NEWTOWN NEUROTICS - The Punk Collection 2001

I remember it well when I bought this CD; it was summer 2012 in Berlin. I was visiting good friends with my then-girlfriend (R.I.P. my love) and we went to an EA80 concert at SO36 which was fantastic (some nice photos exist) ... ah yes... the past is sometimes beautiful... We arrived in the city timely and had plenty of it, so we looked for record stores and interesting places to chill out a bit. That time it was the European Football Championship, and we watched some matches in different bars. I can say, this was one of my best times of my life, and it's no secret, because a year ago today I had one just like this, at precisely this hour... but things changed unexpectedly... so how it goes. I know why, but not everything was wrong.So you know from which great band I'm talking about.: Formed in 1979 the Newtown Neurotics are one of the most under rated but essential Punk combos. Hailing from Harlow in Essex, a postwar new town designed to alleviate London housing shortages (hence the band’s Name) the Newtown Neurotics apparently became a big deal in the town in Punk’s second wave, though in truth they never really broke through to national recognition, tending to play second or third on the bill to bigger names. No one at any point suggests it might be because lead singer and songwriter Steve Drewett sported very Roger Daltrey-ish big hair, at a time when such stylings were a Punk anathema, or that their band name was a tad ungainly compared to their peers; Drewett getting a No 1 crop and the band dropping the “Newtown” bit were good moves, though possibly a little too late to make a drastic difference. This twenty-three awesome track Fucker includes all of the debut LP by the Newtown Neurotics which hit No.6 in the Independent Chart when first issued in late 1983, also features the Hypocrite, When The Oil Runs Out, Kick Out The Tories, Licensing Hours, Blitzkrieg Bop and Suzi singles pretty much everything the band recorded before changing their name to the Neurotics. One of the most powerful political orientated Punkrock trios that ever graced the boards. I see myself in every song, as if I were a member and had written the songs myself, at least some of them, absolutely irreplaceable. So remember: "Do unto others as you would do unto yourself because what you du unto others will be done to you!"

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