False Prophets - Good Clean Fun

 

  Today's update features a single from False Prophets that came out on Worn Out Brothers records in 1982. The band were from New York and formed in 1980. they released their debut single, Blind Obedience, in 1981 but it was the follow up, Good Clean Fun, that is generally regarded as the pick of their back catalogue.

  They went on to release a couple of albums on Alternative Tentacles (False Prophets & Implosion) before splitting in 1987. A reformed version of the band carried on for a few years and released the Invisible People ep in 1990.

  The line up on today's song was Stephen Lelpi (vocals), Peter Campbell (guitar), Steve Wishnia (bass, synth) and Matt Superty (drums). A blistering hardcore social commentary, this is Good Clean Fun.....

Who wound up the killer children
Vicious toys left on the shelf
Misused abused always mistreated
Plus they do it to themselves
Who tied up the pounding puppets
Punch and Judy never played this rough
They say music soothes the savage
But they're made of tougher stuff

We're too smart to watch the T.V.
Because it's filled with violence
So we like to go out dancing
And knock ourselves devoid of sense

Everybody kill kill kill
Everybody maim maim maim
Everybody slash thrash bash
Prove you have no brain

Who would up the killer children
We don't ask the girls to dance
We're afraid of independence
So we kick them in the pants
Who tied up the pounding puppets
Who the fuck wants boring music
This is not what we originally want
All we do now is abuse it

Anarchy is not roller derby
We must fight against the enemy
Whoever the fuck that might be
All we want is good clean fun!

the Porno Cassettes - Your Face...

  From what I can gather, today's song is quite rare. Supposedly there were only a hundred copies pressed and the band, The Porno Cassettes, only ever played one gig.

  It was one side of a single released in 1982 (the b side was Dead End Yobs), and it's called Your Face...

  It was re released in 2014 on Radio Raheem Records and is really rather excellent.

  Enjoy........

Ill Repute - Clean Cut American Kid

  Forming in 1981 in Oxnard, California, Ill Repute are a hardcore punk band that along with contemporaries such as Dr Know, RKL, Aggression etc were classed as Nardcore (the name an abbreviation of Oxnard Hardcore).

  Their original line up featured John Phaneuf (vocals), Tony Cortez (guitar), Jimmy Callahan (bass) and Carl Valdez (drums) and early releases of note were the Oxnard - Land Of No Toilets 7" and the 1984 debut album, What Happens Next although one of their best known songs (the one you'll find below) appeared on volume 3 of the Rodney On The Roq series on Posh Boy Records.

  There's been numerous releases since then, including compilation albums and appearances on various samplers etc but one item worth tracking down is the Clean Cut American Kids : The Story Of Ill Repute documentary dvd.

  The song that spawned the dvd title, this is Clean Cut American Kid.....

I’m a clean cut American kid
My mama raised me right I ain’t no skid
I got a job I pull my own
Got a place I can call my home

I’m a clean cut American kid
I’m a clean cut American kid
I’m a clean cut American kid
I’m clean cut

I don’t smoke and I don’t drink
Use deodorant so I don’t stink
Wear a white T-shirt under my clothes
Never fart or pick my nose

I’m a nice guy I’m so polite
I turn the other cheek I never fight
Take a bath everyday
And you can hear all the people say

Go fishing with my dad
You know I’m always such a happy lad
Go to bed every night at 10
I brush my teeth with a wide white grin

Upright Citizens - Holocaust

  From Bottrop in the Ruhr, Upright Citizens formed in 1981 and were one of the first German punk bands to sing in English. They were hard edged, pissed off and catchy as hell and weren't afraid to wear their social and political beliefs as a badge of honour.

  Often named as their best release, their debut ep came out in 1982, contained 9 tracks, and was called Bombs Of Peace. Amongst it's delights is the song that you'll find posted below.

  Their debut album, Make The Future Mine & Yours, followed a year later and was another winner. Both this album and the ep were re released together by Rude Records in 2014.

  They were one of the few German punk bands to tour the US and supported the likes of Bad Religion and Dead Kennedys, D.O.A. and UK Subs. Their final gig was on a charted pleasure boat on the Rhine in 2003.

  A cover of a song that was originally on the b side of British punks Crisis' No Town Hall 7". This is Holocaust.......

You've read it in a book You've seen it on a T.V. screen To you it's a nightmare But to some it's a dream They've hidden their swastika Behind the national flag You'd better watch out brothers They're heading for a comeback Remember Belsen, remember Auschwitz They're trying to say they didn't exist Don't let them put this country in chains Don't let six million die in vain Belsen, Auschwitz, Dachau No more holocaust

 

The Effigies - Body Bag

 

  Charlie Harper resided in comparative luxury when he lived in a car, at least compared to John Kezdy who had to make do with a body bag.

  The Effigies were from Chicago and got together in 1980. The original line up was Kezdy (vocals), Earl "Oil" Letiecq (guitar), Paul Zamost (bass) and Steve Economou (drums). At that time Chicago was pretty much a barren wasteland as far as punk bands were concerned and The Effigies can justly claim to be trailblazers for that region of America. Along with Naked Raygun they were big influences for a generation of impressionable kids.

  Their first release was 1981's Haunted Town ep. This was followed up a year later with the Body Bag 7" (the title track of which is below). Their debut album was 1984's For Ever Grounded and shortly after this Letiecq was replaced on guitar by Robert O'Connor. Two more albums, Fly On A Wire and Ink followed but soon after Zamost and O'Connor left to form Machines In Motion and despite carrying on for a while and then reuniting several times since, things were never really the same.

  In 1989, a compilation surfaced called Remains Nonviewable. Whilst reviewing the album, Punknews.org described them as the greatest punk rock/hardcore band ever to come out of Chicago.

  This is Body Bag........

See what it's like to be dead 
Not a thought there to be had 
I'm just not there to just not care 

Sane's equal to mad

I live in a body bag

Plane just left O'Hare
On time flight one-nine-one
Disaster in the air
Starboard engine's gone

Human ants crawl feeling
Shocked. Prodding the snow of debris
Stopped watch. Final notification
Pending dental I.D.

Court Martial - No Solution

  Forming in 1979 in Bristol, The Zeds featured a line up of Alex McPherson (vocals), Simon Burrough (guitar), Richard Braybrooke (bass) and John Zalokoski (drums). They were still at school at the time and it wasn't long before Zalokoski was replaced on drums by Simon's 13 year old younger brother, Ian Burrough. They also changed their name to Court Martial.

  By 1982 they had 3 demos under their belt and were supporting bands of the calibre of Chelsea and Vice Squad. They signed to Vice Squad's Riot City Records and featured on that label's Riotous Assembly compilation with the song Your War. They released their biggest "hit" the Gotta Get Out ep and followed it up with their final release, the No Solution ep. They split up shortly after.

  This is No Solution......

Code Of Honor ~ What Are We Gonna Do?

  "Here we are, a small group of kids who realize our government is fucked, but what are we gonna do? WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?"

  A classic 1982 US hardcore skate punk single today.

  Following the demise of Californian punk outfit Sick Pleasure, 3 members of that band (Mike Fox (guitar), Dave Chavez (bass) and Sal Paradise (drums) ) were joined by vocalist Johnithin Christ and they formed Code Of Honor. Due to there still being half an album's worth of Sick Pleasure material unreleased, they added their new songs to it and put out a split album titled Fight Or Die/Dolls Under Control (1982 on Subterranean Records).

  Also on Subterranean was their only single, a 7" containing the tracks What Are We Gonna Do? and What Price Would You Pay?   1984 saw the release of album number 2, Beware The Savage Jaw, but by this time much of the aggression and speed had been toned down. They split pretty much straight after though in 2006 there was a compilation called Complete Studio Recordings 1982-1984.

  Known for their political lyrics and hatred of the Reagan Administration, they were a popular live act. They shared a stage with most of the top bands from that era; The Ramones, Misfits, Black Flag, Adolescents, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, The Damned, Agent Orange, DOA, Suicidal Tendencies, Bad Religion, TSOL  etc, etc, etc......

  Johnithin Christ passed away in 2009 following a bout of Pneumonia so I'll dedicate today's song to his memory. This is What Are We Gonna Do?......

The Underdogs - Never Gonna Give Up On Myself

  Another song from the 80's today, one of several that I've posted recently that would probably have been hits if they'd been released a few years earlier before the mainstream decided that punk was no longer relevant. For all those people that swapped their bondage trousers for their partner's make up bags once punk had been pronounced dead, you missed some killer tunes guys.

  The Underdogs, like many bands from that era, weren't overly prolific. From Leeds, they only released a couple of demos (Riot In Rothwell and East Of Dachau) and a 3 track ep, also called East Of Dachau, which came out in 1983 on Riot City Records.

  They were U.G. (vocals), Col (guitar/vocals), Bill (drums/vocals) and Martin (bass/vocals) though Martin was replaced after the single came out by former Expelled bassist Macca.

 Forthcoming is their Punk Demos Collection that will feature remastered versions and is out on Common People Records in October :  http://commonpeoplerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-underdogs-the-punk-demos-collection-cpr011

  Probably my favourite of theirs, this is Never Gonna Give Up On Myself....

When I was small,
I learned lots of things,
pissed it all back by the wall

Memories of school, 
kicking cobbled stones,
smoking and breaking the...
prima donna of power still calls

Tells me how I made a mess of it all
But I ain't finished yet
So let's go...

I'm never gonna give up on myself!

I'm still in spring,
getting older everyday,
but learning how to live

Bring myself up, to do things my way,
disregard the...
prima donna of power's still there,

And they still stop and stare
But I ain't finished yet...
So let's go...

 

The Adicts - Johnny Was A Soldier

   Yesterday's song concerned itself with the white crosses that mark the graves of fallen soldiers, today's concerns the plight of those who survive the conflict but suffer physical and mental scars.

  The Adicts are from Ipswich and lay claim to be "the longest running punk band in history with all original members." They formed in late '75 (originally called Afterbirth & The Pinz) and played their first gig in a scout hut in Aldburgh, Suffolk.

  Their first release was 1979's Lunch With The Adicts ep whilst debut album, Songs Of Praise didn't surface until 1981. One of it's tracks and possibly their best known song, Viva La Revolution, was released as a single a year later. Since then their body of work has swollen considerably. They're one of the most visually striking bands around with their Clockwork Orange inspired droog imagery.

  The song I've posted below is taken from their 1982 album, Sound Of Music, and is possibly my favourite of theirs (although by tomorrow that accolade could be accorded to another song). This is Johnny Was A Soldier......


Johnny joined the army
 
The cause he didn't know

He served three years

In the Middle East

You know it dosen't show


push push push push push push push push


Johnny was a soldier

He can't dance anymore

He can't dance anymore

When he came out

He tried to form a band

But he's only got one leg

And he can hardly stand


push push push push push push push push


Now he drinks alone

He gets sentimental

He watches girls dance

And he's thrown away his medals

 

The Lewd - Climate Of Fear

  Today's update features a band that originally hailed from Seattle under the name of the Sixteen Year Old Virgins. Eventually renaming themselves The Lewd, the band played a few early gigs as support for The Ramones before releasing their classic Kill Yourself 7" on Scratched Records.

  Relocating to San Francisco, they made an appearance on the S.F. Underground 2 split ep alongside Spikes, Society Dog and Undead. They also released the American Wino album (1982 on ICI Records).

  Not long after this they split though there was a comprehensive compilation called Kill Yourself... Again which came out in 1998. There were several line up changes during the band's lifespan, members included J Sats Beret (vocals), Blobbo (guitar, aka Kurt Vanderhoof, he went on to found Metal Church), Bob Clic (bass), Brad Ramels (guitar), Jon Nay (drums), Olga de Volga (bass) and future Social Distortion drummer Chris Reece. Sats and Clic brought the band back in the late 90's to gig occasionally.

  The song I'm posting today is one of the best examples of  early West Coast punk, it's called Climate Of Fear.....

Did you ever get the feeling that there's nowhere to run?
And the future of our kind is oblivion
The odds are against you, it's looking pretty dim

Did you ever get the feeling that there's nowhere to run?
And the future of our kind is oblivion
The odds are against you, it's looking pretty dim
And your chances of survival are getting pretty slim

It's called pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia in the atmosphere
Pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia, in a climate of fear!

The economy is on the brink of disaster
And the ceiling overhead is made of asbestos plaster
Living for tomorrow is not a valid answer
When everything you eat is giving you cancer

It's called pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia in the atmosphere
Pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia, in a climate of fear!

I'll grant you this, it's looking pretty bleak
But it might get better maybe later next week
After all we're living under a knife
Where insecurity is a way of life

It's called pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia in the atmosphere
Pho-pho-pho-pho-PHOBIA!
Phobia, in a climate of fear!

We're all living in a climate of fear!

Erazerhead - She Can Dance

 

A crunchy early 80's UK pop punk song today from East Londoner's Erazerhead. (The info I've given below is just a condensed version of this piece : http://www.erazerhead.co.uk/)

  In 1978, fresh faced rock n roll fanatic Lee Dury formed a band called The Corvettes but just as they were making a name for themselves their bass player, Paul Spicer, was killed in a hit and run and they split up (guitarist Steve Pear went on to join The 4-Skins). Only the fact that he couldn't find the studio stopped Dury joining The UK Subs as bassist, instead he joined up with Bernie Cairns, Billy Trigger and Jim Berlin as vocalist with a new Ramones influenced outfit named Erazerhead (Cairns was soon replaced with Gary Spanner). Support gigs with a number of name bands, indie chart hits and the obligatory John Peel session soon followed. Following an argument, Spanner left the band who carried on for a while as a 3 piece with Dury on bass but they decided to call it a day in 1984. If you want a retrospective of their work, Captain Oi put out a comprehensive best of album in 1994.
  Possibly their best known single was 1982's Shell Shock but I think I possibly prefer the b side, She Can Dance (I'm a sucker for the backing vocals), so that's the song I'm posting today.....

M.I.A. - Tell Me Why

 
A golden oldie today by an early hardcore punk band called M.I.A. (not the female rapper M.I.A.).

  Forming from the ashes of a band from Las Vegas called Swell, M.I.A. got together at the start of the 80's and got a boost when they left a demo tape with 7 Seconds frontman Kevin Seconds which ended up getting passed around various influential genre figures and got them noticed. 1982 saw the release of a split album with Genocide called Last Rites For Genocide And M.I.A. (from which today's song comes).
  An early fan was Jello Biafra who saw that their album Murder In A Foreign place got distributed on the Alternative Tentacles label.  Further albums followed in '85 (Notes From The Underground) and '87 (After The Fact) though by this time the band had lost it's spark, and had gone through a few line up changes and by '88 had called it a day. Alternative Tentacles released a 37 song retrospective in 2001 called Lost Boys.
  Vocalist Mike Conley was found dead in a Chicago hotel parking lot in Feb 2008 and then a couple of years later band mate Todd Sampson died following a concert in Las Vegas, this song, Tell Me Why, is dedicated to them.....

Tell me why
You love living in the U.S.A.
Let's not lie
You know it seems to be the only way
We don't try
We just pass the time away
Please don't cry
You know the country's not here to stay

Screaming Sneakers - Violent Days

 Didn't have a clue what I was going to post today, plenty to choose from but what do I go with? I fancy something catchy and with an upbeat tempo and as I run down the list of songs that are lined up one jumps out at me. I think you'll enjoy this.
  Screaming Sneakers started life in South Florida before relocating to New York City. As far as I'm aware, the band only released the one ep, 1982's Marching Orders, and out of the 4 tracks featured on it, only one really gets the blood pumping, but what a great song it is. Featuring a top vocal from Lisa Nash, as well as the talents of Gary Sunshine (guitar), Bud Gangemi (bass) and Mark Evans (drums), this is a song that wraps up dark lyrics in a bright fizzing rush of a tune. This is Violent Days......

Die Kreuzen - Think for me

"you and i shouldn't fight
cause we know what's wrong and what's right"


From Milwaukee, Wisconsin and formed in 1981, Die Kreuzen were one of the pioneers of 80's hardcore music. Influenced by the likes of The Germs and The Circle Jerks as well as more experimental bands like Wire and Rush, they came charging out of the gate with the seminal Cows & Beer ep , from which today's song comes. They followed it up in 1984 with their debut s/t album, a 21 track assault of short, blistering hardcore gems. Not wanting to make the same record twice, their subsequent releases moved away from their early roots, toning things down as they matured towards an alternative rock sound. They split in 1991 (an amicable split mainly due to the old chestnut of musical differences) but resumed playing shows in 2012. This is Think For Me.......

Zero Boys - Civilization's Dying

Not to be confused with The Zeros, Zero Boys hail from Indianapolis, Indiana and have been producing hardcore punk music on and off since 1979. Their most popular album is 1982's Vicious Circle, from which today's song comes. Aside from that classic, they released a couple of albums in the early 90's (Make It Stop and The Heimlich Maneuver) and earlier this year there was a new one called Monkey.  They were never as big as some of their contemporaries (eg The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks or Minor Threat) but they were plenty good enough for their legacy to still burn brightly today. Known for intelligent lyrics and catchy rocking tunes, this song, about the spate of assassination attempts that were all over the news back in the early 80's ( Pope John Paul 11, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan) is a prime example of their greatness. This is Civilization's Dying.....


Civilization's dying
And no one's realizing
The position of hate stuck inside the gun

Civilization's crying
And I won't try to deny it
We got a problem son,
Something's gotta be done

[Chorus:]
With the Pope
And the president
And the big rockstar who made a lot of money
All got one thing in common
They know it ain't no fun to get shot with a gun

Civilization's dying
And no one's realizing
The position of hate stuck inside the gun

Civilization's crying
And I won't try to deny it
We got a problem son,
Something's gotta be done

[Chorus]

Civilization's dying
And no one's realizing
The position of hate stuck inside the gun

Civilization's crying
And I won't try to deny it
We got a problem son,
Something's gotta be done

With the Pope
And the president
And the big rockstar who made a lot of money 
[x4]
Made a lot of money, made a lot of money, made a lot of money
Yeah!

The Violators - Summer of 81

A band today that were said to have sounded like Siouxsie And The Banshees, if Siouxsie And The Banshees had been an Oi band. The Violators are the first band that I've featured to come from the Derbyshire town of Chapel En Le Firth, they took their name from a Guardian article entitled Urban Violations and back in the early 1980's they were tipped for big things though unfortunately those big things never came a knocking. An appearance on the Country Fit For Heroes compilation was followed up in 1982 by a debut single called Gangland. Their best record, and the one I'm posting today, came out later that year and concerned itself with the riots that had been prevalent in England during the summer of 1981. After that highpoint however, it was all downhill, the band split in two, vocalist Helen Hill and guitarist Mark Coley formed Taboo whilst the rest of them soldiered on for a while but neither band lasted long. Gary Bushell had predicted they were the future of punk but instead they didn't even get around to releasing an album, a shame as they definitely had the ability to pen a great song as the one I've posted below proves. There's a great cover of this that you should track down by The No-Talents (  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOxvpUvHxwI ), this is Summer Of 81.......

There's blood on the street 
And the smell is so sweet 
'Cos another blue bastard has gone down 
See the boots swarmimg round his head 
They're gonna see him dead 

Nightstick in his hand 
He tried to rule this land 
That's no way to make a country great 
It takes more, more than force 
You've got to give it a voice 

So it's goodnight to one more fascist clown 
We've got a right, you can't keep us quiet 
We've got a riot, we've got a riot 

This is our answer to your law! 

Don't shed no tears for him 
His life was lived in sin 
No one has the right to order you 
Don't be told what life is about 

Brixton riot riot 
Toxteth riot riot 
Bristol riot riot 
Moss Side riot riot 

Black Easter - What The Fuck

After a couple of updates by punk heavyweights, today it's the turn of a band who were only together for a couple of years in the 80's and who's only vinyl release was a solitary ep. Black Easter formed in 1982 in Farnborough, Hampshire, they released a couple of demos and a live cassette and supported a few name bands (Subhumans, Flux Of Pink Indians to name a couple) but they didn't cause too many ripples in the punk rock pond. They did however find their way onto the excellent Killed By Death #5 compilation and it's that song I'm posting today. It was originally on their Ready To Rot ep, which saw the light of day in 1982. If you like this song, check out Spike Team and Kerb as both feature members of Black Easter, this is What The Fuck......

You're born in the sixties/You're born too late/I can't find a girlfriend/I gotta masturbate/I ain't got no future/but what the fuck?/I'm a born loser/I never had no luck/I can see my life/in the bottom of a glass/You're always put down/no matter what your class/I ain't got no future/but what the fuck?/I'm a born loser/I never had no luck/Ain't got no money/Ain't got a job/I've got no direction/I'm going nowhere/I ain't got no future/but what the fuck?/I'm a born loser/I never had no luck/Authority on my back everyday/I want to nick a car/I want to get away from everybody/I ain't got no future/but what the fuck?/I'm a born loser/I never had no luck.

Jesus And The Gospelfuckers - Kill The Police

Here's a band from Haarlem, Holland, who formed in 1977 after hearing the Sex Pistols, moved to a squat in Amsterdam, and over the course of the next 6 years or so seemed to cause controversy and mayhem aplenty. Playing an early brand of in your face, confrontational hardcore punk they found it hard to get gigs (they often had to play using other names just to get booked), violence often broke out when they did play. Jesus And The Gospelfuckers (or Jezus And The Gospelfuckers as it's sometimes spelt) released a demo cassette in 1982 and that was about it until a split album with Agent Orange (the Dutch Agent Orange featuring ex Gospelfuckers' members not the U.S. Agent Orange) appeared in 2002. Their frequent run ins with the authorities no doubt influenced the title of the song I'm posting below, this is Kill The Police........

Authorities - I Hate Cops

  Lets have something hard and fast today. Released in 1982 on Selecta records, the Soundtrack For Trouble ep by Stockton, California's Authorities is now considered somewhat of a classic. The ep's lead track, Achtung, was covered by Screeching Weasel on their Kill The Musicians album whilst Career Suicide released a live cover of track 3, Radiationmasturbation. Forming at the end of the 70's, the band played their first gig on Feb 2nd 1979, the day that Sid Vicious died. Despite the tragic death of founder member Nick Kappos in 1989, 2 other original members, Brian Thalken and Curtis Clyde Hall, have got the band back together, complimented with Graham Johnston, Iain Ross and Orville Lancaster. From Soundtrack For Trouble, this is the excellent I Hate Cops......


I hate cops
They're all fucking piggers
They all have mustaches
They squeak when they walk

I hate cops
I hate cops
I hate cops

We're doing nothing wrong
We're only having fun
And out come the cops
And they got their guns

I hate cops
I hate cops
I hate cops

We're doing nothing wrong
We're only shooting up
And out come the cops
They say "put 'em up"

I hate cops
I hate cops
I hate cops

Social Distortion - 1945

California's Social Distortion came into existence at the end of the 70's so can rightly be called punk veterans. Featuring the distinctive vocals of frontman/guitarist Mike Ness they've released 7 studio albums and can cite influences including from Johnny Cash, The Clash, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Eddie Cochrane. This is an early single and it concerns the American bombing of Hiroshima, this is 1945.....

Atom bomb, TNT 
New disease, poor city 
Flying over Hiroshima, 1945 
The city looks small from way up here 
I wonder who'll survive

Atom bomb, TNT 
New disease, poor city 
A blinding flash hotter than the sun 
Dead bodies lie across the path
The radiation colors the air 
Finishing one by one

Atom bomb, TNT 
New disease, poor city 
A blinding flash hotter than the sun 
Dead bodies lie across the path 
The radiation colors the air 
Finishing one by one