Formed in 1980, in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, by Nick Culmer (vocals), Chris Exall (guitar), Persian John (drums), and Clive Blake (bass), Anti-Nowhere League released its debut on May 7th of 1982 through their own label, WXYZ Records.
From contemporary reviews, Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the album a four star out of five rating stating that it was "the most viscous mean-spirited, gratuitously violent punk band to come down the pike in a long time." and stated the album was for "mature adults, this is the best hard-core punk record England has yielded since the Sex Pistols era. Every song features a slamming, inescapable beat to match the freely flung obscenities."
[ Artist Biography by Mark Deming
Even when judged by the often confrontational standards of U.K. punk, the Anti-Nowhere League were a band committed to offending people. Looking less like a group of bohemian rebels than an especially unsavory biker gang eager to stomp someone (frontman Animal admits to being a former member of outlaw motorcycle clubs), the Anti-Nowhere League made an immediate impact when they burst onto the British rock scene in 1980. They were heroes to hard-boiled U.K. punks, and to nearly everyone else they were an affront to all decency -- which, of course, made the punks love them all the more.
The Anti-Nowhere League formed in Turnbridge Wells, England in 1980. The group's initial lineup
featured Animal (aka Nick Culmer) on lead vocals, Magoo (aka Chris Exall) on guitar and vocals, Bones (aka Tony Shaw) on drums, and Chris Elvey on bass. Elvey was soon dropped from the lineup, with Winston (aka Clive Blake) taking over on bass. In 1981, Bones left the group, and Gooky Hopper was a short-term replacement until PJ (aka Persian John, born Djahanshah Aghssa) came aboard on drums, solidifying the Anti-Nowhere League's first definitive lineup.
After touring with major second-wave U.K. punk acts such as the Exploited, Discharge, and Chron
Gen, the group landed a deal with British punk label WXYZ Records. The ANL's debut single was a punked-up cover of Ralph McTell's "Streets of London," but it was the B-side that got most of the attention. "So What" was a three-minute torrent of four-letter words and grotesque sexual boasts that was foul enough that one pressing was confiscated from the distributor's warehouse by the Metropolitan Police's Obscene Publication Squad.
We Are... The League
As so often happened in British punk, the scandal only raised the Anti-Nowhere League's profile, and in 1982 the band released its first album, We Are...The League. The album fared well on the British charts, and by the end of the year the ANL made their American debut in a joint tour with U.K. Subs. A visit to Southeastern Europe was documented on the 1983 LP Live in Yugoslavia, and the Anti-Nowhere League expanded to a five-piece with second guitarist Gilly (aka Mark Gilham).
After PJ left the ANL in 1984, the band focused on live work, with PJ initially replaced by Michael Bettell, and next by JB (aka Jonathan Birch), who signed on in 1986. It wasn't until 1987 that the Anti-Nowhere League finally delivered their second album, the significantly more polished The Perfect Crime. By the end of the year, the ANL decided to call it quits, though they regrouped to play a farewell show in Turnbridge Wells in 1989.
In 1991, Metallica recorded a cover of "So What," which appeared as the B-side of their "Sad But True" single. In 1992, when Metallica were headlining London's Wembley Arena, they invited Animal to sing "So What" with them, and after that the song appeared regularly on Metallica's set lists. This sparked a new interest in the group, and Animal reassembled the Anti-Nowhere League, with Magoo and Gilly rejoining the group.
In 1995 they recorded a studio EP, Pig Iron, and a full-length album, Scum, appeared in 1998. By this time, the Anti-Nowhere League's membership became quite fluid, with Animal the only consistent member, though the band continued to tour regularly well into the 21st century.
Along with releasing a wide variety of live albums, the group showed a new dedication to recording in
the new millennium. They released Kings & Queens in 2005, The Road to Rampton in 2007, We Are the League... Uncut in 2014, and The Cage in 2016, all of which showed that the ANL were still capable of generating the grimy thunder that made them famous. With 2017's League Style, the band put their own unique stamp on a set of reggae and rocksteady covers.]
ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE: "WE ARE... THE LEAGUE" 1982
TRAXS
01. We're The League
02. Animal
03. Woman
04. Can't Stand Rock'N'Roll
05. (We Will Not) Remember You
06. Snowman
07. Streets Of London
08. I Hate...People
09. 'Reck-A-Nowhere
10. World War lll
11. Nowhere Man
12. Let's Break The Law
13. Rocker
14. So What
MP3 @ 320 Size: 90.5 MB
Flac Size: 267 MB
ANTI NOWHEE LEAGUE: "WE ARE... THE LEAGUE UN - CUT " 2014
Animal & the boys return with brand new & rowdy, re-recordings of The League's classic debut LP plus bonus tracks! Re-recording of the complete 'We are the League' album using original lyrics. This was exactly how the album was written before being confiscated and never been put together in its entirety since 1980.
TRAXS
01. We Are The League
02. Can't Stand Rock'n'Roll
03. Animal
04. I Hate People
05. Nowhere Man
06. Woman
07. Streets Of London
08. Wreck A Nowhere
09. Snowman
10. World War III
11. Let's Break The Law
12. We Will Not Remember You
13. So What
14. This Is War
15. For You
MP3 @ 320 Size: 102 MB
Flac Size: 321 MB
WE ARE... THE LEAGUE LYRICS
We are the League!
Another boring night and I'm feeling pissed
My head's fucked up and I'm in a mess
Too many drugs, they make me high
I wanna cause havoc, I wanna die.
We are the League, and we're the extra man
We are the League, and we are the anti-band
And don't you say you're feeling bored
The League are here and we are scorned.
We are the League
We are the League
We are the League
The Anti-Nowhere League.
You criticise us, you say we're shit
But we're up here and we're doing it
So don't you criticise the things we do
No fucker pays to go and see you.
We are the League and we are mad
We are the League and the music's bad
Fuck-up noise like you've never known
We'll make you wish you'd stayed at home.
We are the League
We are the League
We are the League
The Anti-Nowhere League.
But we ain't no dogs, we ain't no man
We hate the things we don't understand
A time for love, but that ain't class
If you don't fucking like it stuff it up your arse.
We are the League and we are mean
We are the League and we're obscene
Don't give a toss what you think
And all your views they fucking stink.
We are the League
We are the League
We are the League
And don't fuck with the League!
WOMAN LYRICS
Woman
I'm in love in you
My love is deep
My love is true
To you, woman, I'm in love.
Your hair's so soft
Your eyes are blue
Your skin is warm
And I'll be true to you
Woman, I'm in love with you.
You came to me in a dream, I'm sure
You gave your love, you gave much more to me
Woman
Will you marry me?
"Do you take this woman
To be your lawful wedded wife
To love and to cherish
And in sickness and in health
Till death do you part?
I do."
Till death us do part [6x]
What's that you just said to me
You didn't love me like this yesterday
Woman
I don't understand.
And what's that you did say to me
I guess this love is just more to me
Woman
You're annoying me.
Yeah, you're sitting on your arse in your dirty clothes
You're looking a mess, you're picking your nose
Woman
You're a fucking mess.
Your tits are big but your brains are small
Sometimes I wonder you got any brains at all
Woman
Ah stuff yourself.
Well fuck you, fuck you
Don't you tell me what to do
Woman
Ah fuck off.
I've got my deed, I've married you
What did I do to deserve you?
Woman
Why me?
Woman
Woman
Woman
Woman
Woman
I hate you.
Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteYour welcome my friend
DeleteWow I didn't know that about The League LP. (That the version I have is not how it was intended) Many Thanks. I've never heard Perfect Crime either looks like I'll go searching for it!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanx a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks mate, rocking blog!
ReplyDelete