The Only Ones : The John Robb interview

The Only Ones : The John Robb interview

Peter Perrett and John Perry in conversation with John Robb live at Rebellion Festival punk festival in Blackpool 2023. They talked about the band’s long history that threads back to the early seventies, the punk rock scene that they were observers and players in with friendships with many of the key players and mutual respect that saw people like the late and great Jordan often evangelise about them. Also friendships with Malcolm and Vivienne, Johnny Thunders and other players in the then scene. They also talk about how drugs were, in hindsight, a waste of time and so much more in this touching and often funny interview which was a real pleasure to do.

I always loved this band – they first popped up on my radar in the punk era, and despite the fact they were slightly older and not playing the punk game, they somehow felt right.

There was an urgency and danger to their songs, and they certainly knew about the dark side that was so intriguing, but they also wrote perfect quicksilver melodies and their short songs were packed with tragedy and drama and a velvet romance. The combination of Peter Perrett’s elfin like melodic touch and mystery and John Perry’s perfect lead guitar complimenting the singer’s idiosyncratic vision were perfect.

Their career may have nosedived due to dodgy record labels, shifting sands of time and their own chemical imbalance that saw the band fizzle out but perhaps due to their calling card song Another Girl, Another Planet becoming one of those classic songs they were always in the frame and really apparent and reformations have underlined the undying love for the band that fully extends beyond that one song.

The Only Ones : The John Robb interview

The Only Ones : The John Robb interview

The Only Ones : The John Robb interview