Rich Kids were a short-livednew wave band fromLondon, founded in 1977 byGlen Matlock following his departure from theSex Pistols.[1][2][3] The band also included teenage guitaristSteve New, formerSlik and futureUltravox memberMidge Ure andRusty Egan, who both later foundedVisage together. They released onealbum and threesingles during their existence, from March 1977 to December 1978 (although the official announcement of their disbanding was not made until mid-1979).
Rich Kids were amongst the foremost British exponents of thepower pop style, blending influences from 1960s acts such asSmall Faces andThe Who with more recentpunk rock sounds. Only the first of their three singles entered theTop 40 in theUK Singles Chart.[4]
Rich Kids recorded their first set of radio sessions on 1 October 1977 for the 7 November broadcast ofBBC Radio 1, hosted byDJJohn Peel.[8] Following on 13 January 1978,[9] they were ranked at #24 on 4 February UK Charts with their first self-titled single "Rich Kids".[10][11] This caught more attention from theBBC, who invited them to perform onTop of the Pops and several more sets for the short-lived live music TV seriesRevolver hosted byPeter Cook.[12][13][14][15]
On 22 March, they recorded a further session for John Peel's 3 April broadcast.[16] Another single, "Marching Men"[17][18] was released on 19 May as means to promote the release of their albumproduced byMick Ronson. Despite taping a video promo forDonnie Sutherland andAfter Dark, the song did not chart. At theirLyceum show in spring 1978, Ronson played guitar andIan McLagan (ex-Faces) playedkeyboards. Several of the band's performances were featured in the 1980 filmD.O.A..[19][20]
The Rich Kids released the album[22]Ghosts of Princes in Towers, and the single of the same name, in August, with the latter ranking only at #51.[23][24][25] Their last TV appearance was at theUniversity of Reading where they taped a live show forRock Goes to College on 27 October.[20][26][27] But the band ran into creative differences as they recorded demos for a second album. Having acquired a synthesiser, Ure, alongside bandmate Egan, wanted to integrate the new instrument into the band's sound while Matlock and New preferred to remain with traditional guitars and drums. This resulted in the group's decision to go their separate ways.[6]
In February 2016, it was announced that Rich Kids, withGary Kemp on lead guitar and James Hallawell (Waterboys) on keyboard, would reform for a joint headline show withThe Professionals at London'sO2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for 16 May.[31] The show was rescheduled for 23 June due to the ongoing structural work at the venue.
