SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS - Beware Of... 2001

After a five-year break, this band has returned with a really impressive album, and I can say: the gentlemen haven't forgotten how to make music and have written twelve catchy Punkrock pieces, plus a grandiose Beatles cover, that underlines their potential and they don't got any quieter. Released via TKO Records with delicat Artwork and and partly in white vinyl. Info: formed during the initial onslaught of UK Punk in 1976, Manchester's Slaughter & The Dogs were one of the first group to release a single (the overlooked classic "Cranked Up Really High") on trailblazing hometown independent label Rabid Records. - A review: Slaughter & the Dogs were there at the beginning, but lacked the controversial flair of some contemporaries who got more ink or the talent that helped their other peers remain major influences decades later. They had a few classic songs ("Cranked up Really High" was the bands first single), but little else, and a longevity to match. Nostalgia brought key members Wayne Barrett and Mick Rossi, kind of a punkin' poor man's Tyler and Perry, back together in the '90s with a new rhythm section. Though this is the second release of all-new material from the stalwarts after several semi-official live releases, after 1999's Shocking it was the first to have a proper promotional push in the States. The band sounds like they're having fun, and Beware Of is pleasant enough, fondly recalling the days when punk incorporated glam influences proudly. But at the end of the day, it often just magnifies the aforementioned limitations of the group. The fact that the best song on here, "Hell In New York," was written in the glory days and only finally put down in the studio for this disc shows how hard it is to teach old dogs new tricks. (Brian O'Neill)

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LES LORDS - 1979-1980

 

The working year 2020 is over and four days off are comin'. Let's see, how I will end it musically and the opener is a treat, and this slab was released by Vidi Vici Records 2013 in edition of 300 copies. The Les Lords were Britz (vocals), Richard & Fifi (guitars), Laurent (bass), Lelett' (drums) and founded 1979 in Caen. And since nobody knows these guys until now, it is time for detailed information from the great creators of 45vinylvidivici which I would like to quote at this point:

1979: The musicians of the Caen punk group R.A.S. are orphans of a decaying movement. Britz, the singer-songwriter, mourns Sid Vicious. The others are starting to clearly prefer the power-pop energy of Jam, Skids, XTC or 999 to the neo-baba wanderings of the Cure or other Simple Minds.

The 60’s aesthetic and winks of the Who are already very present in punk, from black suits and string ties to the T-shirt with cockade of Billy Idol (Your Generation). Not to mention the Jam, of course. But when some members of R.S. land in Britain, it’s the shock. This one lives at the hour of "Mod Maydays", powerful revival which creates its own underground scene (Merton Parkas, Chords, Mo-Dettes, Squire...) in reaction to a punk now in the process of integration. "We hate the punk elite" sings Ian Page of Secret Affair. The musicians of R.A.S. are conquered, shop at Carnaby Street and return to Caen to tell friends about London news. The group is prompt renamed Les Lords.

As a result of this radical turn on the aesthetic level (because the songs remain the same) it appears fairly quickly that everyone gets into the idea of breaking their mouths, starting with the hard core of punks, more and more more influenced by the skinhead renewal and the “OI” wave. During the Lords' second concert in Lisieux, the skins came in force and have every intention of pissing off as much as possible. The chairs fly and the fans fall back on stage, somehow trying to send them away while the group continues to play. Arrival of the constabulary and relighting of the lights. We resume all the same and the Lords end in apotheosis by a resumption of "My Generation" of Who respecting to the letter the spirit of the original, that is to say accompanied by a methodical destruction of the material and the overturning of the columns sound system. Lying on the ground, arms outstretched to hold the

sound system lying on him and not to perish crushed, its owner, an old baba, manages to whisper "it's great, it's great...".

Great it is. The Lords continue the momentum of the most fit but harmonically rich punk, say Generation X to locate, incorporating 60’s influences, pre-psychedelic reminiscences (Creation, Move) and especially by tracing a new road, theirs. The group does quite a few covers: the instrumental The Persuaders ("Amically Your") as a concert intro, "For Your Love" by the Yardbirds mid-set and "My Generation" as a reminder. For the rest, it's a slaughter: slamming drums, metallic and melodic Rickenbacker bass, rhythmic Gibson "sound wall", dazzling escapades from the soloist on Telecaster. And there is the front man, with limited vocal capacities but remarkable texts and unparalleled charisma. It was obvious to who had once seen these kids in concert that they had fantastic potential. Because these are kids we are talking about, 17 years old at the time of history and just over 18 when it ended. Not really a "sex, drugs and rock n’roll" story, shot by the punk generation. No, just another story of tormented and rebellious teenagers. A story of music lovers who convert Gérald, the full barter shop of Throbbing Gristle to boots and frilled shirts. In return, he introduces them to Kinks and Small Faces, but also Real Kids, Charlie Mingus, Faust or Mother’s Finest. It is a story of rain (Normandy...), at night, of endless walking. Mopeds were rare, so scooters... It’s a story of cavalcades and frantic leaks, in the sad France of the end of the seventies whose "peripheral rascals" were so well sung by Renaud at the time.

On this front the Lords take radical measures by weaving an alliance with the gypsies, which allows to calm quickly done well the skins and to bring them back to feelings of healthy camaraderie. As for the neo-Mod movement, it is developing like wildfire. In two strokes of a pot spoon, there are more than 200 Mods in Caen. Punks converted after concerts, fans of the Specials or Joe Jackson, high school students who wanted to piss off their parents. Barely 16 years old, Laurence gives up everything to join Fifi, the rhythm guitarist of the Lords and returns on a scooter at the end of the hutch to give the teachers honor by shouting "We Are Mods", as in Quadrophenia. Britz, Laurent and I are going to see the film dozens of times at the cinema of the Carrefour shopping center, in Hérouville, one of the working-class suburbs of Caen. So we pass and we pass again in front of a band of thugs, "Arabs" as they said at the time, who stagnate on the benches of the shopping center and do not take long to look for the fight. It degenerates for good and ends with a punch outside. "We are the Mods"! Impressed, the most devious of the so-called "Arabs" quickly bought a costume and asked to join the mods.

In Caen, these are a mass movement from the proletariat, the working masses. With guys who in case of confusion are more quick to fight than to parley... There is José who fights after the group has won the French flags in a party on July 14, Franck says "Barjot" the former rocker and fisherman, "Clash" who crushes my parents' flowers in a Vespa and shoots the rockies on Saturday afternoon in the middle of traffic jams, with a WWII Luger. And then other groups that are formed: Dandys, Holly Boys and Neckties. These are 13-14 year olds who have had little time to learn English. Suddenly they proudly adapt the Who in French, "I Can’t Explain" becoming "the Caennais complain."

The Lords play in Paris at Golf Drouot. They finish well last of the "springboard rock" but fuck a happy mess and meet that evening the fabulous Stunners. A core of Parisian fans of the Lords is formed around Laurent ("Stax"), Denis, Thierry and soon Patrice Bertrand, former Hells Angel turned Mod who sells US garage rock records in the Scooter shop in Les Halles. The Lords don't pretend. They provide the first part of the Olivensteins whose equipment they demolish ("My Generation"), the Dogs from which they steal the show and a whole bunch of others. They make all the fire, open for Valérie Lagrange and even go on tour for a few dates opening for Caravan, an old British progressive rock band.

Soon the mod-revival spreads in Paris then in the provinces. Lords are heroes and kings, but there is a misunderstanding. Basically they have little to do with twinks disguising themselves as twist dancers, petty bourgeois in polka dot dresses and groups making desperate efforts to sound "garage". In fact, while the Parisian skins led by Farid - a ringworm - are having fun persecuting this bunch of little wankers from fine neighborhoods, they carefully avoid attacking anyone who wears a "Caen" patch on their jacket. Britz and the hard wing of the Caennais accentuate the demarcation with the installers by calling themselves "Glory Boys" and adopting black shirts and white ties. But hey, it's all starting to go around in circles. Especially since despite their multiple trips back and forth in the capital, where I settle as a manager, the Lords are still out of recording contract. There are indeed some contacts with Antoine De Caunes, Marc Zermati or Patrick Eudeline, the tour of record companies, a photo in the monthly Best, but nothing comes out. Meanwhile, the sken-mod conglomerate of Caen feels winged. After two years of intensive fights against rockers (very bad in those distant times) and all that hung around as thugs in the Normandy countryside, these became real terrors. Wounds that set everything on fire and blood during the Jam concert in Rouen. The Lords are victims of Sham 69 syndrome: overwhelmed by the movement they have instigated and the excesses of their audience.

The tension rises with the rhythm, Fifi, a simple heart. Then with the bass player who stands in solidarity with him. Finally with Britz Notre Dame, icon of mods, always so frosty and uncontrollable who does not want to understand that such a radical trip cuts the group from a wider audience. In a few weeks everything crumbles. Fifi and Laurent will try their luck with another group. Britz moved to Paris where he succeeded in a few months in transforming a gang of Daddy's sons into a respected gang. Richard and Denis recruit a bass player and pursue the Lords in the form of a blazing power trio.

In the end, there will be nothing but wonderful memories and rehearsal recordings from this brief epic, in mini-cassette. Despite their obvious limitations, they will no doubt give a better idea of what the Lords were than the album they would have done at the time on a major, under the guidance of a survivor of the yéyé who was converted into a producer. And the fact that more than thirty years later RAS or Les Lords are arousing interest shows that at least the flame has been transmitted. So all is well that ends well. Raymond Debord (Summer 2013)

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SLAUGHTER - Bite Back 1980

Before I have to go to the dentist and after two cups of coffee, a short visit to England. Slaughter, better known as Slaughter & The Dogs, were formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester and this is their second album on DJM Records. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett, guitarist Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham and bassist Howard "Zip" Bates. I think they left their punk roots a bit on this album and switched to a more rockin' sound, which is clearly noticeable in the length of the songs, many faded out (which I don't really like). Overall, not a bad album and the eleven songs are not boring, but somehow I miss the dirty, the rough sharpness that made them stand out on Do It Dog Style, probably they wanted to get away from the wild sound and therefore made the slab a little too smooth in my opinion. Well, whatever... quite decent and audible. Find them on some compilations in the blog, and now on my bike and go!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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VENOM - Barmy Army 7'' 2013

This nugget was released via Punkhouse Records, 250 copies in red vinyl and both tracks were recorded 1980-1981. I quote info from discogs: Consisting of David 'Snakey' Cooze on vocals, Glenn Evans on bass/vocals, Dai Monk on guitar and Sam Phillips on drums, the Venom played their first gig on 3rd may 1979 - the day Margaret Thatcher was voted in as Prime Minister. Formed from the remains of local punk heroes the Noise, the four-piece took their original inspiration from the old-school DIY ethic of bands such as The Clash and Slaughter & The Dogs. Monk and Phillips moved on in early 1980 and were replaced by Wayne Rowe & Steve 'Gagsy' Garland respectively. Following an incident at a football match the band took an enforced hiatus at Her Majesty's Pleasure. When they re-emerged, Snakey took to wearing a balaclava on stage and their style morphed towards the crowd pleasing chant-along style of Sham 69. The band recorded three self-funded sessions over their career, yielding such local punk classics as Saturday Afternoon Trouble, Barmy Army and their own irreverent take on Nancy Sinatra's 1966 hit - These Boots Were Made For Stomping. The results impressed Sounds journalist Garry Bushell enough to pen two articles about the band and subsequently include the track Where's Dock Green? on the Back On The Streets EP that accompanied the third Oi! album Oi Oi Thats Yer Lot. Their association with the Oi movement attracted an ever-expanding fanbase of punks and skins that saw previously good humoured gigs often descend into violence. The band called it a day in summer 1982 following their final gig at Swansea's Townhill Tech.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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THE NOSEBLEEDS - Ain't Bin To No Music School 7'' 1977

Rare vinyl by this short-lived combo and they were formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England 1976 under the name of Wild Ram. Changed their name to Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds in early 1977 with the following line-up: Edmund 'Ed Banger' Garrity (vocals), Vincent 'Vini' Reilly (guitar), Phillip 'Toby' Tomanov (drums), and Pete Crooks (bass). In late 1977 Billy Duffy replaced Vini Reilly and Morrissey replaced Ed Banger and subsequently they shortened the group's name to the Nosebleeeds. Ed Banger ended up in a later incarnation of Slaughter & The Dogs while Vini Reilly formed Durutti Column. Pete Crooks and Toby Toman continued on as the Nosebleeds. "Billy knew this guy Morrissey, who ran the New York Dolls Fan Club and wrote lyrics - and got him to join the group, although he had never sung before. The pair of them dumped all the group's old songs and wrote an entirely new set like 'Peppermint Heaven' and 'I Think I'm Ready For The Electric Chair'. The audience was perplexed; it was a strange band!" - Pete Frame, 1989. However, in his autobiography Morrissey denied ever being a member of the band. He claims that Duffy recruited him after the break up of the Nosebleeds and they wrote songs together. For their live performances they hadn't decided on a band name. They roped in the rhythm section of the Nosebleeds and Paul Morley used this name for a live review. 

The Nosebleeds did two gigs one at the Ritz [support to Magazine] and a Rabid Records benefit at the Manchester Polytechnic before dissolving in May of 1978. After the group split up Morrissey went on to form the Smiths, Toby joined Blue Orchids, and Pete Crooks joined up with Vini Reilly in Durutti Column. The A-side was booked on numerous compilations but the flip I like better.

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V/A - Rock Today 1980

I will be a bit softer with the next record which is probably not released (Metronome) and as promo platte cataloged but its still coming out I think. Well anyway, I have a copy here and on this record is a decent gathering of different styles and not all songs are quite cool but more than 50% I would say is acceptable, especially at the end the sound kicks, no wonder with this bands. The drugs show effect and I feel much better than yesterday, must be fit for the stadium tomorrow. All right, that was it for today, tomorrow is another, enjoy the weekend.

1.New Lines On Love - SNIFF'N' THE TEARS
2.So Good To Be Back Home Again - THE TOURISTS
3.The Eton Rifles - THE JAM
4.Hunted - THE PASSIONS
5.American Heartbeat - DUNCAN BROWNE
6.Dead The Beast, Dead The Poison - THE RADIATORS
7.Heavy Duty - JIMMY HIBBERT
8.Gabrielle - THE NIPS
9.Frustration - PURPLE HEARTS
10.Jumping Someone Else's Train - THE CURE
11.Smash It Up - THE DAMNED
12.You're Ready Now - SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS

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V/A - Streets 1977

"Select Highlights From Independent British Labels" and what an amazing LP this it. This glorious Compilation was released by Beggars Banquet Records and contains 17 Bands/17 Songs. I wonder each time how many fantastic bands make music in the early days where punk was new & the hype grows high. Here as well. Most bands have perhaps only one song released or an EP and some other (Slaughter & The Dogs or The Reaction, were later known as the pop band Talk Talk) became famous. And for me this music from the early days is pure, wild, aggressive and honest by comparison with today where much scrap is produced, yeah... I love this record - So get this Nugget and you know what I mean. Awesome Stuff!!!!!

1.Trash - THE DOLL

2.Fear On The Streets - THE MEMBERS

3.Be My Prisoner - THE LURKERS

4.Isgodaman - ARTHUR COMICS?

5.Arabs In 'Arrads - ART ATTACKS

6.19 - THE DOGS

7.Talk Talk Talk Talk - THE REACTION

8.College Girls' - CANE

9.Cranked Up Really High - SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS

10.Ain't Bin To No Music School - THE NOSEBLEEDS

11.Lookalikes - THE DRONES

12.Hungry - THE ZEROS

13.Bend & Flush - PORK DUKES

14.Disastermovie - THE EXILE

15.Jerkin - DRIVE

16.Innocents - JOHN COOPER CLARKE

17.No More Rock N' Roll - TRACTOR

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V/A - Back-Stage Pass 1986

Back to some old stuff to what every punk out there already knows. Released by Rossil Records in Portugal originally in 1980 and I have here the Polish pressing on Pronit Records from 1986 and I don't know if there's a UK release. Anyway, on it the Créme of early UK Punkrock and I think the makers use the current singles from that time to put it together and bring them closer to the scene outside the UK. Maybe an unofficial release. There is sadly no info inside. Worth mentioning are the tracks by Manufactured Romance with a female singer and I have never heard anything before and do not known the band to date. Who takes a look at the tracklist will find out that only hits are represented and you have when listening a lot of fun & maybe many nice memories as I.

1.Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone? - SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS

2.Wanna Be A Star - COCKNEY REJECTS

3.Fireball - CYANIDE

4.Emotional Blackmail (Parts 1+2) - U.K.SUBS

5.You - MANUFACTURED ROMANCE

6.Murder Of Little Towers - ANGELIC UPSTARTS

7.Crashed Out - THE EXPLOITED

8.Closed Groove - STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

9.Police Car - COCKNEY REJECTS

10.Barbed Wire Love - STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

11.I'm Me - BOB DE VRIES

12.Police Oppression - ANGELIC UPSTARTS

13.Long Distance Love - MANUFACTURED ROMANCE

14.I'm Mad - SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS

15.No Government - ANTI-PASTI

16.Mess I'm In - CYANIDE

17.New York State Police - U.K.SUBS

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V/A - Burning Ambitions (A History Of Punk) 1982

Burning Ambition: The History of Punk, attempts to be a definitive overview of the British (except DK) wave/punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s and while it falls short of its goals, it's nevertheless an admirable effort. The Crème de la Crème are here to honor, only classics on it. Surely some of you, like me, have the original records at home but this double album should become a favorite of yours, because this record is one of the finest punk compilations which is ever released. Love to hear all these classic songs in this order and believe me.... you will enjoy it as a good fuck.

1.Boredom - BUZZCOCKS

2.Bingo Masters Breakout - THE FALL

3.12XU - WIRE

4.Life - ALTERNATIVE TV

5.Keys To Your Heart - THE 101'ERS

6.I'm Alive - 999

7.Gary Gilmore's Eyes - THE ADVERTS

8.Justifiable Homicide - DAVE GOODMAN & FRIENDS

9.Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone - SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS

10.(Get A) Grip On (Yourself) - THE STRANGLERS

11.Your Generation - GENERATION X

12.Baby, Baby - THE VIBRATORS

13.Identity - X-RAY SPEX

14.Read About Seymour - SWELL MAPS

15.I'm Stranded - THE SAINTS

16.Chinese Rocks - HEARTBREAKERS

17.Lock It Up - EATER

18.Ain't Got A Clue - THE LURKERS

19.Lady - ADAM & THE ANTS

20.Love Song - THE DAMNED

21.Looking After No. 1 - BOOMTOWN RATS

22.Where's Captain Kirk? - SPIZZ ENERGI

23.In A Rut - THE RUTS

24.Angels With Dirty Faces - SHAM 69

25.Stranglehold - U.K.SUBS

26.Flares & Slippers - COCKNEY REJECTS

27.The Wait - KILLING JOKE

28.No Goverment - ANTI-PASTI

29.Holiday In Cambodia - DEAD KENNEDYS

30.Dead Cities - THE EXPLOITED

31.Last Rockers - VICE SQUAD

32.Harry May - THE BUSINESS

33.Police Story - THE PARTISANS

34.Someone's Gonna Die - BLITZ

35.City Baby Attacked By Rats - G.B.H

36.Complete Disorder - DISORDER

37.Russians In The DHSS - ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER

38.Lust For Glory - ANGELIC UPSTARTS

- Huge Thx to Fredrik -

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