The Stingrays

The Stingrays are a Bristol-based UK punk and garage rock group that forms in 1977 and remains active. The name has been used by more than one band, but the Bristol group is the one associated with the city’s late-1970s punk scene.

Early releases and Bristol connections

The band releases a three-song EP in 1980 on Fried Egg Records, along with a single and a track on the Avon Calling compilation, which is tied to Bristol. A live album follows later. Their material sits within punk, with links to power-pop, garage rock and surf rock in descriptions of their sound.

Line-ups

Russ Mainwaring is the only constant member across the various line-ups named for the band. Early and later personnel includes Bill Stair on bass, Pete Thelke on vocals, Dean Sidney on drums, Chris Bostock on bass, Paul Matthews on guitar, Sean McLuskey on drums, Paul Johnson on bass, Mark Paignton on drums, and Biff on bass. The group is also identified with Sean McLusky in the verified membership details.

Recorded line-ups

The first line-up is listed as Russ Mainwaring, Bill Stair, Pete Thelke and Dean Sidney, and is heard on The Stingrays at the Dugout (1977): The Sound of Two Hands Clapping. Another line-up with Mainwaring, Chris Bostock and Dean Sidney appears as Stingrays/Mods. A further Mods/Stingrays configuration adds Paul Matthews to Mainwaring, Bostock and Sean McLuskey, and is heard on Avon Calling. The single Countdown features Mainwaring, Bostock and McLuskey, while Satelites, the B-side of Never Do, uses Mainwaring, Paul Johnson and McLuskey; a later version pairs Mainwaring, Paul Johnson and Mark Paignton, and another pairs Mainwaring, Biff and Paignton.

Other bands with the same name

At least two other groups use the same name. One is a Northern England psychobilly band formed in the early 1980s, active for six years, which issues five albums and six singles, appears on several psychobilly compilations, tours widely in Europe, and later moves toward a more melancholic sound on Cryptic And Coffee Time (1987) before splitting up. Another is a Detroit band active from 1980 to 1988 that records for Scam Records and A.B.S. Records.