31. Blitz - New Age (Future)

 

One week at number one on w/e 12^th February 1983

The whole concept of Oi began to look exhausted as 1982 drew to a close (there are those who may even argue the whole idea gasped its last interesting idea within three weeks of Gary Bushell dreaming it up). Tight, restrictive genres with unshakeable and conservative ideologies can occasionally focus minds and result in fantastic rock music, but the more cooks there are raiding ingredients from the same small pantry, the faster the good ideas dry up.

Blitz, however, were proving themselves to be a bit of an exception to the rule in late 1982. Their album “Voice Of A Generation” bucked trends by reaching number 27 in the national album charts in November; a better result than many of the better known bands and influencers in their field were managing at that point. Sham 69 were no more. The Angelic Upstarts were by now a busted flush, and had only managed the same peak position while on a major label (and not a cash-strapped indie) the year before.

Blitz’s achievements were actually extraordinary given how resolutely uncommercial a lot of their output was, but despite this, it seems the group sensed changes brewing. “New Age” is, unlike a lot of their previous singles, a proper anthem; spindly, almost proto-Big Country guitar riffs introduce the track as the bass drum thuds in a manner barely heard since glam rock ceased to dominate rock music. Meanwhile the lyrics occupy territory previously obsessively held by Jimmy Pursey and Pete Townshend, mentioning “the kids” a lot and their doings “on the street”.

Of all the singles which could be fairly badged as “Oi”, this is actually one of the finest. If the British public had been prepared to yield and let any of those street urchins into the national Top 40 in Winter 1983, this would have been the one to do it. “New Age” isn’t trying to break radical new ground as a sop to Paul Morley or offer any concessions to the average Woolworths buyer, but there’s an exhilarating, powerful rush to it which feels as influenced by Slade as it is Sham 69; a defiant little record which is desperate to communicate something far beyond its core audience.