In 1978 the 17 year old punks Peter Bywaters and Derek ‘Del’ Greening founded Peter And The Test Tube Babies in the small town of Peacehaven near Brighton. After a couple of rehearsals they made their first recording, ‘Elvis Is Dead’, which appeared on the ‘Vaultage ‘78’ compilation of Brighton new wave bands. Radio 1 DJ John Peel loved the song instantly and produced a John Peel session with the Test Tube Babies. The success was breathtaking and Peter And The Test Tube Babies became one of the hottest unsigned bands in the UK overnight.

The first single ‘Banned From The Pubs’ followed fast and fans and press freaked out in equal measure. From that moment everything went crazy, sold out concert halls in England and Europe and their big success in the media pushed their debut album ‘Pissed And Proud’ to #1 in the English independent charts. Directly after that ‘The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs’ was released – a must have for every record collection – and sold more than 100,000 copies, resulting in invitations from far and wide. The Test Tubes Babies played shows all over the world and cemented their status as one of the most brilliant and funniest live bands in punk rock culture. They also had the honour to represent the United Kingdom at the historical MTV East/West party to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall.

A few bass players and drummers have served their time in the band but, as the songwriters, Peter and Del were always the foundation of Peter And The Test Tube Babies and together wrote records like ‘Soberphobia’ or the brilliant ‘Supermodels’, which brought them their comeback in 1995. Nick Abnett and Sam Fuller became the latest additions on bass and drums respectively, giving The Test Tubes their solid dynamic rhythm. However, constant touring around the world made it nearly impossible to write a new record, until the day when Campino from Die Toten Hosen told Del in a hotel bar in Stuttgart: “I’m in need of a good, new Test Tubes album.” Del and Peter didn’t need to be told twice. At first the ‘Paralitico’ DVD (Spanish: crazy disturbed perception, elicited by alcoholic and other suggestive excesses) was released. Then the record ‘A Foot Full Of Bullets’ and the follow up ‘For A Few Bullets More’ with the guest appearances from Campino and Olga from The Toy Dolls.

Next year is the Test Tubes’ 40th year and during that time Peter has become a grandpa. However, nothing can hold them back from going on tour again in 2017 / 18 and presenting their new record, ‘That Shallot’. The band now state: “We’ve actually held back our best record until just before retirement and we’re more than happy that we were able to create this.” Now the Test Tube Babies are planning more and even bigger things. For example, to celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2018, the band will soon present their own Test Tube Babies festival. Peter And The Test Tube Babies remain indestructible.

Gatefold vinyl.