One of the longest-lived groups of the punk era, 999 formed in London in December 1976. Led by vocalist/guitarist Nick Cash, a onetime student at the Canterbury College of Art under the tutelage of Ian Dury and a former member of the pub rock units Kilburn and the High Roads, the band also included guitarist Guy Days, bassist Jon Watson, and drummer Pablo LaBrittain. After dispensing with a series of names — including 48 Hours, the Fanatics, and the Dials — 999 quickly established themselves as a popular fixture on the London punk circuit, issuing their incendiary debut single, Im Alive, on their own LaBrittain Records in late 1977.