The Flys

Biography

This Coventry, based band, were originally called Midnight Circus(their image was slightly hippy). Singer and guitarist Neil O'Connor (brother of Hazel O'Connor ) met school kids David Freeman (guitar, vocals) and Joe Hughes (bass, vocals) in the mid-70s, and recruiting Pete King on drums.
After a name change to The Flys The band recorded a demo in 1977 that failed to attract much attention from record companies, so they formed their own Lama label and put out an EP, Bunch of Five, around the end of the year. That caught the fancy of EMI, which signed them up in a hurry and put out the EP's "Love and a Molotov Cocktail" as a single. The album Waikiki Beach Refugees appeared in 1978. Several Flys singles appeared in early 1979, culminating in the release of the second album, Own. Intraband quarreling had led to King's departure and the arrival of Graham Deakin, the former drummer of John Entwistle's Ox. A move to Parlophone Records did little to salve the bickering, and the Flys broke up in 1980. O'Connor joined his sister Hazel's band and then took his skills behind the scenes as producer, arranger, and engineer; Freeman performed on Alison Moyet's Raindancing album, played briefly with Roddy Radiation and the Tearjerkers, and then formed The Lover Speaks with Hughes; Pete King went on to join After the Fire before his untimely death at age 26.