[4] The band presented a stylized tribal identity around their appearance and their music that fans embraced: the writer Dave Thompson asserts this represented "the first time since the Sex Pistols' Bromley Contingent fanbase [that] a band had succeeded in grafting its own identity onto its audience without first paying obeisance to the gods of highstreet fashion.
"[5] Their stage antics became notorious early in their career, with Bators stunts on one occasion reportedly resulting in his clinical death for several minutes.
[10] Stiv Bators and Brian James first met each other in 1977 when the Dead Boys opened for the Damned on a few CBGB dates in New York and an English tour.
The opportunity would come in 1980, when Bators was invited to London to join British punk band Sham 69, who had recently parted ways with their singer Jimmy Pursey.
This finally allowed Bators and James to form their own band, having already aroused the interest of Miles Copeland, co-founder of I.R.S.
[11] They experimented with different rhythm sections, rehearsing with bassists Tony James and Glen Matlock, and drummers Terry Chimes and Steve Nicol.
Records, Copeland also took on managerial duties, the Lords of the New Church released their self-produced eponymous debut album in July 1982.
Musically, the album is a mix of punk, glam, garage rock and goth,[17][18] described by New Noise Magazine as a "seedy concoction of spidery guitars, sleazy bass lines, jungle drums and gothic keyboards.
"[19] For the subsequent tour, the band enhanced their live sound with keyboardist Matt Irving, who had also played on the album.
[6] Is Nothing Sacred?, their second album released in September 1983, saw the band diversifying musically, incorporating new wave, classic rock and ska, along with synths, horns and a greater emphasis on the bass.
The success of the album's second single "Dance with Me" (#85 UK),[7] a song that according to Dave Thompson's Alternative Rock came "close to a hit", was hampered when the video directed by Derek Jarman was pulled from MTV's rotation because, according to writer Colin Larkin, mistaken concerns were voiced about pedophilia.
The album was produced by Chris Tsangarides, who had previously worked with hard rock acts like Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore and Tygers of Pan Tang.
[25] Around the same time, two songs were recorded for a planned follow-up single that never materialized:[26] "Lord's Prayer", written for the band by T.V.
Both songs were produced by Steven Van Zandt and included on the compilation album Killer Lords in late 1985.
"[25] By early 1986, the Lords had replaced Tregunna with Grant Fleming (ex-Kidz Next Door), and augmented its lineup with a second guitarist, Alastair Symons (ex-The Dirty Strangers).
"[25] In 1987, German independent label Perfect Beat released the Lords' rerecorded version of their 1983 single "Dance with Me".
When Bators, who by this time was living in Paris, eventually agreed to do only one show,[35] the rest of the band decided to put an advert in the music press looking for a stand-in singer for the remaining dates.
[37] Miller and Ozzy departed the band after the UK leg of the tour and was replaced by Adam Becvare on vocals and guitar and Steve Murray on drums.
[9] This configuration of the band produced the album Hang On in 2003,[38] which was sold at gigs without any official record company release.
[39] James, Tregunna, Becvare and former Lords touring keyboard player Mark Taylor reunited in October 2007 for a one-off 25th anniversary gig at the 100 Club in London.