Taurus Trakker

Taurus Trakker forms in 2006 as a punk-influenced project led by guitarist and singer Taurus Trakker, who has played in bands since the late 1970s. Trakker is a cousin of Mick Jones and grows up around the punk scene, seeing The Clash at close hand. In the 1980s, he forms Backlash with Ashley Maher and also runs and plays in jam sessions in Soho, where he performs with musicians including Jerry Dammers, Fishbone, Beverley Skeete and Slim Gaillard. In the 1990s, he releases tracks in Japan with the Psychaedelic Ooh Baby project and plays with Poly Styrene, Lora Logic, Gary Valentine of Blondie, the late Jack Airport of X-Ray Spex and Abi Hercules.

Formation and line-up

The project begins when Trakker meets drummer Allison P, who has previously played with ATV, UT and The Raincoats. The pair record together using a DIY approach and make the demo album Temporary Accommodation. Denise Page, formerly of Monkey Wench, then joins on bass for live shows in London and Brighton in 2006. In September 2009, Johnny H replaces Denise on bass.

Releases

Taurus Trakker’s first album is Between a Bank and a Funeral Parlour. The band also records the single Monks Punks and Drunks, produced by Mick Jones, with Lucky as the other side. The single is available online and at Rough Trade’s W11 store.

Live appearances and collaborations

The band plays the 12 Bar Club and other venues in London and Brighton in 2006, then takes part in a tribute gig in 2007 at the Inn on the Green, Portobello, marking five years since Joe Strummer’s death. Jones agrees to play and learns Clash songs for the event. Taurus Trakker later performs White Man in Hammersmith Palais at Hammersmith Palais with Jones and musicians from Hard-Fi, and the band becomes part of the Carbon Casino events, where Jones sometimes joins them live. Flash, then with X-Ray Spex, also sometimes appears on saxophone. In 2008 the band hosts another memorial event for Strummer, featuring Dennis Bovell and Jones, raising money for Strummerville and Girls Rock UK.

Later activity

By 2009 the band is being produced by Tony Clark, who has worked with The Beatles, the Plastic Ono Band, Bowie and Stevie Wonder. Trakker says Clark hears the band rehearsing while working as a rose gardener in a nearby park and later becomes involved with the project. In 2010 Taurus Trakker plays a six-date tour of New York.