Eater

One of the first British punk bands, much of Eater's notoriety stemmed from their tender ages. These have been variously reported as anywhere between 13 and 17, with drummer Dee Generate (usually said to be 13 or 14 when the band formed) probably the youngest first-generation punk of all. At any rate, the London group recorded some singles, an EP, and an album (called, in a gimmick Public Image Ltd. would pick up years later, The Album), all released on The Label. Playing stripped-down power-chord bile anthems in the mold of the Buzzcocks and (more distantly) the early Jam, Eater weren’t nearly as talented or diverse as those early punk pioneers. But they did manage some spirited, if typical and rather generic, early punk that isn’t as dispensable as some reference books would lead you to believe. Eater had imploded by the late ’70s. Dee Generate’s replacement, Phil Rowland, joined Slaughter and the Dogs, and singer Andy Blade recorded a single with ex-Damned guitarist Brian James in the mid-’80s, but that was basically it for the members of the band. ~ Richie Unterberger