Hello folks,
Well the Jubilee weekend is fast approaching. Whatever it is you have planned we hope it all goes well. If you're trying to avoid the whole royal thing you're better off staying at home, putting your feet up and enjoying the BBC's celebration of all things punk. BBC4 are showing a series of programmes starting tonight with a documentary about TV Smith and The Adverts. We'll be watching that for sure. So in the spirit of '77 we're sending this newsletter to remind you of some of the great albums and singles we've released over the years, from some of the original early punk acts, through to the scene's current torch bearers, along with some gig dates if you fancy popping along for a pogo! All the cover shots contain links to our online shop so just click on those if you'd like to order online. There's plenty more we could have included but these represent some of DG's finest punk moments. Enjoy!
Raw Records compilations
Raw Records was one of the UK's first ever independent labels, having been formed in 1977 by Lee Wood. We re-issued two of their early compilations "Raw Deal" & "Oh No, It's More from Raw" which feature acts such asThe Users, Sick Things, Acme Sewage Co., Psychos, The Killjoys, Lockjaw, The Unwanted and The Now.
Buzzcocks
One of the finest first wave punk bands. We were proud to release for the first time on vinyl (vomit coloured vinyl even!) their "Secret Public's Best In Good Food" compilation featuring live versions and radio sessions of classic Buzzcocks tracks, along with a picture disc "Sell You Everything". There's also some Buzzcocks posters on our online shop and a couple of earlier singles. Click on the pics to purchase online.
Buzzcocks are still going strong and will be playing tonight in Poole, Dorset at Mr Kyps.
Johnny Moped
This 26 track CD and limited edition DOUBLE vinyl album contains all the stuff from the original Johnny Moped Bootleg cassette which they used to sell at gigs in ‘76 & ‘77 and some of the tracks from the bootleg freebie 7” which originally came with their debut album on Chiswick. It features their earliest recordings from 1974 recorded in various bedrooms right through to 1977 studio out-takes and live stuff.
Johnny Moped's musical career kicked off with the band Genetic Breakdown (featuring Captain Sensible). After the Captain went to The Damned, the group recruited Chrissie Hynde and Slimey Toad. After Hynde's departure, they recorded a track for the Roxy album and released their own infamous Johnny Moped Official Bootleg Album before signing with Chiswick in 1977. They released three singles and one album on Chiswick and a second album in 1990 on Captain Sensibles ‘Deltic Records’.
The vinyl version is a double on a choice of coloured vinyl
The Snivelling Shits
CD or LP pic disc from classic 1977 band formed by journalist Giovanni Dadamo.
I always loved their single 'Terminal Stupid' that came out on Ghetto Rockers records in late 77 but I knew nothing about them, so when I started Damaged Goods it was something I wanted to unearth and possibly re-issue. I asked around and eventually someone mentioned that the main person behind the band was Giovanni Dadamo and that he worked in Records & Tape Exchange at Notting Hill, so I headed down there and eventually met him. We arranged to meet for a beer after he finished work and that's how the album came about. I showed him the Slaughter album and said I wanted to re-issue the 7" and he said did I want any other tracks, we met up at his parents house and searched through old boxes and dug up a whole load of cassettes and even an acetate or two.
We then went over to Dave Goodmans house and cleaned everything up and eventually put the album together. Photo's were found at Ray Stevenson's house and we had a cover. Gio put together a mock review of the album and we were away. One thing i never knew was that the Shits did have a second release called 'isgodaman?' as Arthur Comix on the Beggars Banquet compilation 'Streets'. The reason it was under a pseudonym was because Beggars didn't want the word SHITS on the cover!! how punk!.
Giovanni also co wrote a couple of Damned songs 'I Just Can't Be Happy Today' and 'They're 'Aint No Sanity Claus'.
Gio died a few years back, it was a pleasure to have met him and recover these great tracks.
The Now
The Now were a band from the good old days of Punk Rock, although they were far removed from what is traditionally known as ‘Punk’. Intelligent songs, political lyrics and a musical style that was much more in keeping with bands like the Gang of 4, PragVeg and other ‘New Wave’ bands.
The band are: Mike McGuire on Vocals, Steve Rolls on Guitar, Faz Farrow on Bass and Joe MacColl on Drums.
They released two singles ‘Development Corporations’ on Ultimate Records in November 1977 and ‘Into The 80’s’ on Raw Records in 1979. They had split up by the end of 1979.
This album was recorded during 2004 by the four original members of The Now.
The track listing represents the first set list from The Now as performed in 1977.
In true punk rock stylee rehearsed for 3 hours with 2 days in the studio for recording and mixing. Not bad after 27 years (some of the band not having played since then).
The Pop Rivits
The legend that is Billy Childish started off in The Pop Rivets (AKA TV 21), who played their first show in 1977 at Detling Village Hall, Kent. Famous for their renditions of "Stingray" and "Hippy Hippy Shake", The Pop Rivets recorded the first truly independent punk LP in 1978/9, pipping Swell Maps to the post (who's LP was actually funded by Rough Trade). The Pop Rivets, on the other hand, borrowed £300 from AKA, a friend, who had just received a year's Social Security back pay. AKA was a type of fan who hated Childish and dismissed the Pop Rivets as a bunch of art school wafters. The mystified Pop Rivets took the money anyway and set about recording the "Greatest Hits" LP in the front room of a bungalow in Herne Bay. (They had to stop recording for the engineers mother to watch the 6 o'clock news). The resulting LP was described in the NME as "The youngsters as the future of rock 'n' roll" and then nothing happened.
In 1979 The Pop Rivets embarked on two self-promoted tours of Switzerland and Germany and recorded their 2nd LP - Empty Sounds From Anarchy Ranch. Two further EP's appeared in 1980 before The Pop Rivets recorded a lost John Peel session and split up. For The Pop Rivets, punk rock had gone horribly wrong. Thatcher - Milk Snatcher was in and New Romanticism was rearing its poesy old head. Far from being dead and buried it seamed that Bowie and co we're on the ascendant. But there where still many questions the boys need answers for: Why did modern studios insist on making drum kits sound like the recording of a wet cardboard box with a dead fish in it? Why could no group keep its integrity beyond one LP, or even a single 45? Why were Link Wray's 2 track recordings more vital and exciting than anything a modern 8 track studio, or 16 track studio could knock out? Did spiders really see out of all eight eyes at once? Could it be that sophistication far from enhancing creativity, destroyed it?
It was time for the Pop Rivets to stifle their intellects and devolve. There were plans to record a final double LP consisting entirely of rock n roll covers recorded live on half track to be titled - The Pop Rivets Meet the Whirling Dervish and survive! They didn't, but we still have the records to remind ourselves of how great they were.
The Killjoys
Kevin Rowland's Dexys have their latest LP coming out on Monday. He's another artist that first came to prominence through punk rock with his band The Killjoys. We have this re-issued single as a lovely 7" picture disc.
Before Kevin Rowland discovered the joys of making menswear and even before he launched Dexys Midnight Runners he was the lead singer in this great punk band from the Midlands. Originally called Lucy & The Lovers and more jazz orientated, Kevin caught the first of a series of wind of changes and hitched a ride on punk with his girlfriend Heather on backing vocals and the gorgeous Gem on bass whom he exploited to the full even encouraging her wearing of sexually alluring clothing!!!! One single Johnny Won't Get To Heaven / Naive Records 1977). Raw Classic amphetamine punk. Another great track 'At Night' on the Raw Deal compilation album. One other known song - Recognition - floating around on an album 'Naive' on Damaged Goods released in 1991. They were supposed to be making tapes for an album but they split before anything happened and a supposed deal with Bronze was scuppered by Mr Rowland. Around mid 77 they lost Heather and Joe 90 (on Kevin's insistence probably) and acquired a new drummer, Bob Peach, and guitarist Keith Rimell and became virtually a different band as Mr Rowland again sought to jump ship. If you get a chance check out the two John Peel radio sessions they did to hear the difference. Great footage of them performing 'Johnny' and 'At Night' on the Punk In London video. Forget Gaye Advert, Gem was a star on bass! Bless them all. Gem / Gil was in fact short for Ghislaine! She formed Alternating before going on to join Girlschool replacing Enid on bass after being recommended to the band by Lemmy! Sadly rumour has it that Heather died. And lastly from his majesty Mr Rowland himself these words from Mojo October 2001. "There was no doubt in my mind that I was at least as passionate and angry and as from the street as any punk rock singer you could name. But it was wrong for me to try to be part of someone else's thing."
TV Smith
Still very busy on the live circuit and the subject of a documentary on BBC4 tonight. We put out this single as our Christmas release a few years ago. The 7" has long sold out but we still have a few CD singles left.
T.V.Smith rose to prominence in the first wave of British punk rock as singer and songwriter for the Adverts who, after frequent early appearances at the seminal Roxy club in London in 1977, gained cult success with the Stiff single "One Chord Wonders." This turned to notoriety when their next single, "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" thrust them into the upper reaches of the U.K. charts. The album that followed in 1978, "Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts" charted on its first week of release, and is generally considered to be one of the few genuine classics of the era.
The Adverts released one further album, "Cast Of Thousands," before their split in 1979, and T.V. went on to tour and record with T.V.Smith's Explorers, who achieved a minor hit with the single "Tomahawk Cruise," and Cheap, before re-emerging as a solo artist in 1992 with the release of the critically acclaimed "March of the Giants."
The nineties saw T.V. gigging relentlessly throughout Europe, as well as releasing a further two solo albums, 1995's "Immortal Rich" - which was released in the U.S. on long-time fan Henry Rollins' label - and 1999's "Generation Y," as well as co-writing songs with German chart-toppers Die Toten Hosen. In 2001 the Toten Hosen performed as TV's backing band to record "Useless," an album of re-recordings of classic T.V.Smith songs which has gone on to become his biggest selling album in Europe since "Crossing The Red Sea." An internet only anti-war single "Not In My Name" released by T.V. early in 2003 through his website received more than 7,000 downloads.
Meanwhile, T.V. continues to tour the world, bringing his epic solo show, which sometimes reaches three hours, to ever-increasing audiences, as well as playing occasional gigs with backup bands.
You can catch TV Smith live at the following dates -
Saturday June 2nd at the Glastonwick Festival, Shoreham By Sea.
Saturday June 9th 12 Bar Club, London
Sunday June 17th - Punk by the Sea Festival, Portsmouth
Friday June 22nd - The Railway, Southend On Sea
Friday July 6th - Basement @ City Scren, York
Goldblade
John Robb is a man who knows his punk! This Christmas 7" from a couple of years ago features John's band Goldblade and a guest appearance from the much missed Poly Styrene.
Goldbalde will be playing at the Punk By the Sea Festival, Southsea on June 16th.
Cute Lepers / Cyanide Pills
A couple of our favourite DG bands of the moment. Cute Lepers from Seattle make music that's infused with the spirit of '77, their latest album "Adventure Time" the third long player of theirs we've put out along with several singles. All available on ace coloured vinyl.
Cyanide Pills are from Leeds and are one of the best punk bands around. They're currently recording their second album. We've heard it, it's ace! If you've yet to hear them check out their self titled debut LP, you won't be disappointed.
Case
This is the first ever album of recordings by legendary UK band CASE, formed in Croydon in 1979 after being introduced to each other by Slimy Toad from Johnny Moped. Case played the pubs of south London and finally released their one and only 7”, the ‘Wheat From The Chaff’ EP in 1983, it reached the top of the independent charts and led to them being played heavily on BBC radio including plays by John Peel, Janice Long & Kid Jensen. They recorded a live Radio 1 ‘In Concert’ which was broadcast twice.
Originally, in 1980, CASE played primarily at a (fairly rough) pub in North Croydon, called “The Star” and built quite a following there before larger, occasionally more salubrious, venues beckoned. They famously played at The Rainbow in November 1981 - where smoke flares and buckets of maggots flew into the crowd as the band played, the Marquee Club (where they were banned for playing an encore – the only band to be banned for this since the Rolling Stones), Hammersmith Palais, 100 Club, the BBC Paris Theatre, ICA, & the Woolwich Tram Shed (and Chislehurst Caves!) amongst other less-prestigious venues.
With better management who knows where CASE may have ended up – as it is - they retain a legendary status among the legions of punk/ska fans.
The band have recently reformed and will be playing this year's Rebellion Festival in Blackpool on August 2nd. They also have a brand new EP coming out on Damaged Goods in a couple of months called "Grow Or Die".
Catch them live at the following gigs -
June 9th - Volks Bar & Club, Brighton
August 2nd - Rebellion Festival, Blackpool
August 11th - Esquires, Bedford
September 29th - London Punk Festival, 229 Portland St.
Penetration
Legendary '70s band Penetration reformed in 2001 after a 22 year break. We've been priviliged to release two new 7" singles by the band "Our World" and "The Feeling". Both are on coloured vinyl and show just what a great band they continue to be
The Ulcers / Mikabomb
Finally a couple of albums from a few years back that you may be unaware of or may have missed. We think they're pretty damn good though and deserved to be on this list.
The Ulcers are sadly no more but their one and only LP 'Hot Skin & Cold hard Ca$h' is a fast & furious fun, full of dirty rock n roll and filthy punk rock in the same vein as early Rocket From The Crypt, New Bomb Turks etc.
Released in 2005, Mikabomb's second album 'HellCats' was recorded at Gizzard studios in London and features more of the same Punk-Pop-Garage stuff the band are known for, it also includes a guest appearance from Holly Golightly on their cover of Holly's 'Won't Go Out'.