​So here is the NINETEENTH release in our VERY POPULAR Picture Disc series (and number FOUR in (The Classic '79 Mod Series...The Next Generation.)

The Combine were formed in late 1984 by Chris Philpott and John Wratten following the split of Small World. The first recruit was Rob Harrington on bass guitar. Rob (aka Spike) was the singer / guitarist with the punk band The Partisans. One of The Partisan’s best tracks (Anger & Fear) would go on to become a favourite in The Combine live set. To complete the line-up Tim Sharpe was recruited on drums. Tim had been a follower of Small World and The Combine was Tim’s first band. With the line-up complete, the band went on to have a short but glorious life which lasted about 18 months.

The first song recorded was “Dreams Come True” and this was the track chosen to appear on the famous Countdown compilation in 1985. The track wasn’t too much of a departure from the Small World sound and style. The and went on to write an album’s worth of songs including “Seventeen”/ “Astral Flight” (both demoed for Countdown), and “Fight to Survive” / “Hooked” (recorded at Village Studios in Dagenham). Unfortunately, many of the songs that were written and gigged during this period were never recorded. The band gigged extensively throughout 1985 and early 1986 (debuting at The Westcliffe Hotel in Clacton in March 1985) before disbanding in the middle of 1986. John, Chris and Tim continued to collaborate for a short while after that, recording two more tracks at Rick Buckler’s Arkentide Studios in London.

FEATURES

Dreams Come True

Seventeen

Fight to Survive