Interesting compilation coming out on Bristol Archive Records seeing an official release in the early part of next year, though it is available to purchase in advance here – http://bristolarchiverecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-bristol-reggae-explosion-1978-1983

I’ve got a promo copy for the car and have particularly enjoyed Ressurection’s – Four Point Plan, apparently Ressurection featured a young Rob Smith on guitar, he’s better known now as Smith of Smith N’ Mighty, reknowned remixers. Like a lot of good things, he hails from Bristol.

Bristol is and was one of the important musical and particularly Jamaican musical hotspots in the UK, and alongside Birmingham and London is was where it was all happening back in the day, check out your intro into the Bristolian affect on this release, heartily recommended.

Here is what the label says about it:

THE BRISTOL REGGAE EXPLOSION 1978-1983 Released on CD, VINYL and DIGITAL DOWNLOADRelease date 21st February 2011

BUY NOW: http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;0;-1;-1;-1&sku=12937

From Pop to Punk, the late seventies and early eighties saw a huge explosion in the number of local bands as more and more people thought they’d give it a go, new studios and independent labels weren’t far behind and Reggae wasn’t going to be left out of the musical mix.If the majors were even aware of Bristol they showed minimal interest and it was left to the bands themselves and the handful of indie labels to document Bristol’s contribution to what was then a vibrant UK Reggae scene. Working on tight budgets and with no money for marketing campaigns local bands managed to release a small, but steady flow of vinyl, mostly pressed in tiny quantities and often sold direct to fans at gigs, these records, although cherished by those who own them, and sought by those in the know, have been largely ignored by the wider music industry.

Fortunately Bristol music has its own champion in the shape of Bristol Archive Records, a label with a mission to share our great musical heritage with the world, “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983” is the first and only attempt to document the local Reggae scene from the late seventies until the early eighties. With the exception of the Black Roots tracks none of the recordings have ever been reissued and all were originally released before CD had been launched, so this is their debut in the digital format.

The music itself reflects the dominance of the Roots style in Bristol, even today Roots is by far the most popular type of Reggae in both the retail and live scenes locally, Black Roots live up to their name and show why they were the equal of any UK Reggae band in their day, Talisman, Restriction and 3D Production follow in their Roots footsteps, but a real highlight of this release is the inclusion of the ultra rare “Africa Is Our land” from Joshua Moses, a UK Roots classic. Bristol wasn’t all about Roots though and the other tracks follow a more mellow template, dealing with love and relationships, both Talisman and Joshua Moses show another side to their music and are joined by tracks from Buggs Durrant, The Radicals and Sharon Bengamin who’s “Mr. Guy” is a classic UK Lover’s track in the mould of Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson, Louisa Marks et al.

“The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983” will be released as a fourteen track CD, but you can’t have a proper Reggae release without it being on vinyl so there will be a very limited vinyl pressing featuring an eight track selection and just to keep things local the sleeve art is a mid-eighties carnival shot from Bristol’s own Beezer, (www.beezerphotos.com), featuring a classic image of Jah Revelation sound-system.
This release will shine the spotlight on a long neglected corner of the UK Reggae scene and Bristol’s musical heritage, the same music that would help underpin Bristol’s musical dominance in the following decade.
www.bristolarchiverecords.com

credits

released 21 February 2011
The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978 – 1983 Track listing:01. Black Roots : Bristol Rock (Bunny Marrett) (Arranged by Black Roots) p Nubian Music 1981

02. Joshua Moses : Africa (Is Our Land) (Joshua Moses 1978) p Copyright Control 1978

03. Talisman : Run Come Girl – Live (Taylor / Talisman 1980) p Recreational Music 1981

04. Restriction : Four Point Plan (Restriction 1983) p Unitone Publishing 1983

05. Black Roots : Tribal War 12” Mix (Black Roots) p Nubian Music 1981

06. Restriction : Restriction (Restriction 1983) p Unitone Publishing 1983

07. Joshua Moses : Pretty Girl (Joshua Moses 1979) p Unitone Publishing 1979

08. Talisman : Wicked Dem – Live ( Taylor / Talisman 1980) p Recreational Music 1981

09. The Radicals : Nights Of Passion ( John Carley 1980) p Copyright Control 1980

10. Sharon Bengamin : Mr Guy (Unknown 1980) p Unitone Publishing 1980

11. Black Roots : Juvenile Delinqent (Black Roots) p Nubian Music

12. Buggs Durrant : Baby Come Back(Home) (Errol Williams 1983) p Unitone Publishing 1983

13. 3-D Production : Riot (John Carley 1980) p Third Kind Music 1980

14. Talisman : Dole Age 12” Mix ( Joseph / Talisman 1981) p Recreational Music 1981

Tracks 1, 5, 11 originally released on Nubian Records
Track 2 originally released on More Cut Records
Track 3 and 8 previously unreleased Live Recordings
Track 4 and 6 originally released on Restriction Records 1983
Track 7, 10 and 12 originally released on Shoc Wave Records 1979, 1980 and 1983
Track 9 originally released on The Bristol Recorder 2 1980
Track 13 originally released on Third Kind Records 1980
Track 14 originally released on Recreational Records 1981

Track 1, 5 and 11 Engineered by UK Scientist, Recorded at The Facility, Produced by UK Scientist and Black Roots
Track 2 Engineered by Dennis Bovell, Recorded at Gooseberry Studios London, Produced by Dennis Bovell
Track 3 Recorded Live at Glastonbury Festival
Track 4 and 6 Engineered and Mixed by The Mad Professor, Recorded at Ariwa Sound Studios London, Produced by Restriction
Track 7, 10 and 12 Produced by Gene Walsh, Recording location unknown
Track 8 Recorded Live at Bath University
Track 9 Engineered and Produced by David Lord at Crescent Studios Bath
Track 13 Recording location unknown, Arranged and Produced by Ron Green
Track 14 Engineered by David Lord at Crescent Studios Bath, Mixed by UK Scientist, Produced by Talisman and UK Scientist

All tracks re-mastered by Steve Street, July 2010
All Rights Reserved

P c Bristol Archive Records 2010

Thanks to

Martin Langford, Steve Street, Sam Giles, Gene Walsh/Joshua Moses / Shoc Wave, Brendan, Des, Denison / Talisman, Jabulani Ngozi / Black Roots, John Carley, Rob Smith / Restriction, Adrian at Great Bear, Lloyd Harris / Chris Parker/Recreational Records, Alfredo / Nubian Records, St.Pauls Carnival Office / Steve , Thomas Brooman CBE / The Bristol Recorder People, Gary Chapple and “all the musicians who played on these tracks”.

Photo credits: Thanks to the original photographers and artwork designers with whom copyright remains on their work

Front cover image Beezer

Artwork by [email protected]

This album is dedicated to Mark Simpson and Trinity Hall

Bristol Archive Records, July 2010
www.bristolarchiverecords.com
email: [email protected]

Taken from: http://bigmikeydread.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/the-bristol-reggae-explosion-1978-1983/

AVON CALLING 2 – Record Collector Album Review

3/5

The legacy of Bristol’s Indie bands is in safe hands.

In subtitling this follow-up to the 1978 Avon Calling compilation, documenting a multitude of hopeful Bristol indie bands, Forgotten Gems and Unknown Curios, its archivist Simon Edwards (who put out the original LP on his Heartbeat imprint all those years back), is acknowledging both this collection’s distilled essence of musical ambition and that, while none of these acts have transcended their regional scene, some have totally vanished without trace. What got left behind was a veritable treasure trove of cassette tapes that Edwards has horded and loved ever since.

We don’t care that these bands never got to the Colston Hall, let alone Carnegie: what we like is the notion that someone out there is hearing themselves and their aspirations and dreams for the first time for 30 years due to this diligent tending of the flame. What that must feel like!

As you’d anticipate, there’s a certain amount of raw enthusiasm over genuine talent embedded in these C60 demos, but there’s also some perky three-minute pop recorded for posterity. Were you a member of Sneak Preview, The Phone, Social Security (what a shame Self Confession is so grainy), Directors or Europeans? You did good!

(Ian Abrahams)

‘Avon Calling 2’ – Review in Venue this week

This raid on the vaults of Heartbeat Records captures no-budget Bristol in the fertile years 1978-1980. It’s pretty diverse. Social Security’s ‘Self Confession’ is a minor snot classic celebrating the rock ‘n’dole lifestyle, while Essential Bop’s busily psychedelic ‘Audition Room’ sounds like a Doors album track played at 45 rpm. Sneak Preview’s offerings are wonderfully deranged: ‘Mr Magoo’ meets Andre Breton’s ghost in an afterlife of freak-out organs; ‘I Can’t Get Out’ confronts a predatory transvestite in a fog of dub. Both are surprisingly catchy. Equally fine are the two Apartment tracks-the slasher atmospherics of ‘Broken Glass’ and hurtling panic of ‘Retrospect’. They’re the post-punk heroes you’ve (probably) never heard of. This is alternative history, from which the mysterious Sean Ryan emerges as the Gary Numan that never was.

It’s  highly recommended to anyone interested in the early years of the UK underground.

(Adam Burrows) 4/5

The album is released on September 13^th and can be pre ordered now at Amazon, HMV, Play or buy directly from www.bristolarchiverecords.com   

http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=7281

The Cortinas

MK1     ***/5

Bristol Archive ARC 755 V LP

Engines turn-over once more for Bristol punks.Though they certainly couldn’t claim to have been a part of the upper echelons of the original surge of punk (their most significant moments being a support slot for The Stranglers at the Roxy in early ’77 at the

bequest of Hugh Cornwell and a memorable single in Fascist

Dictator), The Cortinas certainly did everything required of them.

Remembered for being the first punk band out of Bristol, they fired out a couple of 45s on the Step Forward label, both of which appear on this limited to 500 vinyl-only release, hammered their way through a Peel session, got their mugs firmly on the cover of Sniffin Glue and shot their bolt with a disappointing LP. All of which

was pretty much the form for most bands below punk’s premier division.

That said, this collection of 10 demos and all of their 7″ A and B sides crackles with three-chords so that, despite not really

marking them out as a band with an individual identity, it

demonstrates that, for a band “of their kind’, The Cortinas managed to hit all the targets and then some. Fourteen short

and sharp volleys – not the greatest punk outfit but definitely archetypal.

lan Abrahams

Edition 82 Record Collector

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Bristol “The Punk Explosion”

Possibly my favourite ever band, never mind just â punk band, came from Bristol you know? FIVE KNUCKLE were around in the mid 80’s and were obviously too late for a compilation such as this, but it just goes to show the depth and longevity of the punk scene in the South West.

This twenty-track CD highlights many of the bands that were around between 1977 and 1983. The whole point of this collection is to showcase the musical mood of Bristol during that period, but really it’s quite illustrative of what was going on in cities the length and breadth of the UK at the time. And where this album also scores is that the tracks are listed chronologically, so the listener can see how the punk scene was changing during that six year period, with the songs becoming harsher, harder and more abrasive as the album (and years) progress.

Opening with one of the two most famous bands of the time to come from the city (although there are several listed here who will be remembered by original punk fans) THE CORTINAS were one of the first pioneers of this new music. They played the city’s Roxy Club, released a couple of singles on the Step Forward label, were featured on the cover of the seminal Sniffin Glue fanzine and recorded a Peel Session. Defiant Pose is their contribution to the compilation and is pure old school punk bliss with everything you’d expect from an original punk band. Simple, repeated riffs, shouty vocals and gang-backing.

National Front by THE PIGS follows. Brilliant! A song with a distinct anti-racism message even if it is put across in a rather patronising manner: “The National Front are fascists, there’s nothing wrong with the black kids no way” the chorus goes. Genuine sentiment, of course but could that line pass the PC brigade today? A¦ the innocence of 1977!

THE PIGS actually have a second contribution shortly thereafter: Youthanasia. The recording sounds like it was done with their dads old tape recorder in the living room, but this just adds to the overall flavour of the album. The previous two tracks are interspersed by two from 1978 and SOCIAL SECURITY “I Don’t Want My Heart To Rule My Head” is the first, the guitar riff seemingly plagiarised from The Bannedâ hit at the turn of 1977, “Little Girl”. Their second song is Choc Ice which is slightly Buzzcock-esque in sound.

So off to a blistering start and it continues this way right through to the end. I’d happily write all night long in praise of this collection, but time and space is a bit of an inhibitor. Instead, I shall just mention the following highlights. Well, EVERY track is a gem, but these just shine a little brighter for me:

VICE SQUAD were always favourites of mine, so it’s good to see Resurrection included here. And the political age in which we lived then is brought to the for with two songs that relate to the troubles in Northern Ireland at that time: 48 HOURS have A Soldier (Demo) included and THE VERDICT sing IRA Man. THE X-CERTS have two songs that were previously unreleased Fight Back is a chugging guitar driven punk anthem with a shout-a-long chorus, while Stop The Fussing And The Fighting is a nine and a half dub / reggae epic. Again, the almost primitive sound on this just takes you right back to the time and parties in dingy basements.

Moving onwards through time, the album culminates with some early hardcore / Oi from the early Eighties. You can tell by the change of tone in the bands names that the music has taken on a more aggressive feel. The likes of DISORDER; CHAOS UK; LUNATIC FRINGE; CHAOTIC DISCHORD and ONSLAUGHT are all represented with tracks that just go to show even Punk moves with the times.

For anyone around at the inception of the punk scene, this is an essential!

It’ll be straight to the top of my personal playlist, I can tell you!

(Released through Bristol Archive Records and available now July 2010)

(10 / 10)

Taken from http://www.loudhorizon.com

RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? The Bristol Punk scene from 1976 to the early eighties and fuck what you hear about London with its fashion posers and Manchester with its art posers, Bristol was where the real shit was happening. Or so I believe. I wasn’t there, but these songs sound like they mean it, which is fine by me.
IS IT ANY GOOD? What do you think? This is when the only real punk was made, anything the wrong side of the eighties is nothing, a great big gape. So listen and learn, this is history, vital and important and a worthy addition to the earlobes of any connoisseur. I’m not a connoisseur, but I do like the badly recorded shouty punk jangling from this recording, so I’m sold. For a shortlist roll-call we have The Pigs, The Cortinas, Social Security, The Verdict and Chaotic Disorder, the latter of which kicking out a tune in just over a minute called ‘Who killed ET? (I Killed the Fucker!)” which is delivered with so much attitude you believe the young man, even though he may now be the director of a bank. Or an organic farmer.
WHERE IS IT? www.bristolarchiverecords.com

http://www.unpeeled.net/albums.html