Toad the Wet Sprocket

Few people realize that ten years before Californian alternative rockers Toad the Wet Sprocket even came into existence, England was home to another far more obscure band named after the popular Monty Python skit. This particular outfit originated in the town of Bedfordshire in the mid-'70s, and featured vocalist Mike Mustofa, guitarist Mark "Curly" Rideaut, bassist Pete Austin, and drummer Martin "Witik" Wightwick. After a few years searching for direction (they released a 1979 single entitled "Pete's Punk Song" that was part pub rock, part lounge spoof), Toad the Wet Sprocket had gravitated toward the conveniently rising New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and their second single, 1980's "Reaching the Sky," was formatted to fit in.
Ironically though, it was a terribly unrepresentative blues number, imaginatively titled "Blues in A," that wound up featured in the now legendary Metal for Muthas LP that same year -- a wasted opportunity to cash in on the collection's penchant for launching other NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden and Angel Witch. Much more promising was their June appearance on the Friday Rock Show, but the band failed to follow it up with either touring or further releases, so that by the time they were mentioned in a 1982 Kerrang! magazine article devoted to "upcoming bands," such a tag couldn't have been further from the truth. This led to Toad the Wet Sprocket's disbanding a short time later. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi