The Ruts – Virgin Records 1979
Top notch gear from a top notch band, got the reggae / punk crossover just right on Jah War. Blistering B-Side in an age when B-Sides where not just dodgy tracks chucked onto the vinyl as an after thought. No need to introduce this band to the general public, if you dont know them, then perhaps you have clicked onto the wrong website.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:08 am
saw the ruts a matter of weeks after malcolm owen died supporting the damned in manchester,belle view ,elizabethan ballrooms.it was a bit strange,they had a bloke on vocals who really looked like malcolm owen,did a blinding set,but slightly spookey.
top upload.
not a thfc fan but glad they beat chelski
February 25th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Great single – The Ruts definatly had a real sensibility for Reggae / Dub…
Their Ruts DC ‘Rhythm Collision’ album (with Mad Professor) is great…
LKJ also wrote a song about Blair Peach…
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/lkj-reggae-fi-peach/2089255516
I remember really liking the graphic design of the labels on the first Ruts single when I bought it, and seeing a comparison with the graphic design of the Alien Kulture single labels (and also ‘Temporary Hoarding’ newspaper)…
The bassplayer of Alien Kulture was the subject of the Merrill Lynch ‘Sex Discrimination’ trial a couple of years ago…
It’s a real shame that most of the ‘People Unite’ releases by Misty in Roots are out of print…
February 25th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
More LKJ (just because it’s great!)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8wp_USp1E
February 25th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
‘Babylon’: still a classic…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P6Qhq0W8jc&feature=related
February 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
aint there a band called ‘the gallows’ who have recentley covered a couple of ruts tracks?
thanks for the lkj not heard his stuff for sometime-great stuff!:)
February 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Was always partial to some Ruts, remember buying “In A Rut” and it’s still one of my favourite tracks amongst many, from those times. Got it the day it came out after hearing it on John Peel’s show, had tried all the well known record shops in Romford, but they seemed to be avoiding anything vaguely punk related! Bizzarely I managed to get it from a little market stall, the guy on the stall was loving it too and stuck it on his deck, it was great to hear it blaring across the market! “West One” is an awesome track too. Sad and ironic what happened to Malcolm after tracks like “H-Eyes”.
Here’s a Ruts link:
http://punkmodpop.free.fr/ruts_pic.htm
February 25th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Malcolm tried to start a fight with me once for no good reason. Liked their music but the man was a twat.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
The Gallows track “Staring at the rude bois” (their spelling) is shite.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Excellent LKJ vid Nic.
I used to love seeing him. Slightly boring without the band but still well worth it.
And the Ruts? They had a very postive influence on me as a young, teen, music lover..
February 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I have all the Misty 12″ / LP stuff on Peoples Unite, ditto the LKJ stuff on Virgin. May stick a few 12″ up in my next reggae post…yeah, fancy that! Maybe when I get back from work…
February 25th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Go for it.
Love a bit of Misty too.
I downloaded several LKJ albums the other day after hearing a bit of one round me mates. I’d forgotten all about him but his was probably the first reggae album I bought.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:52 am
“The Gallows track “Staring at the rude bois” (their spelling) is shite.”
i doth concur
May 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am
If you like LKJ, you’ll love this! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hpypYcMe16I&feature=related
March 9th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
As the best way to thank for a gift (Misty, ATV) is to give back, here ya go, a special uploaded just for you: rare Ruts … their earliest known (to me) recordings in studio quality. Cheers, Dave Sez: go get, you won’t regret!
Ruts – Freerange Studio Session (01.10.77) @ 160 kbps
01. Rich bitch (demo)
02. Out of order (demo)
03. Lobotomy (demo)
04. Stepping bondage (demo)
http://sharebee.com/814d812f
November 29th, 2009 at 1:19 am
I met Foxy (Paul Fox) at the crown & treaty Uxbridge before he died of Cancer last year, What a Nice bloke & He’d still get up on stage giving it 100% though he knew his time was up!! The Ruts Sound is Awe-inspiring