Pablo Alf began the journey down the musical road as lead singer of rock band Rat Patrol, who were formed in Exeter in the South West of England in 1982 and went on to play around 100 gigs, mainly in the Exeter area until their final live show in 1991.
For the purposes of simplicity this site also lists gigs by Rat Patrol under various pseudonyms. These include “Assault On Paradise“, “A Fools Paradise” and “Westway“.
The only constant group member throughout all 4 incarnations was lead singer/rhythm guitarist, Pablo (Alf) Alford.
It would be hard to define the type of music the band played, as over the years the style changed dramatically.
Early Rat Patrol music was heavily influenced by The Clash (without remotely sounding like them), while later material was more reminiscent of The Alarm and Mercenary Skank (two major influences).
Founding Rat Patrol members were:
| Pablo (Citizen) Alf (Guitar/Vocals) |
Joe (Rebel) Swinford (Drums/Vocals) |
| Andy (Mole) Coleman (Bass) |
(replaced by Greg Clemmet) |
Rat Patrol’s manager was Phil (Pip) Hulme (R.I.P mate) and their one and only record label was Sijenn. All studio material was produced by Len (Sizzle) Gammon.
In future reincarnations, stalwart members were:
Jeff Lyne
(Vocals/Lyrics/Guitar and Bass) |
Dave Long
(Bass) |
Gary Townsend
(Lead Guitar) |
Dave Goodes
(Rhythm Guitar) |
Occasional honorary members included:
Steve Bull (Mouth Harp)
Ray Beavis (Saxophone)
Mad Hugo from Belfast (Saxophone)
Dave Moore (Rhythm Guitar)
Joe Fitzpatrick (Synthesiser)
Steve (The Sheriff) Joyce (Bass)
