Made In Britain - Mojo Presents - The Sound Of A New England (1977-1983) (2005) [EAC - FLAC] (oan)


The Jam 


The Jam were an English mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. 
While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock 
contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and 
incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock influences, rather than rejecting them. 

They had eighteen consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 
1977 to their breakup in 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, That's 
Entertainment and Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero? remained the best-selling import singles 
of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, 
The Gift, hit number one on the UK album charts. When the group split up, all 18 singles were 
re-released and all placed within the top 60. 

The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 
1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk rock, 
pop punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English 
flavour and its mod image. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form 
The Style Council and later had a successful solo career. Weller wrote and sang most of The 
Jam’s original compositions, and he played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker. Bruce Foxton 
provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the 
band’s songs; including the hits "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight", "The Eton Rifles" and 
"Town Called Malice". 

Early recordings (1977) 

On April 29, 1977, Polydor released The Jam's debut single,"In the City", which charted in the 
Top 40 in England. In early May, the band released their debut album of the same name. The 
album, like those of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, featured fast, loud and pointed songs. 
What set it apart from the records of those two bands was its more prevalent 1960s rock 
influences. The Jam covered Larry Williams's "Slow Down" (also covered by The Beatles) 
and the "Batman Theme" to the 1960s TV series, which was somewhat of a standard for 
1960s rock bands. Their originals revealed the influence of Motown Records, The Beatles 
and The Who. 

The Jam had political lyrics, condemning police brutality ("In the City") and expansionist 
development ("Bricks And Mortar"). However, one of their most openly political songs, "Time 
For Truth", bemoaned the decline of the British Empire and expressed disparaging 
sentiments about "Uncle Jimmy" (the Labour Party Prime Minister James Callaghan) in no 
uncertain terms ("Whatever happened to the great Empire?"). These pro-Empire sentiments 
and ostentatious displays of the Union Flag began to earn the group the tag of 
"Conservative". Weller's announcement that The Jam intended to vote for the Conservative 
Party in the 1979 general election served to confirm this association. It later caused them 
embarrassment, and dogged them throughout their career. Weller claims that The Jam's 
public relations representative had told them to become Conservatives to contrast politically 
with other punk bands.[citation needed] Misunderstandings in the music press about The 
Jam's political or social stance are usually attributed to Weller's lyrical perspective. Even as 
he pointed out what he saw as wrong and demanded change, Weller's lyrics reflected a deep 
affection for an idealised vision of England, much in the style of The Kinks' Ray Davies. This 
contrasted with the Sex Pistols' calls for destruction, or The Clash's calls for revolutionary 
change. 

After the non-LP single "All Around the World" nearly reached the UK Top 10, The Jam, 
having achieved a notable following in such a short time, was pressed to produce more 
material quickly. Their second album, This Is the Modern World, was released later in 1977. 
Bruce Foxton, generally considered a lesser songwriter than Weller, contributed two songs to 
the LP, both of which attracted negative criticism. His composing output gradually decreased, 


leaving Weller firmly established as the band's chief songwriter. Despite displaying more 
stylistic variety than before, including some ventures into introspective pop, This Is The 
Modern World was not widely praised. However, when John Peel first heard the album, he 

played it in its entirety on one show, one song after the other. 

Billy Bragg 

Stephen William Bragg (born December 20, 1957 in Essex, England), better known as Billy 
Bragg, is an English musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest 
songs. His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted 
more than 30 years, and he has collaborated with Johnny Marr, Leon Rosselson, members of 
R.E.M., Michelle Shocked, Less Than Jake, Kirsty MacColl, and Wilco. He performed with 
Kate Nash at the 2008 NME awards. Bragg often plays and speaks at the Tolpuddle Martyrs 
festival. Bragg Close, in Dagenham, Essex, is named in his honour.He now lives in Dorset. 

In 1977, Bragg formed the punk rock/pub rock band Riff Raff and toured London's pubs and 
clubs. The band released a series of singles, which did not receive wide exposure. He also 
worked in Guy Norris records in Barking , Essex. Bragg became disillusioned with his music 
career, and in May 1981 he joined the British Army as a trooper destined for the Queen's 
Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After a few months, he bought his way out 
of the army for £175 and returned home, having never finished his training or joined his 
regiment. 

Bragg began constantly performing concerts and busking around London, playing solo with 
an electric guitar. His demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but, by 
pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records' A&R 
man Peter Jenner. Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and he had 
no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for a music publisher, 
so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy was released in 
July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he 
was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from 
Life's a Riot, although at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play 
at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani, and he later 
played it at the correct speed. 

Within months, Charisma had been taken over by Virgin Records and Jenner, who had been 
laid off, became Bragg's manager. Stiff Records' press officer Andy Macdonald — who was 
setting up his own record label, Go! Discs — received a copy of Life's a Riot. He made Virgin 
an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November, 1983. In 1984 he 
released Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, a mixture of political songs (e.g. "It Says Here") and 
songs of unrequited love (e.g. "The Saturday Boy"). The following year he released Between 
the Wars, an EP of political songs that included a cover version of Leon Rosselson's 
"Diggers' Song", re-titled "The World Turned Upside Down". Bragg later collaborated with 
Rosselson on the song "Ballad of the Spycatcher". In 1985, his song "A New England", with 
an additional verse, became a top ten hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl. After MacColl's early 
death, Bragg always sang the extra verse in her honour. 

In 1986, Bragg released Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, which became his first top 
ten album. Its title is taken from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky and a translated version of 
the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. Back to Basics is a 1987 collection of the 
first three releases: Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, and the EP 
Between The Wars. Bragg released his fourth album, Workers Playtime, in September 1988. 
With this album, Bragg added a backing band and accompaniment. In May 1990, Bragg 
released the political mini-LP The Internationale. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo 
guitar style, but some songs featured more complicated arrangements and included a brass 
band. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences, with the song "I Dreamed I Saw 
Phil Ochs Last Night". It is an adapted version of "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night". 

The album Don't Try This at Home was released in September 1991, and included the song 
"Sexuality", which made it into the UK Singles Chart. Bragg had been persuaded by Go! 
Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal with a million pound advance, 


and a promise to promote the album with singles and videos. This gamble was not rewarded 
with extra sales, and the situation put the company in financial difficulty. In exchange for 
ending the contract early and repaying a large amount of the advance, Bragg regained all 
rights to his back catalogue. Bragg continued to promote the album with his backing band the 
Red Stars, which included his Riff Raff colleague and long-time roadie, Wiggy. 


Bragg released the album William Bloke in 1996 after taking time off to help raise his son. 
Around that time, Nora Guthrie (daughter of American folk artist Woody Guthrie) asked Bragg 
to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the 
band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released 
the album Mermaid Avenue in 1998 and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II in 2000. A rift with Wilco 
over mixing and sequencing of the album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to 
promote the album. The Blokes included keyboardist Ian McLagan, who had been a member 
of Bragg's boyhood heroes The Faces. The documentary film Man in the Sand depicts the 
roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the Mermaid Avenue albums. 


At the 2005 Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, Bragg teamed up with the Levellers to perform 
a short set of songs by The Clash in celebration of Joe Strummer's birthday. Bragg performed 
guitar and lead vocals in "Police and Thieves", and performed guitar and backing vocals in 
"English Civil War" and "Police on my Back". 


In 2007, Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the WOMAD-inspired 
collective The Imagined Village, who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional 
English songs and dances and toured through that autumn. Bragg released his album, Mr. 
Love & Justice, in March 2008.. This was the second Bragg album to be named after a book 
by Colin MacInnes. In 2008, during the NME Awards ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with 
British solo act Kate Nash. They mixed up their two greatest hits: While Nash played 
"Foundations", Bragg redid his major single "A New England". 


The Ruts 


The band consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John "Segs" Jennings 
(bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums). As part of the People Unite Collective based in Southall in 
West London the band were active in anti-racist causes, and their song "Jah War" is about 
the Special Patrol Group's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach was beaten to 
death and Clarence Baker was severely injured. 


The Ruts backed Laurel Aitken on a John Peel session for BBC Radio 1, in April/May 1980. 
The line-up was Aitken, Fox, Jennings, Ruffy, Owen and Gary Barnacle. 


Malcolm Owen died from a heroin overdose on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26. The b-side "H-
eyes" of "In a Rut" was a song against heroin use, and two other songs, "Dope for Guns" 
from the album The Crack, plus "Love in Vain" (b-side of "Staring at the Rude Boys") were 
also anti-drug songs. 


The band continued as Ruts D.C. (D.C. standing for Da Capo meaning 'back to the 
beginning') but never repeated their earlier success. As Ruts D.C., the band toured Germany 
in the autumn of 1980, playing at the small nightclub To Act in rural Bavaria (Weißenohe, 
near Nuremberg). However, without the charismatic persona, stage presence and great voice 
of Owen (and despite guitarist Paul Fox handling the vocals), the band struggled to re-live 
their past glories. 


On Monday 16 July 2007 the band reformed for the first time in 27 years and played a special 
one off benefit gig for Paul Fox, following his diagnosis with cancer. Hardcore U.S. punk 
singer and long time Ruts fan, Henry Rollins (of Black Flag), stood in for Malcolm Owen. They 
were supported by Tom Robinson, The Damned, Misty in Roots, UK Subs, Splodge, John 
Otway and the Peafish House Band which featured Lee Harris, (The Blockheads), Tony 
Barber of The Buzzcocks and Rowland Rivron they backed Edward Tudor-Pole and TV 



Smith. 

Fox, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in mid-2007, died on 21 October of the 

same year at the age of 56. 

The Selecter 

The Selecter were a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in the late 
1970s. 

Like many other bands of the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially mixed 
line-up. Their lyrics featured themes such as violence, politics and marijuana set to strong 
melodies and an irresistible beat. What set The Selecter apart from the other 2 Tone bands at 
the time was the songs of Neol Davies, the voice of Pauline Black and the pumping rhythms 
of Desmond Brown on the Hammond. The band's name is based on the term selector, which 
is a Jamaican word for DJ. 

The Selecter was, at first, just Neol Davies and John Bradbury (who was later to be the 
drummer in The Specials). The band name was also the title of the seminal instrumental 
released as the b-side of the first 2Tone record "Gangsters vs. The Selecter" in July 1979. 
Pauline Black has been the lead singer in The Selecter since its formation as a band in 
August 1979 when the band released the singles , "Three Minute Hero", "The Whisper", 
"Missing Words" and "On My Radio". The Selecter's debut album Too Much Pressure was 
recorded at the end of 1979 and beginning of 1980, and released by the 2 Tone Records and 
Chrysalis Records. Their second album, Celebrate the Bullet, was issued in 1981. The 
Selecter were featured in the 2 Tone documentary Dance Craze. 

After the band split in 1982, Black developed a career in TV and theatre, appearing in dramas 
such as The Vice, The Bill, Hearts and Minds and 2000 Acres of Sky. She won the 1991 Time 
Out award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the play All or Nothing At All. 
She starred next to Christopher Lee in the horror film The Funny Man. Black and Davies 
reformed The Selecter in 1991 and have released several new albums and have toured all 
over the world. Davies left the band in the mid 90's to record two solo albums "Box Of Blues" 
and "Future Swamp" and Pauline Black continued to record and perform with The Selecter 
until 2006. 

 

Pop Rivets 

1979: The Pop Rivets, a Canterbury group of devoted acolytes to punk’s gritty DIY ethos, 
release Greatest Hits, home-recorded and enclosed in handmade sleeves (later repressed in 
printed covers; later still retitled for its Hangman reissue). A more mod-oriented and less 
reserved TV Personalities or Desperate Bicycles, the Rivets (aka Rivits) retrospectively fit 
neatly in with the sloppy, violent pop noisemeisters of the era, endearingly careless (though 
even the best songs leave mere flesh wounds as opposed to the scars inflicted by their more 
prominent contemporaries). 



The Chords 


The Chords were a 1970s British group commonly associated with the mod revival, who had 
several hits in their homeland before the decline of the trend brought about their break-up. 
They were one of the most successful groups to emerge during the revival, which inundated 
the UK in 1979 thanks in large part to The Jam's massive popularity (and their obvious 
affection for mod music and styles) and the theatrical release of The Who's Quadrophenia, a 
film centred around the mod subculture of the 1960's based on the 1973 "rock opera". 
Consisting of lead singer & rhythm guitarist Billy Hassett, lead guitarist & songwriter Chris 
Pope, bassist and Hassett's cousin Martin Mason, and drummer Brett "Buddy" Ascott, the 
group boasted four talented musicians, particularly Ascott, who was a crucial component of 
the group's sound; his manic, Keith Moon-inspired drumming is considered among the best of 
the new wave era. 

Years active 1978-1981 

The Redskins - Kick Over The Statues 







The Redskins were a British band of the 1980s, notable for their left-wing politics and catchy, 
danceable songs. 

Their music combined influences from soul music, rockabilly, pop music and punk rock. The 
band formed in York, England in the early 1980s (from the ashes of punk band No 
Swastikas), with Chris Dean (vocals/guitar), Martin Hewes (bass/backing vocals) and Nick 
King (drums). Chris Dean wrote for NME magazine under the name X. Moore. Dean and 
Hewes were members of the Socialist Workers Party. The band members wore skinhead 
clothing styles, and they helped inspire the redskin movement. 

The band released their first single, "Lev Bronstein", on the CNT record label in 1982. They 
released one more single, "Lean On Me", on CNT before signing to London Records. In the 
same year playing the same song, the band were attacked upon stage at the free Greater 
London Council-sponsored 'Jobs for a Change' festival on 10th June 1984, in Jubilee 
Gardens on London's South Bank. While The Redskins were playing, a group of fascist 
skinheads stormed the stage. [5] Nick King was replaced in 1985 by Paul Hookham. The 
band released one full album, Neither Washington Nor Moscow, before splitting up at the end 
of 1986. Hewes worked for some time as a motorcycle courier following the demise of the 
band and now teaches music professionally. Chris Dean, or Chris Moore, appeared in a 
student version of Trevor Griffiths' play Oi! For England at London's Central School of Speech 
& Drama before taking up a reclusive life in Paris from 1988 until the present. 

Steel Pulse 

Steel Pulse is a well-known roots reggae musical band. They originally formed at Handsworth 
Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England and comprised of David Hinds (lead vocals, 
guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals) and Ronald McQueen (bass). Hinds, as 
songwriter, has always been the engine behind Steel Pulse, from their early days establishing 

themselves in the Birmingham club scene onwards. 


Formed in 1975, their debut release, Kibudu, Mansetta And Abuku arrived on the small 
independent label Dip, and linked the plight of urban black youth with the image of a greater 
African homeland. They followed it with Nyah Love for Anchor. Surprisingly, they were initially 
refused live dates in Caribbean venues in the Midlands because of their Rastafarian beliefs. 
Aligning themselves closely with the Rock Against Racism organisation and featuring in its 
first music festival in the spring of 1978, they chose to tour with sympathetic elements of the 
punk movement, including the Stranglers, XTC etc.: "Punks had a way of enjoying 
themselves - throw hordes at you, beer, spit at you, that kind of thing". Eventually they found 
a more natural home in support slots for Burning Spear, which brought them to the attention 
of Island Records. 

Their first release for Island was the Ku Klux Klan 45, a considered tilt at the evils of racism, 
and one often accompanied by a visual parody of the sect on stage. By this time their ranks 
had swelled to include Selwyn 'Bumbo' Brown (keyboards), Steve 'Grizzly' Nisbett (drums), 
Alphonso Martin (vocals, percussion) and Mykaell Riley (vocals). Handsworth Revolution was 
an accomplished long playing debut and one of the major landmarks in the evolution of British 
reggae. However, despite critical and moderate commercial success over three albums, the 
relationship with Island Records had soured by the advent of Caught You (released in the US 
as Reggae Fever). 

Medium Medium 

Less well known than contemporaries the Gang of Four, Medium Medium was nonetheless 
an influence on a number of the dance-punk revival bands of the early 2000s. Emerging in 
1978 out of punk/rhythm & blues band The Press in Nottingham, England, Medium Medium's 
second single, "Hungry, So Angry," released in February 1981 on Cherry Red Records, has 
become a minor classic of post-punk/funk. One of the first records to introduce slap-bass -- a 
technique borrowed from black funk music -- to a generally white audience, "Hungry, So 
Angry" reached the #48 spot in Billboard's Disco chart and has appeared on over a dozen 
compilations over the years. 

The band released only one studio album, late-1981’s "The Glitterhouse," but its stark, 
stripped-down dub and dance rhythms and chiming, funk guitar with occasional saxophone 
and other sounds failed to ignite a large following. "Guru Maharaji", one of the more 
interesting tracks on the album, has as its subject matter an Eastern religious movement, 
Divine Light Mission. The song was inspired by the involvement in the movement of a friend 
of the band who suffered a subsequent mental breakdown. The recorded version of the song 
is much slower than the original which had a fast punk sensibility. 

Lead singer/sax player John Rees Lewis left at the start of 1982 to form C Cat Trance with 
original drummer Nigel Stone, who had left shortly before the release of “Hungry, So Angry.” 
The remaining members, Andy Ryder (guitar/vocals), Alan Turton (bass), Graham Spink 
(offstage special sounds) and replacement drummer Steve Harvey, continued to tour and 
were later augmented by, first, Leslie Joachim Barrett (guitar/keyboards), then Julie Wood 
(keyboards). Forays into a fuller, more produced sound failed to garner the band a new 
record deal and Medium Medium split up in late 1983. 

Inspired by a Cherry Red retrospective CD release in 2001 and the subsequent dance-punk 
revival, Medium Medium reformed in late 2004 for several live shows, including a showcase 
at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York. No longer a full-time venture, the band has stated 
plans to continue to write, record and perform. 

Soft Cell 

Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They 
consist of vocalist Marc Almond and David Ball on synthesizers. Lyrics by the duo often 
focused on love, romance, kinky sex, transexualism, as well as drugs and murder. The duo is 


well known for their huge world-wide hit in 1981 with a cover version of "Tainted Love", 

though it would make them a one-hit wonder in several countries. 

Early years 

Soft Cell formed in 1980 in Leeds. Their initial efforts at recording resulted in an EP called 
Mutant Moments that year, funded by a loan of £2000 from Dave Ball's mother, made with a 
simple 2-track recorder. This was released independently with only 2000 vinyl copies pressed 
and has since become a highly valued collector's item among Soft Cell fans. Their early 
shows and EP caught the interest of certain record labels, such as Mute Records and Some 
Bizzare Records, both of which pioneered the new wave of synthesizer bands. Soft Cell's 
next recording, "The Girl with the Patent Leather Face," appeared as a contribution to the 
Some Bizzare Album, which featured other (then unknown) bands such as Depeche Mode, 
The The, and Blancmange. Their first singles, A Man Can Get Lost 7" and Memorabilia 12" 
were produced by Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records. While the single was a club hit, 
Soft Cell remained essentially unknown. 

The Damned 

The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976, notable for being the first punk 
rock band from England to release a single ("New Rose"), release an album (Damned 
Damned Damned), and tour the United States. The Damned later evolved as one of the 
forerunners of the gothic rock genre. 

The Damned have incorporated many different styles into their music and image, including: 
garage rock, psychedelic rock, cabaret, and the theatrical rock of Screaming Lord Sutch and 
Alex Harvey. Lead singer Dave Vanian's vocal style has been described as similar to a 
crooner. The Damned have dissolved and reformed many times, with Vanian as the sole 
constant member. However, the lineups have always included either guitarist Captain 
Sensible and/or drummer Rat Scabies, who are both founding members. As of 2007, the lineup 
included Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxy Moron, Pinch, and Stu West. 

The Members 

The Members was a punk rock band that originated in Camberley, England. The band was 
formed in 1976 by Nicky Tesco. 

In 1976 Nick Lightowlers attended a party in London's Tooley Street. At the party the owner of 
the rehearsal studio where the party was being held asked Nick what he was doing messing 
around on the typewriter in his office. On being told that a song was being written the studio 
owner asked Nick to audition with his band the following week. As there was no band in 
question at that time Nick had just a few days to put together a line up for the audition, he 
recruited a Camberley based guitarist, Gary Baker and the two of them rounded up bass 
player Steve Morley and for the initial audition used an old friend of Nick's from school called 
Steve Maycock. Due to Maycock's aversion to the idea of being spat at in the clubs and gigs 
at the time the trio recruited another Camberley boy, and brother of a close friend, Clive 
Parker (CP Snare). 

Sham 69 

Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975. 


Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a 
greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on 
the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived their name from a piece of graffiti 
that founder Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall. It originally said Walton and Hersham '69 but had 
partly faded away, and made reference to when Walton & Hersham F.C. secured the 
Athenian League title in 1969 

The November 12, 1976 issue of NME notes that Sham 69 was rehearsing in 1976, although 
only Pursey would remain from this early lineup twelve months later. Sham 69 lacked the art 
school background of many English punk bands of the time, and brought in football chant 
backup vocals and a sort of inarticulate political populism. The band had a large skinhead 
following (left wing, right wing and non-political), which helped set the tone for the Oi! 
movement. Their concerts were notoriously plagued by violence, and the band ceased live 
performances after a 1978 concert at Middlesex Polytechnic was broken up by National 
Front-supporting white power skinheads fighting and rushing the stage. 

The Meteors 

The Meteors are a highly influential psychobilly band. Originally from the United Kingdom, 
they are often credited with giving the genre its distinctive sound. The Meteors consider 
themselves the first and only "pure" psychobilly band. 

Fans of the band (known as the World Wide Wrecking Crew (WWWC)) are known to use the 
slogan, "Only The Meteors are Pure Psychobilly," (often shortened to "OTMAPP") as a 
rallying cry. 

The Meteors were started in 1980 by P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (upright 
bass - later of The Tallboys - see performance clip in "Trash on The Tube" feature on 
Youtube), and Mark Robertson (drums). Fenech and Lewis had played in rockabilly bands 
before, but left their former band, Raw Deal, in order to experiment with a new sound that 
mixed horror and science fiction lyrics with a punk rock-rockabilly crossover. This sound 
would later be called psychobilly. 

The Meteors played their first show during Rockabilly Night at The Sparrow Hawk in north 
London, but after being heckled due to their cross between rockabilly and punk attitudes, 
decided to begin playing shows beyond just rockabilly clubs. They developed a loyal following 
known as "the Crazies, or Zorchmen" who invented their own dance style called "going 
mental," a cross between fighting, dancing and moshing. This would later be renamed 
"wrecking," and is still a staple of the psychobilly scene to this day. Coupled with Fenech's 
ritual of spitting (chicken) blood during performances, many clubs believed the band was 
dangerous and refused to book them. The band began playing at punk rock clubs alongside 
UK punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned and later Anti-Nowhere League and the UK 
Subs. However, unlike punk bands, The Meteors would (and still very much do) insist that 
their shows be "a politics and religion free zone" in order to focus on having a good time 
instead of allowing disputes between fans to break out. 

Alien Sex Fiend 

Alien Sex Fiend are a gothic rock band from the UK formed in the winter of 1982. 


Getting their start at the Batcave club in London in 1982, Alien Sex Fiend quickly became 
known in the gothic scene for their psychobilly, dark electronic, industrial sound, heavy 
samples and loops and manic vocals. 

Made up of Nik Fiend and his spouse Mrs. Fiend the band has put out a long discography 
over the years. Switching up easily from heavy industrial to ambient experimental styles, fans 
of Alien Sex Fiend are always wondering what the next album is going to entail. 


They remain a fixture on college radio. And can boast as being the band to release the 
world's first (and probably only) 11" single, "E.S.T. (Trip To The Moon)" in October 1984. 


Their video for "Now I'm Feeling Zombified" was featured on an episode of the MTV animated 
series Beavis & Butt-head. 


They now reside in Cardiff, Wales. 


Alien Sex Fiend will be playing 25 anniversary shows in Spain in May 2008 (May 9th in 
Madrid, May 10th in Valencia and May 11th in Barcelona) and also planned to tour along the 
U.S. coast in June 2008 sadly canceled for reasons beyond the bands control. 



  01. (02:30) Jam - The Modern World
  02. (02:11) Billy Bragg - A New England
  03. (03:49) Ruts - S.U.S.
  04. (02:49) Selecter - Too Much Pressure
  05. (02:29) Pop Rivets - Lambrettavespascoota
  06. (03:12) Chords - Maybe Tomorrow
  07. (02:29) Redskins - Kick Over The Statues!
  08. (03:41) Steel Pulse - Ku Klux Klan
  09. (03:57) Medium Medium - Hungry, So Angry
  10. (03:35) Soft Cell - Bedsitter
  11. (02:11) Damned - Problem Child
  12. (02:25) Members - Goodbye To The Job
  13. (01:58) Sham 69 - George Davis Is Innocent
  14. (02:56) Meteors - Out Of Time
  15. (06:02) Alien Sex Fiend - I'm Doing Time In A Maximum Security Twilight Home


All tracks accurately ripped

No errors occurred

End of status report


Playing Time.........: 00:46:14
Total Size...........: 313.62 MB

Included.............: LOG, CUE,
Artwork..............: Front Back Disc @ 600dpi