One week at number one on 28th November 1981
There seemed to be a spirit of camaraderie among second wave British punk bands in the early eighties. While the most known of those groups are undoubtedly The Exploited and the Anti Nowhere League, there were a whole brace of other groups welcome inside that parameter fence as the groups all sat on the same bill at numerous punk all-dayers.
With one honourable exception aside, Anti-Pasti didn't get inside the official Top 75, but they were frequently close to dining at the captain's (sensible?) table on the Great Ship Bushell. Their debut LP “The Last Call” got to number 31 on the album charts, and many of their singles also flew high in the independent listings.
Some were ultra lo-fi and bruised sounding, scratching their way around common concerns at the time like audio brillo pads trying to scrape away the shine of capitalism (right kids?). “No Government”, for example, is a pretty straightforward anti-monarchy and anti-Thatcher single which also reminds its listeners that the Queen doesn’t fight in the army, so why should they? The whole thing sounds like one man yelling over the buzzing of a Remington electric shaver which has become embedded in a wasps nest.
“6 Guns” is surprisingly commercial and almost first wave by comparison, consisting of the kind of anthemic punk chorus neither Sham 69 or UK Subs would turn their noses up at. There are no surprises or red herrings stylistically here, with the group not being even vaguely tempted to acknowledge post-punk or the more rockist leanings some of their heroes were beginning to lean towards; it really is brittle, immediate and tight punk rock, and as such it’s difficult to find anything new to say about it.
Anti-Pasti were giving their fans a continuation of the punk tradition. There was clearly an ongoing fringe demand for it as the giants of the original movement had either given up, moved on or gone into hibernation. It serves exactly the same purpose as a plate of bolognese in an Italian bistro in Soho which is otherwise surrounded by more upmarket eateries. It’s simple audio grub for people who may have felt that while it wasn’t the seventies anymore, the volume of things to be loud and angry about had only increased. If I try to analyse this record in more depth than that, I’m sure Anti-Pasti would be the first set of people to point and laugh at me.
Some were ultra lo-fi and bruised sounding, scratching their way around common concerns at the time like audio brillo pads trying to scrape away the shine of capitalism (right kids?). “No Government”, for example, is a pretty straightforward anti-monarchy and anti-Thatcher single which also reminds its listeners that the Queen doesn’t fight in the army, so why should they? The whole thing sounds like one man yelling over the buzzing of a Remington electric shaver which has become embedded in a wasps nest.
“6 Guns” is surprisingly commercial and almost first wave by comparison, consisting of the kind of anthemic punk chorus neither Sham 69 or UK Subs would turn their noses up at. There are no surprises or red herrings stylistically here, with the group not being even vaguely tempted to acknowledge post-punk or the more rockist leanings some of their heroes were beginning to lean towards; it really is brittle, immediate and tight punk rock, and as such it’s difficult to find anything new to say about it.
Anti-Pasti were giving their fans a continuation of the punk tradition. There was clearly an ongoing fringe demand for it as the giants of the original movement had either given up, moved on or gone into hibernation. It serves exactly the same purpose as a plate of bolognese in an Italian bistro in Soho which is otherwise surrounded by more upmarket eateries. It’s simple audio grub for people who may have felt that while it wasn’t the seventies anymore, the volume of things to be loud and angry about had only increased. If I try to analyse this record in more depth than that, I’m sure Anti-Pasti would be the first set of people to point and laugh at me.
"6 Guns" would mark the group's only significant stab at the indie number one spot (stay away from the comments section, fact correctors - we'll get on to a special case later) but they continued until the end of 1982, releasing the "Caution To The Wind" album which showed a willingness to develop and soften their sound; a move which caused them to lose some fans on the way. Tracks like "Agent ABC" are still very audibly punk rock, but were leaps and bounds away from the direction the harder edge traditionalists were taking.
Trivia
The somewhat grand sounding Rondelet Music and Records were a Mansfield based label owned by Alan Campion whose main focus was second wave punk and also artists who were enveloped under the New Wave of British Heavy Metal banner.Many of their records sold well, but perhaps due to their dependance on two fairly short-lived movements, their summer was a surprisingly short one, and the label folded in 1983.
Away From The Number One Spot
The Fall enter at number 19 with “Lie Dream of A Casino Soul”, another thundering, squeaky-cheap offering from the Salford bard which eventually peaked at number 4 during the yuletide season.Punk grandfathers Chelsea also creep in at number 25 with “Evacuate” on the Fall’s old label Step Forward, proving a determination and longevity few might have suspected they had initally. Further singles would follow and they remain a going concern.
Charlie Higson and his Higsons also return at number 29 with “Lost and Lonely”, a slightly atypical effort which sees the group pulling away from their usual angular funkiness towards something even less commercial.
Number One In The Official Charts
Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure" (EMI)
Amongst the many releases on Rondelet was a single by footballer Justin Fashanu. I kid you not.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the indie labels issuing second wave punk in the early eighties did have some huge curveballs in their catalogue. They've developed a reputation for being punk labels, but they really weren't specialists - if a local New Romantic band seemed promising enough, they'd put them out.
DeleteI mean, this came out in the middle of the run of Discharge, GBH and Lurkers singles on Clay: https://youtu.be/CjhAZRx3Dd4?si=_BkzoVg2O2v711qr
Did the wasps build their nest around the electric shaver? Is that why the man is yelling? Or is he so antiroyalist that even a queen of wasps cannot escape his rage?
ReplyDeleteLet's take a moment to remember Mark E. Smith's "endorsement" of Remington ("made with the highest British attention to the wrong details").