Editing The Saints (Australian band) (section)

===1976–1977: ''(I'm) Stranded''===
In June 1976, the Saints recorded two self-produced tracks, "[[(I'm) Stranded (song)|(I'm) Stranded]]" and "No Time" with Mark Moffatt engineering (label credits for both sides say 'Produced by The Saints'). Unable to find any interested label, they formed Fatal Records and independently released their debut single in September.<ref name="Howl"/> Their self-owned Eternal Promotions sent discs to radio stations and magazines both in Australia – with little local interest – and United Kingdom.<ref name="McF"/> In the UK, a small label, Power Exchange, issued the single.<ref name="Howl"/> ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine's reviewer, [[Jonh Ingham]], declared it, "Single of this and every week".<ref name="Stafford"/><ref name="Jenkins"/> [[EMI]] head office in London contacted the Sydney branch and directed that they be signed to a three-album contract.<ref name="Jenkins"/> Over two days in December, the group recorded their first LP, ''[[(I'm) Stranded]]'' (February 1977), with Rod Coe producing.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/> It included a cover version of the Missing Links' track "Wild About You".<ref name="McFML"/> They supported [[AC/DC]] in late December 1976 and, early in 1977, relocated to Sydney.<ref name="McF"/> EMI re-issued the single, "(I'm) Stranded" in February and it reached the [[Kent Music Report]] Top 100 Singles Chart.<ref name="Kent"/>

The Saints resisted being re-modelled into the English punk look and were generally ignored by the Australian press.<ref name="McF"/> Mainstream public was warned that punk rock is "a sinister new teenage pop cult, based on sex, sadism and violence, [which] is sweeping Britain."<ref name="Cockington"/> In May 1977, the band released their second single, "Erotic Neurotic" and then moved to the UK, where they differed with their label over how they should be marketed.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Cockington"/> EMI planned to promote them as a typical punk band, complete with ripped clothes and spiky hair – the Saints insisted on maintaining a more downbeat image.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="J Files"/> In June, bass guitarist [[Algy Ward|Alasdair "Algy" Ward]] replaced Bradshaw.<ref name="McF"/> Their next single "[[This Perfect Day (song)|This Perfect Day]]" (July) peaked at No.&nbsp;34 in the UK but further improvement was frustrated by EMI's failure to press enough copies to satisfy demand.<ref name="Stafford"/><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>

{{Blockquote
|text=They were kind of god-like to me and my colleagues. They were just always so much better than everybody else. It was extraordinary to go and see a band that was so anarchic and violent.
|author=[[Nick Cave]]<ref name="jenkins">{{cite book | author= Jeff Jenkins |title=50 Years of Rock in Australia|year=2007|page=291 
|publisher=Wilkinson Publishing |location=Melbourne |isbn=9781921332111}}</ref>}}