40 Years of Punk & New Wave 1977: Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated) - The Table (Debut Single)

 Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated) / The Magical Melon of the Tropics

Virgin Records

Produced Near The Table

Released 8th April 1977

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There is not a wealth of information around regarding The Table and that merely adds to the great mystery regarding them and their place within the whole Punk/New Wave scene. They actually looked like a bunch of hippies and yet they provided one of the funniest debut singles ever that somehow seemed to fit in with the times. With the Pogo and Slam dancing being a feature on dance floors at Punk shows at the time, The Standing Still would almost have been impossible! And yet it is one thing I think I can safely say I have mastered myself over the years with the occasional head bob or foot tap interrupting the process! 😀

The Table hailed from Cardiff, Wales. They had been around in various guises since around 1971! They prided themselves on the fact they actually owned no musical instruments of their own choosing to borrow for gigs and recording etc. They were actually not very proficient when it came to gigging though, as between 1975-1977 they had only ever performed twice!

Do The Standing Still had been recorded as a demo as early as 1975 and somehow they managed to get a one-off deal with Virgin Records to release it. Surprisingly, in the same week that saw the release of the Debut Album by The Clash, NME declared The Table's debut slice of vinyl as their Single of the Week!

The picture sleeve shows the band stuck in the Lingere Department of Marks & Spencer - a fact that is known to paralyse any member of the male species who has entered with the remit of obtaining some fancy underwear as a present for their wife or girlfriend! 😓

 

The band only went on to release one other single and that was for Chiswick Records in March 1978 called Sex Cells backed with The Road of Lyfe.

The band ceased to exist after several line-up changes and a policy of playing increasingly uncommercial and distasteful material.