart throb with his wild guitar wielding on Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America” video which made the Gibson Les Paul his trade mark. In 2014 he released his solo album ‘Everything’s Getting Closer To Being Over’ featuring an array of guest musicians. Most recently, he has been a member of Woody Woodmansey’s Holy Holy along with Tony Visconti, Glenn Gregory and Marc Almond.
Gary Twinn spent his teenage years in Australia where he was singer for glam/punk rockers Supernaut. After making a mark with chart topping songs, such as “I Like It Both Ways”, a gold album and several TV awards for best new band and video performance, Gary returned to the UK and formed Twenty Flight Rockers with Mark Laff of Generation X. Gary hit the California rockabilly scene with Honeydippers and later, among other escapades, teamed up with Ratt Scabies, Glen Matlock and
Derwood Andrews forming the group Dead Horse. Gary and Derwood also wrote and recorded together as the critically acclaimed Speedtwinn.
Invited to tour Australia in 2012 ,Gary Twinn asked three of his best friends if they “fancied forming a band for a bit of a holiday down-under” and The International Swingers was conceived. The name coming from what they musically are.
Taking a hand-full of songs from each players respective back catalogue, and performing them all as “stripped down barebones” rock and roll, The International Swingers performed a secret warm up show in Los Angeles, and then left the next day for a sold out Australian tour.
New songs were then written and gigs in the USA and UK took place. Demos of the songs were played extensively by Rodney Bingenheimer on KROQ and the song FBI was used in Sylvester Stallone’s action flick ‘Homefront’ starring James Franco, Jason Statham and Winona Ryder, it’s on the juke box during the bar scene with Ms. Ryder!
In 2014 it was decided the time had come to record an album, so a deal was done with the owner of the legendary Studio 606 in LA and the album is now recorded and mixed all financed by their Pledge campaign.
The album is Cat. No ATCR12 available via Plastichead Distribution
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