A.I.T.A. Hall Of Fame: Serious Drinking

"The band that proved you don’t have to be a dickhead

to enjoy football, girls, and excessive drinking."

England's Serious Drinking formed in February 1981, taking their name from a Sounds headline referring to The Cockney Rejects. Band members were Martin Ling and Eugene McCarthy on vocals, Andy Hearshaw on guitar, Jem Moore on bass, and Lance Dunlop on drums, most of whom met while attending the University Of East Anglia. The band's debut EP, Love On The Terraces (produced by Madness' Mark Bedford) reached #9 on the UK Indie Chart in 1982, and the follow-up Hangover EP reached #4 the following year. Serious Drinking's fantastic debut album The Revolution Starts At Closing Time also reached #4, and was followed up in 1984 by a second album, They May Be Drinkers Robin, But They're Still Human Beings.

After another single, "Country Girl Became Drugs And Sex Punk," Moore and Dunlop left the band. The new line-up continued for a bit, and the Stranger Than Tannadice — The Hits, Misses And Own Goals compilation was released to coincide with the 1990 World Cup, followed by the Where Have All The Donkey Jackets Gone? EP (on Musical Tragedies), and a cover of the 1970 World Cup song "Back Home" on the Damaged Goods label. The band's classic "Bobby Moore Was Innocent" was also included on the Forever Blowing Bubbles: West Ham United And Supporters compilation, issued in 1997.

Download: "Love On The Terraces"

Download: "Bobby Moore Was Innocent"

Download: "Baby, I'm Dying a Death"

Download: "Hangover"
Download: "Weird Son of Angry Bastard"
Download: "Time Is Tight" (live)
Download: "World Service"
Download: "12XU"