The Predators

The Predators, also known as The Preds, were a British Christian rock band associated with the early Christian new wave and punk-influenced rock scene of the 1980s. Based in the Greater Manchester area, the group grew out of the earlier band Thin Ice and became known for combining Christian lyrics with a sharper, more contemporary rock sound than was common in the British Christian music scene at the time.

The band released three albums during its original run: The Predators in 1982, Social Decay in 1983 and Offensive in 1987. They disbanded in 1989, later reforming for live dates and releasing a fourth album, Roundabout, in 2011.

History

Formation and early years

The Predators developed from Thin Ice, a Christian rock band active around the end of the 1970s. Thin Ice performed rock songs with rewritten Christian lyrics before moving towards original material. Kelvin Allwood advertised for musicians, leading Kevin Smith to join as singer, while John McCann became the band’s manager. Drummer Francis “Fran” Johnson joined towards the end of the Thin Ice period, followed by Chris Thompson on bass. With the addition of Thompson and a change of name, the group became The Predators.

The early line-up is commonly listed as Kevin Smith on vocals, Kelvin Allwood on guitar, Chris Thompson on bass and Fran Johnson on drums.

1980s activity

The Predators emerged during a period when British Christian rock was still largely separate from the mainstream live music circuit. According to Cross Rhythms, the band wanted to play beyond church venues and reach mainstream audiences, an approach that was not always welcomed by churches at the time.

In 1981, the band contributed the tracks “He Thinks He Knows Me” and “Plastic Surgeon” to the compilation album Shots in the Dark, a project intended to bring contemporary Christian bands to a wider audience. Their debut album, The Predators, was released in 1982 on Marshalls. A Cross Rhythms retrospective review described the band at that time as having a reputation in the north of England for theatrical live performances and noted the album’s mix of rock, reggae-influenced material and songs addressing subjects such as racism and spiritual themes.

The band’s second album, Social Decay, was released in 1983 on Ears & Eyes. It was recorded at Ears & Eyes studio in Leeds, with John Pantry and Chris Norton involved in production. The album’s cover art, showing a human hand reaching towards a skeletal hand, reportedly led to it being banned by some Christian bookshops because it was considered too unsettling. A later Cross Rhythms review described Social Decay as the band’s strongest album, praising Fran Johnson’s songwriting and Kelvin Allwood’s guitar work.

The band released the single “I’ll Never Let You Down” backed with “Time And Time Again” in 1984. Their third album, Offensive, was recorded in the late 1980s and released as a cassette-only album. By that point the line-up had changed, with Fran Johnson and Kelvin Allwood having moved on. Paul Truswell joined on guitar, Andy Raynor played bass and Brian Woodhead played keyboards. The band disbanded in 1989.

Reunion and later activity

The Predators reformed in 2008 and played a reunion gig the following year. In 2010, Cross Rhythms reported that the band were continuing to play UK concerts and quoted the band’s administrator Onkar Singh as saying that the group intended to continue with outreach-focused activity.

In 2011, Cross Rhythms reported that The Predators were recording their first album for 23 years, with the song “Blind Pride” previewed on Mike Rimmer’s Rimmerama programme. Their fourth album, Roundabout, was released independently later that year. A Cross Rhythms review described the album as retaining the band’s rock evangelism focus while moving towards a garage rock sound with some progressive and hard rock influences.

Musical style and themes

The Predators’ music has been described as rock, new wave, pop punk and alternative rock. Christian Tape Underground described the band as an early pioneering new wave, pop and punk band in the Christian scene from England, while noting that the sound could also be viewed as alternative rock because of its pop elements.

The band’s songs addressed both Christian and social subjects. Cross Rhythms highlighted tracks dealing with racism, divorce, sexuality, spiritual experience and the impact of violent video material, while also noting the band’s concern with evangelism and taking Christian music into secular venues.

Members

Known members included:

• Kevin Smith – vocals
• Kelvin Allwood – guitar
• Chris Thompson – bass
• Francis “Fran” Johnson – drums, percussion, songwriting
• Paul Truswell – guitar
• Andy Raynor – bass
• Brian Woodhead – keyboards

Some sources use variant spellings for later members’ names, including Andy Rayner and Brian Westhead.

Legacy

The Predators are remembered as one of the early British Christian rock acts to take a punk and new wave-influenced sound into church and mainstream settings. Cross Rhythms described them as a pioneering British band of the 1980s and later referred to them as a key force in taking the Gospel into Britain’s pubs and clubs.