The new wave angst of The Tubes<\/a><\/strong>, the band shaped in Phoenix who relocated to San Francisco, was a little bit too edgy for the Billboard<\/em> Hot 100 of 1977. But on November 19, 1977, they invaded the UK charts with the satirical \u201cWhite Punks On Dope.\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The track stands as one of many enduring anthems of that new wave interval, even when it was already two years outdated, coming from the Tubes\u2019 self-titled debut album<\/strong><\/a> of 1975. It was written by the band\u2019s Bill Spooner and Roger Steen with Michael Evans, and the album produced by longtime rock studio figurehead Al Kooper.<\/p>\n \u201cSome took \u2018White Punks on Dope\u2019 literally,\u201d the Tubes\u2019 drummer Prairie Prince advised triblive.com in October 2018. \u201cWe were also advocating anti-drugs as well. A lot of our friends died and overdosed and passed out, and lot of rock idols we knew were passing in front of our eyes. We had to make a statement.\u201d<\/p>\n As ever, it\u2019s amusing to recall the musical local weather in Britain in these punky days. Released on A&M \u2013 the identical label that had signed after which dropped the Sex Pistols<\/strong><\/a> inside the house of every week some eight months earlier \u2013 \u201cWhite Punks On Dope\u201d entered the chart because the Pistols descended the Top 40 with \u201cHoliday In The Sun,\u201d as did the Stranglers with \u201cNo More Heroes.\u201d But these new wavers have been within the minority, as ABBA<\/strong><\/a> continued at No.1 with \u201cThe Name Of The Game,\u201d<\/strong><\/a> Queen<\/strong><\/a> rose to No.2 with \u201cWe Are The Champions,\u201d and the Top 10 included Status Quo<\/strong><\/a>, Rod Stewart,<\/strong><\/a> and the Bee Gees<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\nTubes, Pistols, Stranglers and\u2026ABBA<\/h2>\n