Nails

The Nails were a New Wave rock group formed in Boulder, Colorado, United States in 1977 and consisted of Mark Campbell (vocals), Steve O'Rourke (guitarist), Douglas Guthrie (saxophone), George Kaufman (bass), Dave Kaufman (keyboards) and Mike Ratti (drums, later replaced by Dennis McDermott). They are best known for their alternative radio novelty hit "88 Lines About 44 Women".

The Nails were a six piece New Wave band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, during the mid 1970s. In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers, and their roadie, Eric Boucher, later became known as Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys.

The Nails moved to New York and by the late 1970s had established themselves on the club circuit. Hotel for Women, an EP recorded in 1981, contained an early version of "88 Lines About 44 Women", a song that caught the attention of RCA. The Nails were signed to RCA By Bruce Harris, also known for bringing The Clash to America. In 1984 "88 Lines About 44 Women" was re-recorded for RCA and included on The Nails' full-length debut LP, Mood Swing. The song received regular airplay despite a number of double entendres and lyrical references to masturbation and sadomasochism. [1]

Two years later they released Dangerous Dreams, also on RCA. Both Mood Swing and Dangerous Dreams made the Billboard top 200 album chart. But after the release of Dangerous Dreams RCA dropped The Nails. RCA did not release either LP on compact disc. "88 Lines About 44 Women” continued to appear on compilations 20 years after its release and was featured in a Mazda television commercial that aired in the late 1990s.

The Nails were composed of vocalist Mark Campbell, bassist George Kaufman, saxophonist Douglas Guthrie, drummer Mike Ratti (Dennis McDermott on Mood Swing), keyboardist Dave Kaufman, and guitarist Steve O'Rourke.

In 1988, the band reconvened (without Guthrie and Dave Kaufman) to record a third album, Corpus Christi, which wasn't released until 1993 and received little exposure.

In 2007, the band licensed Mood Swing and Dangerous Dreams from RCA parent company Sony-BMG Entertainment and released these albums on compact disc for the first time.