DRONGOS FOR EUROPE - Eternity EP 1982

 

3rd EP from this Birmingham based combo on Inferno Records and one more great output by the four. Drongos For Europe are active since 1979, a three-year break inbetween, and rockin the stage with their refreshing punk sound ever since. A small excerpt from their homepage: "The Drongos first single was a DIY release in 1981 called 'Hope And Glory'. The band also recorded two EPs on Inferno Records in 1982 - 'Death's A Career' and 'Eternity', which actually charted at around 47 in the national UK charts - Unfortunately, nobody in the band bothered reading music press at the time or listened to Radio One (we were the first punks in our town to have our own flats / homes, so everyone came back to our place to get wrecked. We didn't need much encouragement to join in) So, to cut a long story short - we never knew until our then guitarist Anton joined in 1999, that we sold any records, and we of course never made any money and got ripped off like every band on Inferno Records." Their 2nd EP plus a compilation track is waiting here with more info. A crisp start to the weekend is set, make something nice in your four walls.

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V/A - Berlin Mitte EP 1997

On this charming EP from Plattenbau, 500 hand numbered copies, are four bands from the capital who come up with straight, loud scruffy D-Punk. Two of them have already made some records, the others hardly any. There is nothing wrong with the songs, they roar melodiously in my ear and could come from the 80s. And lyrically is Klartext spoken. Nice one!

1.Beamtenarsch - PLASTIX

2.C.K. - SHOCK TROOPS

3.Was Für Ein Spaß - BARBIE BITCHES

4.I Love Me Selber - STROHSÄCKE

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THREATS - Politicians & Ministers 12'' 1982

Classic debut 12" on Rondelet Records by this four piece called Threats with six loud smasher. A short bio from ReverbNation where you can listen to more stuff: "They started of life in 1977 as the Reflectors. Just 4 local lads from Dalkeith in Midlothian Scotland who had a collective interest in Music.. Jim and Gogsy were next door neighbours from when they were born and grew up together. Early memories were a great interest in all things guitar based. The bands that they grew up with were the glam bands of the 1970's. It was all based on Rock'N'Roll with bags of fun thrown in for good measure. (That rings a bell). Slade, T-Rex, Sweet, Mud, you get the picture. Then there was an almighty bang in 1977. The appeal was instant and immediately the need to play music was stronger than ever." So if you like what you hear I recommend a click on bandcamp where you can listen to a fantastic live release from 2019, so check it out!

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PSYCHOTIC FUNHOUSE - Mad Axe Man EP 1982

Superb single with further lost recordings of a band that certainly nobody has on the slip and would make even Santa Claus sweat. We're talking about the first Love Child Release and this piece of vinyl is limited to 250 copies in hand-made, hand-numbered sleeves and was recorded at Twilight Studios Salford 1982 and has three rough crunchy pieces on it. Formed circa 1980 and initially called Social Disease, the original line-up of Manchester punk outfit Psychotic Funhouse was Wayne (vocals), Clive (bass), Pat (drums) and guitarist 'Khani'. Khani was soon replaced by Stuart. Managed by Pete 'Aussie' McCormack, Clive and Aussie rented a house in Flixton, an area of Greater Manchester that had a strong punk scene. The band’s earliest gigs took place in their local pub, The Lord Nelson under the watchful eye of landlady Margaret who enjoyed having punk bands on stage but wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them. The gigs went down really well with both the punks and local customers. PF’s first proper gig was in The Ancoats pub, a popular hangout for Manchester Punks. Run as a charity fundraiser, the gig attracted the Manchester Evening News who subsequently published an article and photograph featuring the band. Now friends of punk stalwarts G.B.H and Discharge, PF were invited as support for an upcoming Dunkinfield gig. Finding it sold-out and packed to the rafters, the Funhouse ran through their 7-song set twice! Soon after, the band scraped together enough cash to record three tracks at a little studio in Salford called Twilight. This was the studio that the Smiths later recorded their first ever demo. The band would go on to support GBH whenever they played Manchester, plus Exploited when they played the Cloud 9. The final PF gig was at the Red Lion pub in Flixton; in fact, the last live gig the Red Lion hosted! Search for more Love Child stuff in the Blog.

- Great Thx to Bristolboy -

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ADOLESCENTS - Balboa Fun Zone 1988

3rd album on Triple X Records by the Adolescents, titled after the "Balboa Fun Zone" amusement area of Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, it is the band's only album recorded without singer Tony "Reflex" Brandenburg, who had left the group the prior year. Electing not to replace him, guitarist Rikk Agnew and bassist Steve Soto alternated lead vocals on this. The album also features the return of original Adolescents guitarist Frank Agnew (Rikk Agnew's younger brother), who had been absent from their prior album, 1987's Brats In Battalions. Balboa Fun Zone is also the final Adolescents studio album to include Rikk Agnew & drummer Sandy Hanson. The band broke up in April 1989, reuniting in later years with different lineups. In a retrospective review, Stewart Mason of AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said that Soto and Rikk Agnew's split songwriting and vocal performances " give the album an appealingly varied sound that ranges from the anthemic rocker 'Just Like Before' to the engagingly loose, Johnny Thunders-like 'It's Tattoo Time'. Best of the lot are the two entirely different tunes named after the album title, the smoking hardcore 'Balboa Fun Zone (Riot On The Beach)" and the much poppier, '60s-inspired 'Balboa Fun Zone (It's in Your Touch)'. Worst of the lot is a sloppy, basically pointless cover of John Lennon's 'Instant Karma!' Although there's little that truly stands out besides Agnew's anti-drug anthem 'Alone Against The World', the album is so consistently rocking and good-humored that it's a more entertaining listen than their uneven earlier records."

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THE NEIGHBORHOODS - No Place Like Home 7'' 1980

The Neighborhoods came out of Boston around 1976-77 while the whole punk scene was going on at the Rathskeller (The Rat) in Kenmore Square. The Hoods were an excellent rock group playing Mod punk-type music a-la early Who and much like the Jam and Generation X in their early days. David Minehan was the lead singer and guitar player who from the very beginning had a great stage presence and played guitar like it was his last night on earth. In the back was Mike Quaglia keeping the rock steady beat and Jim Bowman keeping the bass lines strong so Dave could weave in and out. By 1979 the band changed bass players and John Hartcorn was there to add more bass rhythm and energy to the mix. The band was now on fire and easily won the WBCN Rock'N Roll Rumble held at the Rat. The Hoods power-rock was infectious with songs like “Monday Morning”, “Teachers Pet”, “Flavors”, “She’s So Good” and “Think It Over.” In 1980 they released a single on Ace Of Hearts label called “Prettiest Girl” & “No Place like Home” which got a lot of airplay in the local New England area. Soon the Hoods were a favorite local attraction in RI and especially at the Living Room with sell-out crowds. The Hoods were on the verge of going nationally but based on stories we later learned, mismanagement caused the band to split for a brief moment in July 1981 but as it turned out, it was the end of an era in the early Hood history. It’s a shame they never got to release an album from that time frame to capture that great raw power era...

 After the Hoods regrouped they decided to go in a different direction. Gone was John Hartcorn on bass and he was replaced with Tim Green who added a more funky style playing to the new music. The band material now was based more on higher energy and less on bright melodies. In 1984 they finally released their first mini-LP "Fire Is Coming" with another new bass player named Lee Harrington who had joined the year before. That was followed by a full record for Restless record label in 1986, "...the high hard one...." and "Reptile Men," in 1987. The band also did a national tour with the Ramones in 1988.....

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V/A - British Underground Vol.3 1993

Last and great conclusion of this little unofficial series called British Underground by Chaos Wrecords, 500 copies were pressed and even available on CD. Well, the song selection is once again excellent as the first two volumes and sixteen punk & wave goodies are gathered here and the stand out and my favorite track is by They Must Be Russians, such a great tune and simply terrific! I'm sure you will like this compilations because the mix is great and all three albums also contain hits and rarities. It's just a shame that after volume three no more were created and so we have to be satisfied with these three. After all, they are there and now have fun with them!

1.Ghetto - THE WALL

2.All The Boys Love Carrie - ANOTHER PRETTY FACE

3.Soldier Soldier - SPIZZ ENERGI

4.Horrorshow - SCARS

5.Count For Something - THE OUTSIDERS

6.Benched Down - MODERN EON

7.Big Time - RUDI

8.Subvert - ZOUNDS

9.Death In Venice - DNV

10.In Love - THE PLAGUE

11.Where Have I Seen You? - THEY MUST BE RUSSIANS

12.Your Generation (Demo 1977) - GENERATION X

13.I'm A Dalek - THE ART ATTACKS

14.No - THE REZILLOS

15.Young Savage - ULTRAVOX!

16.Fascist Dictator - THE CORTINAS

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ALERTA ROJA - Historiko 81-87: La Otra Cara Del Punk 2013

 

Awesome stuff today from Alerta Roja, an Argentine Punk band from Gerli, Buenos Aires and they are considered one of the precursor bands of the genre in this country. In the late 1970s, Argentina was under a bloody military dictatorship. While Punk was rolling in the United States and England, the wave did not slosh into Argentina. At that time, a young man named Pedro Braun, alias "Hari-B", formed the group Los Testicles (1978), which would later become Los Violadores (1980). In that period, "Hari-B" had to perform Military Service, and his colleagues Sergio Gramatica and other members decided to change the name of the group to Los Violadores. From them, other groups quickly appeared, such as Los Psicópatas (1979) or Los Laxantes (1979), with Gamexane, future member of Todos Tus Muertos (1985) on guitar. Los Psicópatas (1979), later called State Of Siege, was initially made up of Pablo Stella on guitar, Fernán Contreras on drums and Daniel García on bass & vocals. After two months of rehearsals, the band would have their first five songs, from which they would choose the ones that would be part of their first demo. In mid-1981 they released the first Simple Punk from Argentina, which would be released months later, after the Falklands War. That demo would be a 7'' under the independent label created by the group itself, Pelmaso Records, produced by Marcelo Gasió, later a keyboardist for the band.

Months before the Malvinas conflict, they had already decided to call themselves Alerta Roja, as a symbol of the political moment that the country was experiencing. In reference to the chosen name, when interviewed on Radio del Plata by Tom Lupo in '83, they would mention that "" Red Is Not The Way Out Either "". During this time, Sergio Spatavecchia joined the band in voice: 11. In the case of Alerta Roja , we first called ourselves The Psychopaths. They censored us. Then we changed into State Of Siege, the same thing happened to us and before Malvinas we put on a Alerta Roja, to reflect the state in which the country lived. People didn't understand punk, and they don't understand it now. We were not Bolsheviks or Nazis. We just sang revolution, we wanted a much more powerful change. We were apolitical, totally anarchists. Alerta Roja wanted to reach the general public "without trading". Basics to the thirty goodies: Fernán (vocals on tracks: 1-19), Mongo (vocals on tracks: 1-26), Pablo (vocals on tracks: 1-19); Pablo (guitars on tracks: 1-26) & Ucci (guitars on tracks: 27-30), Daniel (bass), Fernán (drums), Marcelo (keyboards) and Chiflo (sax). Songs 1 to 19 belong to "Derrumbando La Casa Rosada", recorded in October 1982 at Estudios del Jardín. Songs 20 to 26 belong to "El Llanto Interior", recorded in September 1985 at Avatar Studios and lollies 27 to 30 were recorded live in Cement April 1987.

This great comilation from Pinhead Records shines with historical recordings of the band and they existed and survived under the nose of a violent and oppressive military dictatorship. The band played gigs in Buenos Aires in the early '80s, giving a voice to a generation of angry Latin American youth. After so many years, these thirty tracks are finally getting a proper CD and their influences pulled from music that managed to cross the ocean and fall into the hands of its members, one might hear the Clash, Sex Pistols or Wire seeping from the groves, but don't be surprised if you get a small dose of the Cure as you listen to this gem. Alongside other amazing bands from South America, Alerta Roja reaffirms that despite the conditions and lack of resources, these nations produced some amazing punk music/attitude.

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ULTRAVOX - Sleepwalk 7" 1980

Also a long musical companion from my early days are Ultravox who appeared in 1977 and released excellent albums, Ha! Ha! Ha! for example and after the break with John Foxx, Midge Ure joined as a new front man and the success came, which unfortunately also had musical effects, the band became more commercial and I like the first two albums because they, in my opinion, still fresh and virus-free. A bit info: With the band seemingly over, Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge, who joined the band as vocalist, guitarist & keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979 he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy. Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange- ."Sleepwalk" is Ultravox's first single from their fourth album,Vienna, and their first with Midge Ure as frontman and was the first song the band recorded with Midge in early 1980. Rather than offering a demo tape of several songs to Chrysalis Records the reformed band opted to do a "finished" version of "Sleepwalk" with producer Conny Plank, a recording that clinched the band's record deal with Chrysalis Records. The original version was later remixed for inclusion on the band's album Vienna. There is no difference between the album version and the single version. The lyrics to the song were written by Warren Cann. It was released as a single in June 1980. Two nice popwave songs to start the weekend, Cheers!

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NEW ORDER - Movement 1981

Exceptionally early this Wednesday and not really my time but somehow I want to introduce this slab, the extroverted debut of a band that has been with me since the early 80s: New Order, surely everyone of you knows well. They were formed 1980 by vocalist & guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris. Info: The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis; they were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order's integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville. The initial release as New Order was the single "Ceremony", backed with "In A Lonely Place". These two songs were written in the weeks before Curtis took his own life. With the release of Movement in November 1981, the band initially started on a similar route as their previous incarnation, performing dark, melodic songs, albeit with an increased use of synthesisers. They viewed the period as a low point, as they were still reeling from Curtis' death. Hook commented that the only positive thing to come out of the Movement sessions was that producer Martin Hannett had showed the band how to use a mixing board, which allowed them to produce records by themselves from then on. More recently, Hook indicated a change of heart: "I think Movement gets a raw deal in general really - for me, when you consider the circumstances in which it was written, it is a fantastic record." Numerous albums & singles have been released and none of them sound like the previous ones, that's the great thing about the band, they develop and try out the equipment that is available and Movement is the beginning of a long musical diversity. Great music from a great band.

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