Big Time

VINYL FORMAT. The first punk band to emerge from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Rudi was formed in late 1975; although before punk broke, the original lineup toyed with glam sounds and even had two drummers! This lineup consisted of Ronnie Matthews (guitar/vocals), Brian Young (guitar/vocals), Drew Brown (drums) and Graham "Grimmy" Marshall (bass/vocals). By the time their first single was recorded, Graham Marshall moved to drums and Gordon Blair joined on bass.

A single, cheaply recorded at Templepatrick Studios on February 1978, emerged in the last week of April '78, housed in a fold-open cover with artwork inspired by the 1932 movie The Mummy (with Boris Karloff) on the front. A punk/powerpop song of superior musical level, Big Time was the perfect introduction to Rudi: crisp, tight, energetic and contagiously melodic. The flip was a good '77 three chord garage-punker, which confirmed the band's talent.