The Stranglers

Where's my credit card.........

Magazine - Rhythm of Cruelty 7'' (1979)

I guess since I'm talking about John McGeoch it's only fair to post one of his finest moments. Here it is.

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I must have worn out 50 record player needles on this one 7'' alone.

Punk Lives issues 1-11 (a long time ago)

Seems like yesterday......as it says; Punk Lives issues 1-11.

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John McGeoch - 25/8/1955 - 4/3/2004

I've said it a couple of time before that I get hooked on certain artists who I'll follow throughout their career; John McGeogh was one of the first I hooked onto as a teenager. From the first moments I heard Magazine I was drawn into the guitar and many, many years later I was still following that guitar.

John is one of the best kept secrets in music as far as I'm concerned and that is a tragedy; this guy should be lauded as a guitar hero, he's certainly one of mine. Look at the bands he was in and check out their best moments, he's there in all of them, sometimes not in their initial peak, but definitely within their resurgence. Some of the ones I love are: -

Magazine
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Generation X
The Armoury Show
PIL

Four of those bands are hugely influential, but mention his name to music fans and most will say "who?"; it's criminal. He had such a deft touch, but with a really strong distinctively melodic sound. I could listen to his work for years and not get bored. The link below is a radio broadcast made earlier this year as a tribute to John and is something that is long overdue.

This is a seriously good listen and is 60 minutes well spent if you download it; people from those bands take part.

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The Showbiz Kids - She Goes to Finos (1980)

Before the Toy Dolls there was The Showbiz Kids, this is Olgas first band of note. They played around '78 - '80, but Olga had left sometime earlier. The band continued and relesed this 7'' in 1980; they called it a day soon after. Their drummer would later rejoin Olga in the Toy Dolls.

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Jam - Demos

Sez it all really.

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Defcon Zero

Damn fine band imho.......

Their album's really good...brutally good.

Fudge Tunnel

Twisted Nerve - Caught in Session (1982)

A band who, around this time, were lumped in with the bourgeoning goth scene, UK Decay, Southern Death Cult etc....there was so many sub genres then. To me, and my mates, they were just another punk type band.....looking back they probably were goth.

Championed by the mighty John Peel they formed in Edinburgh in '78. They had a number of releases, this being their first 7'', however they had appeared on Mint Sauce for the Masses comp two years earlier. This was a peel session put to vinyl. I only had one more of their releases back then as I'd hit hardcore like a brick wall. I still like this release....takes me back :)

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The Stranglers ......

Just noticed this on their official website...woot!!

"We finally felt ready to start the recording process.

Quite a few ideas had been rejected, others had been kept on the back boiler not quite complete but not totally disposable.

Are these lyrics naff or are they saying something? Is this just a fourth form rant or is it meaningful? Does this melody remind you of anything or anyone? What rhythm can we hang this melody on? Is this song at the right tempo? Does this piece sound like prog rock? Is there enough space in this one?

Well, the first four pieces are underway. Their titles are Freedom is Insane (which many of you wll have heard during the tour earlier this year), Giants , Time Was Once On My Side and Boom Boom (not the John Lee Hooker song).

Watch this space..."

Their last two albums were a REAL return to form and if you haven't seen them live since Paul left...do. They're a fantastic live band again as a four piece, with Baz doing a great job as the other frontman.

The Stranglers.

The Damned - Shadows of the Damned (2011)

Can you believe it....35 years. It seems like two seconds since I was standing around the back of the school buying a second hand copy of Neat ,Neat, Neat.

The Damned remain my favourite band from then 'till now, yet I've not seen them live for years, 1986/87 I think.....that gig was a desperately poor event with Bryn and Roman trying to fill the boots of giants and not managing to do it. The atmosphere was dead, the banter with the crowd was gone and it almost looked professional...a bad, bad thing.

I now avoid them as I'm not a fan of the way Dave sings the old songs....I should cut them some slack and attend this years gig where they'll play Damned, Damned, Damned and the Black Album in their entirety.....hmmmm, I might just do that. God knows, no band has given me more pleasure than this lot.

Anyway...here's an MP3 of a recent song they did for the sound track of a computer game called shadows of the damned. I've no idea what the game's like, but the song's pretty damned good.....I did it again. :)

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Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! - Toyah (1980)

It's verging on a crime to admit that you were a fan of Toyah these days, or at least once admitted it's expected that you'll have the common decency to look embarrassed and remove yourself from the room. However, I was a fan and saw the band in concert a few times. I do have a limit though and it was pretty much reached soon after the release of this album.

The bands early career from 1979 - 1980 is where they had me hook, line and sinker; 5 singles and three albums, all still sounding great to my ears. This was recorded to coincide with an ATV television documentary on Toyah, also shown in '80. This album's panned by many as crap, I always liked it and still do.

It's easy to forget, and dismiss, the impact the band had in their early days, they really did stand out from the crowd and were still grouped into the punk category, despite what she says in the documentary. Without the punk crowd, gigs would have be spartan and they might not have achieved the commercial success that was just over the horizon from this release.

In early '81 the band released "four from Toyah" which included the song "It's a Mystery" and that was it, so ended my mini love affair with Toyah.

I saw the band for the last time in '81 and felt totally out of place, as gone were most of the punks being replaced with screaming kids. I saw the exact same thing with Adam & the Ants a month or so later.

The ATV television documentary

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Uk Subs

The Damed - Live Birmingham Odeon '77

Nothing more to say really.

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Penetration - The Feeling 7'' (2010)

I've no idea how this one slipped past me, but better late than never I guess.

Penetration/Pauline Murray can do no wrong in my eyes so it's no surprise that I think this is great. It's on iTunes for £2.00 ish, three tracks, buy it and support the bands. The 3rd track is a live version of Come into the Open.

Captain Sensible radio interview

A nice little listen - here.

If you click on Captains name he's uploaded some demos as well......

Cult Maniax - Blitz (1982)

It wasn't all American hardcore for me in the 80's there were some UK bands that blew me away, this is one of those bands and they had me for a good number of their releases. John Peel was another source of good music and you'd be glued to his nightly show from 10pm 'till 12 hoping to hear something new. The Black Horse ep was played by Peel and was a good introduction to the Cult Maniax, but this release was jaw droppingly good when I first heard it in a local record shop called Listen Ear.

They formed in the late 70's and released their first record in '81. They managed to release records on a regular basis until they split in '86. I never get tired of playing the A side of this 7''.


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The Chameleons - In Shreds (1982)

In January it was a year since my mate died and I toyed with the idea of posting a few releases that he'd got me into back when, but thought it was perhaps a little twee so decided not to. However, there is one release that he got me into in '82 that immediately transports me back in time to his bedroom waiting for him to crimp and spike his hair; the tosser took years to do anything, prior to going out to get drunk....and this is it.

I should have started by saying this ISN'T punk, it was classed as post-punk....make of that what you will. The Chameloens weren't a band I knew much about back then as this was the only release by them I owned. I've recently bought their first two albums and can really recommend them if you're a music fan. They were formed in Manchester in 1981 and lasted until the late 80's releasing a number of albums and singles. They reformed for a brief period in 2000. The most stable line-up comprised: -

Mark Burges - Vocals/Bass
Reg Smithies - Guitar
Dave Fielding - Guitar
John Lever - Drums

The music is a melodic wall over which Mark Burges spits his dark and personal lyrics. You might not like this, but I suspect if you take the time to d/l and listen to whole thing you will. They were often placed along side the Cure and Echo & the Bunnyman at the time.

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Outcasts - Magnum Force (1981)

You couldn't help to stumble across the Outcasts in the late 70's, early 80's as the quality of their releases just demanded to be heard; that and the fact that they were on Good Vibrations.

I stuck with band until the angel face release at which point  I fell off my chair and they pretty much lost me for the rest of their career....7 deadly sins is just awful. None the less, between '78 and '81 they were unstoppable, releasing classic after classic.

This 7'' is their peak in my opinion, they really were a great band. Formed in '77 and lasting until their demise in '85, they released 8 7'', 2 12'' and 3 albums. The most stable line up consisted of : -

Greg Cowan - Vocals/Bass
Colin Getwood - Guitar
Martin Cowan - Guitar
Colin Cowen - Drums

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They were also an incredibly modest band as this video shows :)

Magic Michael - Millionaire (1979)

Back to my Damned obsession and a release featuring

Captain Sensible - Guitar
Algy Ward - Bass
Rat Scabies - Drums

Michael (cousins) was well known on the hippy scene and he has other releases out there; I have no idea what any of them are like. I bought this at the time as I was a fully paid up member of the Damned Disciples and wanted anything to do with them. I miss those days.

Is this punk? I don't know, but I do know it's Damned good,did you see what I did there? :)

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