MANCY presents … MINDLESS VIOLENCE – U.K. SKINHEAD / STREET PUNK *

* (restored)

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ANTISOCIAL – NEW PUNKS

“These dummies from Blackpool had a few singles on Beat-The-System!! in the early 80’s, and were typical of that label’s practitioners of pitiful pogorama: largely indecipherable vocals, not much in the way of tunes, and absolutely no invention/innovation whatsoever.”

 

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CRIMINAL CLASS – OI! OI! (SKINHEAD)

[Criminal Class] were led by Craig St Leon, who was anything but right wing, but that never stopped them being lumped with the extreme right.
Craig was inspired by glam rock heroes David Bowie and Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, and when punk arrived it was all eyes on The Clash.
“I always thought punk rock was very glam inspired,” reveals Craig.
“What with the bondage trousers and dog collars.
“Then I saw Sham 69, and I began to wear the Dr Martens boots, Ben Sherman shirts, braces, and by 1979 I had formed a band called Criminal Class.”

 

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INFA RIOT – EMERGENCY

SO WHAT’S the motivation behind Infa-Riot?
“Well, it’s a youth rebellion thing I suppose and I’m a kind of political commentator, I look at a situation and write about it, without taking
sides (…) And there’s something else I’d like to say; none of this group have got a criminal record. . .”

 

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THE PARTISANS – MINDLESS VIOLENCE

The Partisans are a punk rock band formed in Bridgend, in South Wales in early 1978, when all four members were in their early teens.

“If you ask the Partisans they would tell you that 1976 and 77 was the best year for punk rock ever !!!!
But luckily for us as a band 1982 is doing quite well and we are supposedly one of the top ten bands of that era.. what ever next..”

 

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COMBAT 84 – COMBAT 84

“Skinhead/Oi! band who pissed everybody off when their delightful lead singer, Chris “Chubby” Henderson, made racist remarks during an Arena documentary in 1982. Although the others did not support or endorse his views it was pretty much the end of the band. Chubby’s racism was already an open secret, which is why a deal with Secret Records fell through and their rather rocking Orders Of The Day E.P. was self-released on Victory Music instead, scaling the Indie charts in early 1983. It was promptly followed with the notorious Rapist 7″, which peddled some very dubious politics. Not quite as extreme as Brutal Attack or Skrewdriver, but no less dodgy, Combat 84’s welcome demise came about in 1983 when it became clear no promoter would book them.”

 

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BLITZ – ATTACK

“The original band consisted of 2 skinheads and 2 punk rockers, Nidge on Guitar, Mackie on Bass, Carl on Vocals and Charles on Drums. This alone seemed ground breaking on the sheer fact that the band consisted of an equal blend of two tribes that at the time didn’t always find common interests. It was a perfect recipe for what was soon to be called “Oi” music. They appeared on several compilations with other bands being funnelled through the moniker of Oi, but never openly embraced the term as their sound. Always referring to themselves as a punk band.”

 

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THE 4-SKINS – ONE LAW FOR THEM

“Before One Law was released, Southall happened, so the single suffered poor distribution in its aftermath, with many shops refusing to stock it. It was “Single Of The Week” in Sounds and sold well. To get back on track, they did a come-back gig at Mottingham Prince Of Wales at the end of August under the name ‘The Skans’ and with support band The Business billed as ‘The Bollyguns’. BBC TV cameras were invited to the gig, and it was shown in part on their ‘Nationwide’ TV programme. Shortly afterwards, Hodges left the band … After a further “comeback” gig in Leeds Brannigan’s, Rockabilly Steve quit as well (he wanted to go techno).”

 

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CONDEMNED 84 – ALL OUT ATTACK

“Condemned 84 always had right-wing ideas and sympthaties (see their attacks on communists and homosexuals, their stands pro-capital punishment and their records on Rock-o-Rama, as exemples), but their recent italian gig openly booked by the nazi organization Veneto Fronte Skinhead was a surprise for many people, and even for me; anyway what’s worst in this whole story is the fact that when – outside Italy – they were asked about this compromising gig they’ve claimed that no nazi was present at the event … but this is just the beginning! You probably know the ‘Beer Olympics’ booked every year by GMM Records featuring old and new oi! & streetpunk acts; well, GMM just put out a statement disgusted by the fact that C-84, who were on the bill, will not play as they refuse to share the stage with black musicians (“C-84 has opted not to perform due to the fact that two bands who have African-American members would be performing on the same stage”); for the complete statement just go some lines below or visit http://www.gmmrecords.com/.
Antifascist greetings, Viterbo skins

*** PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM GMM. ***
GMM regrets to inform its supporters that Condemned 84 will not be appearing on the GMM Beer Olympics. C-84 has opted not to perform due to the fact that two bands who have African-American members would be performing on the same stage. We are shocked to hear that one of our bands would take this racist outlook in this day and age. We at GMM are also shocked that a band that we have invested time and money with in the past would come out and embarrass us with this statement. GMM and its bands are strongly anti-racist and we hope our supporters are as well. We hope you will still make a strong showing at the GMM Beer Olympics to support our great acts like Pressure Point, the Templars, the Anti-Heros and all the other acts. We are also proud to announce that Anti-Seen will be headlining the Saturday show of the GMM Beer Olympics!”

 

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COCKNEY REJECTS – POLICE CAR

“I’d seen quite a bit on the terraces or outside football grounds, but this was carnage,” says Jeff Turner, today an immensely amiable decorator, then “Stinky” Turner, the Cockney Rejects’ teenage frontman, cursed with what his former manager Garry Bushell tactfully describes as “a bit of a temper”. Turner continues: “There was a lot of people cut and hurt, I got cut, my brother [Rejects’ guitarist Micky Geggus] really got done bad, with an ashtray, the gear was decimated, there was people lying around on the floor. Carnage.”

 

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SKREWDRIVER – BACKSTREET KIDS

“Formed in 1976 as a non-political UK punk band, who at their label’s urging became skinheads during the second wave of skinheads in England. Skrewdriver became known for attracting violence at their shows and none of their Chiswick releases did very well in the UK charts. They broke up in 1979.

Ian Stuart re-formed the band in 1982 as a clearly White Power neo-Nazi skinhead band, with entirely different (and often revolving) band members. This new version of Skrewdriver became the musical arm of the British National Front and released as their debut album “Hail The New Dawn” in 1984 on the German Rock-O-Rama label. This release not only helped transform the label to a far-right position but effectively invented White Power “hate-rock” and Skrewdriver quickly became a driving force behind the RAC (Rock Against Communism) movement.”

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“In an interview Ian did for Melody Maker in 1977 he was asked if Skrewdriver were a non-violent band, shocking the reporter Ian replied “No, No, I actually enjoy fighting. Fighting was the only thing to do in Blackpool. There were no rock concerts, you had to travel to Manchester or Liverpool for that. Blackpool is for pensioners.” At a time when people were telling the group to distance themselves from their Skinhead audience, Ian and the boys reverted to their Skinhead ways. Punk had become fashionable and was losing much of its cutting edge. Skrewdriver were perhaps showing a little naivety and un-beknowingly playing into the media’s hands. “

 

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THE BUSINESS -SUBURBAN REBELS

“Drawing inspiration from Sham 69, these South London lads (and indeed they pride themselves on being “lads”) have been taking Cockney pride into territory that spills over into parody since 1979. Along with Cockney Rejects and Cock Sparrer they are probably the UK’s foremost Oi!/Streetrock band, and even at their worst are miles ahead of most their competition (Infa-Riot etc). Unusually for a punk band, their best material was not their earliest: although they hit an early high with 1981’s ‘Harry May’, as the 80’s progressed they began playing slower and writing better songs. By 1985 they were delivering a commendable barrage of guitar noise very much similar to The Professionals, with songs about football, hooliganism, and football hooliganism, with anecdotes about rioting, smashing up discos and rucking thrown in for variety. Much of the time it sounds very much tongue in cheek, but they are capable of insight and even pathos on such songs as ‘Out In The Cold’, ‘Foreign Girl’ and ‘Informer’. By the time they split in 1990 they seemed like yesterday’s men, but when they reformed in 1992 they were astonishingly good, with their extremely charismatic and likeable singer Mickey Fitz sounding more Cockney-fied with each release.”

 

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THE LAST RESORT – WORKING CLASS KIDS

“Even amongst the British skinhead fraternity at the time, which included such notable lunkheads as The Gonads and Combat 84, The Last Resort took idiocy to new extremes on their debut release, oddly enough a cassette single. Released when the unbelievably abrasive Saxby was singer, ‘Violence In Our MInds’ and ‘Soul Boys’ are unbelievably stupid celebrations of mindless violence, so stupid one must assume some kind of satire is being attempted. Charlie Duggan’s guitar work throughout is simple but effective Oi! fare and the whole caboodle is great.”

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Cool. Ha ha, awesome you noted that sentence, it was a clincher for that dude. Love making the mouse that has recently invaded my apartment and presumably others’ apartments move house before the landlord hunts it down and kills it, G. ** Tosh Berman, Wise move, Tosh, if you ask me. She’s singular. There’s a slight uptick in interest in her work going on because the excellent press And Other Stories has put her books back into print with a bit of a push. I have had the occasional daydream where my blog gets some sort of egghead humanitarian award, I will admit, ha ha. Thank you, sir. ** _Black_Acrylic, Whoop! The only thing I remember from ‘Zardoz’ is that giant floating mask or head or whatever it is. I assume there must have been a story too. It was once quite a popular movie to get baked before watching. ** Misanthrope, Me? My resume is exploding at the edges. I’ll try to use that power responsibly. Or … no, I won’t. ** Steve Erickson, I remember when people used to put this kind of paper funnel in their clogged ear and then light it on fire or something. Thanks for the program notes. I’ll look into the possibility of doing a Soldat post if there’s enough online. Ha ha, self-styled daddybois already exist in droves. ** Florian S. Fauna, Hi, Florian. Nice to see you! Oh, LA stuff. Hm. I’m not sure what’s up on the art front. I find that the Artforum gallery/ museum online guide is a good place to look. I use it to hunt things in Paris. I’ll have to think. You probably know a lot of what’s what. Cool, have fun. Zebulon is a cool music venue if anyone of note is playing there while you’re there. Right, you have a new album coming up, don’t you? I think I saw news about that. I definitely look forward to that big time. Yeah, I was in LA for ages this year. Really unusual. And then I’ll be back there for tons of Halloween stuff, of course. The film itself is going really well on the getting-it-finished front. I’m super excited about it. Take care, maestro and pal. ** Sarah, Hi, Sarah, I remember you, of course. It’s cool to see you! I’m so curious about the new Baldur’s Gate. I’ve never played that game for no good reason, but it looks potentially amazing. What do you think of it? Should I go for it? How is everything else in your world? ** darb🦔, Hi. If a dude strips in a living room, I’m thinking they secretly want to be seen. Well, depending on how late you got home, that’s true. Good and better that yesterday rocked. I honestly don’t know if my head dent is a weird color or something. I guess not. You only really know it’s there if you press your hand down flat on the top of my head. I guess my barbers haven’t done that, or else they’re just really polite. Wow, I don’t know if I want to think too much about Neurocysticercosis. On the other hand, maybe I should do a Neurocysticercosis Day. Dilemma. I do know a couple of meat eaters. If I bump into them, I will remember not to do the double-cheek kissing thing French people do. Thanks for the warning. You steer clear too, yeah. Your full brain power is needed. ** Cody Goodnight, Hi. I’m me, meaning okay. ‘Batman v Superman’ is way beyond bad even by bad blockbuster standards. Avoid at all costs. I do like ‘Volunteers’, but I do think that’s when they start losing their crazy magic a bit. But, yes, go for it. After that there’s basically nothing left. ‘Enter the Void’ is so great. Noe’s highpoint for absolutely sure. ‘Out of the Blue’ is really terrific. You’ll like it, I’m sure. ‘Bijou’, wow. That must be so dated now, but hopefully in a trippy way. I’ll try to max the day out. I feel certain you will. You’re great at doing that. ** Okay. Today I have restored this charmed old post created long ago by d.l. MANCY aka the artist Steven Purtill. I invite you to indulge in it. And thanks again from the future, Steven. See you all tomorrow.