The Membranes are a post-punk band which formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, England in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb (bass guitar), Mark Tilton (guitar), Martin Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums). Critchley soon left, with Robb taking on vocals, and Kelly moving to keyboards, with "Coofy Sid" (Coulthart) taking over on drums. Their first release was the "Flexible Membrane" flexi-disc in 1980, and over the next 11 years they would go on to release 6 studio albums.