The Stranglers And Friends – "Live In Concert, Rainbow,London 1980"

Oooh Look! A one-off collaboration for two 1980 live concerts by The Stranglers from the spring of 1980. Naughty Hugh Cornwell was in Pentonville Prison for drug possession. With two gigs scheduled at the London Rainbow for 3 & 4 April, the management decided to turn things around by approaching a number of well-known artistes to fill in for the absent Cornwell on vocals and guitar.

However,what is notable about the various guest appearances is the number of deceased individuals on one stage.....not deceased at the time one has to note, but recently deceased, as in the case of Jet Black,Nik Turner ,Nicky Tesco and ,my guitar and sartorial hero, Wilko Johnson. 

There are other less recently deceased artistes of course, like Ian Dury and Larry Wallis,but mainly we're concentrating on the new wave of dead pop-stars,wot I have wrote about in the last few posts,with the exception of Wilko Johnson,for whom I couldn't find any words to express this great loss!

He being the only musician I know of who has a spoonerism for his nom des plumes. I also could not find anything (good) he did that I haven't already posted before.....that is, until discovering his guest spot on these live recordings by a Hugh Cornwell-less Stranglers. Nestling uncomfortably alongside Robert Fripp and his terrifying wife, Toyah......later to haunt us all with their insufferable social media appearances....another dreadful consequence of the Co-Vid Lockdown.....among various Pub legends,skids,blockheads and ex-proggers. Sure enuff an impressive turn out,and a more interesting way to listen to the Stranglers back catalogue. One of the few Tribute albums that actually features the band who are the subject of the tribute.

Farewell Wilko.

Tracklist:

1 Introduction by Jet Black 1:53

2 Get A Grip
Guitar – John Ellis, Robert Smith
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor 3:42

3 Hanging Around
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Smith
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor 4:09

4 Tank
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp
Vocals – Pete Hammil 3:03

5 Threatened
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp 3:21

6 Toiler
Guitar – John Ellis , Robert Fripp
Vocals – Phil Daniels 5:19

7 The Raven
Guitar – Basil Gabbidon, John Ellis
Vocals – Pete Hammil 4:30

8 Dead Loss Angeles
Guitar – John Ellis, Wilko Johnson
Vocals – Phil Daniels 2:18

9 Nice'N'Sleazy
Guitar – Basil Gabbidon , John Ellis
Saxophone – Nik Turner
Vocals – Nicky Tesco 6:44

10 Bring On The Nubiles
Guitar – John Ellis, Wilko Johnson
Vocals – Richard Jobson 4:00

11 Peaches
Guitar – John Ellis , John Turnball
Saxophone – Davey Payne
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor, Ian Dury, Toyah Wilcox 4:34

12 Bear Cage
Guitar – John Ellis , John Turnball
Keyboards – Matthew Hartley
Saxophone – Davey Payne
Vocals – Hazel O'Connor, Ian Dury, Toyah Wilcox 4:41

13 Duchess
Guitar – John Ellis
Vocals – Toyah Wilcox 2:44

14 No More Heroes
Guitar – John Ellis
Vocals – Richard Jobson 3:49

15 Five Minutes
Guitar – Larry Wallis
Vocals – Richard Jobson 4:13

16 Something Better Change
Guitar – John Ellis , Steve Hillage
Vocals – Toyah Wilcox 3:43

17 Sewer
Guitar – John Ellis , Steve Hillage
Vocals – Jake Burns 7:36

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Mick Farren ‎– "Vampires Stole My Lunch Money" (Logo ‎– LOGO 1010) 1978

Proto-Punker ,Political Activist, and Journalist, the late Mick Farren, also late of sixties hippie punks, The Deviants; assembled the glitterati of Pub Rock to help him make a solo album.....and this is it.

Employing the considerable talents of former band mate Larry Wallis, and a guest appearance from the godlike Wilko Johnson, he managed to create a half decent post-pub rock style punk album.

There seems to be an underlying theme of Drunkenness and beer, and why not, i've heard it can be fun, if kept under control, but also a slow train to self-destruction.....a subject mentioned in at least one of these tunes.

As the king of late sixties couterculture, Michael isn't one to shy away from politically charged social comment, and there is inevitably some of that concealed in the lyrics here. There are moments when he becomes a white Gil Scott Heron, and that's a good thing....I think?

Tracklist:

Trouble Coming Every Day
Half Price Drinks
I Don't Want To Go This Way
I Want To Drink
Son Of A Millionaire
Zombie Line
Bela Lugosi
People Call You Crazy
Fast Eddie
Let Me In, Damn You
(I Know From) Self Destruction
Drunk In The Morning

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Dr. Feelgood ‎– "Stupidity" United Artists UAS 29990) 1976

This must be the only number one album on this blog? Indeed this was a UK chart topping outing from Dr Feelgood. A fairly standard Live album, where the boys run through a selection from their first two albums plus a couple of covers. Nothing unusual happens, which is the problem with most live album. The atmosphere doesn't even really sound as electrified as you'd expect at a peak Feelgoods performance. I'd see the point if the albums were overproduced, but they were virtually live in the studio as it was. A typical gap filling cash-in by a major record company......but an excellent one however pointless.I suppose a video would help,as a recording is lacking the visual aspect of Wilko Johnson's stage antics....a vital ingredient.

Tracklist:

Sheffield Side:

I'm Talking About You 1:52
Twenty Yards Behind 1:50
Stupidity 2:00
All Through The City 2:44
I'm A Man 5:05
Walking The Dog 3:05
She Does It Right 2:58

Southend Side:

Going Back Home 2:55
I Don't Mind 2:44
Back In The Night 3:04
I'm A Hog For You 3:15
Checkin' Up On My Baby 3:47
Roxette 3:00

Don't be stupid DOWNLOAD it HERE!

Dr. Feelgood ‎– "Sneakin' Suspicion" (United Artists Records ‎– UAS 30075) 1977

This album was the cause of Wilko's departure, with the arguments over whether to include Johnson's classic "Paradise" or Lee's old mate Lew Lewis's "Lucky 7". Brilleaux's gent's morals were offended by the subject matter of "Paradise", in which Wilko boasts of loving two women at the same time.Maybe this has something to do with the seedy cover art,reflecting how the singer felt about the situation. Maybe he had a point, it does stink of hippy style 'Free Love', and of the four members Wilko was the one who used to have long hair and flirted with psychedelics.
Our fav former teacher ,John Wilkinson, objected to "Lucky 7" purely because he thought it didn't sound like a Feelgood type of song! With which I disagree mildly.
I reckon, Wilko's ego had got out of hand, and he just didn't want anyone else to choose the songs, especially if they were at the expense of his own.He'd become increasingly isolated from the rest of the group, as he didn't drink, but preferred his own company and drugs to hanging around a pub.
Having said that, "Paradise" is one of thee classic Doctor feelgood numbers, and should have been a hit single.In the end both songs were included,so I think song choice was just a side issue to some deeper relationship problems.
As a result of all this boringly predictable band politics, this great album was the end for the classic Doctor Feelgood line up. A fitting epitaph indeed.


Tracklist:

Sneakin' Suspicion 3:51
Paradise 4:06
Nothin' Shakin' (But The Leaves On The Trees) 3:28
Time And The Devil 3:01
Lights Out 1:55
Lucky Seven 2:45
All My Love 3:47
You'll Be Mine 3:14
Walking On The Edge 3:36
Hey Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut 3:56

DOWNLOAD without suspicion HERE!

Dr. Feelgood ‎– "Malpractice" (United Artists US 29880) 1975

I dunno which cover photo i prefer from the first two albums? "Down By The Jetty" wins mainly because, the least sartorially perfect member, John B. Sparks, wears hugely flared Jeans and lets the side down. The group do however look like the Sweeney on a tea break during a stakeout.
As a yoof, I refused to ever wear Jeans, but relented in the nineties.....I blame Ecstasy! That drug fucked up everything. White boys dancing, football became safe and the evil process of gentrification started; good noisy groups changed overnight , donning stripy tops and shaking maracas to the fucking 'funky drummer beat'! Hideous chav-y thugs started  thinking they were your best mate,and I started wearing flared jeans!......it was a disgusting time, that quite frankly destroyed modern culture irreparably to this very day. Was this the drug that Aldous Huxley warned us about, the one that made us love our slavery,and positively embrace it?......I think so.
Luckily this evil chemical never entered the bloodstream of Dr. Feelgood, despite the name.They obviously felt bad, and the only chemicals needed were Alcohol. In the case of Wilko,it was copious amounts of Speed with the occasional tab of acid......proper drugs. 
As far as the second album goes, its not quite as full of classically timeless tunes as the first, but its not far off; but does include a co-write with Wilko's primary influence, Mick green of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates fame"Going Back Home"). What an album,what a group.....even if it is a slight sell-out 'cus its recorded in stereo?!

Tracklist:

I Can Tell 2:46
Going Back Home 4:00
Back In The Night 3:15
Another Man 2:55
Rolling And Tumbling 3:11
Dont Let Your Daddy Know 2:56
Watch Your Step 3:24
Don't You Just Know It 3:51
Riot In Cell Block No. 9 3:30
Because You're Mine 4:40
You Shouldn't Call The Doctor (If You Can't Afford The Bills) 2:33

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Dr. Feelgood ‎– "Down By The Jetty" (United Artists- UAS 29727) 1975

One can forget how shocking this album and group were in the mid seventies, where ELP and Yes ruled the lumpen masses.
Stripped down bare bones rock'n'roll,short songs, not a single cape in sight, and all in glorious MONO!
Yep, no Quadrophonic concept albums for Dr. Feelgood, and they dressed like the actors from classic UK TV crime drama "The Sweeney". Ones' favourite lines from which were; "Get yer trousers on son, you're NICKED!"; and a close second was "We're the Sweeney Son; and we 'aven't 'ad any dinner. So unless you want a kicking, you tell us where those photo's are!?"
In my fantasy-world this is how Dr Feelgood spoke, at least when in character. Even though I now know that Lee Brilleaux was the consummate gentleman, despite being constantly drunk. "Always keep one drink ahead of the hangover" was Lee's unwise advice.
The first album was a mix of the timelessly classic Wilko Johnson penned numbers , like "Roxette" "She Does It Right" among a couple of others, and the kind of crowd pleasing R'n'R classics that you'd expect a cruise ship club band to churn out.
Tunes like "Keep It Outta Sight" have that quality that suggests it had always existed before Wilko wrote it? Plucked out of the ether ready formed like an apple from the tree of rock'n'roll knowledge.
The anti-ELP.

Tracklist:

She Does It Right 3:28
Boom, Boom 2:42
The More I Give 3:26
Roxette 2:53
One Weekend 2:20
That Ain't The Way To Behave 3:55
I Don't Mind 2:57
Twenty Yards Behind 2:20
Keep It Out Of Sight 2:58
All Through The City 3:06
Cheque Book 4:10
Oyeh! 2:30
Bonie Moronie/Tequila 4:40

DOWNLOAD by the jetty HERE!

Dr. Feelgood ‎– "BBC Sessions 1973-1978" (Grand Records) ‎– GRAND CD24 2001

One may criticise that venerable socialist institution that is the BBC for its propaganda spreading mind control aspects, but there's no denying its role in spreading uncommercial music to the masses.
The Beeb was often the first place to record most every major artist in the western world, and often beyond.
When no record label or recording studio would touch Dr Feelgood, the BBC had them in the Maida Vale studio's to record 'em for a session for 'Whispering' Bob Harris's show......the very same Bob Harris who labeled the New York Dolls as 'Mock Rock' on national TV in the same year that the Feelgoods recorded their first session. I wonder what this whispering hippie had to say about these venerable kings of Pub Rock?
The first session from october 1973 seemed a bit pedestrian by later recorded standards for Wilko and the boys.Maybe they were overawed by the studio environment, or the producer was clueless on how to record real rock'n'roll......it was 1973 i suppose; there was no Rock'n'Roll, except some glam and the Stooges.
Things speed up for the second session a year later, again for Harris, where we find a decent version of "All Through The City" at least.
Its the Peel session in '75 where we get prime Feelgood, with great versions of "I Don't Mind" and "Keep It Out Of Sight", classics, the both of 'em.
Sadly Wilko departs the fold before the 1977 session and beyond, to be replaced by Gypie Mayo. A great guitarist but, lacking the presence of Wilko, especially on stage. But the '77 peel session is a goody, as is the '78 session.The punk influence is prevalent throughout the post Johnson sessions, which is interesting, as they were a major influence on the 'punks'.
However, this disc tracks the path that led to the rebirth of a new wave of Rock'n'Roll, a lesson that needs to be relearned, badly, today.........or not for that matter. At least the kids should take a lesson in sartorial elegance from this fantastic group.......who are still going, as requested by the last will and testament of Lee Brilleaux......without any original members. A concept I've always enjoyed. The Prospect of a 22nd century Dr. Feelgood still playing "She Does It Right" with members who haven't even been born yet fills me with....er.... Joy!?

DOWNLOAD at the doctors HERE!

Celia And The Mutations ‎– "Mony Mony " (United Artists - UP 36262) & "You Better Believe Me" (UP 36318) 1977

In 1977 Hugh Cornwell found some Posh Totty to put on the casting couch, and the resulting birth  was a single on which  said Posh bird was backed up by the Stranglers in a clandestine attempt to make a New Wave cash in 'Hit'. 
Of course it failed, but this didn't stop JJ resurrecting the idea with a second.....yes, i said second, single!?
This one was a lot better, mainly because it had the Pub Rock dream team of JJ Burnel and Wilko Johnson backing up the aforementioned Posh Totty. They even wrote a new tune for her, "you Better Believe Me"......its true!
All four tracks have the magnificent JJ Burnel Bass sound, but once we lose the plodding Jet Black Drumming, and Cornwells anemic guitar. Bring in Wilko's choppy Tele, ably backed up by one time Rockpile stickman Terry Williams ; we get something verging on the very good.
The identity of Celia Gollin herself has always been mysterious. She did some vocals on a Gavin Bryars Album on Eno's Obscure label in 1975, but after that nothing. Could she have been the 'Duchess' that Cornwell wrote about on the stranglers hit? Sometimes she even sounds a bit like Hazel O'Conner(also a Cornwell girlfriend) on these tracks.....maybe, the cover photo was just a model, and Hazel did the singing.....my mony mony's on that.

Boring gossip aside........Wilko and JJ would probably appear in my Fantasy Pub Rock sooper groop.
Maybe add Ian Dury on Vocals and Lyrics, Pete Thomas (of the Attractions) on proper Drums, and Lew Lewis on Harp. I did toy with having Philthy Phil 'The Animal' Taylor on drums, but went for the musicianly angle rather than looking good.........and that's my Pub Rock Sooper Groop.

Please feel free to volunteer your own Fantasy Sooper Groop of any genre in the comments section below for some nerdy amusement.

"Mony Mony" single:

Mony Mony 2:44
Mean To Me 1:59
"You Better Believe Me" single:

You Better Believe Me 2:48
Round And Round 1:38

DOWNLOAD believably HERE!

Wilko Johnson And The Lew Lewis Band ‎– "Bottle Up And Go!" (Thunderbolt ‎– THBE-001) 1983

Post Blockheads, Wilko teamed up with old mucker and childhood chum of Lee Brilleaux, Lew Lewis;a former Hot Rod to boot!
Wilko's signature guitar work and Lewis's ferocious Harp mangling is Pub Rock heaven.
Limited to just one EP's worth of five star rock'n'roll petrol , its a tragedy that this combo never got the LP treatment;.....but I have managed to cobble together some extra tracks, including some live in France, where we get to hear Wilko speaking French!? Plus a couple of Feelgood originals, two of which I suspect are from the free single given away with Wilko's "Ice on the Motorway" album.
Its all worth it for "Bottle Up and Go" if you ask me?

Tracklist:

1 Caravan Man 4:38
2 Bottle Up And Go 1:42
3 I Wanna By Your Lover 2:52
4 Looked Out My Window 3:30

Bonus Tracks:

5 Back in the Night 3:21

6 She Does It Right 2:20

7 Rollin' and Tumblin' 3:40

8 Sneakin' Suspicion 3:41

9 I Got My Mojo Working 8:21

DOWNLOAD and go! HERE!

Wilko Johnson ‎– "Pull The Cover" (Skydog - SKI 2227) 1984

By 1984 Wilko was persona non grata, except in France. Our Gallic Garlic munching cousins are very loyal when it comes to artists of any kind. When they like you, they LIKE you......forever!
Not that their taste is anything but terrible however!
Wilko is an exception, among the pantheon of Anglo-American gods who still rule the supermarket muzak system. I don't think i've ever entered a French supermarché without having The Police, Phil Collins or Supertramp inflicted upon my shell-likes. Then there's the legions of Tarte aux Pommes craving Hippies who constantly bang on about Zer Doorssss ,Dip Purpul, and Zer Tens Years Hafter! Naturally ,Pub Legends, Dire Straits reign supreme in any Frenchmans cd rack.
Alas,our cute little B.O. ridden chums do have a predilection for good back to basics unpretentious Rock'n'Roll like Dr. Feelgood. So Wilko is guaranteed a career in the land of Circus Clowns,swarthy males pissing in plain view,and vastly over-rated cuisine,yes,  France; for life! (what there is left of it of course) .
After John Wilkinson's short tenure with Ian Dury as a Blockhead came to an end after the 'Laughter' album. There was always gonna be a place for him on a French Record Label, hence this Mini-Album. Adorned with a tasteful drawing of our Wilko in Bed!!!.....I can't imagine our hero ever going to bed, nevermind pulling the covers over his face!? I suppose the title is a reference to the 10 cover songs that appear on this disc rather than Monsieur Johnson's nocturnal habits.
Obviously playing with the Blockheads severely curtailed W.J's songwriting activities somewhat?
Nonetheless, its still prime Wilko.

Tracklist:

Myskrat 2:57
I Wanna Be Your Lover 2:46
Ecstasy 2:35
My Babe 2:29
Messing With The Kids 1:37
Think 2:53
Some Other Guy 2:10
Mendocino 2:50

DOWNLOAD undercover HERE!

Wilko Johnson ‎– "Ice On The Motorway" (Fresh Records ‎– FRESH LP4) 1980

Wilko's first Solo album was this one, bedecked with classic Wilko pose, and a few Wilko classics;
"Bottle Up and Go", "Down By The Waterside" and a ferocious "The Whommy" (Previously heard on "The R&B Sessions-Live at the Hope and Anchor" album).
Delight in those razor sharp Telecaster chops,and some unpretentious Rock'n'Roll from one of the greats.

Tracklist:

Bottle Up And Go 1:39
Cairo Blues 3:45
Down By The Waterside 3:46
Ice On The Motorway 2:48
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window 3:45
Leave My Woman Alone 2:51
When I'm Gone 5:41
All Right 3:00
Keep It Out Of Sight 2:40
Long Tall Texan 2:44
The Whammy 4:31

DOWNLOAD in ice cold digital format from the information super-motorway HERE!

Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders ‎– "Solid Senders" (Virgin ‎– V 2105) 1978

Well, I like tenuous links between posts so I can seamlessly segue between disparate pop groups with no obvious connection to keep the flow as smooth as possible.
So, Snakefinger was in a pub rock band called Chilli Willi and the RedHot Peppers, which bares some resemblance to the unforgivably terrible Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who were inspired by The Gang Of Four (????? can someone point out where that influence actually is?); who in turn were influenced by Pub Rock legends,Dr. Feelgood, via the staccato rhythm lead of one Wilko Johnson.
This leads us naturally to the post-Feelgood works of one John Wilkinson, aka Wilko.
I'm not prone to having any heroes, but if I was to be any musician it would be either Brian Eno or Wilko Johnson.
He's got it all, style, great image, a personality, likes cosmology, perfect stripped down guitar style, and a stage presence like no other; he even came back from the dead for chrissakes!? 
I still dress like Dr Feelgood to this day, probably thee perfect band image of all time.
If one thing lets him down, is probably his singing voice is a trifle weak, but hey, nobody's perfect? Which of course makes him...perfect!?
His immense ego, via a copious intake of amphetamines , caused a rift between him and the Beer monsters of the rest of the Feelgoods, and he had to leave to go solo-ish.
His first post-Feelgood record was as The Solid Senders, which the record company renamed Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders; not like Virgin that is it? Record executives have a great talent for destroying their employees prospects, rather like what every corporate interest does to everyone with any ambition to better themselves. There's no room in the stable for the upstarts from the basement of society.
Solid Senders were a Band rather than Wilko's solo project, and having his name in front of the groups inevitably led to this being a short project.
The music is a slightly funkier version of Dr. Feelgood, with less menacing vocals.
A great album indeed, released with a free Live album attached.

Tracklist:

A1 Blazing Fountains 3:16
A2 You're In My Way 2:49
A3 Dr. Dupree 3:30
A4 Too Bad 2:32
A5 First Thing In The Morning 4:45
A6 Everybody's carrying a Gun 2:48
B1 Signboard 3:27
B2 Keep Both Eyes On The Road 2:30
B3 Shop Around 3:17
B4 Burning Down 4:25
B5 I've Seen The Signs 3:32
Live
C1 Walking On The Edge 3:22
C2 Paradise 4:39
C3 All Aboard 3:22
D1 Highway 61 5:02
D2 Neighbour Neighbour 2:50
D3 Rock Me Baby 6:16

DOWNLOAD and solidly sent HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "The London R & B Sessions (Live At The Hope And Anchor)" (Albion Records ‎– DAI 2) 1980

Let's have some R&B action? Preferably the brand of R&B that doesn't involve Beyoncé jiggling her fat arse in yer face. Well i suppose I'd prefer her arse in my face to Wilko Johnson's, but*(*in both senses of the word), gimmie The Solid Senders sublimly intense version of 'The Whammy', to a whole galaxy full of 'Urban' R&B NWO propaganda any day in a thousand light years of interstellar space.
You'll find no Stars in this crumbling corner of the Rock'n'Roll Galaxy, just a few rapidly collapsing dwarf stars of various hues, their orbiting planetoids and captured space junk.
By 1980 Pub Rock had overcome the initial acceleration from the explosion of the early to mid-seventies singularity,and had succumbed to the gravitational collapse inflicted by the punk rock era, firmly back to where they came from......'the Pub'.
If needs be told, this stuff never really suited medium to large sized concert halls.It's the sound of a small, crowded, grimy smoke filled room, framed with the stinking perfume of stale ale.

This is the 'punk-free' sister disc to "The Front Row Festival" double album, showcasing a more pure later-Pub Rock sound, recorded at the Hope and Anchor between November and December 1979.
Amid the faithful recreations of 60's Rhythm and Blues, and impressions of yer actual electric blues; we have the more spikey, amphetamine fueled, blues of Lew Lewis and Wilko Johnson. Which are full of adrenaline and intensity. The Pirates, are as always themselves; a genuine slice of early sixties meek-era UK rock'n'roll, backed up by The Bishops aggressive take on the same thing.
There's some soul-y stuff as well, which I can't abide!....reminds me of the Soul wankers on my estate (that's 'council' Estate, not the land that surrounds my posh Manor house), who were into the depressing 'Northern Soul' scene. they always took great delight in kicking the local freaks heads in, like me; and they smashed my Devo record....cunts!

Tracklist:

1-Lew Lewis Reformer-You'd Better Watch Yourself 2-Lew Lewis Reformer-Shake And Finger Pop 3-The Bogey Boys-Madison Blues 4-Red Beans And Rice-Finger In My Eye 5-Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders-The Whammy 6-The Untouchables-I Can't Be Satisfied 7-The Bogey Boys-You Can't Catch Me 8-The Cannibals-Just For Fun 9-The Pirates-Tear It Up 10-Hope & Anchor House Band-Just A Little Bit 11-Red Beans And Rice-Pucker Up Buttercup 12-The American Blues Legends-Why Do Everything Happen To Me 13-Little Roosters-Roostering With Intent 14-The Blues Band-Death Letter 15-The Bishops-Taste And Try 16-The Pirates-All In It Together

DOWNLOAD some classic punky R&B that doesn't involve twerking HERE!

Various Artists‎– "Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival" ( Warner Bros. Records ‎– K 66077) 1978

A natural place to start our exploration of UK Pub Rock would be in a Pub I suppose. One of the principle Pub Rock venues was the Hope and Anchor in Islington,where the Front Row Festival was held between November 22nd and December 15th 1977. A very accurate document of live music in the year 'Punk Rock Exploded'......as we see, as in the charts and record shops, Punk Rock was largely notable for its absence. Most of the acts on this compilation would have sat confusingly in the Punk and New Wave section of my local record store. A mixture of what we now call Proto-Punk, Power Pop, Pub Punk, and Pub Rock were all slotted into the New Wave shoebox by confused demin clad staff who listened to Little Feat and had beards; today we'd call them 'Hipsters'.
There's some bandwagon punk on here of course like the lamentable Suburban Studs, and the admittedly excellent 999;Aussie Pub Rock by the fantastic Saints,the proto-post punk pop of XTC, and trendy Kings Road 'Punkers' X-Ray Spex.
Quite a mixed bag, but anything with Wilko Johnson on it has to be worth the entry fee; counterbalanced by an appearance by maybe the biggest Pub Rock band ever(except maybe AC/DC?), the inexcusably toe curlingly bad, Dire Straits!!?
The stand out tracks are ,obviously, The Saints and ,somewhat less obviously, The Steve Gibbons Band's 'Speed Kills'.
Like the swinging '60s' ; in 1977 Punk Rock was largely confined to a few streets in London,the tabloids, and the Music Press. This is a more accurate document of the music scene in '77, where Flares still ruled, beards ,long hair, beer rather than speed as the drug of choice, and not a single garment from Seditionaries or Boy to be seen.Pub legends ,The Sex Pistols, were unavailable; but this lot were,in a small venue near you. And everyone was signed to a major label;well,at least until the end of 1978 that is.

Tracklist:

1–Wilko Johnson Band-Dr. Feelgood 2:43
2–The Stranglers-Straighten Out 2:58
3–Tyla Gang-Styrofoam 2:04
4–The Pirates-Don't München It 3:2
5–Steve Gibbons Band-Speed Kills 3:30
6–XTC-I'm Bugged 4:22
7–Suburban Studs-I Hate School 2:37
8–The Pleasers-Billy 1:59
9–XTC-Science Friction 2:45
10–Dire Straits-Eastbound Train 3:25
11–Burlesque -Bizz Fizz 5:00
12–X-Ray-Spex -Let's Submerge 3:02
13–999-Crazy 3:18
14–The Saints-Demolition Girl 3:45
15–999-Quite Disappointing 2:00
16–The Only Ones-Creatures Of Doom 3:18
17–The Pirates-Gibson Martin Fender 3:26
18–Steel Pulse-Sound Check 3:41
19–Roogalator-Zero Hero 3:43
20–Philip Rambow-Underground Romance 5:45
21–The Pleasers-Rock & Roll Radio 2:29
22–Tyla Gang-On The Street 3:00
23–Steve Gibbons Band-Johnny Cool 3:29
24–Wilko Johnson Band-Twenty Yards Behind 2:03
25–The Stranglers-Hanging Around 4:16

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