General
The Last Gang were a very very tight 3 piece band hailing from Dudley in The West Midlands U.K. Formed in 1977 as Snuff Movies. Snuff Movies were. Rob Real - Guitar & Vocals Mick Movies - Bass & Occasional Backing Vocals. Johnny Heartless - Drummer & Metronomic Timebomb.. Snuff Movies 1st gig was, believe it or not at a Scout hut some where in Birmingham..What the hell, the boys needed a free rehearsal for the night.. Happy Scout leaders and their kids stood at the front of the stage. Suddenly ! Snuff Movies launched into their 1st number ( Depression Area ).. The result ? a massive wall of sound that had said Happy Scout leaders and their children running for cover, parents standing in shock with hands over their ears and kids screaming in pain..Snuff Movies managed 3 songs before someone cut the power to the already overloaded & glowing fuse box. the Scout hut was burnt down 20 minutes after Snuff movies left, by some local youths who obviously didnt like wooden huts.. The Rest they Say IS HISTORY----SNUFF MOVIES HAD ARRIVED !!! Late 1977 saw the band change their name to Stuff Movies. Why ?? Because they did !! 1978 saw Stuff Movies building a massive local following which was beginning to spread nation wide.. Playing to rammed back street pubs and clubs.. 1979 saw Graduate Records take an interest in signing Stuff Movies.. To begin with the band ignored them..Eventually a deal was struck. Graduate Records requested the up and coming single be recorded at Bob lambs studio in Birmingham, Bob had already worked with a young up and coming band called UB.40. However ! Stuff Movies took the step of recording with Tony Robins who had just built a 16 track recording studio called Rook Studio's some where in sunny Stourport. Finally Stuff Movies decided on what they were going to release as the single, A SIDE Spirit Of Youth B SIDE Waste It All.. Stuff Movies had said nothing to anyone about the recordings, but on the day of recording around 15 hardcore followers were waiting for the band out side the studio. How they knew is a mystery. After many hours the recording was done, Graduate Records were pleased, then Stuff Movies dropped a BOMBSHELL !! We are changing our name to THE LAST GANG !!! The single cover was shot in a dingy allyway somewhere in Dudley, By our main man Den Payne. Den was our sound tech, driver, mate, in fact our Guru, who put so much unpaid work into the band it was amazing.. The single cover for Spirit Of Youth featured Rob Real standing next to uniforms with a halo hovering over him, the halo was done using Dens now departed wifes wedding ring. The Single SPIRIT OF YOUTH received mixed reviews but the journo's all had the same opinion.. The Song was an ANTHEM !! Now signed to a label, doors started opening up with promotors for The Last Gang. Their manager John Comb at times struggled with the momentum but did his best for free. Graduate Records decided it was time for a showcase, UB.40 and The Last Gang at Kidderminster Town Hall, the Last Gang didnt want to do it, but, the label called the shots on this one. So, with King by UB 40 climbing the charts, The Last Gang played their final gig with their original lineup. Johnny Heartless finally had to quit drums due to tendon damage caused by years of Drumming. The Last gang recruited Paul Sharp as the new drummer, but sadly after a few months The Last Gang was no more..

Recently there has been an upsurge with interest in The Last Gang. the Single is now available as digital downloads from i tunes amazon etc
The single has also featured on various compilation albums.
Recently The Last Gang managed to track their old manager down John Combe after a gap of some 30 years , he himself has written two books on music
The Last Gang have also been approached by their record label concerning royalties owed to them