Desperate Bicycles - Advice On Arrest

     



 Pioneering punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue issued a call to arms back in '77 when it proclaimed "here are 3 chords, now form a band."  It was a suggestion that was acted upon by a generation of bored kids who were discovering that you didn't have to be a talented musician to be in a band and make music.

  One band who were a prime example of the punk diy ethos were The Desperate Bicycles who formed in Dalston, East London, in March 1977 and who's intent was to record and release a single on their own label (Refill Records). They booked a local studio for 3 hours and for the princely sum of £153 produced the  Smokescreen 7", a debut single which turned enough of a profit to finance the follow up, The Medium Was Tedium.

  Next up was the New Cross, New Cross ep (from which today's song is taken) and then another single called Occupied Territory. Their only album was a Porky Prime Cut (if you're an old bugger like myself, you'll possibly remember that record engineer George "Porky" Peckham would etch his trademark into the run out grooves of many of the eras vinyl discs) called Remorse Code.

  One more single followed, Grief Is Very Private, before they split in 1981. It's not easy to get hold of their records nowadays as they've never wanted to go down the road of re releasing or reissuing.

  This is Advice On Arrest......

it won't happen here 

they can't do it to me 

i've got nothing to fear

never seen the spg

we've got democracy

who needs solidarity

this is what to do when it happens to you!


shout out your name

take all their numbers

make witnesses for your defence

at the station they will search you

make a list of your belongings

don't sign for something you don't own

at the station there'll be questions

don't answer, see a lawyer first

don't make a written statement without legal advice