Long Tall Shorty were a mod revival band that formed in 1978 in London. They recorded several singles before splitting up in 1982, when lead singer Tony Perfect left to join Angelic Upstarts. Reforming in 2002, they have recorded and released several albums.
Long Tall Shorty were one of the earliest mod revival bands, formed in August 1978 from the ashes of the punk rock band Ben E Dorm & The Tourists. Initially called The Indicators, the line-up was: Jimmy Grant (bass), Mark Reynolds (drums) and Tony Perfect (guitar/vocals). After Keith Mono joined in October 1978, The Indicators were offered a support slot to Sham 69 at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.
After Sham 69's singer Jimmy Pursey saw Long Tall Shorty for the first time, he invited them to the Polydor Records Studio to record some demos. The tracks "1970's Boy", "Shake" and "New Generation" were recorded live at this first session in February 1979. "1970's Boy" was chosen as the first single. Pursey decided they should change the band's name to Long Tall Shorty, after a song by The Kinks. Over the next few months, Long Tall Shorty performed at The Wellington, and played slots with Angelic Upstarts, until June 1979 when they played on the pavement in Carnaby Street. This led to a review in the mod fanzine Maximum Speed, and offers of support slots from Back To Zero and The Teenbeats. They added a second guitarist, Stewart England.
"By Your love" was recorded in August 1979 and eventually chosen as the A side of the single. "Falling For you", "Please Can You Tell Me" and "Can't Stop moving" were recorded at Shepperton Studios, Surrey in September 1979. The idea was to have a second single ready for release, but Warner Bros. Records withdrew "By Your love" a few days after its release. In February 1980, following their first headline slot at The Marquee, the original band split up. They had been offered the support slot on The Chords' UK tour, but after the first night in Middleborough, they pulled out. Mark Reynolds and Jimmy Grant left and the new line-up was Keith Mono (vocals), Stewart England (guitar), Tony Perfect (bass) and Grimbull (drums).
During three days of summer 1980, "That's What I Want", "If I Was You", "I Do" and "All By Myself" were recorded as demos for CBS Records. Another mod fanzine, D.R.C., issued two songs on a flexi disc after the CBS negotiations broke down. The other songs surfaced on the LP The Beat Generation And The Angry Young Men. In December 1980, Grimball left the band, followed by Keith the following day. Derwent joined on drums later that month. They had a monthly residency at The Marquee Club. John Kiely joined on bass and Tony Perfect switched back to guitar and vocals. "Win Or Lose"/"Ain't Done wrong" were recorded in Luton and released on Ramkup.
In August 1981, they played at the Reading Festival, accompanied by Eddie Piller, who later wrote a review in his fanzine Extraordinary Sensations of the riot that took place during the brief time they were on stage. There was another riot in Chatham and Long Tall Shorty got banned from The Marquee Club, John left the band mid-gig and Stewart left to join the Foreign Legion. Mark, the roadie, joined on bass in November 1981 but two months later, Tony Perfect left, changed his name to Tony Feedback and joined Angelic Upstarts. The final Long Tall Shorty gig was at the 100 Club on 2 February 1982.
Long Tall Shorty reformed in 2002, recording the album Bird in the Hand for Acid Jazz Records. Completely Perfect, an almost complete overview of the band's early career, was released by Detour Records in 2002. The band then recorded a pure rhythm and blues album, No Good Women, in 2005 for Biff Bang Pow records.
Several line-up changes later, Long Tall Shorty now includes: Tony Perfect (guitar/vocals), John Woodward (bass/backing vocals) and Jim Piddington (drums). They have not reverted back to the mod/pop/punk of their early days, and have a new style that they call Giffer Punk. During 2009-2010, the band have toured extensively in Europe and are contracted to record for Time For Action Records in Germany. In September 2009, they release their first new LP in 4 years, "The Sound Of Giffer City" which was followed by "Kick Out The Shams", both on Time For Action, in June 2010. They have also released a "download" single, Police Oppression in May 2010.
A further boost to the band came along in 2010 when the giant Universal Music Group, released a compilation LP called Mod Mania which featured the bands 1984 single, On The Streets Again. This LP reached #5 in the national UK Compilation LP Chart and features artists like Paul Weller, The Who and The Small Faces among others.
