Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included Top of the Pops and the live film documentary, Dance Craze (1981).
They were at their most popular during the early 1980s, during a period when other ska revival bands such as Madness, the Specials and the Selecter filled the charts. Bad Manners spent 111 weeks in the UK Singles Chart between 1980 and 1983, and they also achieved chart success with their first four studio albums with Ska ‘n’ B (1980), Loonee Tunes! (1980), and Gosh It’s … Bad Manners (1981) being their biggest hits. Fronted by Buster Bloodvessel (real name Douglas Trendle),the band was formed in 1976, while the members were together at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, near Manor House, North London. They commemorated the 1981 closure of the school on the back sleeve of their album, Gosh It’s … Bad Manners, released that year.
In December 2012, founding members of the band met for the first time in decades at the Ship public house in Soho, London. Paul Hyman, Martin Stewart, Brian Tuitt and Chris Kane met with band historian and harmonica player David Turner, and Christopher ‘Dell’ Wardell, a music writer and promoter from Darlington. On 18 July 2013, seven of the original nine members reunited at The Brownswood public house, near Finsbury Park, that is within striking distance of their old school, Woodbery Down Comprehensive. The ‘Bad Manners Originals’ who attended the reunion were Andy Marson (alto sax), Paul Hyman (trumpet), Winston Bazoomies (Alan Sayag) (harmonicas), Chris Kane (tenor sax), David Farren (bass), Martin Stewart (keyboards) and Brian Tuitt (drums). The meetings were arranged after Wardell’s ‘Where Are They Now?’ article was published in The Northern Echo in 2012, providing details on the current whereabouts of all of the original band members.
During 2016, Bad Manners toured the United Kingdom to celebrate their 40th Anniversary.
Original member Winston Bazoomies died on 1 December 2022, at the age of 63.
The band are still touring the United Kingdom in 2023.
