The band was formed in London in 1983 by
Gary Twinn, former singer/frontman of the Australian band
Supernaut; the drummer
Mark Laff, recently from the band
Empire, and the former
Puncture bass player Steve Counsel. Shortly after its commencement it recruited the lead guitarist Ian McKean. Counsel soon quit the new band to join
The London Cowboys, and was replaced by the bass guitarist Jeff D. Vine. and
Mayfair Ballroom. They were subsequently invited to play the BBC's
Janice Long show. The Janice Long show consisted of three tracks Tower Block Rock, Weekend Revolution & Making The Punishment Fit The Crime. On 7 July 1985 the band appeared at the free entry
Greater London Council's "
Jobs for a Change" music festival in
Battersea Park, being driven off the stage by a barrage of bottles, beer-cans and
traffic cones from the crowd within a couple of minutes of walking on. In 1985 it released the single "Tower Block Rock" (ranked #31 for Best Single of the year in
Rockerilla Magazine) with
ABC Records, and in 1986 the single "Johnny 7" was released with
WEA Records, but both records failed to enter the pop music charts. In March of that same year the song "Searching for a Hero", was given away for free on the
Spools Gold compilation released on
cassette with the
Record Mirror Magazine. The band performed at Richfield Avenue for the first day of the resumed
Reading and Leeds Festivals on 22 August 1986. The band’s original manager was Brian Atchinson. Atchinson negotiated the band’s original recording contract with Warner Brother Records and their live, national broadcast on BBC Radio (the first since the Beatles). In 1987
Bernie Rhodes was hired as the band's manager, and secured a contract for it with
Epic Records. Rhodes also had McKean replaced by guitarist
Danny B. Harvey. The band recorded a series of sessions (compiled by Twinn and Harvey) as well as a studio album entitled
Ride. In 1988 the song "Black Leather Jacket" was released as a single promo (which again failed to chart), with the album's release due to follow in mid-1988. However, in the meantime Epic Records was bought out by
Sony, which subsequently dropped the band from the label after a review of its newly acquired holding's acts. Unable to find another record label willing to sign them, Twenty Flight Rockers broke up in 1989. ==Members==