1978 The Indie Scene - The Story Of British Independent Music

This is my first Upload release in this f@ckin ' new year .

And The Most of this it's PUNK !!! Mother F@ckers

SIDE ONE

1 . THE UNDERTONES

The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975, the band members were five friends from Creggan and the Bogside .By 1977 the band were performing their own three-chord pop punk material, which was performed alongside cover versions at concerts, primarily at The Casbah, where the band began to perform in February.
Following the release of Get Over You in February 1979, the Undertones' debut album was released in May. In September 1979, the Undertones toured the United States for the first time, supporting The Clash with eight concerts in six different States. In April 1983, the Undertones embarked on their UK "Sin of Pride" tour to promote their latest album. By this stage in their career, the band were acutely aware of the pressure they were under from EMI, who were unhappy with the lack of chart success of much of the material the band had released since their Positive Touch LP in 1981. In addition, internal tensions between various members of the band, in particular between Feargal Sharkey and John O'Neill, had deteriorated significantly. These factors led to Sharkey announcing his intentions to leave the Undertones during the 'European Tour 1983', which the group performed in May of that year.
Music guide Allmusic stated that guitarists John and Damian O'Neill "mated infectious guitar hooks to 1960s garage, 1970s glam rock, and Feargal Sharkey's signature vocal quaver."
The Undertones have since reformed, replacing lead singer Feargal Sharkey with Paul McLoone.

2. STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast, formed, in 1977, at the height of the troubles. Jake Burns formed Stiff Little Fingers after seeing "The Clash" play in his hometown Belfast. (The band’s name was taken from a 1977 Vibrators lyric "If it wasn’t for your stiff little fingers nobody would know you were dead"…) In the second half of 1978, they toured with the Tom Robinson Band, and in 1979, they released their first album on the Rough Trade Label, Inflammable Material. The band agreed a contract with Island Records, but it fell through, leaving the band to release the album on their existing label. Despite the album's independent release, it reached number 14 in the UK Albums Chart and reached Silver status, selling over 100,000 copies. The interest generated resulted in a distribution deal through Rough Trade in England.
These were the first of what became SLF's signature style: lyrics that meld the personal and political, music that combines the energy of punk with infectious hooks, and delivery that rings of honesty and commitment.
Stiff Little Fingers, along with the likes of the Clash, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Skids, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Sham 69, Stranglers et al – were at the forefront of the punk movement. They enjoyed six years as one of the biggest ticket draws in the UK and recorded three more studio albums – Nobody’s Heroes (1980), Go For It (1982) and Now Then (1982) – before Jake took a sabbatical to work as a BBC Radio One Producer. In August 2003, Stiff Little Fingers released their ninth studio album, Guitar and Drum, which includes a moving tribute to Joe Strummer, entitled "Strummerville".

3. THE LURKERS

The Lurkers were a late 1970s English punk rock group from Uxbridge, West London, notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records.


The band were one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of the now-legendary Roxy Club in London. Nigel was swiftly replaced by Arturo Bassick. They supported The Jam in February 1977, Eater in March, and Slaughter & The Dogs in April.
They released 10 albums ( 1978 - 2008 )
In the years since, they have reunited with various members numerous times, and continue to record and perform around the world to this day .

4. ANGELIC UPSTARTS

Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock/Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy
The original lineup was Thomas Mensforth (Mensi) on vocals, Ray Cowie (Mond) on guitar, Steve Forsten on bass guitar, and Derek "Decca" Wade on drums.

5. THE MEKONS

The Mekons are a British rock band. Formed in the late 1970s, they are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands.
The band was formed in 1977 by a group of University of Leeds art students that included Jon Langford, Kevin Lycett and Tom Greenhalgh - the Gang of Four and Delta 5 formed from the same group of students. They took the band's name from the Mekon, an evil, super-intelligent Venusian featured in the British 1950s-1960s comic Dan Dare (printed in the Eagle).

6. The Fall

The Fall are an English post-punk band, formed in Prestwich, Greater Manchester in 1976. The group has existed in some form ever since, and is essentially built around its founder and only constant member Mark E. Smith. First associated with the punk movement of the late 1970s, the group's music has gone through numerous stylistic changes, often concurrently with changes in the group's membership. The Fall's music is often characterised by repetition, an abrasive guitar-driven sound, and is always underpinned by Smith's vocals and often cryptic lyrics, described by critic Steve Huey as "abstract poetry filled with complicated wordplay, bone-dry wit, cutting social observations, and general misanthropy." The group's output is prolific—as of July 2010 they have released 28 studio albums, and more than triple that counting live albums and other releases.

SIDE TWO

1. TV PERSONALITIES

Post punk era British band’s observations of behaviour of youngsters who purport to be fans of punk rock and its associated lifestyle but live lives of dependence on their parents and their lower middle class values. A parody performed in minimalist style suggestive of punk ethos but simultaneously exposing the hypocrisy of punk performers as well as their fans and perhaps of the typically self effacing British Television Personalities themselves. Britain's Television Personalities enjoyed one of the new wave era's longest, most erratic, and most far-reaching careers. Over the course of a musical evolution that led them from wide-eyed shambling pop to the outer reaches of psychedelia and back, they directly influenced virtually every major pop uprising of the period, with artists as diverse as feedback virtuosos the Jesus and Mary Chain, twee pop titans the Pastels, and lo-fi kingpins Pavement readily acknowledging the Television Personalities' inspiration. in March of 2006 a new album, My Dark Places, was released on the influential Domino label.

2. SNATCH

This single featured a more professional, if not loose conglomerate of, musicians featuring ex Heartbreakers drummer Jerry Nolan, bassist Bruce Douglas, guitarist Keeth Paul (ex sound man for The Heartbreakers among others), and pianist Nick Plytas ex Roogalator backing the girls.
All I Want amazingly got to number #57 in the charts and was yet again recorded earlier - this time a year! Recorded in stolen studio time by musicians who had never met before. Its an excellent tune with its catchy riff and spoilt brat vocals.

3. WAYNE COUNTY & THE ELECTRIC CHAIRS

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band is headed by Georgia transgendered woman, Wayne County, who later changed her name to Jayne County. Wayne County had originally begun performing in New York with a band called "Queen Elizabeth".

Upon moving to London, England she recruited a new set of musicians to form "The Electric Chairs". The funny thing about Ms County is that , while offstage she/he manages to look quite slin kily femmine , on stage he's still a man ( witch make it very confusing to review . It's nothing to do with actual appearance , it's just his manner.

EDDIE AND SHEENA

( THE COMIX )

And later on , they POGO all night long

4. KLARK KENT

Klark Kent was Stewart Copeland's first solo album, recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent. The album was released in 1980 as a 10 inch EP on green vinyl. Copeland performed all of the instruments himself. The album is also known as Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid. Second single "Too Cool To Kalypso" is missing from the album.

5. JILTED JOHN

Jilted John, or also known as Graham Fellows is manchester’s best kept secret. Best-known for his self-titled straight-forward punk novelty,he also recorded an excellent album, "True Love Stories". 15.000 copies were printed, and it’s also been released on CD, including two tracks of Jilted John’s arch-nemesis, Gordon the Moron. Possibly one of the best albums of the UK punk invasion.

6. LENE LOVICH

Lene Lovich (born 30 March 1949) is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1979. Over the following decade, Lovich attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dali in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called Quintessence at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a "go-go" dancer with the Radio One Roadshow, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, and played saxophone for Bob Flag's Balloon and Banana Band and for an all-girl cabaret trio, The Sensations. She recorded screams for horror films.

SIDE THREE

1. TV PERSONALITIES

2. THE UNDERTONES

3. RUDI

The story of a gang of school pals from East Belfast fed up back in 1975 with the state of the music that was being played on the radio and on TV and decided to form their own band. The members of the band were Brian Young, Ronnie Mathews, Graham Marshall, Leigh Carson and Drew Brown. They had a name for their band: RUDI.

4. THE BUZZCOCKS

Buzzcocks are an English punk band formed in Bolton in 1976 , led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.

They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock. The name "Buzzcocks" was chosen by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley after reading the headline "it's the buzz, cocks!" in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The "buzz" is the excitement of playing on stage; "cock" is Manchester slang meaning "mate" (as in friend / buddy). They thought it captured the excitement of the Sex Pistols and nascent punk scene. After a few months, Devoto left the group; he returned to college for a year, then formed Magazine. Pete Shelley continued as vocalist; his high-pitched, melodic singing stood in stark contrast to the gruff pub rock vocal stylings of many punk contemporaries.
Diggle switched from bass to guitar, and Garth Davies rejoined on bass as Garth Smith or Garth. Garth appeared on the band’s first Radio 1 Peel Session, in September 1977, but due to his alcoholism he was quickly replaced with Steve Garvey, joining Dirty Looks in New York. This new line-up signed with United Artists Records.
From 1978 to 2006 they released 8 albums. On 9 November 2009, Buzzcocks played a very rare performance on a small Balcony overlooking Dame Street in Dublin, for the music viral show BalconyTV. In December 2009 they will play as the main support act for The Courteeners.

5. THE NIPS

The Nipple Erectors (also known as The Nips) are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 by female punk artist Shanne Bradley and are notable as Pogues frontman Shane

MacGowan's first musical group. The band renamed themselves The Nips and released the garage punk classic "All The Time in the World"/"Private Eye". In 1980 The Nips recorded a demo for Polydor Records at their studio in Bond Street. It was produced by Paul Weller. There were four songs recorded for this session, including "Happy Song" "Nobody to Love", "Ghost Town" and "Love To Make You Cry". During 1981 Bradley took the band in another direction away from the traditional rock band format to incorporate Greek,Cretan and Irish Roots /Folk music. In 1987 Big Beat released a compilation on LP named Bops, Babes, Booze and Bovver which later released on CD as The Nips 'n' Nipple Erectors. It is a collection of both sides of the first three singles by the Nipple Erectors/Nips, as well as adding four outtakes: "So Pissed Off" and "Stavordale Rd, N5" (first issued on LP in 1987), and "Venus in Bother Boots" and "Fuss & Bother".

6. THE DOLL

The Doll formed in October 1977 with a line-up of Marion Valentine (vocals, guitar), Adonis Yianni (keyboards), Christos Yianni (bass guitar), and Mario Watts (drums).[1][2] They were signed by Beggars Banquet Records, who included their track "Trash" on the Streets compilation and issued their debut single, "Don't Tango on my Heart", in January 1978. They hit the UK Singles Chart with their second single, "Desire Me", which spent eight weeks on the chart, peaking at number 28 in January 1979, and led to the band appearing on Top of the Pops. Female singer Valentine became the unintended focus of attention from the press as a result, making her a 'punk sex symbol', leading to a split in the band.
Valentine and Christos Yianni recruited a new line-up including Dennis Haines (keyboards), Jamie West-Oram (lead guitar), and Paul Turner (drums). The new line-up recorded an album titled Listen to the Silence, and a handful of other singles, but failed to repeat their earlier success and split up in spring 1980.

SIDE FOUR

1. THE STRANGLERS

The Stranglers are an English rock music group. Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s. Beginning life as the Guildford Stranglers on 11 September 1974 in Guildford, Surrey, they originally built a following within the mid-'70s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude identified them as one of the instigators of the UK punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock through to the sophisticated pop of some of their 1980s output. The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's pulsating bass, but also proudly gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards at a time when the instrument was seen as unfashionable. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Jean-Jacques Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. 2010 for the Stranglers continued their recent resurgence, starting with an extensive UK tour, including a sold-out return to the Hammersmith Apollo in March, their first visit there since 1987. A new double CD compilation album, Decades Apart, containing a selection of tracks from the full career of the band.

2. PROTEX

In 1977, four schoolfriends formed the Incredibly Boring Band and did a few gigs playing covers of Thin Lizzy and Dr Feelgood songs. However, they were soon smitten by the punk bug and decided that they wanted to play energic pop like the Buzzcocks and the Ramones. So they started to write their own songs and then decided to change the band name to Protex Blue(the name coming from the title of a song of the Clash). The band - Aidan Murtagh(guitar/vocals), David McMaster(guitar/vocals), Paul Maxwell(bass/vocals) and Owen McFadden(drums) - played their 1st gig under the new name on 4.7.78 at Knock Methodist Church Hall.

3. TEARDROP EXPLODES

The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Their name was taken from a panel in the Marvel Comics' Daredevil #77. The band was formed by Julian Cope, who had previously been in the short-lived yet locally-renowned band Crucial Three along with Pete Wylie, who went on to form Wah!, and with Ian McCulloch, later of Echo & the Bunnymen.
The band released their first single, "Sleeping Gas", in February 1979. Expectations were high for the band's second album, Wilder, recorded in late 1981 with a nucleus of Cope, Dwyer, Tate and the returning Balfe. Wilder is much more the work of Cope, who took sole songwriting credit on every track on the album. When the band reconvened to record their third album, they were reduced to the trio of Cope, Dwyer and Balfe. Tensions were high – Cope wanted to write ballads and quirky pop songs, while Balfe was more interested in recording synth-based music. Cope eventually dissolved the band in the middle of the sessions in November 1982.

4. JOY DIVISION

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).

Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy". Their self-released 1978 debut EP, An Ideal for Living, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label Factory Records, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances. On the eve of the band's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division's posthumously released second album, Closer (1980), and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members reformed as "New Order", achieving critical and commercial success.

5. THE NORMAL

The Normal is the recording artist name used by English music producer Daniel Miller, a film editor at the time, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records.

6. TUBEWAY ARMY

Tubeway Army (1976–1979) were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Tubeway Army were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesiser-based hit, with the single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and its parent album, Replicas, topping the UK Album Chart in mid 1979. Following swiftly on in early 1979, excited by the possibilities of synthesizers, Numan took Tubeway Army back into the studio to record a follow-up album, Replicas. The result was more synth and science fiction orientated than the last album. The first single from the album, the bleak, slow-paced keyboard-driven song "Down in the Park", failed to chart. However, the next single, "Are 'Friends' Electric?" was more successful.
A special picture-disc helped boost sales but what particularly grabbed the British public's imagination was Tubeway Army's appearance on the BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Test, followed soon after by a slot on Top of the Pops. The band appeared all dressed in black and near-motionless, Numan in particular giving a performance often referred to as being "like an android" (a style that was later reported to have been a means of covering stage nerves but which then became his trademark). The single climbed steadily to stay at number one in the UK charts for 4 weeks, with Replicas following suit in the album charts. With Tubeway Army still avoiding live shows, Numan recruited some additional musicians to make these television appearances .

SIDE ONE

1 The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
2 Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
3 The Lurkers - Ain't Got a Clue
4 Angelic Upstarts - The Murder of Liddle Towers
5 Mekons - Where Were You
6 The Fall - Bingo Masters Breakout


SIDE TWO


1. Television Personalities - Part Time Punks
2. Snatch - All I Want
3. Wayne County & The Electric Chairs - Eddie and Sheena
4. Klark Kent - Don't Care
5. Jilted John - Jilted John
6. Lene Lovich - I Think We're Alone Now


SIDE THREE


1. Television Personalities - Where's Bill Grundy Now?
2. The Undertones - True Confessions
3. Rudi - Big Time
4. Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
5. The Nips - All the Time in the World
6. The Doll - Desire Me


SIDE FOUR


1. The Stranglers - Five Minutes
2. Protex - Don't Ring Me Up
3. The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas
4. Joy Division - Glass
5. The Normal - Warm Leatherette
6. Tubeway Army - Bombers

IBM LP 78

Compiled and Coordinated by Mark Stratford
and Dave Henderson
Format : Vinyl LP
Made in : London England
Bitrate : 320

 MP3 HERE Vinyl One

 MP3 HERE Vinyl Two

1979 + 1980 The Indie Scene HERE

Αφιερωμένο στον PUNK - RANCID φιλαράκο μου που είναι πάντα δίπλα μου !