Artist · chart history
Desperate Bicycles
Band London United Kingdom Active 1977–1981
Desperate Bicycles formed in 1977 in London, United Kingdom and was active until 1981. Desperate Bicycles has 1 chart appearance on 1 radio countdown from 1 station on RockLists, spanning 1977. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Smokescreen”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #6. The station that charted Desperate Bicycles most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 1 appearance. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1977.
The Desperate Bicycles came out of London in 1977 with a message as loud as their records: anybody can make a record. They proved it by putting out their own singles on their own label, Refill Records, and "Smokescreen" is the sound of that idea in action, rough, cheap, fast and thrilled to be heard at all.
Danny Wigley sang, Nicky Stephens played keyboards, Roger Stephens played bass and Dave Papworth drummed, and the point was never polish. They preached the do-it-yourself gospel harder than anyone, urging listeners to go out and make records of their own, and plenty of bands followed their lead and started their own labels. They've been called the most passionate evangelists the DIY movement ever had, and they stayed at it until 1981.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Desperate Bicycles on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokescreen | 1 | #6 | – | 1977 |
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 6 | Smokescreen | John Peel's Forgotten Fifty of 1977 |
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