There are at least 3 bands sharing the same name:

1) A punk/powerpop band from the UK.
2) A garage/punk band from Portland, Oregon.
3) A Spanish indie rock band.

Biographies are listed below:

1) The Automatics (UK) are best known for their punk/power pop standard "When the tanks roll over Poland again" (also known by various names such as "When the tanks rolled over Poland again", "When the tanks roll over Poland", etc). The single, released on Island Records in 1978, became one of the first number ones in the newly introduced Punk/New Wave charts. Other British punk groups looked to the Automatics as a inspiration for mainstream success.

An album entitled 'Walking with the radio on' was recorded at the same time under the guidance of upcoming producer Steve Lillywhite, but shelved by Island Records as they focused their attention and producer on an upcoming outfit calling themselves 'U2'. The band disbanded shortly after. Drummer Ricky 'Rocket' Goldstein left to join Sham 69 and played on Sham`s later hits.

Guitarist Wally Hacon went off to work with Wreckless Eric, for whom he wrote the single 'Broken Doll' (later covered by Sir Cliff Richard), whilst Bobby Collins had a spell as bass player in Holly and The Italians.

The 'Walking with the radio on' album was eventually given a release in Japan in 2000 by Base Records, and a UK release in 2003 by Angel Air Records.

With renewed vigour, lead vocalist and songwriter Dave Philp re-assembled The Automatics in 2000 and recorded the Automatics "2" album with top L.A. producer Jim Wirt. "2" was released in Japan by Base Records in 2001 and promoted by a series of Japanese dates. Another album of "Rarities" from their early days was issued by Base Records the same year.

In 2002, Swedish label Diapazam Records coupled together 2 early tracks and released the 7" vinyl single "Wild One"/ "Like a moth into a flame".

2003 saw the band release the brand new 'Forty Virgins In The Afterlife' album. The album was released on Base Records in Japan and also had a release in Germany on Trash 2001 Records. It had the added bonus of a guest appearance from the Sex Pistols` Steve Jones, who played guitar on the tracks 'Trash' and 'Peace on Earth', and was supported by a Japanese tour in 2004.

Dave Philp's vigorous writing and recording schedule over the last few years resulted in the Automatics album 'Britannia' in July 2006 on UK label Dork Records. Guests on the 'Britannia' album included Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Ian McCallum (Stiff Little Fingers), Mick Rossi (Slaughter & the dogs), Michael Des Barres (Silverhead, Detective, Power station), Jim Wirt and others.

The Automatics released "Old River Thames" as a single on Dork Records in December 2006, a track taken from the "Britannia" album. The single made # 1 in the Big L Radio (Radio London) Fab 40, having been championed by former BBC and current Big L Radio presenter Mike Read.

December 2007 sees the release of the Automatics' long awaited Christmas album, "The Last Noel", available as a download-only album for 2007. A full and official CD of the album will be released in late 2008, to coincide with the use of the album's song "Christmas Time is Coming" in the forthcoming 2008 Peter O'Toole movie "The Christmas Cottage".

2) Automatics were a garage/punk band from Portland, Oregon active during the mid 90s through the early 00s. They released tons of records on various DIY labels such as Killer, Little Deputy, Mutant Pop, and Ballroom Blitz. The band consisted of Jesse Kimball, Jesse Sutherland and Ryan Scott.

3) Automatics were a spanish indie rock band active between 1991-2001.Their music was a noisy pop influenced by The Jesus & Mary Chain,Velvet Underground and the early shogazing british bands.
They released three albums "Cesarea" "Space Rock melodies" and "Duty", the three of them achieving great reactions from public and critics alike.They also had a great live set sharing stage with peope like Garbage or Portishead among others.
They disbanded in 2001. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.