Terminal Heads is a punk band that originated in the late 1980s in Gravesend, Kent.
The current lineup includes Mick on vocals, John on guitar, Geoff on drums, and Tim on bass, with past members Gonk on bass and Simon on drums.
The band began its journey in the late '80s, initially performing under the name The Satsumo Wrestlers at the Red Lion in Gravesend. After a series of performances and a brief period as The Plastic Thingies, they ultimately adopted the name Terminal Heads. Shortly after, Geoff departed, and Simon joined as the band’s 'hippy' drummer. This lineup recorded the 'Smalltalk' cassette in September 1990, featuring the live favorite "Top Of The Pops." At this point, Terminal Heads had established a regular performance schedule throughout South London.
Simon left the band, prompting Geoff to rejoin on drums. In 1994, the group released the 'B.Y.C.' cassette, which included the track "B.Y.C," a song that would become a staple of their live shows. The following year, they recorded the 'Sick' cassette, continuing to perform regularly around London and venturing into cities like Leeds and Dublin.
In September 1996, Terminal Heads recorded their final and arguably strongest cassette, 'Slice.' This release featured tracks such as "Yourself," "Fly," and "Walking On The Ceiling," which remain popular in their live repertoire. Although the band continued to perform, they gradually disbanded in the late '90s.
In 2008, inspired by guitarist John's admiration for the Canadian band Nomeansno, Terminal Heads supported the Nomeansno offshoot The Hanson Brothers on a brief tour, playing three shows in London, Brighton, and Derby. The band remained active sporadically and began composing new material in 2011, including songs like "Drone" and "Joker."
In October 2012, John's connection with Nomeansno led to another support slot, this time with Nomeansno itself at the London Underworld. Following a January 2014 performance, Gonk left the band to focus on another project, and the band welcomed Tim as the new bassist, revitalizing their sound. Since then, they have been engaged in songwriting and performing regularly in London and Kent, even venturing as far as Groningen in the Netherlands.
In November 2015, Terminal Heads entered Squarehead Studios with Rob Wilks to record their debut album, 'Back!,' which was released on CD in January 2016 and on limited 180g vinyl in February 2016. The album features audience favorites such as "Sheep," "Clique," "Special," "Control," and "Noise." In April 2016, the track "Must Be" was included on the Grow Your Own Records compilation 'Birds Of A Feather Flock Together.'
The band continued to perform throughout 2016 and 2017, sharing stages with notable acts including The Warriors, Surgery Without Research, Peter And The Test Tube Babies, The Defects, The Vibrators, Chron Gen, and Menace. They also traveled to Holland to support Uhgah? Wugha! during their album launch at the renowned Vera club. In November 2017, Terminal Heads returned to Squarehead Studios with Rob Wilks to begin recording songs for their second album, 'The Duncan Norbert Memorial Album.'
In 2018, they performed alongside The Drones and The Restarts, as well as additional shows with Chron Gen, The Defects, and Surgery Without Research. Later that year, Mick and John had a unique experience performing almost unplugged in support of Canada's Tom Holland during his UK acoustic tour.
2019 began with performances alongside Surgery Without Research before the band resumed recording at Squarehead Studios with Rob Wilks to finalize their second LP. They shared stages with The Subhumans, GBH, Hard Skin, and the UK Subs, leading to their first appearance at the Rebellion Festival in August, where they debuted advanced CD copies of 'The Duncan Norbert Memorial Album.' After supporting The Restarts at their October album launch in London, they released a limited vinyl pressing of the album in December 2019, capped off by another performance with Peter And The Test Tube Babies in London.
