Minny Pops

Minny Pops is an Amsterdam-based new wave/electronic/art punk band, associated with the Ultra post-punk movement in the Netherlands and the Factory Records label in the UK. Dutch electonic experimentalists the Minny Pops formed in the late '70s. Initially signed to the Plurex label, they debuted in 1979 with the "Kojak" single, which featured impressions of Telly Savalas' TV character of the same name. Their full-length debut followed later that year in the form of Drastic Measures, Drastic Movements. The record gained interest from England's Factory label, who wooed the band away from Plurex. After a final release for their first label, a live EP, the band made their first live appearance in England at the Beach Club, a Factory-aligned haunt in Manchester. At this point, the band's lineup consisted of Wim Dekker (synthesizers), Wally Van Middendorp (vocals and tapes), Lion Van Zoren (bass), and Gerard Walhof (guitar). During 1981 and 1982, the band was bounced back and forth between Factory and Factory Benelux, the label's graveyard subsidiary for what were deemed to be the lesser acts. In retrospect, much of the subsidiary's catalog has stood the test of time more favorably than that of their mother imprint. 1982's Sparks in a Dark Room, released on Factory Benelux, would prove to be the only full-length released during the association between the band and label. Two more records were released by Plurex and Prime prior to the band's 1986 dissolution.