TEENBEATS - Strength Of The Nation 7'' 1979

Formed 1979 in Hastings and the quintet consisted of Huggy (vocals), Ken & Paul (guitars), Eddie (bass), Dave (drums) and they signed to Safari Records and released two singles. Neither of the singles made the UK charts but I Can't Control Myself was a hit in Canada. Info: The Teenbeats were one of the better bands on Britain's late Seventies mod revival scene. Their timing was impeccable and making their debut just as the mod revival was gathering steam, they further stoked the fires with a killer cover of the Troggs' 60's hit "I Can't Control Myself", and followed this up with the even better "Strength Of A Nation". They had the attitude, the look, and the sound (recalling but never, ever mimicking the Who, the Troggs at all) but somehow never rated cutting a complete album, at least in the eyes of the record companies of that era, but their songs made it onto many a mod revival compilation, most recently Castle Records' 2003 Mod Revival Generation: Time For Action. They broke up around 1981, and are fairly well memorialized on the March of the Mods website. (Bruce Eder) - Good record in my opinion.

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CRASS - Demo 1978 + The Peel Sessions 1979

This unofficial release came out in 2021 and feautures the demo recorded on February 27th 1978 & the Peel Sessions from March 28th 1979 by Crass, an English art collective and Punk band which formed in Epping, Essex 1977. They promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement and were the brittlest and most hard-line radical of the first Punk wave, Crass issued a blitz of records that were ruthless in both their unrelenting sociopolitical screeds and their amelodic crash of noise. The line-up changed a bit over the years, but the group's mainstays were Steve (vocals), Eve & Joy (vocals), Penny (drums) and G. Sus, who did tape collages and provided the distinctively bleak black and white artwork on the fold-out posters that usually enclosed their LPs, were also important contributors. The Feeding Of The 5000 was their first album and for me, their best, with eighteen emotional statements and perhaps the most uncompromising early British Punk record (was in my collection and had to be sold at the time because of my ailing financial situation). Before disbanding in 1984, they made four albums and a few singles, mostly on their own label Crass Records, and are fondly remembered as an innovative and extreme band of the early Punk movement.

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REDNECKS - Blitzkrieg Bop 2007

"We called ourself the Rednecks because we hated boring sloppy hippies! We played Kick-Ass Rock'N'Roll. The New York Dolls and the Ramones inspired us. The second concert saw us open for our idols, the Troggs. They watched our show and dug us too! We're in heaven! Listen!!!!.... and Kick!!!" All tracks were recorded live on October 18th, 1978 @ Salle Du Faubourg in Geneva, Switzerland (opening for the Troggs). The Rednecks were a Punk band from Geneva and consisted of Francis Seilern (vocals/guitar), Babine (bass), both from Jack & The Rippers, Sandro Sursock (vocals/guitars) from the Bastards and Paul Zouridis (drums) from the Scelerates. The band was specializes in cover versions of their favorite crunchy Punk and Rock & Roll songs by the Ramones, Heartbreakers, Pirates, Chuck Berry, etc.... and these recordings shows the band in absolute top form and all tracks are present here in a consistently recording quality. Hit after Hit and I can imagine how incredible this show was. I think, these songs are the only releases by them, so relax and listen to this limited to 300 copies CD-only!

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D.O.A. - Talk Minus Action Equals Zero 1991

Time for some live stuff and this little recording from Canada's D.O.A. was captured at Club Soda on December 21st 1989 in D.O.A.'s native Vancouver and released via Restless Records. I certainly don't need to tell you much about these veterans, powerful and dynamic songs with corresponding angry words characterize the music of the quartet, at this gig with Joey (vocals/guitars), Chris (guitars), Brian (bass) and Jon (drums) they deliver a perfect performance. Talk Minus Action Equals Zero is among the albums that demonstrate how exciting and vital the Canadians can be on-stage and together they prove quite riveting on such left-leaning, angrily socio-political rants. This performance was recorded eleven years after D.O.A.'s formation, and it's clear that the band softened their blow very little during those years. (Alex Henderson) - If you like tough, straightforward music in a fast, loud, and hard-hitting style with a pronounced sense of humor plus a strong progressive political stripe, then this the right sound for you.

America The Beautiful/13/Burn It Down/Murder In Hollywood/Lumberjack City/Waiting For You (Part 2)/Fuck You/Woke Up Screaming/Liar For Hire/2 + 2/Let's Wreck The Party/The Prisoner/Do Or Die/Fuck That Shit/General Strike/Race Riot

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V/A - Powerpearls Vol.6 2000

Uhhaaa... next round of the grandiose Powerpearls series, today with Volume #6 and you know what that means. Seventeen fresh PowerPop nuggets from all over the world have made it onto this Compilation and the selection is once again considerable and equipped with plenty of rare 7inches (one song per record). It's been a long time since I discovered this style of music with enthusiasm and since then I have had a number of Schnittchen as guests in my house and basically no more words are needed to review this rare record I think, do you agree? Let's do it like this, it's best to use the opportunity to leave your review/opinion in the comment section, that's what it's for and I'd be really interested in what you think about the material, and please, don't be shy. 😌 I say: this package is damn cool and a must have for any true wdthtc follower, Enjoy!

1.Ghosts Of Princes In Towers - RICH KIDS

2.Hjälp Mej - PINBALLS

3.Ten Years - STARJETS

4.Sha La La JEDRZY DMOCHOWSKI

5.No Place Like Home - THE NEIGHBORHOODS

6.Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - THE STRAND

7.Dancing - THE BADGE

8.Let Go/Accept Me - DIRTY LOOKS

9.N'Importe Quoi - FLOO FLASH

10.Time Out - THE DOUBT

11.Hey You/Time Enough - STAIRS

12.Ordinary Joe - WHITE HEAT

13.She Said Go - PRIVATE DICKS

14.Puto Da Rua - OPINIÃO PÚBLICA

15.Favourite Girl - KNIFE EDGE

16.Natascha - ROXETTE

17.It's Cold Outside - STIV BATORS

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THE CIRCLES - Angry Voices 7'' 1980

Another band of the Mod movement are the Circles from the West Midlands and let me give you some great infos from discogs: Formed in May, 1979 by Mick (vocals/rhythm guitar), Tony (lead guitar/vocals), Glenn (bass/vocals) & Keith, former drummer with the new wave outfit the Neon Hearts. After circulating a few demos they released their debut single Opening Up on Graduate Records in November 1979. It reached #3 in the indie charts and over the years has achieved cult status. Like many of the mod revival bands of ‘79 the Circles never released an album and after another promising single on the Vertigo label Angry Voices (which went to sell some 20.000 copies) they decided to call it a day in late 1980. In 1985 Graduate released the track ‘Circles’ (not a Who cover) with a demo version of ‘Summer Nights’ as the b-side. The single went nowhere with no existing band to promote it. In 1999 the Circles reformed to play the 20th anniversary of the legendary Mods Mayday 79. Inspired by the fresh interest they have since continued to play live and also released a comeback single on Detour Records. Cool Stuff

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TACONES - Difícil 7'' 1981

Interesting combo from Madrid, formed in the late 70's by Alberto Larios (vocals/guitar), Ramiro (guitar), Fernando (bass/keyboards), Carlos (drums) and this is their second 7Inch on Zafiro. Four young people, fascinated by the look of the swinging Mod scene in the UK and the catchy refrains of the new sound, founded the Tacones with pure beat premises, heavily influenced by veteran British beat bands with a long tradition such as the Kinks, Searchers or the Beatles. Dressed in impeccable suits, shirts and ties and gleaming pointy boots in the purest mod style that added visual appeal to their polished live shows. In March 1980, they released their first single, based on the soundtrack of the Juan José Porto film of the same name, Crónicas Del Bromuro/Rita (Chapa Discos), where they performed a cover version of the Los Brincos song 'Mejor'. They started playing gigs in small towns like El Tiemblo, in the Albacete bullring, and received extensive mostly positive reviews nationwide and got a bit better known. Prior to the long awaited album, Chapa released another single Difícil/ Rita Se Hizo De Oro in 1981 which earned good references, delivering an energetic, catchy and melodic songs that ranks among the best of their short discography.

At the end of the year, they switched from Chapa to parent label, multinational Zafiro, falling into the hands of then-flashy arrangers and producers and Requiem Final (1981) saw the light of day. The album's song of the same name was intended to pay homage to John Lennon, who was murdered the previous year. It was also released as a 12Inch in a limited edition for fans, complemented by the voice of the presenter Joaquín Luqui, who dedicated some warm words to the late ex-Beatle. But neither the critics nor the general public took notice of this work, which was soon to be found at bargain prices on the shelves of the big department stores.

Unabashed pop with plenty of good reviews, but the truth is that the band, with their well-crafted songs, their impasto voices and all their coherence, sadly went unnoticed, maybe because they foresaw the moment, maybe because their album lacked the ingredients for suspense . Whatever the case, the Tacones disbanded and disappeared forever in the fall of 1982 after releasing one final single, Te Mintio/Clin Clin (Zafiro), to little success.

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LEATHERFACE - Fill Your Boots 1990

Gladly seen and always welcome in my house are my friends from Sunderland and first of all a sentence that I want to put to your heart and can only underline: "England's Leatherface are a rare treasure in contemporary music, a good old-fashioned Punk band who are neither near-sighted nor necrophiles." (Alex Ogg) And exactly these words will still be able to be said about the four in one hundred fucking years. Cherry Knowle from 1989 is the bands first full length and is considered to be a Hardcore masterpiece nowadays. The second followed a few months later on Roughneck Records and also there, all hallmarks are in place: "melodic and gruff, fast and abrasive, blunt and wistful." The recordings sound a bit more professional and mature and only eight tracks were taken for Boots (this file contains the CD version with four bonus farts, vinyl rip soon) but these are completely sufficient and fuck your brain in a catchy way. But that's not all folks, it gets even better because with their third album Mush they created one of the most intense Punk records of the nineties. Weekend's near and I pack my suitcase. Aloha!

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DACKELBLUT - Fluten & Tauchen 1997

Now an older rip and some of you may be familiar with the sound of Hamburg's Dackelblut, sprouted from the rest of the seeds of Blumen Am Arsch Der Hölle, which in turn were the successor band to the legendary Angeschissen. With a slightly different line-up, the band consisted of Jens (vocals), Andreas (guitars), Wieland (bass), Heiner (drums) and this is their second & last album on Schiffen Records. In terms of lyrics, haunting everyday observations are written in witty words and musically packed in brilliant perfection. As with the debut, Frankie Stubbs managed to give the songs the right polish. All records of the band are only available on vinyl and in 2022 the complete discography (two albums & one single) were re-released as a double LP which I can only recommend (buy here). Fluten & Tauchen has thirteen great, cynically refreshing Punkrock attacks that hardly any other combo can write and anything but botched! A very good record that shouldn't be miss in any decent collection.

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NASTY MEDIA - Spiked Copy EP 1978

Obscure combo from Leeds which release one 7Inch via Lightning Records and they were active from 1977-1979 and it's not surprising that their single has disappered into insignificance because all four songs have the same monotonous rhythm, stomp through without much fuss and sound the same, unspectacular fits perfect here. But it's okay and one song even made it onto the Killed By Death #007 Compilation. About line-up or anything else I have no further infos, but one thing is sure, in a few hours and after more than three years of abstinence, I'm back in the stadium and enjoying the DFB Cup match between the SGE versus Darmstadt, that's going to be hot.... you can also watch it live on TV.

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