The Joy Of Living

Formed in North London in 1984 by Julie Travis (bass) and Yvette Haynes (drums), (who had played guitar and drums respectively in a punk/goth band called The Light), with their brother Dave Haynes (guitar) and Lloyd Pettiford (vocals). This early incarnation was a punk band but became a pop/rock and roll outfit, with Lol replacing Dave on guitar and Sharon Cooper and Helen Povey joining as backing vocalists. After recording two demo tapes (one of which was included on the cassette compilation More Tales of Kings and Fools), a handful of gigs (supporting Malice, The Lost Cherees and Brigandage) and various line-ups under the name The Joy of Living (and one gig, supporting The Assassins of Hope, under the name The Last Few Days after hearing of a band called The Joy of Life), they split up. Then Andy Martin from anarchist punk/experimental band The Apostles asked the remnants of the band (Julie, Yvette and Sharon) to work with himself and Dave Fanning on a song called The Wasteland. Five songs were recorded in late 1985 (the other four being old JoL tracks), four of which were released in 1986 as an e.p. on Colin Jerwood’s Fight Back records, called Death To Wacky Pop.

After the project was finished, Yvette continued in the band she’d just joined, A Strange Desire, who had some success and had their flexi disc (with sleeve notes written by Julie) played on John Peel’s show but left the music industry when ASD split up, although she still plays drums and has collaborated with Andy Martin in his current and ongoing project UNIT. Julie briefly joined Rubella Ballet then left the music industry (although she co-founded the Queeruption Festival in London in 1988) to write horror/dark fantasy fiction and has twice been nominated for the British Fantasy Awards for Best Short Fiction. Sharon Cooper left the music industry and lives in the West Country.