The First Steps

Late 70s, New wave , Mod influenced band from Worlington, Suffolk, UK made of two sets of brothers, Chris and Jem Murrell ( bass and drums ) and Jonny and Phil Thornalley ( manager and guitarist ). They released two late 70's singles on their own label, English Rose Records. On its release 'The Beat is Back' gained enthusiastic support and airplay from BBC Radio One DJs Mike Read and John Peel. This alerted a major label , A&M, but the meeting with A&R exposed the lack of ambition within the band. The second single the sarcastic, 'Anywhere Else But Here', fared less well and the band folded. Only 1000 copes of each 7" vinyl single were manufactured. Both singles have three tracks. All songs written by Chris 'Chip' Murrell and Phil Thornalley with vocals by Chip and Phil. Occasional drums by Will Gosling. Chris and Phil went on to write songs recorded by 80s pop band Johnny Hates Jazz. ( The 'Johnny' was in fact Jonny Thornalley . A name coined at a house party and recognised by Julie Thornalley ). Their songs were the 1990 single 'Turn The Tide' and the album track 'Closer'. Phil had a career as a songwriter and producer for various artists including Bryan Adams, Natalie Imbruglia, Pixie Lott and The Cure. He had an 18 month spell as bass player for The Cure ( 1983-84) and Bryan Adams ( 2016-18 ). He was fired from both bands. in 2017 The First Steps two singles, plus their 'B' sides, were included on an album 'A Cup of Plenty' which had two new songs included, 'Sound of The Speeding Cars' and 'Flame Still Burns'. The album was made available on all streaming platforms by CD Baby. 'The Beat is Back' was included on the Cherry Red compilation mod revival release CD set 'Millions Like Us' . All other releases listed here , apart from the Cherry Red , CD Baby and English Rose releases , are illegal use of the The First Steps copyright. Chris and Phil , despite their indifferent attitude , still occasionally write songs , most recently for retro rockers Astral Drive ( 'Daylight Spinning ') and a Phil solo album from 2022. ( The CD only 'The Road is Home' ) All The First Steps songs are published by Universal Music Publishing.