Thanks to Martin Flux (bashing the skins above) for the lend of this tape, the photos and for being a massively good egg.
The mighty Antisect and Flux Of Pink Indians recorded in crystal clear mixing desk quality creating a right old racket up in Nottingham at the back end of 1982. If anyone (namely Nic) knows what date in November this gig may have taken place then please leave a comment. That information will finish off the post off nicely.
Interview with Antisect below conducted by Smith3000 ripped from his blog which can be viewed right HERE
A BRIEF history of Antisect: They formed in the winter of 1980/81 and have done about 200 gigs all over the country. They are a collective of five people, comprising of two singers, a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer but were reluctant to name any individual members saying it is “unnecessary”.
Based in Northampton they formed because of “boredom” and a desire to “express what we feel on important issues”. I interviewed them before their gig with Amebix and Disorder at the Bierkeller in Leeds in December 1983.
What sort of lifestyle do you lead?
“At the moment, some of us live communally, some don’t”.
You’ve been described as ‘Crass ideas with Discharge music’. What do you think to this?
“That’s absolute rubbish. We just describe ourselves as human beings. We are not really influenced by anyone apart from humanity in general. We play the music we enjoy playing, to an extent”.
Is there any chance of your message getting across to anyone but punks – many of who probably think that way anyway?
“Not a lot of them do think that way anyway. We don’t have to compromise for those who won’t listen. We just play what we like – though what we say is more important”.
For a movement that is supposed to be an anti-movement and anti-fashion, what do you think of the way that Crass have become leaders of a certain kind of punk, with all their followers dressing in all-black with loads of studded leather etc?
“It’s up to people to wear what they like. We don’t recognise the punk movement as it is simply just another division”.
What’s the point of singing about anarchy when there are literally millions of people, including many punks, who are quite content to live in and conform to the system?
“We don’t sing about anarchy. It’s hard to say what we believe in. We’re not particularly against ‘the system’. The system is a product of people and not the other way around. It’s up to them. We’re only saying what we feel. It’s up to them to make their own choice”.
Is it a waste of time to make people aware of things if they then go home and listen to the Addicts, Peter & The Test Tube Babies, Chelsea and other escapist pop punk music?
“It’s up to them what they listen to. These are just our views. The most important thing is the ability to change ourselves. We’d like people to understand and accept us. We don’t lay rules down”.
Would you like to get across to a wider audience and if so, how?
“We’d play to anybody who bothers to listen. We’d play with anyone who offered, not just punk bands. We would play with bands with higher prices but we wouldn’t advertise that we were playing so that people wouldn’t pay that price specifically to see us”.
What do you think to CND?
“They’re okay but they don’t go far enough. They talk about the immorality of nuclear weapons but as far as we’re concerned, all weapons are immoral. It’s bad that Cruise has arrived despite 71 per cent of the people being against it but they ask for it by advocating this political system. It’s not true that the only way to get change is to use the political system”.
Do we live in a democracy?
“In as much as people accept it, but we personally think it’s a farce”.
What are your future plans?
“An LP out in January on Spiderleg. Our agreement with Spiderleg is one between friends rather than a contract. We don’t have to compromise and have 100 per cent say of what goes in. And at the same time, keep the prices down ..”
Graham Burnett
July 14, 2009 at 1:03 amWhat a non-committal bunch! First album was a kller though. I always wanted to see Antisect live, and went along to a gig or two that Colin Jerwood booked and billed as ‘Antisect’ gigs at the Crypt in Deptford, but when we got there it was Conflct or variants on Conflict playing, I did finally ‘attend’ an Antisect gig at the squatted Arts Centre in Wood Green circa 1985 but had drunk so much vodka I had a total blackout and have no memories what so ever of the night.
dunstan bruce
July 14, 2009 at 10:18 amgraham, i was at that gig.
you got up on stage naked and sang we are the world from start to finish and then “did a bono” by going into the audience and rescuing a pretty young girl from the throng and getting her up on stage with you.
you were quite a star.
seriously…
Trunt
July 14, 2009 at 12:33 pmThe date was the 13th
Penguin • Post Author •
July 14, 2009 at 1:39 pmThanks Trunt. Have now ‘pimped’ that post.
smith3000
July 14, 2009 at 2:58 pmStill making mischief I see, Dunst.
Thanks for the plug Penguin. It’s probably worth pointing out that I actually stuck a couple of Antisect interviews on the blog – the one you’ve posted here and another from about a year later, after the album had come out (complete with Dallas’s top cartoon of the band).
Still trying to find that elusive KUKL interview I did on the miners tour. I’m sure it’ll turn up eventually ..
Craig Pancrack
July 16, 2009 at 9:26 pmSaw Antisect at the Station in Gateshead in Oct 84….a menacing, moody, impassioned anarcho-metal revelation! A great tragedy that they never ever managed that 2nd lp despite various lineups that followed until around 87… Colin Jer told me he produced half of it and if im not mistaken the mastertapes were nicked off the dashboard of their van and all the Antisect gear got nicked with it. End of the road sadly… meanwhile i have put up a bunch of pics on myspace… go here http://www.myspace.com/pancrack
cheers
cobberjigger
July 19, 2009 at 2:01 pmSaw Flux and Antisect a couple of months after this gig, maybe Feb/Mar 1983 at Peterborough Town Hall. It was the first punk gig I went to, i’d just turned 15. Also on the bill were Antiscab and War Whores.
An amazing night – I’d never seen anything like it – all the banners, and lots of literature being handed out. Anisect were incredible – so powerful with the dual vocals. I’d never heard a thing by them before the gig. Flux were also very good, but lacked the intensity of Antisect that night. I remember a really friendly and mixed crowd too.
Nic
July 19, 2009 at 7:21 pmI was at this gig, along with all-of-about 15 other people which seemed to mainly consist of members of Hagar the Womb, Mick Slaughter of Obituary fanzine, Greg and Steve of Terminal Illiteracy fanzine, and Kalv (later of Heresy)…
The venue was a small community centre surrounded by trees and a park in one of the ‘suburbs’ just out of the city centre…
For some reason, none of the local ‘Punks’ turned up, possibly as the venue changed late in the day (if I remember rightly?)…
The line-up was:
Black Anthem: 5 piece (2 vocalists) from Leicester, mid-tempo ‘anarcho punk’. The male singer went extremely red in the face as he shouted the lyrics. I don’t remember hearing much more from them…
Blasphemy: 2 piece from Nottingham using voice for poetry and tapeloops. The use of tapes with voice was an interesting (but shortlived) development within ‘anarcho punk’. I remember them being pretty good…
Verbal Warning: Nottingham’s ‘Anti Punk Punk Band’ (whose singer Dayve also organised the gig along with Dig Pearson, later of Skum Dribblurzzz and Earache Records). A good set from them: Antisect’s comment “Anarchy IS the answer, after all” is in response to the VW song ‘Anarchy Ain’t the Answer’, a nice bit of rabblerousing…
Antisect: This was – for me – the best time I saw Antisect (I had seen them a few months before in Coventry – which was their 3rd gig, I think – and saw them about 15 or so times over the years). This period of the group (2 vocalists, full-on Discharge business) was very exciting at the time, particularly as practically no-one in Britain was playing anything approaching ‘thrash’ besides Discharge / Disorder / Chaos UK. In a way, the recording doesn’t do justice to the energy and physicality of the sound (as is the case with mixing desk recordings): it’s a shame that this set wasn’t recorded as a ‘demo’…
Flux of Pink Indians: This was a great set too as Flux were really on form at the time. I remember Colin Latter had a strange pair of jeans on which looked like a pair of sails on masts in the wind…
Thanks to Dayve (Verbal Warning) for putting up (and putting up with) a pair of 14 year olds and making us tea and toast in the morning…
Best moment: standing outside on a balmy Autumn evening and hearing one of Antisect say “Ooooh! Look – squirrel!”…
I’ve got some photos from this gig of Antisect and Flux (taken by Rat of Napalm Death – I’ll try and send them over to you, Penguin), and still have a ‘straight-from-the-master-tape’ recording on cassette of some of the sets (the others have disappeared over the years)…
(I used to have the War Whores ‘demo’, cobber)…
chris
July 21, 2009 at 11:35 pm“Ooooh! Look – squirrel!”…
Aha! So that’s where it came from!! That was pretty much your between song ‘mantra’ at that Nottingham gig we went to 🙂
PS: Sure ‘Blasphemy’ had a few tracks on comp tape put out by those other kids who were staying at Dayve’s that weekend. Might the tape (or their zine / band even…?) have been called ‘Toxic Deeds’??
PPS: I’ve still got a few of the Flux pics Rat took at this gig scanned into my PC back in London which i’d be happy to send Penguin in due time if you can’t find yours.
Graham Burnett
July 22, 2009 at 5:33 pmDunstan said > “graham, i was at that gig.
you got up on stage naked and sang we are the world from start to finish and then “did a bono” by going into the audience and rescuing a pretty young girl from the throng and getting her up on stage with you.
you were quite a star.
seriously…”
I thought that was a couple of weeks later. When Chumbawamba played…
gyurme
July 24, 2009 at 10:22 amNic – your memory is pretty amazing – I was at the gig, also – Black Anthem disbanded and at least 2 of the members became very involved with the squatting/ festival/ convoy scene. I reckon there were at least 16-17 people there though….
Nic
July 24, 2009 at 1:47 pmNice one, gyurme! Maybe the other 2 people were in the bogs when I did the headcount…
🙂
I don’t know how I remember all this rubbish (especially after the pasting I’ve given my braincells in the ensuing decades)…
I can still remember some of the Black Anthem lyrics: “Exocet for sale: It’s guaranteed to kill, It’s guaranteed to murder, It’s guaranteed to thrill”…
Nic
July 24, 2009 at 2:27 pmFound a few of the pics – I’ll scan them next week and send them over to Penguin (there’s one of Black Anthem in there, 1 of Flux and 2 of Antisect)…
gyurme
July 25, 2009 at 7:54 pmI hope somehow you are making a small fortune on the back of your memory feats Nic ~ I don’t even remember Verbal Warning I am ashamed to say.
Would you mind sending me a copy of the scanned pics if that’s not too much of a hassle?
gyurme.dorje@gmail.com
Thanks a million
Nic
July 26, 2009 at 12:51 pmSure, I’ll send copies over gyurme…
I’m just on the last day of the Supersonic festival weekend (looking forward to hearing Chris Herbert, 65daysofstatic, Caribou, Esoteric and Goblin today), so I’ll sort it out this week…
gyurme
July 26, 2009 at 2:58 pmBrilliant – no rush, but v. interested to see the pics
Thx, Gyurme
fish
September 24, 2009 at 11:42 pmhey i was at this gig,i was one half of blasphemy,the one doing vocals,sam on guitar being the other.we used to do stuff with anti sect,i did their fold out album sleeve artwork.still making noise music,doing a few gigs under the name of tribe of one,selling vegan food at festivals,making shamanic drums,living rural.thanks
Mike Stone's Inner Ear
October 12, 2009 at 3:02 pmTalking of Antisect….the first time I met Dig of Earache Records infamy was in Nottingham during the Crucifix tour. He turned up to meet us at the bus station…..wearing an old R.A.F. overcoat like Neal out of the Young Ones. He had hair down to his arse and his bollocks were almost hanging out of his trousers which were so fucked it was unbelievable. Anyway, He was carrying a ghetto blaster and was playing a loop tape of his favourite part of an Antisect solo from a live tape. I remember it blasting out over and over and over and over again in Nottingham bus station.
For this kind of mentalist behaviour the man should be knighted. Then the knighthood should be taken away and melted down for promoting shite like Morbid Angel for the last 20 years! Antisect at Fulham Greyhound – as heavy as a Sherman tank driven by Marlon Brando in his later years, wearing lead diving boots, with bricks in his jacket pockets and his pet hippo in the passenger seat. Currently residing in the ” Where are they now” file. Lippy is a studio tech in London? Boycey is being anti-social in Daventry ! As for the others?
Chris L
September 13, 2012 at 4:02 amNic: I have just unearthed my copy of that ‘Toxic Deeds’ tape , done by the kids who also stayed at Dayve’s, as mentioned above.
I’m posting here as there appears to be *absolutely nothing* about the tape anywhere on t’interweb apart from this one mention of mine.
Anything you can add? I don’t have a tape -deck to hand but remember it being quite a good comp. One of the bands having an aspiring Steve Vai on guitar giving it big licks with the solos. + didn’t one of the kids who did the tape/zine called ChrisT or something similarily biblical…?
I was gonna pass the tape to Penguin for upload here but obviously no point really if there’s no info/tracklist to accompany it so hoping you may shine some light….
LEE
June 12, 2014 at 4:16 pmErrr.ok last to get on the bus again.but,does anyone have / know of a flyer for this actual gig?sherwood community centre notts 13th nov’82 anyone??
Nic
June 21, 2014 at 9:27 amI was at the gig Lee and have a copy of the flyer. If I remember, I’ll get it to Pengy who can post it up here…
Any particualr reason you would like to see it?
Lee
August 6, 2014 at 5:55 pmHey Nic,thanks for orig reply, sorry for this late re-ply!
Could you email it -i really want it to stick over,or make a collage of ,the big ‘A’ sign on the Flux ‘Live statement’ lp!!..I just remember hearing about it,just after the gig (missed it i’m afraid 🙁 ),and with flux / antisect etc,would just to see it,have a copy..possible??
heres my email-thanks in advance…,Lee.
artdammage@gmail.com
joggon
October 8, 2014 at 11:59 am@nic-did you know John Everall from Manchester?
He was a muscian,appeared on a comp lp with Scorn.
He did atmospheric sound design a bit like the little bit of stuff i have seen on the net of you doing.
Sadly,he passed away recently,a nice guy,talented and inspiring.
Hope he has found some peace now,no doubt he’ll be still creating atmospheric music wherever he and one day we end up going.
R.I.P.John.
Nic
October 28, 2014 at 2:31 pmYes, I did know John, Joggon…Very sad indeed. He was a lovely bloke and full of passion (and interesting stories!). I spoke to him on the phone about a month before he died: I wanted to go to his funeral, but I was in Spain playing a concert. Sad loss…R.I.P.Evil E…
joggon
October 30, 2014 at 12:34 pmthink he would have wanted you to be out playing your music to people rather than standing in the drizzle in Manchester.
Didn’t realise how long he’d been doing the type of stuff he did,a friend had a cd of stuff he had done on an old atari setup years before music production technology opened the door for a lot more people,bizarrely entertaining listening to white noise on a loop for i don’t know how long.
mark
February 9, 2021 at 11:47 amI think this gig resulted from one cancelled a few weeks prior which was intended to be- ” Subhumans / Six Minute War / Resistance 77 / Antisect/ Black Anthem ” 23/10/82 at the Hyson Green Community Centre but the Subhumans couldnt play as Dick had fractured his skull and Resistance 77’s guitarist broke his leg playing football .. so resulted in a rescheduled gig at a differant venue… Dayve recorded most of the gigs he arranged (or went to) and were available on the New Error tape label (this one was; NET 28). The ”Toxic Deeds” comp, mentioned on here earlier, was Ady of Fatal Conflict from Spalding.