One of the oldest punk bands still active almost fifty years after its inception, 999 formed in London in December 1976 around Nick Cash (vocals, guitar), Guy Days (guitar, vocals), John Watson (bass) and Pablo LaBritain (drums), replaced by Paul Edwards aka Ed Case.With a name derived from the UK emergency number, 999 toured the clubs before releasing their first self-produced single "I'm Alive" and signing with United Artists for the album released in March 1978 and charting at #53 in the UK (with the hit "Emergency"), followed a few months later by Separates, produced by Martin Rushent and featuring "Homicide" (#40 in the UK) and "Found Out Too Late" (#69). After appearing on John Peel's famous BBC Radio 1 sessions and touring the U.S., Polydor released their third album, The Biggest Prize in Sport (1980), which was more successful in the U.S. than the U.K., like its successor Concrete (1981), which reached No. 92 on the Billboard charts. Despite a brief split in 1982, 999 went on to record 13th Floor Madness (1983) and Face to Face (1985), until Watson's departure, replaced by Danny Palmer in 1986. Breaking up in 1987, 999 was reborn in 1993 with Cash, Days, Arturo Bassick (bass) and Stuart Meadows, and recorded You Us It! the same year, followed by Takeover (1998), Death in Soho (2007) and Bish! Bash! Bosh! released in 2020 on Cleopatra Records.
