Hysteria Ward – All The Madmen Records – 1987 / The Fall – Chaos Tapes – 1982 / John The Postman – Bent Records – 1979 / Getting The Fear – Demo – 1984 / Something Stirs – Adventures In Reality Recordings – 1984 / Rudimentary Peni – Welwyn Garden City Ludwick Hall – May 1982

Hysteria Ward flexi-disc

For a full history of Hysteria Ward there is no better place to start than this special Kill Your Pet Puppy post HERE which is well worth reading through.

Side 1

Side 2

This performance by The Fall was recorded on the 11th December 1980 and was the first in a two night stint at the Acklam Hall, Ladbroke Grove in West London.

The support act for the first night were the Furious Pigs.

The audio on this cassette tape is from that performance.

The following night, the 12th December, The Fall performed alongside The Hamsters, members of that band are still writing and performing in the guise of Kill Pretty.

Several years ago Kill Pretty released a 7″ record and a CD on the All The Madmen record label.

This cassette tape has been uploaded on 11th December 2016, thirty six years to the day of this first Acklam Hall gig in 1980.

Below is the review (part interview) of this cassette tape from the N.M.E written by X Moore A.K.A Chris Dean from The Redskins.

AFTER THE GRAM

The Fall – Live In London 1980 – Chaos Tapes

Chaos Tapes captured Discharge, Anti Pasti, Vice Squad, Chron Gen and Chelsea live, and have now thrown The Fall in with them.

“Yeah, well, it’s some lads in East Anglia, got this idea to tape us when we were down there playing two nights at the Acklam Hall. They said they wanted to put it out and we thought it was the second night, the good night, and said yeah… but it was the first night.”

It’s raw.

“Yeah, it’s raw but it’s a good laugh. We were trying out the stuff from ‘Slates’ for the first time so it is rough. Like, that’s the idea of this, to break the backs of all these twats who tape new numbers at our gigs. Cos we play new stuff into our set quick it doesn’t take ’em long to realise they can tape a gig and put them out before the albums released.”

This one’s come after the ‘gram, all material having already appeared elsewhere. The Official bootleg.

“Yeah, we knew about it this time. It’s a good idea, a good tape, y’know.”

It’s sixty minutes of The Fall’s best (and, zwept, their best includes some real gems) and trashed the opposition before it’s halfway through side one. The feel tho’ is less ‘live’, more ‘rehearsal’ cos the gab ‘tween songs has been edited out, taking with it a lot of Mark E Smith and some of the edge.

What you get is a more relaxed Fall, the animal less strung up, and more room for the comedy in the lyrics. On top of ‘Hex’, this is another nail in the coffin of that hack-fabricated monster, Son of Smith, the obsessive prole art dogmatist that masterminds ‘The Fall’. Here it sounds like they’ve got a different singer.

“Yeah, well, that’s alright,” he says and talks about Yorkshiremen instead, asks about London.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

The ‘Live In London’ cassette tape states: Don’t get so hung up about a great band.

Son of Smith is not The Fall says… X Moore

This record has a standout track in a ten minute version of ‘Gloria’, originally performed and recorded by Them, Van Morrisons band.

The other tracks seem to have been just a few ramshakle ideas made up on the spot in the studio, which is a shame as if John The Postman and his band could seriously pull off a mad version of ‘Gloria’ then who knows how good this album could have been.

A niche listen for sure, and quite humourous in parts, but effectively a one spin record. Except ‘Gloria’ starting at 2.50.

Below is a nicely written orbituatury from The Guardian.

My friend Jonathan Ormrod, who has died unexpectedly aged 59, was the Manchester punk musician known as Jon the Postman.

A rebellious attitude, the public house, Woodbines and Frank Zappa helped to terminate Jon’s studies early, and in 1971 he started work as a junior postman in Newton Street main sorting office. But music was his first love, fed with a regular dose of John Peel’s late night programmes, which he recorded and catalogued every night.

Watching live bands quickly followed, with the NME as his bible and the underground music scene his sanctuary; he was devoted to Soft Machine, MC5 and the 13th Floor Elevators, and dedicated to the countless gigs in the numerous pubs and clubs of early-70’s Manchester.

The UK punk explosion in 1976 and the era-defining Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall prompted him to form a band of his own, and Jon the Postman and his backing band, Puerile, were born. They were crude musically, but had real passion and support, playing at the Electric Circus, Green Room, Russell and Squat clubs, and many more venues, supporting emerging new bands such as the Fall, Buzzcocks and Joy Division. They borrowed the equipment, and usually ended the set with the Standells’ Louie Louie, but it was never easy to tell.

Jon and the band released two albums – and added an “h” to his name. John the Postman’s Puerile was followed by John the Postman’s Psychedelic Rock’N’Roll 5 Skinners – Steppin’ Out (of Holts Brewery). Then, but for Michael Winterbottom’s film, ’24 Hour Party People’ the act faded into oblivion, in the spirit of the times.

For most of the 80’s Jon lived and worked in San Francisco, then returned to his roots in 1987. Until his death he was again working as a postman in Manchester, but his dream was to retire to Berlin where he felt truly at home, visiting it constantly for the past twenty years and with plans in place to celebrate his 60th birthday there.

The son of Harry and Edna Ormrod, Jon grew up in Harpurhey, north Manchester, the family finally settling in New Moston. He attended North Manchester high school, where we first met in 1967. He was a bright spark, excelling with little effort in English and history, and developed a love of cricket that continued for the rest of his life.

Jon was a gregarious character with a superb memory and an aversion to sleep. He was happiest with a wheat beer, a willing audience and a monologue about a particular night a very long time ago.

He is survived by his mother, brothers, Stephen and Mark, and sister, Cathryn.

Paul T Birkett

A cassette tape given to me by Genesis P’Orridge while he was still residing in Beck Road, Hackney during one of my visits there.

The first song, ‘My Struggle’ being my personal favourite of this demo cassette tape.

Getting The Fear evolved from the ashes of Southern Death Cult whose singer Ian Astbury jumped ship in 1983 to form Death Cult with various members of Ritual and Theatre Of Hate.

Bee, an ex member of Danse Society joined the back-line of Southern Death Cult namely Buzz, Barry and Aky and started rehearsals to lead up to the recordings of the tracks that appear on this demo cassette tape.

Bee at the time was an on/off member of Thee Temple Ov Psychic Youth and friend of Psychic TV. He was suitably adorned with piercings and tattoos, stabbed and inked by Mr Sebastian who operated in his tattoo and piercing parlour along Grays Inn Road near the Mount Pleasant Post Office hub in Kings Cross.

Mr Sebastian sadly died many many years ago.

The band got a lot of attention from Kill Your Pet Puppy’s fanzine’s successor in all things – colour-musu-politikal-magick – wise, Vague fanzine. Tom Vague was, in general, around the same squats and run down gig venues, that the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective would have been around.

Vague fanzine essays also meant there were features in the sadly missed Zig Zag magazine which was a nationwide monthly alternative music publication.

There was a real buzz about this band and Tom who had a finger in both the Southern Death Cult and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth camps, went onto champion this band and was rightly expecting huge potential from them.

RCA signed up this extremely good looking bunch of alternative boys in 1985 and sold them, as one would imagine, as a flat sounding, over made up pop band ready for the then dwindling Smash Hits magazine market.

Not quite as gritty as Vague fanzine or anyone that saw some of the celebrations that were the concerts that Getting The Fear performed imagined them to be.

Still…

RCA released one 12″ single entitled ‘Last Salute’ (with the B side ‘We Struggle’ being the pick of the tracks).

Getting The Fear seemed to be a band that were destined to burn out very quickly which of course they did.

1986 saw Bee and Barry start up Into A Circle and Aky got Fun-Da-Mental together.

Bee went to Thailand where he still resides and Buzz went to France where he may well still be…

Tracklisting:

We Struggle

Swell

Rise

Before I Hang

Coming Down Fast

The artwork that accompanies the audio for this YouTube post is the sleeve from my other demo cassette tape, an early demo.

This sleeve artwork was personally drawn by Bee, Genesis P-Orridge informed me when he handed me the cassette tape.

Side 1

Side 2

Seven chunks of dark-wave, and three less so (Furious Apples) from some of the obscure bands of that time.

Attrition and Furious Apples, both from Coventry starting off proceedings, Bourbonese Qualk and Legendary Pink Dots bringing up the rear.

The text below courtesy of Nic Bullen and Alan Rider.

Adventures in Reality was a fanzine put out in Coventry by a guy called Alan Rider. He was a friend of Martin Bowes (of Alternative Sounds fanzine and Attrition), and initially started doing live visuals for Attrition…

He then went on to start the label and released some interesting material such as his first cassette compilation (which also featured Attrition and 86 Mix (who appeared on the ‘New Criminals’ compilation with Sinyx, Subhumans and Flux of Pink Indians), the Attrition flexi-disc (which came as a freebie with an issue of his fanzine), the ‘Last Supper’ compilation tape (which featured SPK, Test Department and Muslimgauze), and this album…

He was also in a duo called Stress with Phil Clarke (who was the editor of the fanzine Damn Latin – if I remember correctly?) who played synth-based songs…

He moved to London in 1984 and that was the last I heard of him…

Attrition were a dark synth-based band who started in Coventry in the early 1980’s by Martin Bowes (editor of Alternative Sounds fanzine). Over the years they have garnered a reputation with elements of the ‘Industrial’ and ‘Goth’ scenes, and still continue to make music…

The Furious Apples were a very popular local indie band from Coventry who released 1 single and appeared on a couple of compilations including the ‘What a Nice Way to Turn 17 – No.3’ compilation (on the Swell Maps label Rather Records), and this album. One of their managers (who went on to manage The Primitives and Birdland) was responsible for the ‘Adolf Hitler European Tour’ T-Shirt that appeared in the mid-1980’s.

Nic Bullen

All that Nic says about me is correct, but he didn’t mention I also lived briefly at the Ambulance Station squat when I first moved to London and didn’t have anywhere to stay. I ended up at the Ambulance Station through Bourbonese Qualk actually, but was only there for a very short time. It felt too dangerous to stay in the Old Kent Road for any longer than was strictly necessary in those days!

It was a dangerous area for a scrawny industrial fan like me. I remember petrol being poured through the letterbox one night.

There was a fully working guillotine in one of the rooms too. I saw a few bands there. Attrition of course (I was still doing slides & visuals for them then), Bourbonese Qualk, Test Dept, and King Kurt.

Incidentally, I’m sure I have a few copies of the Furious Apples 7″ single somewhere. I’ve also a box of Attrition flexi-discs sitting in the cupboard.

There’s a lot more history to Adventures in Reality too, but that’s another story….

Simon Tanza from Bourbonese Qualk also did the front sleeve artwork for the ‘Something Stirs’ album. I remember him getting a bit annoyed that we were drinking his private beer stash we found behind the bar at the gig and he went round grabbing half drunk cans out of everyone’s hands!

Alan Rider

Side 1

Side 2

This performance was recorded on a hand held cassette recorder within the crowd and is of only average quality.

Just about listenable to be honest, although it is Rudimentary Peni, and any live tape by this band is rare enough, so worthy of archiving!

Most people in the hall were waiting for Subhumans to come on stage Rudimentary Peni went through their set fast and without interruptions. I think the band got a decent reception. Listening back at the cassette tape it seems like they did.

A band called Nightmare also performed, a band that I knew nothing of before seeing them. A few years later though, retrospectively, I learned that the bassist of Nightmare, Adi, had joined The Astronauts, and as a fixture in the Astronauts mid 1980’s line up, he was present for the recording sessions for what turned out to be the first side of the ‘Soon’ album released on the All The Madmen record label.

I was helping out at All The Madmen around this time so spoke to Adi on occasions at gigs, and I got to realise through chatting that I had seen his old band!

Incidentally, the Ludwick Hall venue also hosted a Crass, D.I.R.T and Flux Of Pink Indians gig a month or two before this Rudimentary Peni and Subhumans gig.

Every now and again, if there was a gig that my younger brother and I were keen on going to, our Father would give us both a lift in his black Austin Maxi 1750 to the gig venues, as long as those venues were within a reasonable driving distance and if the route there was not overcomplicated. He would pick us both up at an appointed time, fifty or so metres away from any of the venues!

The road to Stevenage Bowes Lyon House would be driven, but every now and again, roads to Welwyn, Harlow or Bishops Stortford.

Rudimentary Peni returned to Welwyn Garden City again the same year, and I think performed with The Mob, Flux Of Pink Indians and Conflict. I was not at that gig.

In the summer of 1983, The Mob returned to Welwyn Garden City to perform at Monks Walk school with Verdict, a band that featured Jon Thurlow ex of Chron Gen on the guitar. Chron Gen were one of my favourite bands a year or two previously!

Verdict had a saxophone player so they had a little bit of a Theatre Of Hate-ish sound music-wise! Verdict would never have been in the races style and boyish good looks-wise, I think it would be fair to state!

Towards the end of 1983 Verdict performed at the Pioneer Hall in Hertford with some local bands including Strontium 90, a band that included a couple of ex-school friends (I had left school in the summer of 1983) and Tim, the ex drummer of Necro, my younger brothers’ school boy punk band.

Necro, as a band, had halted by the summer of 1983, but within that bands short lifetime, the band failed to impress, not one, but two punk superstars in Colin from Flux and Steve from Newtown Neurotics at a gig down the Triad in Bishops Stortford.

The band failed to support Flux Of Pink Indians at a C.N.D festival in Hertford, due to ‘time issues’. Tim, Necro’s drummer had actually helped to set that event up!

The band failed to support Conflict at the Tudor Hall in Hoddesdon, due to B.M/ N.F / B.M threats to the venue on the day of the gig so everyone went home!

I think the band was jinxed.

On a happier note, local band-wise, Virus, another school boy punk band, with connections to Necro, did manage to actually support Subhumans and (I think) The Destructors in 1983 at the Bowes Lyon House in Stevenage.

Another local band, Onslaught, released one 7″ record which was great!

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