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Benny Profane were an indie band from Liverpool, England that existed from 1985 until 1990. They released two albums, various singles and EPs, and recorded three John Peel sessions. When The Room split up in 1985, singer Dave Jackson and bassist Becky Stringer recruited Joe McKechnie (guitar/drums, formerly of The Passage) to form Benny Profane. After recording their first demo with Will Sergeant helping out on guitar, they were joined by Robin Surtees, formerly of Shiny Two Shiny and A Formal Sigh. The name of the band was taken from a character in the Thomas Pynchon novel, V.
According to singer Dave Jackson, Peel was a supporter of his old band, The Room, but when he went to form Benny Profane and released their debut single, Peel was not that keen:
"The record was okay, but John Peel (who'd been very supportive of The Room) didn't immediately embrace our new music with the enthusiasm we'd hoped, and it wasn't until our second ep, Devil Laughing, and in particular the song Stitch That, that he started giving us regular play." [1]
Jackson later went on to mention that the band's first session was voted one of his sessions of the year:
"On the day Liverpool were beaten in the 1988 FA cup final, the band went into the studio with Chris Alison to record Rob A Bank. Initially, we'd planned to have Davepay drums on this track, but Chris Alison had other ideas and insisted Joe do the honours. It was a rather joyless session, enlivened only by Peter Baker's storming guest performance on Hammond organ. The next day we recorded our first Peel session. We did Beam Me Up, Quick Draw McGraw Meets Dead Eye Dick, Everything and Rob a Bank. Dave played drums on all but Beam Me Up, and it was a great session. Peel loved it - it was voted one of his sessions of the year - and as a result, he started playing Rob a Bank every night once he got the test pressing off Ediesta." [2]
In 1990, the band performed at Liverpool University for a John Peel Road Show.[3]
