One Way System’s initial line-up was Craig Halliday (guitar), Gavin Whyte (vocals), Tez Mcdonald (drums) and Gaz Buckley (bass). A demo of the songJerusalem recorded by that lineup was later included on the
A Country Fit For Heroes compilation album, released in January 1982 – Catalogue number Oi3 – which reached No. 4 in the UK Indie Charts. David Ross joined the band from Poulton-Le-Fylde band, Zyklon B as second guitarist and in 1981 Blackpool’s Lightbeat/Beat The System label, released the No EntryEP: A-side Stab The Judge b/w Riot Torn City and Me and You, featuring all 5 musicians.
After some early personnel changes (Tez Mcdonald joined The Fits and it was decided that there was no need for two guitarists so Halliday left, resurfacing years later in Sick 56), the line-up settled down as Gav Whyte on vocals, Dave “Crabby” Ross on guitar, Gary Buckley on bass and Tommy Couch on drums.
The Give Us A Future 7″ was the first release (ANA1) on Cherry Red’s Anagram Records in 1982. In the same year, Anagram also rereleased No Entry as the Stab The Judge EP (OWS2) and the single version of Jerusalem. One Way System became the first signing to Anagram with the release of their All Systems Go LP following the success of Give Us A Future in the indie charts and the band being featured on the front cover of UK national music paper Sounds (magazine).
Between 1982 and 1984 the band had five Indie Chart hit singles and two Top Ten albums. A U.S. West Coast tour alongside Circle Jerks in 1984 was abandoned when Keith Morris broke his neck, although the band managed to salvage one date with Suicidal Tendencies. In 1985 Gav Whyte was replaced on vocals by Andy Gibson of Preston punk band The Genocides and the band remained signed to Anagram until they split in early 1986 with enough songs written for an unreleased third album.
Tom Couch then spent 2 years with the UK Subs and has since been voted one of the best punk drummers of all time. One Way System was resurrected in 1995 with Gavin Whyte returning after Captain Oi! re-releasedAll Systems Go and Writing On The Wall in CD format. Gaz Buckley left the band to be replaced by Dave Brown for a ten date European Tour.
Brown was replaced in turn by Andy Wilkinson and, in 1996, Cleopatraissued a Best Of collection. In 1996, whilst working on a new album, Gavin Whyte left the band and was replaced by longtime fan Lee Havok (real name Lee Pinkney) and it was with this line-up that undertook a tour of Japan.
A new CD, Waiting For Zero was released through GMM in 1998 and Cherry Red released a Singles Collection in 2003. The 2005 various artists compilation CD Give Us A Future (The History Of Anagram Records 1982-1987) took its name from the One Way System single of that name.
More recently, Lee Havok was replaced by ukNige (ex of Pink Torpedoes and, with OWS founder member Craig Halliday, Sick 56) on vocals and ukNige was then replaced by Jay Susel. In 2011, Couch and Wilkinson, while remaining in One Way System, joined singer Dunk Rock (UFX) and guitarist Tony Mitchell (Kiss of The Gypsy) in gothic psychobilly band Boneyard Zombies, releasing the Death Rattle and Roll album in 2012. Both bands appeared at the 2012 Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. Recording for a new One Way System album is already underway and the band toured the U.S. West Coast in 2013. Gaz Buckley is currently in Aussie punk band The Terraces.
