Assassins Of Hope – Centro Iberico, Westbourne Park, London W11 – 14/09/82

Adesso Nienti / Prisoner Of Law / Nothing On Me / Victims / Spastic Disco / Fearful Darkness / Shades Of Grey / Nuremburg Revisited / Conditioned Lives / Cartoon War / Dickie Davies / Kiss Your Arse Goodbye / Battle Of The Boyne

Another tape that is very old so only plays on one speaker. Honestly it is not my equipment, that all works fine, just seem to be getting to some weirdly recorded ones at the moment. Ahh eureka – this tape is the same make as the Black Flag / Apostles one. Actually this tape I believe begun life at Andy Martins place all those years ago and he recorded it and sent it to Chris Low, who lent the tape to me. I would not be surprised if Andy recorded them from a mono player through a lead to another mono player. No one I knew had those double tape ‘Ghetto Blasters’ in those days , in the punk scene anyway! The B-Boys and Rastas had them…

Anyway technical stuff aside, here is a recording of Assassins Of Hope in the summer of 1982. An OK quality audience tape, would be better coming out of two speakers! The set list is exactly the same as the track listing on the released demo somewhere else on this site, which is odd. Picture above of Andy Martin recording with the Assassins Of Hope by Chris Low.

58 comments
  1. simon
    simon
    May 12, 2008 at 11:26 pm

    Sorry John, I thought you’d pegged it since our last chat! ;-D

    Alright, alright already! I’m doing it now, you’ll have it by tomorrow!

  2. martin
    martin
    May 13, 2008 at 11:54 am

    leon is in REFUSE/ALL who r doing gigs now they have a myspace page, mick livin in hastings his on ms also

  3. Sally
    Sally
    May 13, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    Hey John Apostle right? Sorry to queue jump lol. Hows things wiv you?
    Sal X

  4. Graham Burnett
    Graham Burnett
    May 13, 2008 at 6:05 pm

    Also remember AOH form way back when, Saw you a few times at the old Wapping Autonomy Centre, and didn’t once even brave it down to sunny Sarfend to play at the Focus Club with the Sinyx, or is that false memory syndrome on my part?? I used to have an AOH tape, IIRC it had an orange cover, quite rare as most ‘cassette albums’ used to specialise in photocopied black and white. Also remember Pe@t Protest, I think the last time I saw him was at the Zig Zag squat gig at the end of 82. And also John ‘Apostle’ as well, I remember us chatting on Chelmsford station after an ‘I’m Dead’ gig. Or was it Rachel’s Pilchards?? Anyway, he told me off for miss-spelling his name in New Crimes…

  5. John stop calling me ...well you know
    John stop calling me ...well you know
    May 13, 2008 at 10:14 pm

    Hi Sally and Graham, great to hear from you both. Graham I’m not sure what show it was but thats a pretty good memory you have there. Sally I’m sending you an e-mail, but please both of you a little less of the John A…. you know how it is.
    A grandfather takes his Granson for a walk and says “You see that bridge there, I built it with my own hands, with no help from anyone, but do they call me Jones the Bridge builder.That Library over there, I raised all of the money for it myself, I gathered all of the books I built the building from the foundation up, but do they call me Jones the Librarian. Then there was the time the dam broke and I saved the whole village from drowning, but do they call me Jones the village saviour….You shag one sheep…

  6. Brian
    Brian
    May 15, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    John, I’ve just looked at your site and instantly remembered who you are!!!

    Don’t suppose you knew me all that well, (raggedy red hair and bike jacket), but I remember speaking to you a fair few times at around that time. With your donkey-jacket and ‘Statue of Liberty hair’ 🙂

    Glad you’re doing alright.

  7. John No Last Name
    John No Last Name
    May 15, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    Hi Brian,

    I’m pretty sure I know exactly who you are, please shoot me an e-mail at the address on my site I have a question for you.

  8. Pete AOH
    Pete AOH
    May 16, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    Hey Graham

    Pete here (formerly Pe@t Protest). Glad to hear that you are still around.
    I was really drunk at that Zig Zag club squat gig and consequently don’t remember too much about it.
    AOH did play in Sarf end once supporting the (excellent) Synix at a youth club.
    Are you sure that the time on Chelmsford station with John wasn’t when AOH played at Chelmsford YMCA as I think it may have been.

    Best regards mate

    Pete

  9. Graham Burnett
    Graham Burnett
    May 17, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    Yes i think you are right Pe@t – was that the same gig that Rachels Pilchards/I’m dead played – I distinctly remember that Rachels Pilchards had a song called ‘What Is Oil? Are Shit’, which included the lines, “None of their songs rhyme, they can’t play in time, What Is Oil? Are shit/crap/shit/crap, What Is Oil? Are Shit!!” I quite liked What Is Oil? I’ve still got a badge of them on my kitchen wall. I heard a rumour that Duncan Dung died, is that true??

  10. luggy
    luggy
    May 18, 2008 at 1:09 am

    ‘Tis true about Duncan:

    http://www.crudeapache.co.uk/duncanjack.html

    Was in a band with him for a while, always thought he was alright but heard something nasty tonight about him and the singer from 12 Cubic Feet which has tainted my memory of him. Don’t know if it’s true so won’t go into details here.

  11. Graham Burnett
    Graham Burnett
    May 18, 2008 at 8:02 am

    Thats a real shame. I remember him basically as just a kid, I think he was still at school when he used to hang out at the Autonomy Centre, that lot from Hornchurch were so young, but really lively and creative. He struck me as really intelligent and with an offbeat sense of humour, but then I saw him a year or so later at a gig or a Red Ken festival or something (maybe it was Stop The City?) and he was this drug addled cynic who could barely string a sentence together. What happens to people???

    I was also watching telly a while back, some documentary about anti-capitalist/globalisation protests when a DJ called Chris Liberator came on the screen – shouted out to my shocked wife “Fuck me, there’s Chris Elephant Face!” I did a bit of googling and confirmed that, yes indeed, he was indeed the same person, late of Cold War, Hagar The Womb, Boiled Eggs and We Are Going To Eat You… Tried to email him a couple of times but he never replied…

  12. luggy
    luggy
    May 18, 2008 at 11:42 am

    Yeah, too many people were casualties.
    I still see Chris every now & again. His success as a DJ hasn’t gone to his head unlike some other people who turn into complete wankers when they get their 15 minutes! Must be nice getting paid to fly around the world playing records, he deserves it.

  13. crow
    crow
    May 19, 2008 at 1:29 am

    Hey luggy, i have some stuff i’d like to send/email to you at some point from our chequered past ..of interest no doubt to readers on this site. Just so you know this is the real bona fide (scare)crow of yore, I think the first time I met you was when you played a gig as PTP (with if my memory serves me right Hornsey at War, great band by the way…) and it was somewhere near Harrow?
    please confirm…

  14. Nic
    Nic
    May 19, 2008 at 10:58 am

    Hornsey At War ep: great…

  15. luggy
    luggy
    May 19, 2008 at 11:57 am

    Hey Crow

    Can’t remember the PTP gig well, probably too pissed up at the time. Maybe Lou or Fred Previous (if he still reads this site) can recall it better.
    Email Penguin to see if he wants to put the stuff up here. Hope it’s not too embarassing! Get my email address off him (don’t want to get more spam by putting it here) if he doesn’t want to post whatever you’ve got on here.
    Have you downloaded this Turdburglars stuff yet?:

    http://rapidshare.com/files/68973721/The_Turdburglars.rar

    If you fancy meeting up, should be a few of us going to Subway Sect At Buffalo Bar, Highbury Corner on Friday June 13th. John NoLastName’s over from the U.S. for 1st time in yonks. We’ll probably meet up in Highbury Fields beforehand if the weather’s o.k.

  16. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    May 19, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    Crow I will contact you with email details.

  17. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    April 11, 2010 at 10:57 am

    Hi Mick

    Just listened to the AOH Centro Iberico tape & wondered what are the 3 demo trax are at the end??? It’s not AOH is it…???

    Cheers
    Dave Fergusson

    Does anyone know the answer to Daves question? The tracks come in about 30 minutes into the download.

  18. Chris Low
    Chris Low
    April 12, 2010 at 12:42 am

    Bizarre! Unless I am very much mistaken , the tracks that come in at 30.16 are by BIBLE OF SINS. Their demo tape which I got of Nic, and must have recorded onto this cassette.

  19. Nic
    Nic
    April 12, 2010 at 9:23 am

    Yes, this is Bible of Sins…
    The recordings are from their second demo (a 5 track affair) from 1982…The tracklisting for these songs is:
    – Victim of War
    – System Slide Show
    – Power and Slaughter

    They were a band from Atherstone in Warwickshire (if I remember correctly, there were all miners at the local pit) and were mainly active in 1982, recording two demos. Their singer Keith gave Napalm Death their first two gigs in mid 1982, so thanks once again…

  20. Chris Low
    Chris Low
    April 12, 2010 at 11:49 am

    I’m sure Miles also sent me a C45 which consisted of a live recording of Bible of Sins, at Atherstone. Plus a band called Lambent Motella (?) on the other side who were no doubt trying to sound like Ultravox, but sounded more like Exhibit A. An early ND-er or school friend’s band ? Will let you know if I ever unearth that one!

  21. Nic
    Nic
    April 12, 2010 at 3:50 pm

    Haha, your memory is as full of trivia as mine Chris! Lambent Lamella were friends of Bible of Sins, and stood out on bills with bands with names like Hiroshima, Corrupt Youth and Society’s Victims by by being a little more ‘melodic’…

  22. Nick Hydra
    Nick Hydra
    April 15, 2010 at 9:19 am

    Hornsey at war? I’ve been trying to remember that name since I saw them at Conflict’s 1st ever gig at The Sherard Hall in my sunny home town of Eltham. No Class also played and Conflict eventually poached their guitarist Steve.

    I remember them being good, and the singer being I don’t know… ‘theatrical’ isn’t the word I want, but he wasn’t one of those ‘lean into the mike stand and bellow’ kind of people.

    Funny thing – No Class used to plaster Eltham High Street with graffitti of their name and one day someone went round and wrote “What so ever” underneath every single one…

    God, this very small ray of humour in the shithole that was/is Eltham just reminds me how much I hate the place…

  23. Gary Refuse
    Gary Refuse
    December 20, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Hello, I saw AOH a few times in the early 80’s. Admittedly, because you were supporting better bands, lol. Saw you at the Centro Iberico with Conflict and another time with Riot/Clone at Stevenage with Flux and once at the George Robey. Leon is now in the band I’m in, REFUSE/ALL. Take a look at http://www.myspace.com/refusealllondon and come along and say hello at one of our gigs.

    Gary.

  24. crow
    crow
    October 29, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Only saw Hornsey At War once and they were brilliant, especially the singer, the support band was Part Time Posers ring any bells Luggy ? x Crow

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