The Things were formed in 1979 in Manchester inspired by the sounds of 60’s psychedelia and  Garage bands such as The Seeds.   In March 1980 The Things were approached by John Maher and Richard Boon, respectively the drummer and manager of Buzzcocks. John asked if they would  record a single as the first release on his new Imperial Records label. The band agreed on condition he became their drummer so did and made his Things debut in Liverpool a month later.   The Things were soon playing regularly to packed crowds  in Manchester  at venues like The Band On The Wall ,  The Russell Club and  The Beach Club.

Live at Manchester Apollo, supporting Buzzcocks (1980)

 

The Things recorded a session  of 4 tracks for  Mark Radcliffe’s Transmission show on Piccadilly Radio,  broadcast on 12 July 1980.    A single, “Pieces Of You” was released in  October 1980 followed by a British tour supporting Buzzcocks.

John Peel recorded The Things live at his  roadshow at Manchester Polytechnic in 1980 for an album he planned to release but for reasons unknown to those outside the BBC the project was not completed and these recordings remain unreleased.   On his Radio One show  John Peel described  The Things as ” a semi legendary Manchester band “.

Throughout 1981 The Things continued to be a  regular draw on the Manchester post punk scene and beyond with bookings in London at the legendary Marquee Club and The Greyhound, Croydon.  The Things played a final series of dates including support to New Order before disbanding early in 1982.

In 2012, after 30 years The Things decided to reform and made some live appearances  in 2013 with Brian Benson replacing John Maher on drums. With several gigs under their belt The Things returned to the studio in  2014 . The studio session saw the return of John Maher on drums, recreating the line up that recorded the Imperial Records single back in 1980. The Things released the 4 track “EP1” in 2015 and followed it with another EP “This Island Earth” in 2016.