14 Steps

On Friday 17th February Gaz and me did something we haven’t done for a good few years, we took a train to London and went record shopping. Back when we were at school we’d get the train into Southampton city centre on a Saturday and do a round of the then great record shops. Later when we had a bit more money we’d often take a train to London and treat ourselves to a record shopping spree.

It’s something we haven’t done for so long, mainly because we now live a couple of hundred miles apart, we have busy lives and money is tight, as it is for everyone these days. But Gaz was back down south for a few days and I had a day off work, so it seemed as good a time as any to treat ourselves.

On the train ride up to London we decided that our first stop would be Rough Trade East. I had been there once before but Gaz hadn’t, so it seemed a good place to start. The tube ride there wasn’t as straight forward as it should have been, but after a brief detour we made it to Liverpool Street and took the short walk to Brick Lane. It’s fair to say Gaz was impressed with the size of it and I was happy that I wouldn’t feel rushed or pushed for time like I did on my last visit. Whilst there my friend Tom Ellis walked over and it was good to have a chat with him, and being the good sort he is he pointed out the TV Casualty 7”, so I grabbed that, as well as a Hagar The Womb 12”. I wanted the Lowest Form 7” too, but it was a little expensive, so I reluctantly put that back. Gaz got himself a couple of LPs and debated over a Black Flag double album.

                                                                     (Gaz takes in the awesomeness of Rough Trade East)

After paying up and saying goodbye to Tom we headed off. On the way back to the station we debated getting some chips, but settled for a cup of tea instead. While relaxing with our tea we decided that seeing as we’d visited their East shop we’d take a tube right across London to see if Sean Forbes was at Rough Trade West. Sean wasn’t behind the counter when we got there, but after looking through the racks he came out and we had a good chat with him. I also picked up one of the Messthetics CD compilations. I’m not sure if Gaz got anything there or not. 

On one of our previous trips to Rough Trade West, many years ago, Sean had mentioned that his new piss-take Oi band had sent a demo to Helen Of Oi Records, and they were interested in releasing an LP. This time he told us that Hard Skin were about to go and record a new album.

I took Gaz to a vegetarian food place that I remembered Si had enjoyed when we were there with Paint It Black a couple of summers ago; Gaz was also impressed. While he ate we debated if we should go to Camden or Soho for our next fix of record shopping. Soho won, so it was back on a tube. After emerging from Oxford Circus station we dodged out of the Oxford Street crowds and made our was to Soho via the back streets.

We reached Sister Ray Records and first looked for the Black Flag album that Gaz had now decided he did want after all. We didn’t find that, but I did find an LP of Adam & The Ants demos recorded in 1978 (which made me very excited), the 25th Anniversary release of The Damned’s “New Rose” 7” and a copy of Maximum Rock n Roll. I had to put back a live Ants LP (also from 1978) and CDs by Killing Joke and Psychedelic Furs; but Gaz did buy me The Damned’s Stiff SIngles CD Box-set, calling it my birthday present (even though my birthday is a month away). He also got an LP of Dead Kennedys demos.

Just up the road form Sister Ray we found a second hand shop where I got a Ripcord LP I didn’t have.

We were done then, and time was getting on, so we decided to head back to the station; we never did make it to Camden, but we did find a couple of second hand shops that Gaz just happen to remember were just off Oxford Street, even though it must have been over 20 years since we’d last been in them.

With just enough time to grab a cup of tea we got our train and had an uncomfortably packed ride home.

It was fun to go record shopping like that again as we hardly ever get to do stuff like that together any more. Gaz is lucky in that he has several decent record shops in Norwich;, but Southampton has either HMV or the Oxfam Record shop and that’s it, its a sad state of affairs.

The next night we went to see The Dauntless Elite in town and I bought the Underparts 7”,  the new Attack! Vipers! LP and the new Dauntless Elite album, none of which I’ve had a chance to give a proper listen to yet, but I will do very soon and put reviews up on our the SD website.

Dauntless Elite were great live too; it’s been a few years since I’ve seen them play and they were just as good as I remembered.

As well as all that I bought a Treblinka LP off Ralf in Brighton, another record I haven’t had a good listen to yet, and was sent the wonderful Take Warning 7”. Take Warning are French and play a rough and ready Pegboy style of punk that really hit the spot (see review on our website).

I think it’s fair to say it’s been a good few days for new music, and apart from a couple of exceptions, it’s all been vinyl. I do love my vinyl, but I wish I could afford a better quality record player and amp. When I was about 14 or 15 I bough some second hand stereo equipment, it was really good stuff and lasted me years. I think I’m going to need to hunt some stuff down, although how I'm going to pay for it is a question I don’t have a good answer for yet.

Lucky Thirteen

I've had lots of ideas for things to write about this time, but after spending time re-launching the Suspect Device distro Suspect Device Shop all those good ideas have disappeared. So here's some records I've bought over the past couple of weeks.

Anyway, The new Artcore is out, issue 29, and it comes with a superb comp LP. "Terminal Decay" has tracks by 1981, Endless Grinning Skulls, Night Birds, Arctic Flowers, Off With Their Heads, Pettybone, Hygiene and lots of others. Twenty tracks, thirteen of which are previously unreleased. You can order it here Artcore Fanzine.

I also bought the Anthrax 7" that is a benefit for the 1 in 12 Club. A great band and a great cause. It's a limited release, so I don't know if there are any left, but it's got to be worth an email to see if you can still get your hands on a copy - anthrax_uk@hotmail.com

My friend Casey Jones sent me a copy of the No For An Answer 7""It Makes Me Sick". Recorded by the same line-up that recorded "You Laugh" EP, and it sounds like No For An Answer should sound. Great hardcore, good lyrics and great to hear that these guys can still do it.

There's a Hard Skin singles LP out too, so I had to buy that as well. It felt like being a kid again, buying dodgy singles collections that I probably shouldn't.

I been on the hunt for the Speed Kills 7", but hopefully I can get my hands on a copy in the next week or so, once I've been paid. I have a download of their demo and it's a real ripper.

Ok, that's it for now. Go buy some records...

Suspect Device

12 Bars Of Gold

It's that time of year again; so here it is, my 2011 top 10 lists....

LPs

Night Birds “The Other Side Of Darkness” LP Grave Mistake

Violent Arrest “Tooth & Nail” LP Boss Tuneage / Tadpole

Section 13 “Burning Bridges” CD Boss Tuneage

Arctic Flowers “Reveries” LP Inimical

Endless Grinning Skulls s/t LP Viral Age

Brain F≠ “Sleep Rough” LP Grave Mistake / Static Shock

The Phoenix Foundation “No Love Lost” LP Stonehenge

Deep Sleep “Turn Me Off” CD Grave Mistake

Zounds “The Redemption Of...” CD Overground

Burnt Cross “Mankind’s Obituary” CD Tadpole

EPs

Punch “Nothing Lasts” 7” Deathwish

OFF! “First Four EPs” 7” Boxset Vice

Whole In The Head “Them & Us” 7” Tadpole

Night Birds “Midnight Movies” 7” No Way

1981 “Decay” 7” Kämäset Levyt

Epic Problem “EP” CD Self Released

Burnt Cross “Fight The Law Not The Poor” 7” Tadpole

Pet Milk “Philadelphia Punklife” download

Career Suicide “Cherry Beach” 7” Dirtnap

The Shirks “Cry Cry Cry” 7” Grave Mistake 

Reissues

Culture Shock “Everything” CD Boxset Bluurg

HDQ “You Suck / Hung Drawn & Quartered” CD Boss Tuneage

Faith “Subject To Change & First Demo” LP Dischord

Depraved / Visions Of Change s/t CD Boss Tuneage

Exit Condition “Impact Time / Bite Down Hard” LP Boss Tuneage

Night Birds “Fresh Kills Vol.1” CD Grave Mistake

Exit Condition “Days Of Wild Skies” CD Boss Tuneage

Political Asylum “Winter” CD Boss Tuneage

UK Subs “The Complete Punk Singles Collection” CD boxset Captain Oi

Skids “The Singles Collection 1978-1981” CD Boxset Captain Oi

Live

Violent Arrest - The Hobbit, Southampton

Subhumans - The Joiners, Southampton

Night Birds -  Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton 

OFF! - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

Punch -  Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton

Deep Sleep -  Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton

Peter & The Test Tube Babies - The Prince Albert, Brighton

Stupids - The Prince Albert, Brighton

Liberty - The Joiners, Southampton

Steve Ignorant - Shepherds Bush Empire, London

News At 11

First up I’d like to mention a couple of new CDs that have arrived and left me feeling very excited. First Mr Tadpole sent me the new Burnt Cross CD “Mankind’s Obiturary”, and Captain Oi have released another of their singles boxsets, this time featuring the Skids. Both are great in their own way; Burnt Cross are perfect for the current climate, angry anarcho punk rock that pulls no punches. While the Skids have always been favourites for me and their timeless tunes have remained constant companions over the years. Reviews of both are up on the Suspect Device website now.

tadpolerecords.blogspot.com/  - www.captainoi.com 

I ordered the Sudor LP from La Vida Es Un Mus after hearing a couple of tracks on-line.  They are another great Spanish band whose noisy yet tuneful basic punk rock has elements of UK82 punk and early US hardcore. It’s rough and ready and really very good indeed. www.lavidaesunmus.com/

In something of a contrast, I downloaded the Pet Milk EP “Philadelphia Punklife” from their bandcamp page. If you don’t know, they have Paint It Black’s guitarist Josh Agran playing drums, but they don’t sound at all like PiB, instead they dish up a wonderful selection of C86 style indie pop. It’s glorious stuff.

http://petmilk.bandcamp.com/

I’ve also stumbled across a band from Brazil called Onde Eu Me Encaixo? who I’m really liking right now, and I will be trying to track down a copy of their self titled LP very soon.

I recently watched a film called I Need That Record, about the plight of independent record shops in the US, it made me realise that what I want to do when I grow up is work in a record shop. Not HMV or anything like that, but a proper record shop, with real records. Sadly I think the realisation has come 25 years or so too late. However it has planted a seed and I’m seriously considering starting the SD distro up again, but concentrating on vinyl. 

Right, with the admin out of the way I think I may have a little ramble...

In 1979 I was 13, the punk bug had bitten and my record buying habit was just starting to take hold. At that time I didn’t have much money, so records would have to be begged for or bought when a few week’s pocket money had been saved. To keep me happy I’d make do with borrowing and taping records from friends or my cousin, recording the John Peel show onto cassette or searching out the few music shows on TV (One day I’ll tell you the story of how a chest infection, a trip to Lymington and 1970’s daytime TV caused me to became so attached to The Clash’s “Give ‘em Enough Rope” LP). 

A friend had an older step brother who was going through his “punk phase”; he had a cool leather jacket with X-Ray Spex painted on the back, which I coveted and dreamed about nicking (I never did though). More importantly he’d buy records, and when he was out we’d sneak into his room and listen to his new purchases. One afternoon we discovered that he had two new singles, “In To The Valley” by The Skids and “Reality Asylum” by Crass.

I knew of The Skids, and had heard “In To The Valley” on the radio, so we gave that a spin and we loved it. At that time I hadn’t heard Crass, so “Reality Asylum” was a bit of a shock and we quickly flipped it over to listen to “Shaved Women”. I didn’t understand it at all, at that time I wasn’t ready for Crass’ message and didn’t grasp what this record was about at all. On that afternoon it certainly didn’t measure up to the punky greatness of The Skids, and pushed Crass to the back of my mind for quite a while. Little did I know that they, and the DIY philosophy they championed, would have a huge influence on me and what I’d spend a good part of my life involved with.

I can’t remember when I next listened to Crass, it was certainly a while before I bought any of their stuff. I have “Feeding Of The 5000” on Small Wonder, but I got that a couple of years after its release in a second hand shop. I did buy the first “Bullshit Detector” compilation when it came out, and I bought other bands’ records that Crass put out, I particularly remember getting, and loving, the Flux Of Pink Indians EP, but it was records by bands that Crass inspired that I was buying at the time, particularly Subhumans, Rubella Ballet, Hagar The Womb and then Lost Cherrees, Conflict and so on.

If initially the music of Crass didn’t inspire me, their DIY punk ideals certainly did, I loved it and both Gaz and me threw ourselves into it, leading to us starting Suspect Device zine and becoming involved with the local DIY punk scene.

Over 30 years later I found myself rushing up from Southampton to Shepherds Bush to see Steve Ignorant play Crass songs for one last time. I never saw Crass, they did play in Southampton, but only once and way before I’d caught up, and anyway I didn’t find out about the gig until long after it had happened.

I know some questioned why this Steve Ignorant gig was happening at the Shepherds Bush O2 Arena; playing anarcho punk songs in a corporate arena does seems strange at first, but seeing as the venue was packed it’s difficult to think of exactly where it could have been held to cater for that many people. Also, if this was Crass then I’d have had more of a problem with it, but this wasn’t Crass, and it was never billed as Crass, this was Steve Ignorant playing songs he’d sung while he was in Crass; I saw BIll Stevenson sing Black Flag songs in the same venue but I didn’t think I was watching Black Flag play.

I got there late after getting the 6pm train from Southampton, and rushed from the tube station to the venue, texting both Gaz and Pete Zonked to see where they were. Once I was in the venue I ran into the first security guard of the evening. Oddly enough he was friendly and good humoured. That negotiated I went into the venue to catch the last song and a half from Paranoid Visions, meaning I’d missed Andy T. 

When they’d finished I ran into a couple of familiar faces, none of them had seen Gaz, so I wondered around avoiding the numerous old punks walking around slopping beer all over the place. It was good to see the Sea Shepherds stall at the back, sadly that sort of thing happens so rarely at gigs these days.

I finally saw Gaz with Spud at the Bar (surprise surprise). Pete had replied saying he was stuck upstairs, and wasn’t happy about it.

While talking to Gaz and Spud The Cravats started up. Spud wasn’t into them, but I quite liked them; they aren’t a band I listen to a lot at home, but they were pretty good live.

Nath and Michelle were the friendly faces we saw after The Cravat’s set. Gaz and Spud were telling beer induced nostalgic stories, and after getting another load of beer slopped all over me I started to wish I could swap places with Pete. 

Then it was time for the main event.

It was odd to hear the loud cheering when the band took the stage, it was like going to see bands before a DIY scene had sprung up in Southampton, when Stiff Little Fingers, Siouxsie & The Banshees etc would play to huge crowds in a “proper” venue and the crowd would be chanting the band’s name and cheering loudly as they took the stage. For that one moment it seemed I was a million miles away from DIY punk rock. But, when the band started I forgot all that as they played a superb set. Steve Ignorant’s voice was sounding a little horse, but I think the emotion of the occasion was getting to him. Carol Hodge, on the other hand, belted out her songs in a strong confident way and sounded really great. 

As the set drew to a close members of Steve’s volunteer Lifeboat crew came on stage in full rescue gear while the band played “(West One) Shine On Me”, the old Ruts song. It  was done so well that it was almost my favourite moment of the night. The lifeboat crew looked a little ill at ease, but then I guess none of them had ever stood on stage looking out a thousands of old punk rockers jumping up and down.

A further surprise was instore for everyone when Penny Rimbaud walked on stage and sat down at a little drum kit to play “Do They Owe Us A Living” with Steve, just vocals and drums they way it was played originally. Following that Eve Libertine walked on for a powerful rendition of “Darling”. Eve also returned during “Shaved Women” to sing part of it with Carol, and that was probably the highlight of the set for me as these days “Shaved Women” is one of my favourite and most played Crass songs.

 In the end it all over ran, and although I’d arranged to meet Gaz at the back I kind of got caught up in a throng of people leaving and found myself heading for the exit. As Sarah was going to have to get out of bed to come and pick me up from the station in Southampton (engineering works meant trains didn’t go any further) I wanted to get a train back as quickly as I could. I sent Ga a text telling him I’d meet him on the station and hurried away. I got back to waterloo with enough time to grab a takeaway tea and got on the train. With minutes to spare Gaz arrived and we headed off home, both agreeing that it had been worth all the effort to get there, and we’d seen something special.

I still prefer smaller gigs, but I can’t deny that it was good to hear those songs played live, and played so well. I have to say I don’t think Crass ever played these songs as well; I know that wasn’t the point and that Crass were about much more that the music. Tonight was all about the songs and the performance, and the band Steve had put together were superb. 

I don’t think it tarnished Crass’ name or message at all. This was a celebration, an evening for everyone there to think about what Crass meant to them while having a good time. 

In the days following the gig I found myself thinking about how Crass influenced me, and how from that moment in 1979 when “Shaved Women” took second place to “In To The Valley” Crass had gradually, if indirectly, set a course for my life. I think even the people around me as I grew up were influenced by Crass, even if they never knew anything about them. My parents couldn’t tell you any of Crass’ songs, but I think that I was so annoying and self-righteous as a teenager that things slowly crept into their consciousness. They’re not ever going to be out on the street waving a black flag, it’s a little more subtle than that. They didn’t bat an eyelid when I became a vegetarian, they slowly turned into fanatical recyclers, had solar panels installed on their roof and my dad now drives a hybrid car. They’ve moved their money out of a bank and into a building society and this week my dad even spent some time searching the internet for vegan recipes so my mum could make me a cake. Anarchy and Piece (of cake).

Hang Ten

Some times I feel down, it’s always happened, some periods have been worse than others, the ‘80s for instance totally sucked. The whole decade was just so awful and I made some terrible decisions that meant I was pretty unhappy for a lot of those years; not that I would admit it to myself at the time.

Sadly, 2011 has been pretty crap, mostly because of work. Strangely I used to quite like my job, but this year I haven’t and at times I’ve had that gut wrenching feeling when it’s time to turn the light out at night and I realise in a few hours I’ll be going back to that place. Right now I feel trapped. It’s getting me down.

The one thing that has helped me during these down times has been music; the early ‘80s may have seen the death of mainstream music, but it saw punk rock blossom in so many different directions and as the years passed I began to appreciate most of it. It saw my immersion in the local DIY scene and, along with Gaz, my venture into punk rock fanzine writing. Musically 2011 has been a pretty good one I think, and I’m still discovering new music that inspires me, and every soften I’ve discovered some old gem that slipped past me at the time.

Inspired by doing an interview with Martin Sorrondeguy recently, I started to track down some of the South American bands he mentioned, which lead to me discovering lots more and moving on to Spanish bands, of which there seems to be innumerable good ones about at the moment. It was during one of these searches that I came across The X-Preys on a Bandcamp page. Four songs were offered as a free download, and they proved to be so ruddy good that I had to find out more about this band. Being from Madrid they hadn’t yet reached the radar of my buddy Paul in Malaga, but then his heart is in Mallorca, so I set out on my own voyage of discovery. I found that they had an album, and once that knowledge had reached my brain it became a quest; I’m a little short of money at the moment, but all common sense went out of the window and I had to have this album. This has happened to me before, instinct takes over and I won’t rest until I have whatever release I’m after. It was initially pretty frustrating, I found the album on lots of sites, but it was always sold out. Then I stumbled onto Rumble Records’ site and saw that the album was also available on CD with extra tracks. Normally I’d choose the LP over the CD, but as I said, instinct had taken over and my instinct was to get as many songs as possible as quickly as possible. So I fired off an email and got a pretty quick reply from Pablo, so I paypaled my money over right away. With my needs satisfied I relaxed while I eagerly awaiting the arrival of the CD, reveling in the late ‘70s style gloriousness of the four songs I already had; these guy and girls certainly know how to inject urgency into their songs. I love it... When it arrived Pablo had enclosed an X Prays badge as well, obviously he knows I am also a sucker for a nice badge. There isn’t a lot of diversity on offer on this CD, but I wasn’t expecting that, and didn’t really want it either; I got just what I wanted, 15 tracks of stripped down punk rock that presses all the right buttons for me. Check them out.

www.rumblerecordsonline.com

I recently found some old demos in a crate that I hadn’t got round to sorting through since our move (yes, I know it’s been over a year). One of them I was particularly happy to see again, it was by the old Brighton band Nux Vomica, who featured Allen and Sam from our old favourites Sleep. I connected my tape player up to my computer and pressed play, recording as I listened. It all still sounded really good, so I didn’t mind when the first attempt to copy it didn’t work and I had to listen to it all again. I instantly wanted to share it, so I sent Allen an email just to check that he didn’t mind me putting it on the SD site. It was so long ago (Summer of 1992 Allen thinks), but I don’t remember Nux Vomica staying around too long, I have this demo, and I remember seeing them live at The Joiners, I even have a T-Shirt, but my memory tells me they were gone too soon, although Pete Zonked says he remembers seeing them in Brighton without Allen singing, so there’s a chance they carried on playing longer than I remember. Anyway, it’s good fast hardcore stuff so go to the SD site and check it out.

We finally got SD53 printed, and apart from one little niggly thing that’s annoying me I think it came out pretty well. It certainly seems to be popular with lots of interest being shown and people sending SAE’s, so thanks to everyone who has asked for a copy, and if I have said I’ll send you a copy (copies) please be patient, I’m getting there, but postage costs so much these days. If you want one then send and email to suspectdevicehq@hotmail.com and we’ll sort it out.

Ellis at Static Shock has given the wonderful Brain F≠ LP, “Sleep Rough”, a UK release. It’s a great record, so go grab a copy right away.

http://www.staticshockrecords.blogspot.com/

This past weekend I went to see Steve Ignorant’s Last Supper gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire, but I think that needs a blog entry of its own, so I’ll wait while I gather my thoughts before writing about it.

www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Nine Plan Failed

Money has been tight this month so I haven’t bought any new music, and the only thing that has come is the new self released CD from local punkers Chemical Threat, featuring my old band-mate Jonny Fry. I have to admit that in the past I haven’t been too impressed with their recorded stuff, but this is a lot better, the band seem more together and the lyrics appear to have had more thought put into them. I meant to pass the CD on to Gaz at the weekend, but forgot. I think he’ll be interested in hearing it so I guess I’ll be sending it Norfolk way this week.

Gaz, as you can probably guess, was back down South this weekend, and so were Si Briggs and his lovely wife Paula who were using the fact that Middlesbrough were playing Southampton as an excuse to pay us a visit. Along with Sarah and Becca we all took in the game; all but two of us left the game happy, but being the perfect hosts we didn’t once gloat.

On our way back we had to cut through John Lewis to get back to the car park. As we passed through I noticed what I thought was the first Specials album sleeve on a display; a closer look showed I hadn’t been mistaken it was that album cover, in their wall hanging section. Amongst the framed pictures and wall clocks they had a display of frames that you can display your favourite album sleeves in.

Not only did they have that Specials sleeve on the wall, but also albums by Radiohead, Velvet Underground and Sex Pistols amongst others. John Lewis had Never Mind The Bollocks hung up on their wall! How times change eh? Back in 1977 a shop owner was prosecuted for displaying the very same LP sleeve.

As well as selling these frames, they were selling the records they had on display and both Gaz and me couldn’t resist flicking through them; sadly there isn’t another shop in Southampton city centre where you can do this these days. I couldn’t help but pick up the Sex Pistols cover, it’s such an iconic sleeve and holds a special place in my heart; I can still remember buying it for the first time.

(I can feel a bit of nostalgia coming on)

Although I first heard the Pistols in 1977, I didn’t start buying records until 1978, so it was probably 1979 when I first got my hands on a copy of their album. As a proper band the Pistols were done by then, but that didn’t matter to me, this was like the holy grail. I had heard it, my cousin had tapped it for me, but that cassette was wearing very thin and I just had to have vinyl. I remember standing in the bus station with my mum and sister after having seen the record in Subway Records, it was something like £2.99 and I wanted to borrow some money and had to ask my mum, the conversation went something like this...

Mum, “What record do you want?”

Me, “It’s a Sex Pistols album.”

Mum, “Which one?”

Me, “Er…It’s called Never Mind.”

Now, for a couple of years the Sex Pistols were all over the newspapers, and my parents used to get the Daily Mirror delivered, and it was there I had first heard of this shocking group, and by 1979 my love for punk rock in general, and the Pistols in particular was well known, so I knew my mum was aware of them, and all the controversy surrounding them, and was probably well aware of what the album was really called.

Even now I wince when I happen to swear in front of my mum, so then as an 12/13 year old I would never have dared, and I’m pretty sure my mum was making me squirm and sweat a bit before lending me the money. But in the end she did, and I rushed in to buy it.

I could hardly believe that I now owned this album, and over the next few years I played it to death. So much so that I eventually had to buy a second copy; in all I think I have bought, or acquired two copies on vinyl, and three copies on CD, including the American release.

So now, at the age of 45 I was standing in John Lewis of all places, with my wife, daughter and three friends, staring at this cover I knew so well and feeling excited. You see it was the 30th Anniversary version, with a 7”, poster and CD version included. When this came out, 4 years ago, I didn’t get round to picking it up, I always meant to but never did. Gaz was just as excited by this record and as it’s his birthday soon Sarah and me decided to buy it for him, so off Sarah went to the till. She came back with two copies, one of them for me. You can’t imagine just how thrilled I was; it didn’t matter just how many times over the years I’ve played those songs, I was like that little kid again stood in the bus station.

I guess to a lot of people now the Sex Pistols don’t mean much, but I was lucky that I was at the right age to be really hit by what they were doing, musically. It may not seem like it today, but “Pretty Vacant”, the first punk song I ever heard, was the hardest hitting song I’d ever heard, it truly left me gobsmacked and kicked open the doors to a world of punk rock that has shaped my life for the last 35 years.

(sorry, I’m back in the now, er, now)

I have been checking out some new stuff on the internet and writing myself a shopping list for when I have some spare cash, and reacquainting myself with old bands like Betercore, Black Market Baby and The Vaselines. One band I have just discovered are Extinct who are probably the first hardcore band from Luxembourg I’ve ever heard. I have also been listening to bands from Spain, Sweden, Germany and Brazil.

Oh, and like everyone else I have become a fan of Terrible Feelings, and I’m gutted I missed their Brighton gig a couple of weeks ago.

The new issue of Suspect Device, SD53, will be out very soon.

www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Track 8

Phew, what a week. It started off ok, new music came my way and I was getting on with the zine well. On Monday night we were up at Southampton’s Sports Centre watching Becca play netball for the Under 16’s (she’s under 14), as usual; close to the end of the match she took a spectacular tumble. The game stopped and she sat crying, holding her wrist. Now, when I was her age I broke my wrist for the second time so I kind of thought I knew what was wrong; she’d have a hairline fracture, we’d be up at A&E for a few hours, they’d plaster her up, send her home and she’d have three or four weeks in plaster.

As it turned out she had done more damage than I had expected and needed an operation to have her wrist wired together. So, although we got to A&E before 8.30 that Monday evening, Becca didn’t leave hospital until about 11.30 on the Wednesday, and faces six weeks in plaster. It was, initially, quite a traumatic experience for her, but once she had been given some pain killers and had some sleep she took it all in her stride. At one point I was very tired and emotional while she just got on with it.

The nurses on her ward were all superb, they couldn’t do enough for Becca and did everything they could to make feel comfortable and happy; the care they gave her was just wonderful and despite their long hours and demanding patients they were never less than cheerful, attentive and helpful. And that was the same for every kid on the ward, some of whom had some horrible injuries and were, understandably, difficult to calm down (I’m not sure I’d have coped any better with a snapped thigh bone than the three year old on Becca’s ward). We live in a world where bankers can fuck up the whole world’s economy  and still pay themselves huge bonuses while there are these overworked and underpaid nurses actually making a difference to other people’s lives.

And seeing as I’ve touched on the subject - http://www.occupytogether.org/

Anyway, A couple of days ago Aston at Boss Tuneage, the good chap that he is, sent me their new Section 13 release, “Burning Bridges”, and holy flip what a great album it is, reminding me of bands like Toxic Reasons, Articles Of Faith and Dag Nasty. I was so taken with it that I contacted singer Ian right away to see if I could fit an interview into the new issue of SD. 

The zine is pretty much done and I’m just waiting for pay day to get it printed, but I was so taken with the album I felt I had to try to squeeze an interview in if at all possible. Thankfully Ian replied right away and I fired off some questions. All being well it will be in the zine, if not it can go on the website. If you haven’t heard this band yet, sort yourself out and get into it.

Boss Tuneage also have some great new stuff in the pipeline too, and are re-releasing the Political Asylum "Winter" CD that was originally out on Passing Bells in Finland.

http://www.bosstuneage.com/ 

Gaz got me a copy of the limited edition UK Subs single that’s been put out by the Subs’ Time & Matter website. “Product Supply” is a benefit for relief efforts in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami; they aren’t new songs, being recorded in 2005 (by  Haprer, Garrett, Gibbs with drummer Jason Willer), but I’m sure I’m right in saying that the only one of the three that has been release before is the title track that was a “secret” song on the latest Captain Oi released Singles CD Boxset. It’s a very good single on nice white vinyl; it’s limited to 250 copies, but it’s worth hunting down.

http://uksubstimeandmatter.net 

As mentioned last time Epic Problem have a new CDEP out; Mackie has now sent me the CD version and good stuff it is too, check it out at bandcamp and get yourself a copy here...

http://pumpkinrecords.co.uk/  / http://epicproblem2.bandcamp.com

Friends and acquaintances have been recommending me new music, which is always nice, and lately I have been enjoying Terrible Feelings from Sweden, Aspirina Infantil and Warsong from Spain, Speed Kills from Brazil and Criaturas from the US. Have some fun and track these bands down.

Also, the newest Maximum RocknRoll compilation, “Nose Ordinance” is great. Pete  Zonked mentioned it in his SD column, and it was enough to get me interested. Comps are often hit and miss, but this one is a winner, I was especially pleased to find it included a song I hadn't heard from N/N too. http://maximumrocknroll.com/

Suspect Device 53 will be out soon, we just need a payday to be able to afford the printing. So far it has interviews with Martin Sorrondeguy, Crocodile God and The Destructors, plus the other stuff, of course and hopefully that Section 13 interview.

www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk