| The Nerves - The Beat - Paul Collins' bands from 1974-present |
| In light of the new movie about Joan Jett's group The Runaways, it would be interesting to see an anthology DVD with live footage and music videos chronicling legendary bands The Nerves and The Beat. Both The Nerves and The Beat are worshipped by today's new generation of hipsters and indie rockers.
The Nerves were formed in 1974 by Paul Collins (from The Beat), Peter Case (now a Grammy Award-winning songwriter) and songwriter Jack Lee. The Nerves are known for their song Hanging On The Telephone, which has been covered by Blondie, Cat Power, L7 and Def Leppard. Paul Collins as The Nerves' manager and the group toured the U.S. and Canada for 3 years, selling records from the back of their station wagon. Peter Case of The Nerves appeared in the Nicholas Cage movie Valley Girl with his band The Plimsouls. The Nerves toured with The Ramones and never had a record deal. The Nerves disbanded in 1977, right as punk rock, metal and power pop began to be accepted by new audiences.
In response to The Nerves' breakup, Paul Collins formed The Beat, who re-recorded several songs from his days with The Nerves and released several albums and music videos with CBS and Sony from 1978 into the 1990s. The Beat toured with The Police, The Cure and Devo and relocated several times from California to Collins' native New York.
Peter Case also formed a post-Nerves band, The Plimsouls, who released a few albums in the 1980s before Peter made the decision to go solo as a folk songwriter. Peter Case had open heart surgery last year and is apparently doing well. Paul Collins continues to tour with his band The Paul Collins Beat, playing hundreds of shows each year in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Spain, Italy, Sweden, France and throughout Europe. Due to the fan demand Paul Collins and Peter Case still play songs from their days with The Nerves at their shows.
If not a DVD, how about a live CD of The Nerves or a live CD compilation of Paul Collins & The Beat?
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