brit punk Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

The Damned “Damned Damned Damned”

sfilzen — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 12:04:33 +0000

The Damned “Damned Damned Damned” released 40 years ago today, February 18th, 1977. (Also today is Damned founding member and guitarist Brian James’ birthday, b. 1955). Stiff Records. Produced by Nick Lowe. I blogged about this album a year ago, but figured a 40th anniversary is important so doing a bit of cut-n-paste here.

Damned Damned Damned is the band’s debut full-length release and it reached #36 on the UK charts. (It’s also credited as the first British punk album release in the 70′s.) It’s a true classic punk album: messy, funny, fast and loud (the LP label states “made to be played loud at a low volume” – probably due to relatively low production value). So many great tracks like “Neat Neat Neat,” “Fan Club,” “Stab Yor Back,” “New Rose,” the Stooges’ “I Feel Alright” and the foray into the dark-n-creepy goth sound on “Feel The Pain.”

I wrote about seeing The Damned play live in a previous blog post, but the story is amusing enough to repeat here. We went to The Damned show at The Rave in Milwaukee in either ‘98 or ‘99. Captain Sensible was walking around the venue pre-performance so we decided to talk to him, but Joe didn’t want to have a typical fan-musician encounter so instead opted to ask how tall he was (both men are on the tall side). A bit taken aback, Captain Sensible said “Blimey!” and having no idea who was taller, they stood back-to-back. It was Captain Sensible, by a bit.

The post The Damned “Damned Damned Damned” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

The Clash “Clash City Rockers”

sfilzen — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 19:04:29 +0000

The Clash “Clash City Rockers” b/w “Jail Guitar Doors” 1978. 45 rpm single. “Clash City Rockers” appears as the opening track on The Clash’s US version of The Clash, which was released two years after the UK version. I wondered why Joe Strummer sounded vaguely chipmunkish on this single version (vs the album version) and found out why: apparently while Strummer and Mick Jones were in Jamaica in December 1977, after recording the single in studio sessions during October and November, their manager Bernie Rhodes felt the song needed some fixing. Producer Mickey Foote then employed varispeeding, the technique that, in this case, made the song sound a semitone higher in pitch. (Foote was subsequently fired.) The b-side, “Jail Guitar Doors” is a revamped track from Strummer’s 101′ers, “Lonely Mother’s Son.” (“Jail Guitar Doors” would later inspire the name of Billy Bragg’s charitable group in the UK which provides prisoners with musical equipment.)

An’ I want to move the town to the Clash city rockers
You need a little jump of electrical shockers
You better leave town if you only want to knock us
Nothing stands the pressure of the Clash city rockers

You see the rate they come down the escalator
Now listen to the tube train accelerator
Then you realize that you got to have a purpose
Or this place is gonna knock you out sooner or later

So don’t complain about your useless employment
Jack it in forever tonight
Or shut your mouth and pretend you enjoy it
Think of all the money you’ve got

An’ I want to liquefy everybody gone dry
Or plug into the aerials that poke up in the sky
Or burn down the suburbs with the half-closed eyes
You won’t succeed unless you try

You owe me a move say the bells of St. Groove
Come on and show me say the bells of Old Bowie
When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter
No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I
No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I

An’ I want to move the town to the Clash city rockers
You need a little jump of electrical shockers
You better leave town if you only want to knock us
Nothing stands the pressure of the Clash city rockers
Rock rock Clash city rockers

The post The Clash “Clash City Rockers” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

UK Subs “Another Kind of Blues”

sfilzen — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 15:27:31 +0000

UK Subs “Another Kind of Blues” 1979. GEM/RCA Records. The UK Subs were part of the first wave of English punk bands. They formed in ‘76 (initially as the Subversives) with an often revolving-door number of musicians, founder and singer (and lead harmonica player!) Charlie Harper the band’s only consistent member.

Another Kind of Blues is the UK Subs’ debut release and it reached #21 on the UK charts. Melodic, witty quick punk infused with a blues influence: Harper had been on the London R&B scene prior to the Subs formation (hence the harmonica) and flipped to punk after seeing The Damned. The singles “Tomorrows Girls” and “Stranglehold” both did moderately well on the charts. The entire album is classic Brit-punk: fast, sneering and boot-stomping.

The post UK Subs “Another Kind of Blues” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

999 “The Biggest Tour in Sport”

sfilzen — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 17:17:34 +0000

999 “The Biggest Tour in Sport” 1980. Six song live EP from 999′s 1980 US/Canadian tour, helpfully mapped out on the front cover with performance dates listed on the back.

Side A has just one track and probably their best-known: “Homicide,” performed with perfect tight and snotty precision. The B-side has other 999 power pop classics: “Feelin’ Alright With the Crew” and “Boys in the Gang.” “Emergency,” although slowish and chugging, has the boys sounding their most ‘punk’ – sneering, rough around the edges with heavy rhythm and minimal chord changes. The production and sound quality is surprisingly good on this live release, the vocals clear, guitars bright and just enough audience response to convey the excitement of a live show.

The post 999 “The Biggest Tour in Sport” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

The Damned “Damned Damned Damned”

sfilzen — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 19:51:47 +0000

The Damned “Damned Damned Damned” released on this date, February 18th, 1977. Stiff Records. Today is also the birthday of founding member and guitarist for both The Damned and Lords of the New Church Brian James.

Damned Damned Damned is the band’s debut full-length release and it reached #36 on the UK charts. (It’s also credited as the first British punk album release in the 70′s.) It’s a true classic punk album: messy, funny, fast and loud (the LP label states “made to be played loud at a low volume” – probably due to relatively low production value). So many great tracks like “Neat Neat Neat,” “Fan Club,” “Stab Yor Back,” “New Rose,” the Stooges’ “I Feel Alright” and the foray into the dark-n-creepy goth sound on “Feel The Pain.”

I wrote about seeing The Damned play live in a previous blog post, but the story is amusing enough to repeat here. We went to The Damned show at The Rave in Milwaukee in either ‘98 or ‘99. Captain Sensible was walking around the venue pre-performance so we decided to talk to him, but Joe didn’t want to have a typical fan-musician encounter so instead opted to ask how tall he was (both men are on the tall side). A bit taken aback, Captain Sensible said “Blimey!” and having no idea who was taller, they stood back-to-back. It was Captain Sensible, by a bit.

The post The Damned “Damned Damned Damned” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Sham 69 “Tell Us the Truth”

sfilzen — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 20:34:09 +0000

Sham 69 “Tell Us the Truth” 1978. Promo copy with press info flyer and glossy b&w photo. Today, February 9th, is front man Jimmy Pursey’s birthday (b. 1955). The album reached #25 in the UK. Side A of Tell Us the Truth is a live recording of raw punk energy where “Pursey cajoles and bludgeons audiences into listening to his band, arousing them from the usual inertia…into a frenzied enthusiastic mob” (from the press release). Allmusic reviewer Mark Deming says the live recording “captures the Cockney yob in his native environment, complete with football chants and a spontaneous chorus of “Knees Up, Mother Brown [at the end of “Borstal Breakout”].” It’s precisely this demographic that Sham 69 targets: again from the press release Pursey says, “A punk is a kid in Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Southampton who lives in a grimy industrial estate, wears an old jacket, dirty jeans, pumps, goes out at night, has a game of football on the green, throws a couple of bricks through a window for a bit of cheek, a kick. He likes the things likes, no fucking about…They’re the punks, they’re the kids that this was supposed to get over to.” The attitude, the sound, the chants all solidified Sham 69′s status as first gen Oi! rockers (really before the term was widespread as a musical descriptor).

Side B continues the young punk working class fury with seven studio tracks that decry the British class system (“Hey Little Rich Boy”) and generally the crap hand life has dealt the punks (“Family Life” and “Tell Us the Truth”).

The post Sham 69 “Tell Us the Truth” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

The Adverts “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”

sfilzen — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 16:14:45 +0000

The Adverts “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” b/w “Bored Teenagers” 1977. Anchor Records. Brit punks in the mode of The Damned (with whom they toured, promoting the tour with the slogan “The Adverts know one chord, the Damned know three. See all four..”) and the Buzzcocks, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” was the first Adverts single to chart, reaching #18 in the UK, its controversial lyrics helping to propel interest. (Gilmore was an American murderer executed by firing squad in 1977, his famous last words “Let’s do this.”) “Bored Teenagers” became an anthem for the band and for young punks everywhere.

We’re talking into corners
Finding ways to fill the vacuum
And though our mouths are dry
We talk in hope to hit on something new

Tied to the railway track
It’s one way to revive but no way to relax

We’re just bored teenagers
Looking for love or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers

We talk about the whys and wherefores
Do we really care at all?
Talk about the frailty of words
Is rarely meaningful

When we’re sitting
Watching the planes
Burn up through the night
Like meteorites

We’re just bored teenagers
Looking for love or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers

Bored teenagers
Bored teenagers
[On the TV]
Bored teenagers
Bored teenagers

We’re just bored teenagers
Bored out of our heads
Bored out of our minds

The post The Adverts “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Generation X “Generation X”

sfilzen — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:43:41 +0000

Generation X “Generation X” 1978. Today, November 30th, is Billy Idol’s birthday (b. William Broad 1955): Idol co-founded Generation X with other ex-Chelsea bandmates in ‘76 and released this debut album in 1978.

Unabashedly glammy pop-punk, the album is rocking melodic with lyrical “whoo-wee-oohs” liberally sprinkled throughout, a decidedly more New York Dolls meets Buzzcock-ish punk sound than The Clash or Sex Pistols. They even give a tease to future 80′s hair metal bands (with a very British punk sneer) on the power ballad “Kiss Me Deadly.” Generation X reached #29 on the UK charts, the single “Ready Steady Go” made it to #47 in March of ‘78. “One Hundred Punks” is a great power-pop track, probably one of my favorite songs on the album. This is the US release which has a different track listing than the UK version, including a cover of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth.”

The post Generation X “Generation X” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Angelic Upstarts “I’m An Upstart”

sfilzen — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 19:48:39 +0000

Angelic Upstarts “I’m An Upstart” 1979. Limited edition 12″ single b/w “Leave Me Alone.” Working class Brit oi! punk: fast, rough, political. Though associated with the skinhead movement in Britain, Angelic Upstarts music espoused anti-fasict and anti-racist views.

“I’m An Upstart” appears on 1979′s Teenage Warning, the band’s first studio release, and the single charted at #31 in the UK. Its chorus is an anthemic rallying cry about the struggle to find individual identity and buck what they viewed as the oppressive class system of 1970′s Great Britain.

We don’t need to be clever to learn your lies
We only have to listen, open up our eyes
Try to be honest, get kicked in the face
But if you cheat you’re just a rat in the race

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

Seek out an identity
You alienate society
Face the facts, why not admit it
How can you be outrageous when your mother won’t allow it?

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

Seek out an identity
You alienate society
Face the facts, why not admit it
How can you be outrageous when your mother won’t allow it?

I’m an upstart
Hey!!
whatcha gonna do?
I’m an upstart
Listen!!
I’m talking to you!

The post Angelic Upstarts “I’m An Upstart” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Buzzcocks “Love Bites”

sfilzen — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:21:27 +0000

Buzzcocks “Love Bites” released on this date, September 22nd, 1978. United Artist Records. “Love Bites” was Buzzcocks’ second studio LP and reached #13 on the UK charts. As I wrote about with the vault pull of “In A Different Kitchen,” their sound is much more power pop than punk, with a greater degree of sophistication than most of their contemporary punk musicians: complex rhythms, crisp and soaring guitar solos (“Walking Distance,” an instrumental, is fantastic) and inventive lyrics commenting, often, on how love can, indeed, stink. Best and most well-known is the single “Ever Fallen In Love,” which made it to #12 on the UK singles chart in ‘78. Critic Mark Deming writes, “the lyrics owe less to adolescent self-pity than the more adult realization of how much being in love can hurt – and how little one can really do about it.” This similar theme repeats on “Love is Lies” and “Just Lust,” making me think some girl out there REALLY did a number on Pete Shelley’s heart.

The post Buzzcocks “Love Bites” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.