Some bands begin with such promise, and then break up with a big explosion when they fail to capitalize on said promise. Other bands appear to have all the early momentum and then go out quietly, not with a bang, but a fizzle.

The Primitives formed in 1984 in Coventry, England (formally chartered as a city in 1345 but inhabited as far back as 60 AD when the Romans built a fort there #historyFTW) but almost immediately they lost their singer when he departed due to personal differences. In need of a vocalist, the band’s guitarist scribbled a quick note – “Male singer wanted” – and pinned it to a bulletin board at the local library.

Later that very same day, he received a call from Tracy (aka Tracy Tracy) Cattell. The directive on the ad did not deter her. In the end, it didn’t deter The Primitives either.

After self-releasing their first couple of singles, both of which hit the UK Indie chart, The Primitives signed with RCA and went into the studio to record their debut album. The first three singles from the album barely scraped onto the UK national chart, but the fourth single, “Crash,” made it all the way to #5 in 1988.

Everything looked good. The public loved the song; the music press loved the song; Morrissey appeared wearing a Primitives t-shirt; the band’s concerts sold out. However, the singles from their sophomore album didn’t hit the same heights; but still, they were moderately successful and even performed well on the US Modern Rock chart.

Unfortunately, album #3 failed to make an impression at all, its sound caught somewhere in-between the end of Madchester and the beginning of Britpop. The Primitives quietly called it quits in 1992, which is a shame since their brand of candy-coated punky power pop would become quite popular in just a few years, especially on teen-oriented movie soundtracks.

The Primitives burned brightly, and quickly, and then faded into the smoke.

Let’s also hear “Stop Killing Me,” a single from 1987 that would-a could-a should-a been a hit: