I remember seeing this back in the day at the Durham Book Centre stall in the underground market in Durham. I asked the balding, middle-aged stallholder if he could play it as he had a record player round the back. He stuck it on and started pogoing like a maniac. Needless to say I bought one there and then. The stallholder released their second single soon after but it's not half as good as this. Check out the bass line which sounds exactly like a World War 2 bomber. The band made some DIY sleeves for the first 100, there were 750 pressed in total. See here.
2. ART ATTACKS - 'I Am A Dalek' - Albatross 7" - UK - 1978
Singer Edwin Pouncey did sound a bit like a dalek and the song is reputedly about him being asked to become one in a toy department. They sold 10 times as many as the Disorder single, had the best track on the 'Streets' LP and 2 tracks on the 'Live at the Vortex' LP, but the only other thing that came out was the 'First and Last' posthumous 7", all of which (and more) can be found on the 'Outrage & Horror' CD on Overground.
3. SATAN'S RATS - 'You Make Me Sick' - DJM 7" - UK - 1978
Their second single and by far the best. Overground did a CD full of them too. Anything else you need to know is here.
4. VICTIM - 'Strange Thing By Night' - Good Vibrations 7" - UK - 1978
The first punk band to play Belfast's Harp bar and the second single on Good Vibrations. Terry Hooley sure knew how to pick 'em. And yes, they had a discog CD on Overground. No doubt you'll get the B-side later.
5. BLITZKRIEG BOP - 'Let's Go' - Mortonsound 7" - UK - 1977
Yes, yes, there was an Overground CD. This is their very first single which was re-recorded and released on Lightning a few months later. The singer, John 'Blank Frank' Hodgson used to work in Stockton HMV and would look at me disapprovingly whenever I bought something he didn't like. Check out the band's website here.
6. TENPOLE TUDOR - 'Real Fun' - Korova 7" - UK - 1980
Their first single, least known because it wasn't a hit. I saw them play Middlesbrough in early '81. About 10 people turned up, yet 15 of us leapt about to the best set ever, including the bar staff and a couple of bouncers. Diamond geezers, the lot of 'em.
7. POP RIVETS - '(I'm So) Happy Tonight' - Hipocrite 7" - UK - 1979
Released initially on a split E.P. with Sulphate, this was Billy Childish's first band, a bunch of lo-fi DIY enthusiasts which was a feature of all bands he would later play with.
8. NO WAY - 'Breaking Point' - Our Own 7" - UK - 1978
Back to Middlesbrough. Only 500 made of this little gem which sold out almost immediately. Stalwarts of the Rock Garden and the Welly at either end of Canon Park Way. There's a limited studio CD out on Only Fit For The Bin. Rarer than the single.
9. THE WASPS - 'Teenage Treats' - 4-Play 7" - UK - 1977
The band that opened the 'Live at the Vortex' LP. Oh to be young again. And of course there's an Overground compilation. Best lyric: 'Pogo powder, perfect bliss, put me down for some of this!' Me too.
10. AU PAIRS - 'You' - 021 7" - UK - 1979
This one stood out by a mile when John Peel played it around Christmas 1979. Originality goes a long way. What an intro. Big Brother paranoia, recorded at Spaceward. 'They know about the scars under your legs, they know when you last dyed your hair'. Another track later.
11. SWELL MAPS - 'Read About Seymour' - Rather 7" - UK - 1977
Another great debut recorded at Spaceward. This is one of their more accessible recordings, having an interesting, experimental approach to things on the whole. Peel favourites, of course.
12. VICTIM - 'Mixed Up World' - Good Vibrations 7" - UK - 1978
The B-side of 'Strange Thing By Night' - slower but just as good.
13. THE FAST CARS - 'The Kids Just Wanna Dance' - Streets Ahead 7" - UK - 1979
One of the best powerpop singles you'll ever hear. A floor-filler at the school disco, I remember. There's lots of retrospective recordings available but this one stands out.
14. THE SHAPES - 'Wot's For Lunch Mum (Not Beans Again!) - Sofa 7" - UK - 1979
Oh how we all laughed! A cracking 4-tracker led by Seymour Bybuss. Later signed by Good Vibrations but they were sadly not to be the new Undertones.
15. PROTEX - 'Don't Ring Me Up' - Good Vibrations 7" - UK - 1978
Another Good Vibrations classic. Sold well and re-isssued in partnership with Rough Trade.
16. TENPOLE TUDOR - 'What's In A Word' - Korova 7" - UK - 1980
The wonderful B-side of Real Fun. 'Have my lips arrested!'
17. ART ATTACKS - 'Punk Rock Stars' - Fresh 7" - UK - 1979
From the 'First and Last' posthumous single, so called because one side was the first song they ever recorded and the other side was the last. This was the last.
18. THE TAGMEMICS - '(Do The) Big Baby' - Lax 7" - UK - 1980
But they did record another E.P. under a new name. One of the songs was covered by Devo.
19. THE PROLES - 'Stereo Love' - Rock Against Racism 7" - UK - 1979
From a split E.P. with The Condemned. They only did one other single and yet still managed a CD on Overground.
20. FRONT - 'System' - The Label 7" - UK - 1978
A Dave Goodman production. Very '70's rock but an excellent song with excellent lyrics: 'Working for government trash, making some fat man's cash, spending the time going out of your mind, where in the world are you gonna buy time?'
21. THE OUTCASTS - 'Just Another Teenage Rebel' - Good Vibrations 7" - 1979
The third Good Vibrations single but the second for the Outcasts who had released 'Frustration' a few months earlier on another label.
22. THE RIVALS - 'Here Comes The Night' - Oakwood 7" - UK - 1980
Another second single, this time from Ramsgate's finest. This is still one of my favourite cover versions of all time, the most famous being recorded by Them in 1960-whatever.
23. VICTIM - 'Why Are Fire Engines Red?' - TJM 7" - UK - 1979
And yet another. This one sets the traditional Dutch poem to music and it works a treat with lots of catchy whoah-whoahs in the chorus.
24. AU PAIRS - 'Kerb Crawler' - 021 7" - UK - 1979
As promised, another track from the classic Au Pairs debut. Feminism in the '70's? You betcha.
25. ART ATTACKS - 'Rat City' - Fresh 7" - UK - 1979
I couldn't use the Last without the First. A sad-yet-hilarious tale about middle-aged frustration: 'I sorta slip into one of those greasy sex cinemas, there's nothing on but a load of shit!' Priceless.
***BONUS TRACKS***
26. DISORDER - 'Law
And Disorder'
27. BLITZKRIEG BOP -
'Life Is Just A So-So'
Get it here
No comments:
Post a Comment