Personnel: Nigel Bennett (vocals, guitar); Nicky Tesco (vocals); Adrian Lillywhite (drums, percussion).

Recording information: A Cimera, Hammersmith (12/03/1978/01/??/1979); Island (12/03/1978/01/??/1979); The Music Centre (12/03/1978/01/??/1979); The Town House (12/03/1978/01/??/1979).

Arranger: Members.

The only Members album worth owning, Chelsea Nightclub plays into the band's strengths and is loaded with their strongest songwriting (e.g., "Stand Up and Spit," "Off-Shore Banking Business"). ~ John Dougan

The Members were one of the bands that arose from the second wave of British punk during the latter part of 1978, staking their place at the head of the pack with what still ranks among the greatest singles of the age, a rough-and-ready lament for life in London's bedsit land, "Solitary Confinement." Released on the Stiff label's short-lived One-Off subsidiary, it sold out in record time and, as the follow-up, "The Sound of the Suburbs," loomed closer, the buzz on the streets was deafening. This sophomore offering was, of course, as great as it needed to be, and the Members duly followed up with an album that not only equaled the singles' promise, it amplified it across 11 tracks that pinpoint the state of punk play on the eve of the 1980s. From the opening overture of the instrumental "Electricity," across the teen tragedy "Sally" and the vicious "Frustrated Bagshot," and on through raucous riffola and convincingly cod reggae interludes, the Members never put a foot wrong -- not even when it came to re-recording "Solitary Confinement," recasting the loner as a loser, and layering on more sax and guitar than you could shake a one-ring stove at. Rediscovered today, At the Chelsea Nightclub is as unflinchingly brilliant as it ever was, with the Captain Oi! reissue only upping the ante even further by adding nine bonus tracks (including the original 45 mixes of the early jewels) and closing with the Members' third and final dance with immortality, the "Offshore Banking Business" reggae rampage. And, had the band folded there and then, listeners would remember them as the brightest spark of their day. Unfortunately, they kept on going...and going...and going. ~ Dave Thompson

Mojo (Publisher) (p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he energy and humour's still palpable."