THE SEIZE - Cross Channel Buffoon 12'' 1989

After three very good singles, the Seize said farewell with this record, a mini-album from 1989, which came out via their own label Why Not? Records. Six (not so punky) pieces, more Powerpop I would say and it's almost a little too poppy for me but that's a matter of taste, are on it and 500 copies of this last testament were pressed and that's reason enough to post it. A few basics: The Seize was a four piece from the small town of Reading on the Kenneth River, and there isn't much infos about the guys. Main driving force was the singer and part-time bassist Colin, while the rest of the members changed regularly. The boys began their thorny musical path in late 1979, and after ten years they broke up. And tomorrow is Friday, Cheers!

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V/A - Bored Teenagers Vol.10 2017

December, and behind the first door waits another haul of damn rare punk goodies in the ongoing Bored Teenagers series, and for those who are ignorant up to now I recommend every publication, and as long as you can get the vinyl version, these were mostly limited, get the slab, but if you fail, in this case, the CD heals too (suitable as an exclusive Christmas present, maybe?) - I quote a sweet description for you unfortunate consumers:

Info: "First up we bring you the FEATURES who were another old Roxy Club Punk band from Orpington in Kent. Both tracks have been taken direct of the master acetate that the band had cut in 1978 and pressed up 500 copies on their own Progress label. The next band the INNOCENT BYSTANDERS is a real coup for us as its features six unreleased tracks from this obscure London based band. This is the same band that released "Where Is Johnny" on a split single with the "Debutantes" on the 'ROK' label in 1979. I can't stress to you how good these tracks are.... Full of attitude with sneering vocals and the story behind this band is awesome! Next both goodies are brought to you by VAIN AIMS who are a very obscure Welsh band who only ever did one gig and split but in their very short existence they managed to record and released a single to die for and is so hard to track down as only 500 were pressed. What stands out for me on these two tracks are the vocals and the catchiness of the songs..... I can't believe this record is not on every body’s wants list, I put that down to the fact hardly anyone knows about this release! We then bring you the delights of from this North London based band called FENZYX who were mainly made up of ex members of Demon Preacher and released a sole 7" on the collectable 'Ellie Jay' in a pressing size of just 500 copies again in 1981. The third track from this band is totally unreleased until this day! It is a dub version and very unique. Following on we bring you the rarest UK Punkrock single ever pressed. Yes, the GREAT BRITISH HEROES (aka GBH), both tracks have been taken from their withdrawn Lightning Records release. When this single surfaced a few years ago, ALL the collectors around the world went into total meltdown and were shocked that it was actually pressed, NOT even the band were aware! We now move onto another old favourite of ours as we were the first ones to crack the mystery of Birmingham’s ANTI SOCIAL. Most collectors would of heard these tracks by now but we wanted to share the story behind this band. Plus a third track by this band what was going to be on their second single which never happened. The penultimate band THE PEROID hail from the outskirts of Manchester and were mates of the Buzzcocks. This band started off life in 1976 and did go through a few line up changes but did get their act together enough to enter into a studio. Sadly over the years, the master tape had got lost and these tracks have been salvaged from an old cassette found at the back of a draw. Now onto the band that closes this volume for us are UNDERDOG who were from Harlow in Essex. Not strictly a Punk band as they were on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene but we thought it was a cross over single. Plus both sides of the single are a Full On Attack Of Noise and in the true punk spirit they formed their own label and self financed a run of just 500 copies - another tough record to find! So there you go and enjoy another album filled with rarities & great nuggets!"

Once again a brilliant selection of twenty-four catchy UK Punk Rarities. ENJOY!

1.Drab City - THE FEATURES

2.Job Satisfaction - THE FEATURES

3.(I Wanna Be A) Mercenary - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

4.Waiting - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

5.Master Abnormal - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

6.Abnormal Dub - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

7.C'mon Everybody - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

8.I’m Not Your Stepping Stone - INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

9.Fuck You - VAIN AIMS

10.Count - VAIN AIMS

11.Soldiers - THE FENZYX

12.Angels Of Mercy - THE FENZYX

13.Angels Of Mercy (Dub) - THE FENZYX

14.Eric Miller - GREAT BRITISH HEROES

15.Don't Give A Damn - GREAT BRITISH HEROES

16.Traffic Lights - ANTI SOCIAL

17.Teacher, Teacher - ANTI SOCIAL

18.Sun Arise - ANTI SOCIAL

19.We Hate Wigan Casino! - THE PERIOD

20.Seaside Towns - THE PERIOD

21.Don’t Go Swimming On A Period - THE PERIOD

22.I Feel Sick - THE PERIOD

23.Life At 21 - UNDERDOG

24.Blue Water, White Death - UNDERDOG

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EA80 - Grüner Apfel 1995

Seventh album by the most important & best German Punk band from M'gladbach: EA80. Published as a double 10Inch with four varied sides that once again illustrate the diversity and creativity of the band's songwriting. The musical orgasm begins with five fast, loud pieces that express the anger and desperation of the four, played fascinatingly and very contagious. Followed by the typical long melancholy songs for that I love the band, peppered with spicy words and excellent moll melodies. At the end, a colossal fifteen minute symphony that makes clear to you that everything is fleeting and nothing lasts forever. "EA80 remain untouched by everything that happens in modern punk rock and do what they have always done. The result is the radical incorruptibility of one's own aesthetic universe, which is completely beyond the influence of the wrong and the stupid." Grüner Apfel is a dark monumental masterpiece and fits seamlessly into the band's biography as another jewel.

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SPLIFF - Herzlichen Glückwunsch! 1982

Okay folks; Monday evening and surprisingly it has been quite a pleasant day to date... that was not always so, but who fucking cares? - After the success of the album 85555 in early 1982, Spliff followed suit with their third album at the end of the same year. Commercially this was not quite as successful as its predecessor, but Herzlichen Glückwunsch! is still a solid classic nowadays. With "Das Blech" and the title track, two singles went to the crowd in advance, and musically both shot little splashes of dancing pleasure around the mob. The band presents a sound that has little in common with that of the debut. Not least thanks to Reinhold Heil, who pursues his weakness for strange keyboard sounds, and Herwig's electronic drum pads, Spliff is the perfect symbiosis of rock & electronic musicians.

A review: "Released the same year as their smash hit 85555, Spliff's third album Herzlichen Glückwunsch! doesn't feature anything approximating their immensely catchy ironic pop single "Carbonara," but it continues their fusion of rock & electronics and manages to stay interesting throughout its running time. The main forces within the band are still drummer Herwig's rock-based songwriting, the booming sound of his Simmons drums, and his punk-influenced singing voice on one end of the spectrum, and Reinhold Heil's keyboard textures, his laconic, almost rap-like vocals, and his electronic-oriented songs on the other. The group managed to score another hit with the single "Das Blech" (as in "Da Fliegt Dir Ja Das Blech Weg," a colloquialism which could be roughly translated as "This Blows Your Mind"), a coolly arranged synth funk number for the dancefloor, with an electronic percussion solo in the middle. Elsewhere on the album, there's Mitteregger's energetic title track with an almost atonal bridge, a dreamy funk song written and sung by bassist Manfred Praeker ("Tag Für Tag"/"Day By Day"), and the Kraftwerk-ian "Herr Kennedy", with vocals by all four group members. Even though Heil's contributions are more diverse and interesting, the album's best tracks are written by Mitteregger: the frantic "Wohin? Wohin?" ("Where To? Where To?"), a fast-paced rock number about smuggling in Algeria, and the epic album closer "Glaspalast" ("Glass Palace"), which keeps building its intensity from its slow, moody beginning. While nothing on Herzlichen Glückwunsch! is absolutely essential, the album is an interesting clash of styles that rewards repeated listening." [Christian Genzel]

The third album is the band's last usable release. After that, the fucking commerce grabbed them by the balls and 1985 they finally split up due to musical differences and various solo projects.

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Q4U - Q1 1982

Today on a visit to the far north of Europe and we meet an amazingly versatile band that only made a mini-album in the early eighties but meanwhile there are some CD re-releases out and read the following information about the artists: Q4U are one of the great survivors of Icelandic music and was founded winter of 1980-1981 in Reykjavík, inspired by the British punk movement. It’s original members were Elínborg (Ellý) Halldórsdóttir (vocals), Berglind (Linda) Garðarsdóttir (vocals), Steinþór Stefánsson (guitar), Gunnþór Sigurðsson (bass), Helgi (drums) and Már (synthesizer). Helgi and Már soon left the band & Helgi was replaced by Kormákur (Kommi) Geirharðsson on drums. By early 1982 they self-released a full length cassette, “Skaf Í Dag” and appeared in the documentary Rokk í Reykjavík, which showcased the Icelandic punk scene. This version of the band ended and only two members continued on. In the summer of 1982 Ellý and Gunnþór recruited Óðinn Guðbrandsson (guitar) and Árni Daníel (synthesizer) from the band Taugadeildin. Their drummer was replaced by a Roland TR-808 drum machine they named “Elísabet II”. signaling a change in the group’s sound toward synthesizer-driven post punk. In August 1983 they reinstated Kormákur to record a final set of demos and then called it quits.

Q4U began with a stylish, aggressive Punk image before experimenting with drum machines and synthesizers, which almost nobody did in Reykjavík at the time. The later sound had gothic leanings,often compared with Siouxsie & The Banshees and X-Mal Deutschland. Their body of work is united by the powerful vocals of Ellý, who mostly sings in Icelandic about controversial, political experiences, much like Ari Up of The Slits.

In 1984-1985 the group Þetta er bara Kraftwerk (ÞEYR) continued working on similar post-punk synth music Q4U as had been working with. Ellý and Árni Daníel teamed up with Árni Daníel's little brother Ingólfur and later Óskar Þórisson joined. This group recorded a few songs as demos, but did not publish anything in its lifetime. Everybody started having families, studying or working. Then in 1996 the group came together again, under the influence of the grunge movement and the interest in punk and post-punk that blossomed at the time. Now it was decided to put together a CD with some of the unreleased material of the group and publish it. This CD, Q2, contained much of the unreleased demos from 1982, a demo from late 1982 with the synth version of the group, the EP from 1983 and the demos from August 1983. There was also one song by ÞEYR on the CD. It was published in 1997 under the name Q2. Q4U followed the publication of the CD up with a number of concerts in 1996-1998 and also with television performances, of which some are available on the YouTube. One of these is with the song Egó, which is otherwise unpublished. The line-up was Gunnþór, Ellý, Árni Daníel, Ingólfur from ÞEYR and a new drummer, Guðmundur Gunnarsson.

The group is currently rehearsing again after another thirteen years abscence, with two gigs already having taken place in 2010. (source: DarkEntriesRecords)

Consistently awesome stuff and interesting for everyone!

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ANGELIC UPSTARTS - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place 1980

Before I dedicate myself to digitizing, I will open this long musical Saturday with a classic and the Angelic Upstarts made an impression with their debut album and the second ties in seamlessly with it. Twelve brilliant of Fist-In-The-Air anthems have the four, Mensi (vocals), Mond (guitars), Steve (bass), Stix (drums), once again written and with the help of some guests recorded. Read this suitable review which I couldn't write better. I would only say; Music that has inspired me since the beginning of my Punk days and always keeps me positive, even with all the shit that goes on in the world and surrounds me and especially live, they are fantastical! Take the chance if they in your city. The band has reformed and split up a few times over the years, but they're still active and the current line-up since 2020 consists of Mensi, Mick (guitars), John (bass) and Andy on drums. Like no other, the Upstairs combine anti-fascist and socialist workers' philosophy with the punk & skinhead subculture and are always an excellent choice! Find more stuff in the blog, I re-upped them all. TOP!!!

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V/A - Powerpearls Vol.1 1998

🎸 In spring, I wowed you (and me) with another great collector series that some detectives created in the late 90s and this beauty focuses on PowerPop rather than Punk though a few goodies featured wouldn't be out of place on a Punk compilation; We're talking about the Powerpearls Explosion and each Volume has a healthy serving of the best from this genre (those were Hans Knut Hohlhand's words, an avowed four chord lover whose inspiration brought many hermits together to form great bands). Decent selection for the first part in my opinion and the eighteen time travelers shoot you into the weekend, and I'm sure that even the annoying corona virus will shrink back on this foamy wave and shut up for a while. 🎸

1.Everyday, Everyway - REALLY 3RD'S

2.One Out All Out - STRAIGHT UP

3.Feel The Pain - THE BUREAUCRATS

4.Language School - TOURS

5.Modern Time - THE GENTS

6.One Last Night - THE ATLANTICS

7.Nora's Diary - JIMMY EDWARDS

8.That Girl - TECHTONES

9.Who's Kissing You - FAMOUS PLAYERS

10.Fashion - TWEED

11.It Doesn't Bother Me - THE DISTRACTIONS

12.Playing With Fire - TV 21

13.The Kids Are Dancing - THE NEWS

14.It's Your Birthday - FASTBACKS

15.Susan's Day - THE ROUSERS

16.No Fear - THE SQUARES

17.Liberty - SMALL WORLD

18.Blast The Pop! - LOCAL HEROES

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FLATSCH! - Endlich Live! 1989

Today I greet all Hessian friends with one of my favorite Stöffche of the Eighties: Flatsch! Their first four albums are all classics and even after forty years it's still a pleasure for me to listen to and they manage to put a mischievous smile on my face. In 1988 the band decided to say goodbye at the climax and their last concert took place in the sold out Offenbacher Stadthalle (a few songs from this gig were used for this record). 2003 they were guests at the silver wedding of the Monotones on two evenings in a row, together with the also re-animated bands Hob Goblin and the Crackers, this was the last performance of Flatsch! On stage the funny stories about nuclear-free power plants, fat dictators, sisterhoods or confuse Kaufhaus hysteria unfold their very special effect. A brilliant mix of rock & comedy but I think, more old songs would made this album even better because they are much faster, rockier and funnier. - “We feed our Bundestag with liquid egg and cream curd. We paralyze our heart and circulation so that we can laugh. We increase the diets and cancel the diet and feed them with ham bread until nothing more is possible. We need fat dictators, nice fat men who can be blow up" - In this sense, a cold Schoppe and three points for all Eintrachters tonight. Prost!

Austrinke/Rummenigge/Messegäste/Schwester/Keske Fü Fä/Dicke Diktatoren/Katastrophenmelder-Sketch/Wir Tun Es Immer Wieder/Computerbruder/Süssmuth-Sketch/Schützt Die Kondome/Hallo Frollein/Kaufhaus/Alkoholfreies Bier/Badekapp/Männer Müssen Männer Sein/Gute Alte Zeit

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OBERKAMPF - P.L.C. 1983

Debut album by Oberkampf and given the group's influence on the local scene, the release was significant and the sound conceived in this way was vehemently continued as on their first Couleurs Sur Paris (1981). Also, Kebra and his cronies, including Joe Hell, have a good taste not to stick to simple Punkrock, they go straight ahead. “Wild” choirs, unbridled but controlled instrumentation, rhythmic which scrapes without deviating; Oberkampf has real strengths. The texts, moreover, could still, even in our time, give new food for thought. The impact is therefore only greater, they have verve. Their sound is jerky and experimental with sound effects, almost post-punk, maybe a bit cold too, and they finished the job (back then it was a struggle to get a record out, but the band didn't want to stop at anyone or anything), and that with amazing consistency. Solid record with ten songs plus a rather uninteresting Gainsbourg cover.

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SEX PISTOLS - No Future U.K.? 1989

Great compilation of demo sessions taped by the Sex Pistols in July 1976 - January 1977 and give a fantastic insight into the original line-up's rough sound. The majority of the tracks first appeared on the now infamous Spunk bootleg, released a few weeks prior to the bands only album, Never Mind The Bollocks. The songs are recorded surprisingly well and I like every single one. It's really a shame that the Pistols broke up in 1978, we all know the reasons, but with their refreshing provocative attitude they caused a sensation and stay unchallenged in the Punk olympus and this record is a perfect example. I am grateful that they were there!

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