The Apostles / Primal Chaos / Black Flag / The Heretics
Man about town, obscure punk enthusiast and general good guy, Chris Low late of Political Asylum, The Apostles, Oi Polloi, in the 1980’s and The Parkinsons in 1990’s, handed this tape to me on his birthday along with a load of others. I have uploaded this late because it is unfortunately been dubbed / copied onto tape by horrid mono means, i.e it only comes out of one speaker…bummer! Two other tapes Conflict at Brixton Ace 1982 supplied by Mark ‘Vegas’ Palmer starts off stereo then clicks into mono. Sadly to say Lugworm supplied a cassette tape recorded from Spaceward Studios of The Mobs LP recorded there. Not interested in The Mob LP as such but there is an alternative mix of ‘Stay’ which I was absolutely interested in. This track also plays on one speaker. Point of fact – nothing wrong with my cassette playback system!
Any how, I do not like putting up faulty or mono cassettes onto this site, but this has to be an exception because of the rarity value. The Apostles, Primal Chaos, Black Flag, and The Heretics all for the price of…well nothing. Not sure of the history of the tape, no doubt Chris will comment on it. Not sure of the line up, track listing or anything else. Again I hope Chris or his chum Nic will comment. On the B-Side of the tape is a Flux live gig and a Napalm Death practice. All I the info I got what was written on the tape itself, just band names basically. I actually have not heard this tape yet cos wifey needed me to do something so I just let it play…hope Bucks Fizz does not come on half way through the recordings!
Info from Nic:
The Apostles:
Pete The Plectrum (later formed part of ‘The Hunt’ on the first LP)
Some Men Are Born To Rule (the first song the group ever wrote)
Antichrist
? (This isn’t from this time period if I remember correctly – it features the drum machine: is it ‘The Island’, Chris?)
Solidaridad Proletaria (This is the original title at the time of recording: it was later changed to ‘A New World In Our Hearts’ and was re-recorded on both tape and vinyl)
Killing for Peace
Proletarian Autonomy (later re-recorded on tape and vinyl)
Time Bomb
Stoke Newington 8 (later re-recorded on tape and vinyl)
Primal Chaos – Rehearsal 1982:
Systems Slave (This isn’t part of their ‘Fighting for a Future’ rehearsal tape)
Black Flag – Rehearsal 1981:
The Master Race (Earliest version of this song that I heard)
Waiting for the All Clear (later recorded by The Apostles, but this version features Matt Mcleod on vocals
The Heretics – Rehearsal 1980:
No Character
Jake from Heretics on stage with Iggs of Crass 1979
The Heretics
Jah Pork Pie
October 24, 2008 at 2:36 am@Baron-> “The best one is ‘drink means love’”
“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz”
… with all of you guys and others too. And it was good.
I’ve also seen gangs of neds in South London pissed out of their brains looking for someone to fight in a pub at seven in the evening, women out of their skulls puking in the street at two in the morning, kids playing hooky from school in Middlesbrough trying to get a bottle of vodka from the corner shop. I’ve had my head kicked in by a gang of Stella-fuelled arseholes trying to gatecrash a party and by a bloke trying to sell a gun in a pub. I’ve had a mate die from cirrhosis who was told he’d die from it and came out of hospital and went straight back to the pub for a treble voddy.
But most of all, I’ve had some of the best and worst times that I wouldn’t talk about on here after the odd small sweet sherry or twelve.
So I guess to me, the phrase is “Drink is morally and emotionally neutral, but great if you like being able to tell stories afterwards”
Jah Pork Pie
October 24, 2008 at 4:05 amDid a couple of Photoshop bits with that nice photo of Tony that was on here…
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/JahPork/
…if you wanna have a dekko.
Penguin • Post Author •
October 24, 2008 at 9:28 amAlmost 700…
Jah Pork Pie
October 24, 2008 at 2:21 pmPunk Dead. Official.
I emailed a copy of the pic of Tony (mentioned above) to my missus.
Upon inspecting it in “Sent Items” in GMail, Google had thoughfully put the following “context-related advertisements” alongside it…
New 2008 Sinful Clothing
New 2008 Sinful/Affliction Clothing Largest Selection Online. Free S/H
http://www.soliscompany.com
Alternative Accessories
Studded belts & wristbands, chains, dreadcare, punk hair dye and more!
http://www.x-ception.co.uk
Best Price Fun Wigs
Big range from £1.50 Stage&screen, glamour,historical, 100s of styles
http://www.superpartywigs.co.uk
The Dudley Arms, Rhyl
Music pub in Rhyl, N.Wales! Alternative, Rock, Metal, Punk.
http://www.thedudleyarms.com
I think my favourite is “Best Price Fun Wigs”. I didn’t know Tony wore an Irish Jig in them days (although I could certainly do with one now!)
baron von zubb
October 24, 2008 at 3:36 pmRight its off to the Dudley Arms for any of the reunions planned….
Sam, Porker might ave missed this one. Chicken Mikes band on link.
https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=414
and interview
http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/killyourpetpuppy/Print%20material/?action=view¤t=img647.jpg
Its a real shame theres so few girls on the site.
Val pops in now n then. The girls were such a big part of it.
One of the best things of it was that there was no sexual divide.
Either they’ve moved on or just got better things to do then trawl the net.
baron von zubb
October 24, 2008 at 6:26 pmBTW Jah P that is the best poem ever written , no?
I’m contemplating jazz.
Jah Pork Pie
October 24, 2008 at 7:10 pm@Baron-> “that is the best poem ever written , no?”
It’s certainly better than a smack round the ear with a wet kipper, as my mum would say!
It’s written with a beautiful affection for the characters he knew, and the language is fantastic. I’m always reminded of Keith when I read the “angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection” bit!
One thing about the site I cut-and-pasted that from, though, is that I thought the original was done without any punctuation – I remember using it to teach a literacy class as an example of just how quickly you can get out of breath without a comma or a full stop!
My other favourite poem is The Mask Of Anarchy (the Shelley one…”Rise like lions after slumber”) – which I don’t mind admitting I first saw on the back of The Jam’s Sound Affects album sleeve and then tracked down the full poem.
Sam
October 24, 2008 at 9:28 pmWho wrote the hipster poem Pork? It is a good ‘un. Weller certainly got me writing a bit of poetry (in secret) at 66a.
baron von zubb
October 24, 2008 at 9:54 pmYeah Pork
I always think of us lot.
Sam, Its your adopted countryman.
The original smack jazz hipster.
Allan Ginsburg.
Its called Howl.
Its much much longer than the exerpt above.
Infact i think its a whole booklet.
He also wrote one called ‘Kaddish’ about his mothers funeral. Also with no punctuation! I think ‘kaddish’ is what the name of the hebrew prayer that observant jews do at that time.
As much as Andus(!!) may detest it, I loved the whole smack culture of the ’50’s hipsters.
It got me to Asia, and has been a commentery all through my life. From smack into ‘Buddhism’ and then off into John Coltrane.
(I actully wrote ‘the book’ whilst reading a book called ‘the beats’, one of 5 mouldy, threadbear offerings left in the shack in the Tamil hills that we were living in…I got a load of poems too..
Got any of your secret 66a offerings to put up?
andus
October 24, 2008 at 10:53 pmI don’t actually detest Smack Baron, I just think its daft, I suppose its ok ocassionally. I had a mate die from smack, and two mates who are currently wasting away because of it.. anyway on the subject of poetry. Ginsburg’s Howl reminds me of this little gem.
Into my heart an air that kills
from yon far country blows
what are those blue remembered hills
what spires, what farms were those
that is the land of lost content
I see it shining plain
The happy highways were I went
and cannot come again.
A E Houseman. A shropshire Lad
783 posts ! 1000 coming up. This page is taking longer and longer to load up, it will be breaking off and forming its own website soon. A declaration of independence.
baron von zubb
October 24, 2008 at 11:09 pmCheers A.
Its daft, but heh.
Y’know while we’ve been trying to get our post count up Ari Up visited ‘the pack’ thread.
https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=842
And none of yer Beki Bondage malarky now people.
It was a great cover though.
Like ‘electric lady land’ with one important difference.
‘Our’ girls were warriors not awaiting.
Penguin • Post Author •
October 24, 2008 at 11:46 pmWhat Ari Up wrote in her comment was high praise indeed. Proper iconic young lady back then in a punky reggae style kind of way, even for a smaller Penguin to realise. Glad she passed by, hope she will again…maybe I should email her to give her a nudge 😉 No best not…
Sam
October 25, 2008 at 2:14 amStill got my poems from 66a Jake. Not nearly as embarrassed by them as I am by my pretentious novel 3 years later as they’re honest outpourings. Maybe I’ll dig them out. They’re kind of ideas for songs and quite reflective of the time. Also a reminder that it wasn’t all rosy in the garden in Lymington Rd. I spent a lot of my youth in abject depression.
Sam
October 25, 2008 at 4:14 amBy the way….I still have no idea what ‘good’ poetry is. I’m sure mine are ‘bad’.
baron von zubb
October 25, 2008 at 9:50 amEh, bad /good? Fuck knows?
If you dig yours out I’ll dig mine. And then we can badger poor Peng to start a Heretics hipster poetry thread.
Japan dunno whats comin’.
Phil might like the one about Longstock. Some of mine are blatant ‘beat’ rip offs but thats how I like’em.
All was not rosy then but its like Alice Cooper & then Eater said. . .
baron von zubb
October 25, 2008 at 9:54 amP give her a nudge . .
baron von zubb
October 25, 2008 at 3:32 pmTalking of Ari Up .
Hasnt she got some connection with King John?
Like, didnt he marry her mum or something?
That means his grandson by marriage, her son as described, is discovering the Chris Low Small Band Big Thread, hearing all about Campbell Bgs and asking grandad,
‘Whats a speedball?’
and
‘do Scousers have thanksgiving?’
Jah Pork Pie
November 11, 2008 at 3:02 pm@Baron->”And then we can badger poor Peng to start a Heretics hipster poetry thread.”
Was there ever much difference between punk lyrics and performance poetry (or poetry to read, come to that?)
The prime purpose of the music was to give the punter something to do while the lyrics were being delivered, I always thought! John Cooper Clarke et al were just as punky as any buzzsaw guitar outfit, to my mind.
Certainly not like prog rock, which I always thought was the other way round: sling in something vocal and meaningless between solos so that the band get a few quid in publishing rights too!
baronvonzubb
November 11, 2008 at 7:26 pmGot any poetry pork?
A question re: the missing years.
Sam, Pork, Si what were you all doing, where were you living between ’85 & ’95?. Or up until you started youre present incarnations?
Phil was in the convoy.and others I can kind of get an idea of.
Particularly Si I spose as he hasnt given much news on this here bloooggg.
Jah Pork Pie
November 12, 2008 at 2:34 am85 – 95, started off pissing about in another couple of bands (never did much apart from a few demos) and working in crappy warehouses. Moved onto being a doorman in a couple of bars/nightclubs for a couple years (ironic after all the hidings as punks, but it does give you a perspective on how to be nice to people). Did quite a bit of computer based music with a couple of mates late eighties (staying up late into the night smoking dope, composing and staring at tiny musical staves on a portable telly – that’s when I first needed glasses!) Daughter born in 88, no money so went to college and did a secretarial course (the typing’s come in useful!) then moved up north (Middlesbrough) and after doing the usual retraining for the unemployed courses (COBOL programming) decided to go to university. Spent 92-93 at Uni of Teesside then came to Portsmouth for placement year at IBM, liked it so much I transferred my course to U of P down here and have been down here near enough ever since. The seaside gets in the soul!
Does anybody else think that the “Eighties” as they’re thought of now (the greed decade) didn’t really start in London till 83 or so but continued until 92-93? Just a feeling I get.
Sam
November 12, 2008 at 3:00 pmCame back from Australia in 83 and saw you a couple of times. Went to art school 84-92 which was great and came to the States in 94. Played in a band called Charlie Don’t Surf with Si mid eighties. He’s been working, supping and breeding for many years. Still one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. That’s it in a paragraph I suppose.
baronvonzubb
November 12, 2008 at 6:08 pmCheers gents
Jah Pork Pie
November 13, 2008 at 4:07 pm@Baron->Shared experiences on drugs:
Just got to the part of the book that talks about Josh tripping at the underground station and being enclosed in a giant metal snake which spewed out of darkness. Check out my post in this thread from May 8th, above, for my description of a dragon into the belly of which I was forced at Lambeth North Tube…
The only real differences were that “Josh” was tripping on acid and I was tripping on Pip’s lethal lab-alcohol punch. Strange stuff. I’m sure Jung would have something to say about shared dream worlds and a collective unconscious. Perhaps a psychologist would point to having shared real-world experiences. And old man Freud would have said we were both just fed up about not having bigger cocks probably 🙂
Stewart
November 13, 2008 at 8:07 pmYes, I think Freud would have been right, actually… “Giant metal snakes” “spewing out” after being forced into “dragon’s bellies” – jesus, man, just admit you’re a woman-hating sex addict and get some therapy quick! (*winks*). Or, possibly, don’t go down in the tube station at midnight. Or any other time… 🙂
Phil R
November 14, 2008 at 8:47 amIve tried many different alcoholic drinks in my time but Pips Lab punch deff tops them all!
We were lucky not to have all gone blind Pork!
Jah Pork Pie
November 14, 2008 at 2:51 pm@Stu->”don’t go down in the tube station at midnight”
I was often “cold and uninviting, and partially naked” in those days, I seem to remember. And I’m sure I frequently “polished the glasses and pulled out the cork”.
I was quite lucky not to have gone blind!
@Phil->A mate of mine in the 80s used to swear by a pint of Taunton Special Vat Cider and Carlsberg Special Brew snakebite, livened up with a gin and a Jim Beam in the top. He once brought 4 two-litre bottles of cider, half a bottle of Gordon’s and a whole slab of Brew along to a party (for personal consumption only).
He sat on the (cardboard and polythene) slab and managed to neck so many of the nasty cocktails throughout the night that he reduced the number of cans left in the slab to the point where he undermined his foundations, fell on his arse and couldn’t get up again until 6 in the morning at which point he felt better, went outside to get on his motorbike to ride the 12 miles home, started it, pulled up the stand, revved the crap out of it, let out the clutch and fell slowly over onto his arse once more, on the driveway. He’d forgotten to put it in gear, obviously. He realised he was probably still six times over the limit, waddled back in, finished off his tinnies, waited for the off license to open and made a weekend of it!
There’s a thin line between heroism and stupidity, and I’m sure that line got crossed most days at the Buildings!
Phil R
November 14, 2008 at 3:19 pmOo you’ve just reminded me of white lighting and special brew snake bites.
Oh and buying a miniture bottle to bang up! ..Thats stupidity.
Jah Pork Pie
November 14, 2008 at 3:31 pm@Phil->”buying a miniture bottle to bang up”
Ouch! You should have copyrighted the phrase “Feel The Burn” before Jane Fonda and her aerobics nonsense. You’d have been minted by now 😉
What spirit was it you bought to bang up? Did you do it neat? I bet the rush was like drinking 3 bottles of the stuff through a garden hose wasn’t it? Good Work Ethyl Works Fella to ya!
I always remember on dole cheque days I used to treat myself to a miniature or two, usually Drambuie or Creme de Menthe or something. Oh, the heady James-Bond-type sophistication of it! Felt like a king, looked like a twat: that sums up the punk years for me!
Sam
November 14, 2008 at 4:46 pm“I was often “cold and uninviting, and partially naked” in those days, I seem to remember. And I’m sure I frequently “polished the glasses and pulled out the cork”.”
Partially naked, yes, but I remember you wrapped in toffee wrappers and the morning papers on occasion.
slyme68
November 14, 2008 at 6:36 pmphil – a spanner in the works?
Phil R
November 14, 2008 at 7:57 pmI only did it twice and the second time was a tequila and speed mix- and i did go blind for about an hour!..One of the most scary n’ stupid things ive done
john
November 14, 2008 at 9:18 pmbloody hell!!!
baronvonzubb
November 15, 2008 at 11:34 amFixin’ whiskey or vodka. A fine & economical little treat.All the fun, none of the bother. Did burn a bit didnt it?
Phil I cant remember you bangin up anything.
Thats one reason why I saw you as a strong character.
Oh well another illusiuon shattered.
Tequila and speed!. Fab!
Pork I have vague memory of you being spotted in the mornings in various states of womens attire.
Mad tranny hooligans the lot of ya
And that STP trip. The whole thing was like being an observer in someone elses freudien nightmare. The sexual metaphor in everything seemed so glaringly obvious yet uncommicatable. Much prefer a good old tequila n blues fix, something you can trust.