Phil Addington

Dropped out of SFU arts & film after hearing the Sex Pistols in 1978. Picked up a bass because it seemed like the easiest instrument to play & I tried playing music with a bunch of long haired losers. Came home from a depressing session having been expected to copy material by bands like Styx. Walked in on my kid brothers playing a crappy Raven guitar, a battery operated mini piano & a drum set made from an old metal cashbox & a broken globe of the world. They were playing along to a record called "Funky Mama" by Lou Donaldson & they sounded a whole lot better than the long haired losers had with all of their expensive equipment. So I started a band with my brothers. Went through a few singers in different incarnations that never saw the light of day, the most amusing of which was probably "Richard Rot & The Undead". After about a year in the basement we finally played a live show as "The Acrylics" with a female singer named Rosemarie Swift. Our debut was at The Smilin' Buddha on Jan 11, 1980 backing up Popular Mechanix & Private School. Very soon thereafter we were offered the opening slot for The Ramones at The Commodore, which pissed off a lot of other local acts. The rumour ... more...