The Action - Slashing White Hot

Canadian based punk band, formed April 1976. Disbanded 1981 In April of 1976, brothers John and Paul Fenton formed a band in Ottawa, Ontario. After pulling in a drummer, the clueless trio started a straight ahead rock group. They decided to audition singers for the yet unnamed group and gave Paul's friend Ted a try. He failed the first audition miserably, but was persistent and asked for a second shot. "He told me later that he went up to his parents' cottage and screamed his head off for two days," says Paul. He got the job! At this point the Fentons still also had their kid brother Michael on bass, but he had to quit when school started back up in the fall. They found a new bass player in Rick McDonough and became THE ACTION! Ted and Paul, 1976 John had them rehearsing five days a week, it was always 10 - 5 and members had fines docked from their pay for not showing up on time! Paul recounts, "Ted was still in the hole after our first payday, from a week or gigging at the notorious Green Door club." A friend of Paul's, who worked at a local record store, gave him a tape of this new punk rock music from England. The band listened to it and was very impressed with the fresh and energetic sound. "We still kept quite a bit of our roots intact, though, The Action were heavily influenced by the Stones," says Paul. In a 1977 interview, Ted Axe had this to say about the British Punk influence: "Our repertoire consists of almost all British songs 'cause the Brit punk is the best kind...it's got kick, it's got balls, it's real street-bred music, which is what rock'n'roll music is all about..." The great writing team of Paul Fenton and Ted Axe at CKCU-FM, c. 1980. "Our first few gigs and TV appearances were really fun 'cause people didn't have a clue what punk was all about. We were definitely the first punk band in Ottawa..." The line-up, now with appropriate 'punk' names, consisted of Ted Axe (lead vocals), Rick McDonough (bass), Paul and John - now sporting the surnames Phantom (guitars) and Shot Spot McDonald (drums). After making a demo tape in the early fall, the band took a trip to Montreal where they signed with a management firm called New Wave Productions. The company was friendly with Montreco, a new label run by mid-sixties singing star Tony Roman. "He had a plan to exploit this new punk sensation to all the Zellers and K-Mart retail stores" says Paul. When Rick McDonough suddenly decided to leave, they got Michael Fenton back in the band. He was still only 17 years old at the time. "The session was crazy! Tony invited all the Montreal media to it. We performed 'live' on stage in Tempo Studios," says Paul. The EP was released with a die-cut black and white sleeve with the words 'punk rock' emblazoned on it! "Actually there was a short run of records with a photo that slipped into the sleeve. We had them taken off the market when we saw how hideous the picture looked." The twelve-inch had four songs: three originals plus cover of "Waiting For The Man." There was the short and punchy "TV's On The Blink

Members

• Glen Russell
• Shot Spot MacDonald
• Paul Fenton
• John Fenton
• Michael Fenton
• Ted Schwarzman

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