Happy Refugees
History
History
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### 1981–1986: Formation and *Last Chance Saloon*

After leaving [Stoke](/wiki/Stoke-on-Trent "Stoke-on-Trent")\-based group The Pits in 1980, Tim Shutt moved to London. In February 1981, he decided to rerecord two of The Pits' songs: "Hamburger Boy", and "Switch". Phil Bourne and Dave Robbins from The Colors Out of Time played guitar and bass for the session, Shutt's then\-housemate Kevin Rodgers filled in on drums, and an old bandmate of Shutt's, Paul Johnston, came along to help out. This recording was to be the beginning of Happy Refugees.

Shutt has since explained their choice of name: "I \[liked] the idea of us all being refugees from something. 'Happy' was added to the band name. \[Paul Johnston] was adamant that it should not have 'The' added. The name of the band was to be Happy Refugees."

The band was initially a four\-piece, made up of Shutt, Johnston, and Rodgers, with a friend from college, Paul Lamb, playing bass. Their first formal release as a group was the [double A\-sided single](/wiki/Double_A-side "Double A-side") *Warehouse Sound / Enshrined in a Memory* in 1982\. It was released on their own imprint, Gymnasium Records, and distributed by [Red Rhino](/wiki/Red_Rhino_Records "Red Rhino Records"), a member of [the Cartel](/wiki/The_Cartel_%28record_distributor%29 "The Cartel (record distributor)"). This first single was met with acclaim, albeit underground. Nick Flynn and [Paul Harvey](/wiki/Paul_Harvey_%28artist%29 "Paul Harvey (artist)") joined later that year on keyboard and guitar, and the band began to write material for their first [studio album](/wiki/Studio_album "Studio album"), *Last Chance Saloon*, as well as playing in clubs around London. *Last Chance Saloon* was recorded in a single day in May 1983 to save money, and was released in early 1984\.

Although the band split up weeks after recording the album, Shutt and Johnston carried on performing under the Happy Refugees moniker until 1986\. Rodgers and Flynn formed their own band with their friend Clive Williams, called The Hotel Complex, while Harvey moved to [Newcastle](/wiki/Newcastle_upon_Tyne "Newcastle upon Tyne") to join [Pauline Murray](/wiki/Pauline_Murray "Pauline Murray")'s band, and was later to join the reformed [Penetration](/wiki/Penetration_%28band%29 "Penetration (band)") in 2001\.Milner, Frank ed. *The Stuckists Punk Victorian*, p.74, National Museums Liverpool 2004\. 

### 2010–present: Rerelease and *Beyond Moth and Rust*

[thumb\|The Happy Refugees lineup that released *Beyond Moth and Rust*, photographed in 2011\. From left: Paul Harvey, Paul Johnston, Tim Shutt, Nick Flynn, Kevin Rodgers, Clive Williams.](/wiki/File:Happy_Refugees_2011.gif "Happy Refugees 2011.gif")
In 2010, after a two and a half decade hiatus from music, Shutt received a phone call from Dan Selzer, who wanted to rerelease *Last Chance Saloon* on [New York](/wiki/New_York_City "New York City")\-based Acute Records. *Return to Last Chance Saloon* was released in 2011, and included the band's 1982 single, as well as [outtakes](/wiki/Outtake "Outtake") and [demos](/wiki/Demo_%28music%29 "Demo (music)") not included on the original [LP](/wiki/LP_record "LP record"). It was made available both on vinyl and as a [downloadable package](/wiki/Music_download "Music download"), and was well received.

Happy Refugees reformed that same year, with Hotel Complex bassist Clive Williams replacing Lamb, who had died in 2007\. The group visited New York to promote the record. While there, they recorded a live session on [WFMU](/wiki/WFMU "WFMU"), as well as several other live performances, one as guests of American [indie\-rockers](/wiki/Indie_rock "Indie rock") [Crystal Stilts](/wiki/Crystal_Stilts "Crystal Stilts") at [The Knitting Factory](/wiki/The_Knitting_Factory "The Knitting Factory"), Brooklyn.

The band described themselves as inspired by the experience, and returned to the UK to write and record the songs for a second album, released on Gymnasium Records, with Harvey, by then a leading [stuckist](/wiki/Stuckist "Stuckist"), providing the [cover art](/wiki/Album_cover "Album cover"). This album, titled *Beyond Moth and Rust*, was made available on [iTunes](/wiki/ITunes "ITunes") and [Spotify](/wiki/Spotify "Spotify") on 22 December 2014, and was officially released in vinyl format on 23 February 2015\. It includes several songs the band had written in the eighties, but never recorded, such as "What's Your Appeal", and "Ill Wind", as well as various newly penned tracks.


What was the first single released by Happy Refugees?