[2] The original line-up of the band was assembled in late 1976 by John Krivine and Steph Raynor, the owners of Acme Attractions, a fashion boutique shop in King's Road in Chelsea, London, comprising vocalist Gene October, guitarist William Broad (later and better known as Billy Idol), bassist Tony James and drummer John Towe; James and Towe had previously been in London SS.

[3] After three support gigs playing cover versions of other bands' songs, Idol and James departed in November 1976, taking Towe with them, to form Generation X.

[8] On 25 August 1978 the band released another single, "Urban Kids", which was co-written by October and Alternative TV[1] and produced by ex-Who manager Kit Lambert.

In 1980 Stevenson left to join Generation X After a split, October put together a new line-up, including guitarist Nic Austin, which recorded the critically acclaimed second album Evacuate (1982).

Both albums were recorded at Panther Studios in Surrey and produced by Dick Crippen of Tenpole Tudor, King Kurt and The Weird Things.

The long-standing line up of October, Austin and Sargent was joined by drummer Steve Grainger and featured guest performances from past band members Martin Stacey, James Stevenson, Bob Jesse and Rob Miller.