The Proles

The name The Proles is used by several different groups. One version is a trio from Sacramento, California, active from 2000. That band releases a debut CD titled Index and a second album, Good In Black & White, which follows in 2005. It receives praise in the United States for its angular pop sound and songwriting, and its debut on The Americans Are Coming Recordings is serviced to CMJ Top 300 stations, receiving substantial airplay and reaching KEXP’s Top 60 list. The group also opens for a long list of acts including The Killers, Grandaddy, John Doe, Quasi, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Datsuns, Pleasure Forever, Mike Watt, The Mother Hips, Elefant and The Raveonettes.

Other groups using the name

Another The Proles is a south east London seven-piece that releases Clever Sheep in 1992. A further version is a north east England band active around 1979, associated with the releases Stereo Love, Thoughtcrime and Softground, issued on RAR and Small Wonder, with later compilations on Overground and Grand Theft Audio. That group includes John Black, Peter Short, Kevin Willis and Kevin Wilson, and John Peel plays their records on BBC Radio 1.

Two other groups also use the name: one from Highland, Illinois, and one from Rhode Island, which releases the live album Real Time: Live Summer ’22 and the single Urban Legend.