Artist · chart history
The Ruts
Band Hayes United Kingdom Active 1976–1983
The Ruts formed in 1976 in Hayes, United Kingdom and was active until 1983. The Ruts has 6 chart appearances on 5 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1979–2002. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “In A Rut”, which appears on 4 lists with a best position of #11. The station that charted The Ruts most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 5 appearances.
The Ruts came out of Hayes playing punk rock with a heavy lean toward reggae, and for a brief, blazing moment they sounded like the future. "In a Rut" wasn't a hit, but it became a favorite of John Peel, who played it again and again on BBC Radio 1. "Babylon's Burning" was, a UK top 10 single with a siren wail of an intro and a sense of a city about to go up in flames.
Malcolm Owen was the voice out front, with Paul Fox on guitar, Segs Jennings on bass and Dave Ruffy on drums, and the chemistry was real. Then in 1980 Owen died of a heroin overdose, just as the band's success was building. Both songs landed on the album Grin and Bear It that year.
The others carried on as Ruts D.C., in a different musical style, until they broke up in 1983. They reformed in 2007, and Fox died of cancer that same year; Jennings and Ruffy still keep the name going with guitarist Leigh Heggarty.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Ruts on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In A Rut | 4 | #11 | – | – | |
| 2 | Babylon's Burning | 2 | #47 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1775 | Babylon's Burning | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) |
| 1982 | 35 | In A Rut | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1982) |
| 1981 | 31 | In A Rut | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1981) |
| 1980 | 19 | In A Rut | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1980) |
| 1979 | 11 | In A Rut | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979) |
| 1979 | 47 | Babylon's Burning | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979) |
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