Underground Life – Away [7''] (1983, Suono Records)

Underground Life were formed in 1977, during the punk era, with a temporary formation of young musicians, founded by the drummer Lorenzo LaTorre. Singer Giancarlo Onorato joined the band last. In 1979 they released their first 45, 'Noncurance / Blackout!' on the Disco Ivoire label, exposed in the windows of London's Rough Trade shop as “italian punk rock”. In 1980 followed a hard-to-find tape, 'I Fiori Del Male'. After some live shows, they released the 12" 'The Cross' (1981) on Trinciato Forte Records and their first LP 'The Fox' (1982) on Suono Records. After joining the legendary I.R.A. Records labels, some more albums were released, including two tracks for the compilation 'Catalogue Issue' (1984) shared with Litfiba, Diaframma and Moda. Musically the sound of Undeground Life were between the classical new wave sounds and the minimal synth stuff. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 
 

 

Label: Suono Records – SR 7124 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM 

Country: Italy 

Released: 1983 

Style: Minimal, Darkwave, Italo-Disco, Synth-pop, Post-Punk, Goth Rock

 

Tracklist:

A Away 

B Le Vol 

 

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Tango Lüger – Meurtre À Casablanca [7''] (1982, F.L.V.M.)

 

Tango Lüger (French band from the Chalon-sur-Saône region) were formed by Eric Falce (guitar, vocals), Emmanuel Aigueperse (guitar, vocals), Patrick Daene (bass), Jean-Luc Taccard [aka Lucas Trouble] (keyboards, synthesizer, vocals) and Eric Grandmaison (drums). 'Meurtre à Casablanca' was released in 1980. Lucas Trouble, more commonly known as "the Kaizer", is one of the pioneers of the Post-Punk wave in France. Later played in Garage Punk bands such as Vietnam Veterans and Temple Gates.

Label: F.L.V.M. – FLVM 4544 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single 

Country: France 

Released: 1980 

Style: New Wave, Post-Punk, Coldwave, Surf Punk

 

Tracklist:

A Meurtre À Casablanca 

B Scorpio 

 

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Snowy Red – The Beat Is Over [LP] (1989, Antler Records)

 

Snowy Red was the one-man electronic band of the former Chainsaw bassist, Micky Mike. He started his own project under the name Snowy Red in October 80. With his new project, he wanted to prove that it was possible to self-produce a full album, despite meagre means: a few synthesizers, a 12/2 mixing panel, a 2-track reel-to-reel recorder and a few basic effects. This happened to be a successful experience: the record he released in January 1981 was pretty well received by the Belgian and foreign press. The album release was followed by a series of performances that were outside the scope of an ordinary rock gig. Micky sang alone on stage, accompanied by pre-recorded tapes and two dancers from MUDRA (Maurice Béjart's ballet school). To complete the stage set, slides were projected on one side, polaroids on the other, courtesy of photographer Stéphane Sergeant. 

Micky believed the audience came not only to listen but also to watch: he wanted the visuals to enhance their memories of the performance. At the end of the concert, a 'suicide' hung himself on stage. Nothing pretentious, just different. Micky Mike dared to do what other Belgians only fantasized about. Musically speaking, the duo Suicide was Micky Mike's strongest influence at the time. He even dedicated "Baby Tonight" to them. This avowed influence led to him being dubbed "Suicide, Belgian-style" by the audience. 

In October 1981 Snowy Red started work on the second album. The minimal austerity of the first album was still there, but warmer sounds were added by a guitar, a bass, and more confident vocals. The single 'I'm Hurt' announced the release of 'The Right To Die'. Despite its new aesthetics and a brighter spectrum, the new album was as emotionally charged as its predecessor. The album was praised by the entire Belgian press. On stage, the show became more confident as Micky now stood alone, without the dancers who had flanked him during his first performances. The album confirms the success of the experiment: concerts in England, Holland, positive review of Melody Maker and Vinyl. The new show does not have more dancers, slides and Polaroid were replaced by films in almost all performance. Snowy Red performed that year in the Ancienne Belgique (Brussels), supporting TC Matic and then toured in Britain and the Netherlands. 

With the 'Vision' LP and some tracks on the 'The Beat Is Over' LP, Snowy Red was, for a brief moment only, a band. After the Belgian New Beat boom, Snowy Red called it quits and Micky Mike disappeared, only for the band to resurface again in 2004 as a duo (with a guitarist) at the Belgian Independent Music festival. 

 

Label: Antler Records – ANT 116 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Belgium 

Released: 1989 

Style: EBM, New Beat, Synth-pop

 

Tracklist:

A1 The Switch 3:06 

A2 I'm All-Right 4:30 

A3 It's So Good 4:07 

A4 A Picture 5:34 

B1 Love Machine 4:26 

B2 Don't Wanna Crawl 3:25 

B3 Sand Rain 4:36 

B4 I'm Your Driver 3:35 

 

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Reducers – Airways [7''] (1980, EMI)

 

Reducers were a Punk band from Bury, Lancashire, formed in mid 1977 and signed to Vibes Records. They debuted with the 7" 'Things Go Wrong / We Are Normal' (Vibes, 1978), a classic mid tempo with a grungy bass driven single a la Stranglers with Lou Reed's "Vicious" melody with a lovely bored "1,2,3 4" intro. Extremely catchy melodic punk. Another single, 'Man With A Gun / Vengeance / Can't Stop Now' (Vibes, 1979) came with a sticker and strangely had A Side played at 45RPM and the B Side at 33RPM. The B Side tracks are the more interesting. One more single followed, 'Airwaves', from 1980 when the band had surprisingly signed to EMI and were suddenly a synth pop band. [SOURCE: PUNK77] 

 

Label: EMI – EMI 5028 

Format: Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: 1980 

Style: New Wave, Minimal, Post-Punk, Minimal Wave, Minimal Synth

 

Tracklist:

A Airways 

B Waiting For No One Airways 

 

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Pissed Boys – Tschingahsa [LP] (1987, We Bite Records)

Pissed Boys were a punk rock band from Lübeck, Germany active in the 1980s. 'Tschingahsa' is pretty ordinary melodic punk and thrash, and though the lyrics are very strong, the music really comes across with the same emotional impact. This isn’t a bad album, just a not a pissed kick-in-the face. [SOURCE: MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL]

 

 

Label: We Bite Records – WB 013 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Germany 

Released: 1987 

Style: Punk, Anarcho-Punk

 

Tracklist:

Pissed Boys Side 

A1 Mc Donalds 

A2 Right Way To Live 

A3 Anders Sein 

A4 It's All In Your Hands 

A5 Feelings 

We Bite Side 

B1 Kartei 

B2 Vaterland 

B3 Willi 

B4 W.S.A.D.D. 

B5 The Revolution Sold Out 

B6 Eins Ist Sicher 

 

Notes:

Recorded in march 1987 at Panzerknackerstudio Lübeck. 

Track A2 and A5 were recorded live. 

 

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Onslaught – First Strike [7''] (1983, Complete Control)

 

Onslaught (not to be confused with the speed / thrash metal band of the same name) were a Punk Rock band from Hertfordshire formed by Simon (vocals), Matt (lead guitar), Adrian (guitar), Sam (bass) and Tom (drums). Their only EP, 'First Strike', contains slow-to-medium-tempo stuff with no special spunk. “State Control” has a great memorable chorus, but the sluggish drumming holds Onslaught back. [SOURCE: MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL]

 

 

Label: Complete Control – contrOL1, Complete Control – TROL1 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: 1983 

Style: Punk, Punk Rock, Anarcho-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A State Control 

B1 No More 

B2 First Strike 

 

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Null Set – New Job [12''] (1980, Null Records)

 

Null Set recorded their only EP under the auspices of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design between October and November, 1980. The four (Chris Cooper, Ron Dickie, Allan Scarth and Heather Ferguson) no doubt helped to kick start a nascent post-punk scene way out in the far-flung, though student-heavy, Halifax area. Much of the record treads those by now well-worn paths of quivering vocals, scratchy guitars and stop-start rhythms so common at the time. But for those looking for something a little farther out, the opener "Stripe", a mostly wacked-out drum and synth workout by Ferguson and Dickie, packs decades of fun into its brief (1:17) existence. That one is still amazing after all these years! And for those crate-diggers who are adding this to their lists, 'New Job' was pressed up in a relatively healthy run of 1000 copies. [SOURCE: CITIZEN FREAK]

 

 

Label: Null Records – PAR 12-128 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, EP 

Country: Canada 

Released: 1980 

Style: Art Rock, New Wave, Experimental, Post-Punk, Art Punk, Experimental Rock

 

Tracklist:

A1 Stripe 

A2 Teats De Nuit 

A3 Rubber Wings 

B1 Judgement Days 

B2 Etude For Triggered Wah 

 

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The Moodists – Double Life [12''] (1985, Red Flame)

The Moodists were a Melbourne, Australian post-punk band that formed in 1980, when Dave Graney, Clare Moore and Steve Miller of punk group Sputniks moved from Adelaide to Melbourne. They added bass player Chris Walsh and later added guitarist Mick Turner. After recording two singles and a six track EP for the Au Go Go label in Melbourne they relocated to London.

 
They then recorded the albums 'Thirstys Calling' (1984) and 'Double Life' (1985), a nice mix of Captain Beefheart with the post-punk of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The band supported Public Image Limited on their 1984 tour of Australia, along with punk band Box of Fish. They returned to Australia in 1985 for six months (Turner quit and reconvened his earlier group Fungus Brains; he would later form Dirty Three) and then travelled again to the UK. During this time they toured extensively through Northern Europe and also made a short tour of the United States. 

 

Label: Red Flame – RFM 44 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP 

Country: UK 

Released: 1985 

Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave, Post-Punk, Punk Blues

 

Tracklist:

A1 Double Life 

A2 Enough Legs To Live On 

A3 Chevrolet Rise 

B1 That's How You'll Cry 

B2 Can't Lose Her 

B3 Six Dead Birds 

 

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Last Rough Cause / Anhrefn – Soft Lights & Loud Guitars (Part Two) ]LP] (1989, Released Emotions Records)

Originally formed in 1983 in England, Last Rough Cause has undergone a number of line up changes bringing us to the present day. The best way to describe the sound of the band is to say is it's foundation is built on melodic punk rock drawing influences from the early roots of the 76/77 scene right up to the current modern punk sound. 

Anhrefn (Welsh for "Disorder") were an influential punk rock band from Bangor, North Wales and formed in 1982, and initially sang only in Welsh. The band were not supported by Radio Cymru or Welsh-language TV channel S4C, beyond an occasional interview, and bassist Rhys Mwyn became known as an outspoken critic of the Welsh pop industry. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Label: Released Emotions Records – REM 003 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1989 

Style: Rock & Roll, Punk, Oi, Punk Rock

 

Tracklist:

A1 Last Rough Cause – The Great Divide 

A2 Last Rough Cause – Hey Lady 

A3 Last Rough Cause – Feel The Fear 

A4 Last Rough Cause – Locked Up 

A5 Last Rough Cause – War Stories 

A6 Last Rough Cause – Always Had It Easy 

A7 Last Rough Cause – Time To Think 

AA1 Anhrefn – Edrych Ar Y Rude Boys (An Old Classic) 

AA2 Anhrefn – Cornel (The Old Man Alone In The Corner) 

AA3 Anhrefn – Rhywle Yn Moscow (Love In Moscow) 

AA4 Anhrefn – Action Man (Your Country Needs You?) 

AA5 Anhrefn – Be Nesa '89 (Whatever Next?) 

AA6 Anhrefn – Bach Dy Ben (Rock Against The Rich) 

 

Notes:

[Side A] Recorded December 1988 

[Side AA] Recorded March 1989

 

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KeinMenscH! – Kein MenscH [7''] (1981, Tonträger 58 Hagen)

Kein MenscH was an underground band from the early 1980s from Hagen, Germany. They were also one of the first bands internationally to create new sounds with the Roland TR-808 drum computer and synthesizers such as the Korg MS-20 and Roland TB-303. The music of Kein MenscH combines garish synthesizer sounds with the innovative use of electric guitars. Alternating between punky riffs, harmonious melodies and experimental sounds, they recorded a wide variety of songs about human strengths and weaknesses and deal with the social zeitgeist. Kein MenscH's first single, produced by Tom Dokoupil (The Wirtschaftswunder), was released in 1981 on the indie label Tonträger 58. The following single 'Süchtig' was released in 1982 on the major label Virgin. Tracks by the band were released in 1981 on the Neue Deutsche Welle sampler 'Alles aus Hagen', and in the 1982 TELDEC Records Sampler 'Neue Deutsche Unterhaltungsmusik (Rock In Deutschland, Vol. III)'. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 

 

Label: Tonträger 58 Hagen – 58 - 002, Tonträger 58 Hagen – 58 -002, Tonträger 58 Hagen – -002 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM 

Country: Germany 

Released: 1981 

Style: Punk, Synth-pop, New Wave, Minimal Synth, Neue Deutsche Welle

 

Tracklist:

A Kein MenscH 5:12 

B1 Wir Sind Erzogen 2:31 

B2 Du Tom 1:12 

 

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