Ed Banger is the performing name of Edmund Garrity, a British punk singer born in 1959 and active from the mid-1970s. He is associated with The Nosebleeds and Slaughter and the Dogs, and his work sits within punk.

Early career and The Nosebleeds

Garrity emerges from the Manchester punk scene. Wild Ram, the group that becomes The Nosebleeds, forms around Garrity and Phillip “Toby” Toman, who later plays with Primal Scream under the name Tomanov. The band starts out informally playing Beatles covers and later heavy metal before moving towards punk.

The name Ed Banger comes from an incident linked to a July 1976 Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks concert at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, where Garrity is working as a roadie for Slaughter & the Dogs. After a violent crowd clash leaves him and a friend injured, the nickname helps inspire the transformation from Wild Ram into Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds.

The line-up includes Vini Reilly, later of The Durutti Column, on guitar, Garrity on vocals, Tomanov on drums and Peter Crookes on bass. The group records and releases the Rabid Records single “I Ain’t Been to No Music School”/“Fascist Pigs”, which sells around 10,000 copies. It is also noted for repeated Roxy Club performances in London, where the band plays the same two songs over and over to an enthusiastic audience.

Work after The Nosebleeds

After The Nosebleeds fold, Garrity performs around the country as Ed Banger and His Group Therapy. In 1978 he releases “Kinnel Tommy” on Rabid Records, which is later reissued by EMI. In 1979 he releases a single under the name Eddi Fiction.

He then sings for Slaughter and the Dogs in 1979-80 on the album Bite Back and co-writes the singles “I’m the One” and “East Side of Town”. He later returns to solo work and issues “I’ve Just Had My Car Nicked” on Spiv Records in 1981, followed by “Poor People” on Cloud Nine Records in 1983.

Later aliases and projects

Garrity later signs to a local management agency with David Reece and secures a recording contract with Nems Records, but Reece dies in a car accident before the deal is completed. From 1984 to 1990 he lives on the Isle of Wight and earns a living playing pubs and clubs as a solo performer.

In 1990 he moves to Scotland after securing a place on the Tennents Live Circuit under the name Eddie Baskerville. He records BBC Scotland and Northsound radio sessions in Aberdeen and tours in 1990-91. In 1991, as Sound of the Baskerville, he releases a compilation bringing together Nosebleeds, Slaughter and the Dogs and Ed Banger tracks with new material.

He also appears on BBC radio’s “Hit the North” with Mark and Lard, wins a local stand-up competition, and performs at Manchester’s Band on the Wall alongside Steve Coogan, John Thompson and Caroline Aherne. Under the name Baskerville City Raiders, he releases “Fancy It Tonite or What” on Rawcuss Records and appears on Channel 4’s Access All Areas with Mark Lamarr. He is offered a six-show role as Lamarr’s sidekick, but suffers a brain haemorrhage before it can happen.

Return to performance

After recovering, Garrity returns with the Manchester glam band Diamond Dogs in 2000 and reforms Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds in 2001 for the album As Seen on TV. The reformed band also plays shows in the north-west and Wales, and Garrity appears on Granada TV’s I Seear I Was There discussing the Sex Pistols’ Free Trade Hall concerts.

Later in 2001 he forms the 1970s cover band the Pleasuredome with ex-V2 guitarist Mark Stanley and tours the UK. He then forms Edweena’s RockSkool, described as a 1970s glam band, and continues club dates through the mid-2000s. The project tours the UK, Greece and Germany and releases Transister Rocks and Transister Pop in 2008, followed by Bingo Town in 2009. A documentary, The Rise And Fall Of The Nosebleeds – Punk Rediscovered, premieres in 2005, and the Slaughter and the Dogs album Bite Back is reissued by Captain Oi.