Cardiacs

Combining the D.I.Y. attitude of the early punk years with an affection for progressive rock acts such as Gong and Gentle Giant, the U.K. act the Cardiacs was formed in late 1977 by Tim Smith, who quickly enlisted brother Jim Smith to join the fledgling outfit. The alleged fact that Jim couldn't play an instrument mattered little, and the band took on the moniker Cardiac Arrest. Their first actual release was a single, "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus," in 1979, which they followed with a full-length cassette release the next year, The Obvious, under the truncated name the Cardiacs...