Peter and the Test Tube Babies

Humour is the first thing to grasp about Peter and the Test Tube Babies, an English punk rock group whose tongue-in-cheek lyrics have placed them under the Punk pathetique subgenre. The band took shape in Peacehaven, on the Sussex coast, in 1978, founded by Derek 'Strangefish' Greening and Peter Bywaters. Their songs trade on absurd lyrics and deliberately strange titles, a playful approach that has kept them distinctive across a long career.

Their first real exposure came in July 1980, when Sounds magazine featured them, and a John Peel Radio One session followed. That led to a vinyl debut on Vaultage 78, a Brighton compilation album. In 1982 they covered Gary Glitter's 'I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)' on Pissed and Proud. Two songs appeared on the Oi! compilation Oi! the Album in 2005, the same year they played the 11th Antifest. Strangefish now hosts a punk show with Jimmy Skurvi on Radio Reverb, while in 2017 Bywaters was refused entry to the US and deported; he linked this to his Donald Trump impression, whereas US Customs and Border Protection said it was a visa problem.