Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
Group Members: Midge Ure, Glen Matlock, The Philistines, Rusty Egan Presents Shock, Rusty Egan, Bottin & Justus Köhncke
All Music Guide:
Following his 1977 firing from the Sex Pistols -- reportedly for expressing an admiration for the Beatles -- bassist Glen Matlock founded the Rich Kids, a more experimental pop/rock outfit rounded out by guitarist Steve New, drummer Rusty Egan and vocalist Midge Ure, formerly of the group Silk. Distancing themselves from the punk community, the Rich Kids recorded only one LP, 1978's Ghosts of Princes in Towers, before tension between Matlock and Ure resulted in the group's dissolution within a year of their formation. Ure and Egan later reunited in Visage, and Ure ultimately found success with Ultravox, while Matlock largely vanished from sight until publishing his autobiography I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol in the late 1980s. In 1996, he rejoined the Sex Pistols for their "Filthy Lucre" reunion tour.
Wikipedia:
Rich Kids were a short-lived, seminal new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from The Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure, and Rusty Egan, who later went to found Visage.
Career
The Rich Kids were formed by Glen Matlock (vocals / bass guitar) after he left the Sex Pistols, and fronted by Glaswegian Midge Ure (vocals / guitars / keyboards) (formerly of Slik and PVC2). Rusty Egan (drums) and Steve New (vocals / guitars), briefly second guitarist for the Sex Pistols and later PiL, completed the line-up. An early line-up in 1977 consisted of Matlock, New, and Egan, with The Clash's Mick Jones on guitar. Midge Ure, whose band Slik had split up and reformed as the punkier PVC2, moved to London and joined The Rich Kids, and Jones dropped out and continued with The Clash.
The Rich Kids were amongst the foremost British exponents of the power pop style, blending influences from 1960s acts such as The Small Faces and The Who with more recent punk rock sounds. They put out one album, Ghosts Of Princes In Towers (produced by Mick Ronson), and three singles during their existence, from March 1977 to December 1978 (although the official announcement of their disbanding was not made until mid 1979). At their Lyceum show in spring 1978 Ronson played guitar and Ian McLagan (ex-Faces) played keyboards. Several of the band's performances were featured in the 1980 film D.O.A..
Matlock and New went on to tour with Iggy Pop, while Egan and Ure formed a band called The Misfits (not the American horror punk band Misfits) and, after short spells with The Skids and Thin Lizzy, respectively, reunited in Visage. In April 1979, Ure joined Ultravox.
With only one single making the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, the Rich Kids join the list of one-hit wonders; a list that includes other UK punk or new wave acts such as John Cooper Clarke, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and The Vibrators.
On 7 January 2010, the band played a one-off reunion concert at The O2 Academy Islington, London in aid of Steve New. New died from cancer on 24 May 2010.
