Well here we are again with a new batch of long lost UK Punk Rock and undiscovered gems....
Can't believe we have been doing these compilation albums for over 26+ years and we must be doing something right as we are releasing them quicker and they still sell out fairly quick, especially on vinyl. The vinyl version features 16 tracks and the CD version has 28 tracks plus 1 interview.
So here goes, side one opens up with Martin & The Brownshirts with four unreleased and totally unheard tracks outside of the band since recording these tracks back in 1978. These tracks were taken from the original reel to reel master tape that the old band manager had kept for the last 47 years in his archives. Following on we have two tracks by Monolith who were more of a Rock band but were influenced by the emerging Punk scene. So we call it Proto-Punk and both tracks have been taken off their rare privately pressed 7" that came out in 1978 with only 500 copies being pressed. Side two finishes off with two tracks by Cheshire based teen punk outfit Chaos who were all fully signed up card carrying members of Erics night club and managed to blag a few support slots there with touring bands to the club.
Side two kicks off with The One Takes who hailed from the Ayrshire area of Scotland and were regulars on all the punk haunts of the time. They released a scarce 4 track EP in 1980. Their biggest break came when they supported the Clash on their 16 Tons Tour in January 1980. In 1981, the band released a cassette album called "Writing The Epitaphs Before We Began" which the majority of these featured tracks come from. Next up is The Mopeds who came from the sea town of Poole in Dorset, only a stone throw away from popular resort of Bournemouth. The Mopeds were one of the earliest and may of been the first Punk band to form in the area. Members included a future member of Powerpop heroes The Tours and Skavengers. Sadly the band were short lived but did venture into a local studio and recorded six tracks. Three are featured here and all six tracks on the CD version. As the album comes to the end, we are treated to long lost tracks by The Lice who were one of the earliest Punk bands to form up in the Teeside area. After the band split up, a couple of members would reappear in local heroes Blitzkreig Bop. Once again, like the Martin & the Brownshirts, all tracks have been taken straight off the original reel to reel master tape that thankfully one of the ex members stored away and no one has heard since the day it was recorded. Some bootleg tapes had surfaced back in the day and passed around but these were very rough and ready and werent from this master tape. As per usual, the LP comes with a detailed 16 Page A5 Booklet with rare photos and sleeve notes from the bands themselves.
So there you have it.... Until next time!
FEATURES
A Side
Martin & The Brownshirts - Dan Dare
Martin & The Brownshirts - Janice Nicholls
Martin & The Brownshirts - Small Print
Martin & The Brownshirts - Piccadilly School Day
Monolith - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
Monolith - Guns Of Time
Chaos - Blair Peach
Chaos – Fakt
B Side
The One Takes – Accident
The One Takes - Street Kid
The One Takes - Backdoor Dump
The Mopeds - Baby Doll
The Mopeds - Pissing In The Wind
The Mopeds – Polo
The Lice - Fight The Front
The Lice - Rejected
