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.
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
The Snipers formed in late 1979 in Oxfordshire. The band compromised of Russel Bowers on vocals, Dave 'Bungi' Hounslow on guitar, Steve 'Wacker' Harris on bass and Mark Taplin on drums. They were inspired by Crass to start a band, even though none of them could play and none of them had any equipment (what they did find was crap, such as a Colombus bass, homemade guitar, half a drum set and a 15 watt practice amp). They were going to originaly be called The Sinyx, but changed it to The Snipers upon finding out that it had already been taked. Early practices were done at Russel's parents garage.
It took at least ten months of writing songs and practicing before they played their first gig at a Christmas party in the Victory Hut, a community centre from Brize Norton (a leftover hut from World War II). The Snipers then recorded their first demo in Bourten, Gloucestershire possible around 1980. They shared it with their friends and sent one to Crass. Crass pulled their track "War Song" for 'Bullshit Detector 1'. A second demo was recorded, three of those tracks ended up on their 1981 7" 'Three Peace Suite' for Crass Records, and the other three on a compilation they were to release later on during 1982.
On 'Three Peace Suite' one can tell The Snipers weren't going for The Exploited / GBH crowd with this single; more avant-garde than punk, the opening track is a slow-building industrial-esque experiment with spoken lyrics while the other two are a little more conventional though still highly abstract, with "3 Piece" playing a jangly indie-ish guitar. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Cold War was a Post-Punk band formed in 1980 in Hornchurch (London) and disbanded in 1982. Members were Ian Smith (vocals, also in Seventh Séance), Paul Harding (guitar), Chris Knowles (bass), and Kev Bulmer (drums). After splitting, Paul Harding and Chris Knowles ended up together in Hagar The Womb and We Are Going To Eat You. Then both became successful Techno DJs and producers during the 1990's and 2000's. Cold War released one live cassette ('Live At The Autonomy Centre Wapping 18-10-81', two demo cassettes ('Cold War' and 'Irrational', both in 1982) and a 7" released entitled 'The Machinist' (1983, Namedrop).
At first, this long-player from Fallout all seemed to have that familiar anarcho-Britpunk style, but after more listenings, the variations and intensity come through. They have a PiL sound on “Know Your Enemy” and “Aparthied” [sic], an Iggy Pop riff on “Trojan Horse,” and lots of early Crass garage influence. Well thought-out and executed. [SOURCE: MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL]
Label: Not On Label (Fallout Self-released) – (F10-1)
Hit Parade was basically a one man anarchist band, the brainchild of P. Checkoff (aka Rik O’che) a member of the Anarchist Collective in Belfast. Being a left-wing socialist Checkoff’s songs were highly political by nature and concentrated on life in Northern Ireland. Subject matter ranged from the evils of television to H Blocks; the RUC to housing problems, and of course unemployment. “I wanted to make people aware that there’s more than a tribal sectarian war here, there are a lot of problems. It’s a multi-problematic place" stated Checkoff shortly after the release of the 'Nick Nack Paddy Wack' album in 1986.
Unsurprisingly, Hit Parade signed to the Crass label. Hit Parade produced electronic music made up of samples, loops and noises and were helped out in the studio by the likes of Eve Libertine, Penny Rimbaud, Jane Gregory and Flux Of Pink Indians and a host of other musicians, Checkoff said at the time “All the structure of the songs is done by me here in Belfast. But when I go into the studio in London it becomes more of a collected effort with different people putting in ideas.” The first release was the 'Bad News' EP in ‘83. This was followed by the 'Plastic Culture' 12” single in ‘84 and finally by the 'Nick Nack Paddy Wack' album. The album was recorded in ‘84 but due to the financial crisis Crass were in at that time, it wasn’t released until ‘86. Penny Rimbaud and Paul Ellis produced the album.
Upon the release of the E.P. 'Bad News', an electro-rap rant on such evils as television, H Blocks, the RUC and so on the Crass label in 1982, copies were seized by Special Branch at retail outlets, along with everything else on the Crass independent label, it managed to reach No.4 in the independent charts.
Before the album was released, Channel 4 produced and screened a TV documentary on the health of women in Northern Ireland. The documentary was called "Under The Health Surface" and the programmes soundtrack featured the music of Hit Parade, which can be found on the 'Nick Nack' LP in slightly different forms. [SOURCE: SPIT RECORDS]
There were a whole host of anarcho-punk bands out there in the early 80s, but it seems they're all forgotten apart from Crass and Conflict. You think more people would be interested -the likes of APF Brigade, The Apostles and The Snails were the true OGs of anarchist rock rebellion yet here this sorry little demo sits with one measly rating.
It's very, very lo-fi indeed, and most of the time all you can hear are the drums and vocals, and our vocalist is no Steve Ignorant with his second-rate Johnny Rotten sneers. The most obvious criticism of anarcho-punk is that many of the bands put message before music, and that's the case here as many of the tracks on here are more on-record rants than songs. Yet anarcho-punk lyrics never fail to be interesting, indeed "From Foxhunts to Oblivion" is a very thought-provoking affair that starts with fox hunting and ends with an image of nuclear apocalypse. It's that typical Crass thing where you begin with one topic that you present as a microcosm of a bigger issue before hitting you over the head with said bigger issue. The sparseness of this tape is intriguing, and though it never really 'rocks', you certainly feel it. Not perfect, but recommended. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label: New Crimes Tapes – N.C. 7
Format:
Cassette, Single Sided
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Style: Punk, Anarcho-Punk
Tracklist:
A1 Think Tank
A2 Factory
A3 Comment
A4 From Foxhunts To Oblivion
A5 Thatchers Victims
A6 Cocktail Version
A7 Army Manoeuvres
A8 Church
Notes:
Track A9 "Clockwork People" is missing in the upload
Anarchist punk band from Norwich, UK. Formed in late 1980, the bands first release was on Crass Records's 'Bullshit Detector' compilation.
1981 saw the recording and release of their first single on the band's own label, Radical Change Records.
The band split in 1988. Drummer Kevin Wymer went on to form Saigon Kiss. Steve Hansell was vocalist in New York Scum Haters. This record is so low budget and bad that it's really pretty good. Also, this lot managed to avoid the mass exodus of 2nd generation UK punk bands into the Oi!/Skinhead world, and remain pretty true to their anarchist concept. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label: Radical Change Records – RC 1, Radical Change Records – R.C.1
Youth in Asia were an early 1980s UK anarcho-punk band from London. They were differentiated from many other bands within that scene by their prominent use of the synthesizer. The band's first live performance was in Brussels in December 1981. They played several gigs at squatted venues, including Crass's squat gig at Zig Zag in London, and the Wapping Autonomy Centre with other bands including The Apostles, Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Twelve Cubic Feet, The Mob, Poison Girls, Hagar the Womb, Riot/Clone, DIRT and others.
The band sang political lyrics about issues such as war, sexism and state terrorism. The band's name was a play on the word euthanasia. The initial line-up was Kay Byatt (vocals), Mark Edmondson (guitar), Wayne Preston (bass guitar), Punky Pete (drums), and Olga Ashworth (vocals/keyboards). Pete was soon replaced by Eddie on drums, and Lou, formerly of The Witches joined on rhythm guitar. In 1983, Eddie and Lou both left the band with Mick Clarke and Bernie, both previously of Windsor's Disease, replacing them. The new line-up recorded a single for Crass Records, but the band split up before it was released, with some of the members forming a new band, Decadent Few. Byatt later sang with Radical Dance Faction and The Astronauts. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Alternative, Scottish anarcho punks, first surfaced with the poppiest (and by far best) cut on 1981's execrable 'Bullshit Detector'. “Change It’, lifted from their demo, was a pretty crap song, but it had a tune and the whole LP was so miserable that even this innocuous ditty sounded good. So, having released their first recording via Crass, they spent the rest of their career being compared to them. With the addition of another vocalist (Linda 'Linger' Rotherham) they then shared a split cassette with Dirt and Reality Control ('Live 23.10.82 The Bunker'). The new band released 'If They Treat You Like Shit - Act Like Manure', an LP which is considered an anarcho punk classic. Highlights are
"Where Are Your Hiroshimas?", "Till Death Do You Part", "How Many Times
Sold?", "Now I Realize", and "Another Subversive Peace Song". A
decently varied anarchopunk album that genre fans should dig but it
welcomes outsiders too. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Chumbawamba were an English rock band, that formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. The band drew on genres such as punk rock, pop, and folk. Their anarcho-communist political leanings led them to have an irreverent attitude toward authority, and to espouse a variety of political and social causes including animal rights and pacifism (early in their career) and later regarding class struggle, Marxism, feminism, gay liberation, pop culture, and anti-fascism. The band are best known for their song "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards.
Chumbawamba formed in Burnley in 1982 with an initial line-up of Allan "Boff" Whalley, Danbert Nobacon (born Nigel Hunter), Midge and Tomi, all four previously members of the band Chimp Eats Banana, shortly afterwards joined by Lou Watts. The band made their live debut in January 1982. Their first vinyl release was a track ("Three Years Later") on the Crass Records compilation album 'Bullshit Detector 2'. They were initially inspired musically by bands as diverse as The Fall, PiL, Wire and Adam and the Ants, and politically by the anarchist stance of Crass. Another of the band's early releases was under the name "Skin Disease", parodying the Oi! bands of the time so successfully that they were included on 'Back On The Streets', an Oi! compilation EP put together by Sounds magazine journalist Garry Bushell.By the end of 1982, the band had expanded to include Alice Nutter (of Ow My Hair's on Fire), and Dunstan "Dunst" Bruce (of Men in a Suitcase) and were living in a squat in Armley, Leeds on Carr Crofts road, with Harry "Daz" Hamer and Mavis "Mave" Dillon joining soon after.
Stalwarts of the cassette culture scene, the band released a number of tapes including 'Be Happy Despite It All' and 'Raising Heck With Chumbawamba', and were featured on many compilations. Chumbawamba were at the forefront of the 1980s anarcho-punk movement, frequently playing benefit gigs in squats and small halls for causes such as animal rights, the anti-war movement, and community groups. The band's collective political views are often described as anarchist. They made several songs about the UK miners' strike, including the cassette 'Common Ground' and a song dedicated to the pit village of Fitzwilliam, which was one of the worst cases of economic decline following the strike. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Even though they couldn't really play and never released anything besides one track on 'Bullshit Detector One', The Eratics (before that they were known as The Pox, The Dogclips, The Clones and some other names) were still a part of the 'Anarcho' punk scene with their intelligent ideas and connections with Crass. Formed somewhere around 1979, The Eratics were bassist Terence 'Stringy' Castle, guitarist Martin 'Snout' Seward and drummer Kevin 'Bondage' Lester on drums while they were all in school in Waltharn Cross. After seeing the first wave of punk play around the United Kingdom including Crass, it inspired them to get up and just start a band, no matter how bad some of them were at playing instruments.
The Sinyx formed in the Summer of 1979 and played their first gig at the Focus Youth Centre in early 1980. The bands first line up consisted of Alien on Vocals, Paul Brunt on Guitar, Auntie on Bass and Vints on Drums. The bands name was based on the name of the ancient Greek movement of anti-societal rebels 'The Cynics'. They quickly attracted a fervent local following amongst the regions Punks and Skins, and began playing concerts further afield with groups sharing a similar outlook, including The Epileptics, Flux of Pink Indians, The Eratics and local band The Icons. [SOURCE: SOUTHEND PUNK ROCK HISTORY]
Omega Tribe are an English anarcho-punk band, formed in Barnet, London in 1981. With the roles of Hugh Vivian on guitar and vocals, Daryl Hardcastle on bass, Pete Fender on guitar and Pete Shepherd on drums, their first EP, 'Angry Songs', was produced by Penny Rimbaud and Pete Fender for Crass Records in 1982. Their subsequent LP, 'No Love Lost', (released by Corpus Christi Records, 1983) won the hearts of many hardened anarchos and secured their place in anarcho-punk history.
A far more melodic style, encouraged by producer and new guitarist Pete Fender (from Rubella Ballet), created a highly influential template that many other bands were to build on. They released a cassette only live release on BBP tapes in 1984. In 1984 Sonny Flint joined on drums, and they took on a sax and flute player Jane Keay. Pete Shepherd the original drummer switched to playing percussion. Pete Fender departed early in 1984. Line-up changes were fairly frequent after this period and a 12" EP, '(It's a) Hard Life/Young John', was finally released in 1985 that showed a complete change of direction. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Considering when this was released, this is almost a pre-take on pop punk in a way, with a bunch of ska influences to it. In general rather soft and melodic material, with nice basslines and very tight fast drumming. Although the tempo is quite high in the tracks, it feels like the tracks are slightly longer than normal punk tracks. Good production and a rather good take on the punk in general, as this spews out attitude, yet is very melodic and rather smooth to the style. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Dick Lucas is the British vocalist of the 1980s British anarcho-punk rock band Subhumans, whom he joined in September 1980, as well as the ska-punk band Citizen Fish, joined in 1990. Before that he had been vocalist in The Mental, from March 1979 to August 1980. Lucas' lyrical content ranged from his outrage and defiance at a system that had, in his perception, betrayed him to philosophical ruminations on the nature of conformity, group-think and the individual's place in society. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
