1984 biography (with notes from Nigel and Grant, 2007): The Beefeaters are one of a handful of truly seminal British punk bands. Formed in 1976 by two London neighbors, Grant Jones and Nigel Striker, they were soon joined by drummer Cary Hall, whom Jones once described as a reformed footballer. Guitarist Ian Hurt was a friend of Nigel's from school. Although he lived in Cornwall—a great distance from Promo shot of Nigel for his Nigel & The Batmen project. London—it was agreed that his guitar work was an essential ingredient in the Beefeaters' sound. Dirk Lewis was an aspiring bass player, itching to break into show business. His greatest accomplishment in that area had been winning the All-Britain Freddy Fender Lookalike Contest. The band soon caused a stir with a live set that included songs such as Liz Is A Lez and Bomb the Vatican. In 1977 they released Bloody Tower, an EP funded by Ian's wealthy parents. In 1980, The Beefeaters moved to the U.S., as Nigel and Grant attended classes at the University of Washington. Ian was at school there also, presumably to work on his degree in chemical engineering, but got caught up in the soap opera craze and rarely went to class. [Grant: Ian is a genius, but what a lazy sod! It was no skin off our backs if he watched telly all day, since his parents were paying for me and Nigel to go to school with him!] While in a bar in Seattle's University District, Grant and Nigel overheard a conversation between people from the campus station, KCMU. After many drinks, The Beefeaters committed themselves to do a series of song parodies for the station. The songs were phenomenally popular, which completely surprised the band. Superstardom seemed a certainty, but then tragedy struck: Jones and Striker graduated. Hurt went back to England to finish his degree in earnest—turning down an offer to join Duran Duran along the way—and the rest of the band went with him. In 1983, Lewis killed himself, despondent after one too many false recognitions as Freddy Fender. [Grant: "I know it sounds like a joke, but it ate Dirk up inside. He wanted nothing more to be famous, but as himself."] Hall was subsequently fired, supposedly for liking the Sex Pistols. Grant in a rare quiet moment at Wimbledon's Cannizaro Park, 1991. The exact reasons aren't known and the rest of the Beefeaters refuse to explain the particulars. [Nigel: "Someone was obviously trying to take the piss because of that story that the Sex Pistols sacked Glen Matlock because he liked the Beatles. After Dirk died, Cary just couldn't go on and gave up music."] Striker moved to Los Angeles in an unsuccessful attempt to break into movies. [Nigel: I moved to Los Angeles to form Nigel & The Batmen.] Jones went into self-imposed exile on a small farm in Aberdeen, Scotland and spent several years, growing vegetables with two musician friends, Stig O' Death and Thaddeus Clyde. [Grant: "Bloody hell! It was maybe two or three months, we weren't growing vegetables and let's just say that the stories about farmer's daughters have been greatly exaggerated!"] That seemed to be the end of the band, but unknown to Jones, Striker had returned to Seattle to write the great American/British novel. A chance meeting at an art exhibit in 1984 convinced them to reform The Beefeaters. Shortly before they started auditioning bass players, Jones got a call from Ian's younger brother, Trevor Hurt. Trevor was coming to America on business for his parents and wanted to see his old mate, O' Death. After many drinks, Hurt was persuaded to join the band. Given the turbulent past of The Beefeaters, it's hard to predict what will come next. Although they seem headed for international rock star status, only time—and the success of their planned seven-album set on the history of the Thermos bottle—will tell. --30--