Department S, a British post-punk/new wave band formed in 1980, took their name from the 1960s TV series Department S. The group evolved from Guns for Hire, featuring Vaughn Toulouse on vocals and former Madness drummer John Hasler. Mike Herbage joined on guitar. Department S debuted at the Rock Garden in London on September 24, 1980, with bassist Tony Lordan, drummer Stuart Mizon, and keyboardist Eddie Roxy. Their debut single "Is Vic There?" was released in December 1980 by Demon Records and reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. The band's second single "Going Left Right" was issued on June 19, 1981. Department S began recording their debut album Sub-Stance in 1981 with producer David Tickle, but internal conflicts led to the band being dropped by Stiff Records and splitting several months later. Toulouse later worked as a DJ under the name the Main T and died in 1991 from an AIDS-related illness at age 32. In February 2007, a reunited Department S recorded their first new single in 26 years, "My Coo-Ca-Choo", and continued to release albums like Mr Nutleys Strange Delusionarium (2011), When All Is Said and All Is Done (2016), and Burn Down Tomorrow (2024).
