The Piranhas -

The Piranhas were an English ska band from Brighton that released six singles between 1978 and 1983 on Virgin, Attrix, Ariola/Hansa, and Dakota. In 1980, they released a self-titled album on Sire/Hansa with cover-art by singer/guitarist Johnny Helmer, who later became a novelist and lyricist for other acts.

Members: Johnny Helmer (vocals, lead guitar), Bob Grover (vocals, guitar), Zoot Alors (saxophone), Reginald Frederick Hornsbury (bass), Dicke Slexia (drums)

Background

The Piranhas formed in 1977 amid the first wave of punk in Brighton, a seaside town in East Sussex. Driven by the street smarts of drummer Dicke Slexia, the tech savvy of bassist Reginald Frederick, the art-school acumen of saxophonist Zoot Alors, and the philosophical vision of singer–guitarist Bob Grover, they rose to the top of the competitive Southeast scene with a Sunday residency at the Alhambra, a local hotspot. Singer and lead guitarist Johnny Helmer rounded the classic lineup, which soon gained support from Cure frontman Robert Smith, Specials mastermind Jerry Dammers, and BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel.

On February 7, 1979, they performed their first of three Peel sessions, presenting four songs — “Coloured Music,” “Jilly,” “Saxophone,” “Cheap and Nasty” — spread throughout the DJ’s 7/21 broadcast amid playlist cuts by the Buzzcocks, Cameo, Deke Leonard, Graham Parker, Red Noise, Roger Chapman, Thin Lizzy, and fellow guests Essential Logic.

First Three Singles

In April 1979, the Piranhas released their debut single: “Coloured Music” backed with “Jilly,” both group-written originals produced by Terry Newbery for Attrix.

A. “Coloured Music”
B. “Jilly”

On July 7, they cut their second Peel session for the DJ’s 7/26 broadcast, which slotted four Piranhas songs — “Boyfriend,” “Getting Beaten Up,” “Yap Yap Yap,” and “Happy Families” — amid picks by Adam & The Ants, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, The Jam, Joy Division, and pragVEC.

On December 14, 1979, the Piranhas released their second single: “Space Invaders” and the live recording “Cheap ‘N’ Nasty,” produced by Steve Lillywhite for Virgin.

A. “Space Invaders”
B. “Cheap ‘N’ Nasty” (Recorded Live)

On January 16, 1980, they cut their third Peel session for the DJ’s 1/28 broadcast, which premiered an additional four songs — “Anything,” “Final Straw,” “Something,” and “Green Don’t Suit Me” — amid cuts by Bauhaus, Captain Beefheart, Flying Lizard, Michael Chapman, Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark, Public Image Ltd., Scritti Politti, and the Swell Maps.

In April, the Piranhas returned to Attrix for their second single: “Yap Yap Yap” backed with “Happy Families,” both self-produced group originals.

A. “Yap Yap Yap”
B. “Happy Families”

The Piranhas prepared an album for Attrix but cancelled the plan when Sire signed the band.

The Piranhas Play Kwela!

On July 18, 1980, The Piranhas debuted on Sire with The Piranhas Play Kwela! The three-song EP contains contains one exclusive Grover original and two songs from their upcoming album. Kwela refers to a 1950s style of South African popular song that combines skiffle and Cape jazz, typically with the pennywhistle as a lead instrument.

A1. “Tom Hark” (2:44) – originated as a 1956 instrumental single by the South African kwela combo Elias & His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes, written by band member Jack Lerole and co-credited to producer Rupert Bopape. In 1958, the original reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The title is a wordplay on tomahawk.
B1. “Getting Beaten Up” – J. Helmer
B2. “Boyfriend” – R. Grover, taken from their cancelled Attrix album.

Sessions took place with Matchbox soundman Peter Collins, who also produced the debut album by mod revivalists The Lambrettas.

The Piranhas

The Piranhas released their self-titled album in 1980 on September 19, 1980, on Sire (UK, Canada), Hansa (Germany), and RCA (Australia).

The album captures the band’s livewire delivery in sharp bursts of brass-punk immediacy and lyrical cheek. Guitarist Bob Grover strikes a sharp, percussive presence alongside the urgent keyboard jabs of Richard Myhill, who guests on select tracks.

Saxophonist John Helmer locks in staccato flares that volley across the stereo field, while violinists Graham Preskett and Mike Cook add frictional texture across the faster numbers. The rhythm section underpins the album’s sprinting momentum: drummer Dick Slexia holds a kinetic backbeat while Boring Bob Edwards anchors with a taut, insistent bassline framework.

A1. “Gettin’ Beaten Up” (2:27) – Helmer
A2. “Pleasure” (2:56) – Helmer
A3. “Do You (Do Solo Sex For Two?)” (3:15) – Grover
A4. “Saxophone” (2:54) – Helmer
A5. “Love Game” (2:42) – Grover
A6. “Tom Hark” (2:44)

B1. “Tension” (1:52) – Helmer
B2. “Fiddlin – While Babylon Burns” (2:18) – Helmer
B3. “Green Don’t Suit Me” (2:04) – Grover
B4. “Something” (2:25) – Grover
B5. “Coffee” (2:53) – Grover
B6. “I Don’t Want My Body” (3:28) – Helmer
B7. “Final Straw” (2:01) – Grover

Peter Collins produced the album with engineering by Pete Hammond. The production captures the band’s raw velocity with dry spatial separation between instruments and limited overdubs. Visuals by sleeve designer J. and photographer Tom Sheehan frame the band in stark monochrome, while Hansa managed copyright and international licensing.

The Piranhas mimed “Tom Hark” for the August 7 and 21 broadcasts of Top of the Pops, which aired the song five times amid late-summer in-studio numbers by Bad Manners (“Lip Up Fatty”), Cliff Richard (“Dreamin”’), Elton John (“Sartorial Eloquence”), Hazel O’Connor (“Eighth Day”), Hot Chocolate (“Are You Getting Enough of What Makes You Happy”), Ian Dury & The Blockheads (“I Want to Be Straight”), Judas Priest (“United”), Nick Straker Band (“A Walk in the Park”), Randy Crawford (“One Day I’ll Fly Away”), Roxy Music (“Oh Yeah (On The Radio)”), The Selecter (“The Whisper”), Sheena Easton (“9 to 5”), The Skids (“Circus Games”), and Split Enz (“I Got You”).

“Tom Hark” reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and appeared on six 1980 multi-artist comps, including More Banana Hits on the French Arabella label, which also featured selections by The Beat (“Mirror In the Bathroom”), Devo (“Girl U Want”), Delegation (“Darlin’ (I Think About You)”), Lili Drop (“Banal”), Lio (“Amoureux Solitaires”) and Martha and The Muffins (“Echo Beach”).

In mid-October, Sire lifted “I Don’t Want My Body” as the albums’s second single, backed with the non-album “(I’m Gonna Get) Well Away,” an R. Grover/ A. Murray co-write.

B. “(I’m Gonna Get) Well Away”

Meanwhile, a text-press of their planned Attrix album appeared in a white sleeve with a line-trace of the Sire cover art. It contains eleven of the thirteen songs from the Sire LP, plus the missing “Boyfriend.”

Dakota Singles

On December 18, 1981, the Piranhas released their fourth standalone single: “Vi Gela Gela,” a Helmer composition backed with the group-written “Nobody Sings,” both self-produced for Dakota (DAK 2).

A. “Vi Gela Gela” (John Helmer)
B. “Nobody Sings” (The Piranhas)

On September 24, 1982, the Piranhas released a maxi-single: “Zambezi” backed with “Who Needs You” and “Darabukkus” (DAK 6).