Pukka Orchestra formed in 1979 as part of Toronto's burgeoning Queen West new wave scene and centered around lead singer Graeme Williamson and guitarists Neil Chapman and Tony Duggan-Smith. Auxiliary players varied from gig to gig and were drafted on an as-needed basis from other Queen West bands. The band's name, incidentally, was inspired by a relative of Duggan-Smith's who felt that Tony was wasting his time in a rock band and that he should try to find paying work with a "pukka orchestra," pukka being a Hindu word meaning "genuine."
After a one-shot independent single in 1981 ("Rubber Girl"/"Do the Slither"), released on the band's own Rubber Records imprint, Pukka Orchestra landed a recording contract with Solid Gold Records, and a self-titled album appeared in 1984.
Buy CD
© 2008