Released worldwide on 14th June 2010

20 STUNNING TRACKS 7 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The Cortinas were the first. They played the Roxy Club, released two singles on Mark Perry and Miles Copeland’s Step Forward label, graced the front cover of Sniffin’ Glue and recorded a Peel Session. Guitarist Nick Sheppard remembers the night it all slotted into place: “I think a real turning point for us was seeing the Ramones at the Roundhouse on July 4 1976 – we definitely started to write our own songs after that gig. We had been playing and doing gigs for about a year by then – all covers apart from one song, Tokyo Joe as I remember. After that gig we started writing stuff like Television Families. I think we saw people like us in the audience at that gig, and it must have given us confidence.”

Taking their cue, bands like Social Security (the first band on Heartbeat Records), The Pigs (whose Youthanasia single was released by Miles Copeland’s New Bristol Records), The Primates, The Media, The Posers and The Verdict gave Bristol one of the strongest provincial early punk scenes, mainly centred around the Clifton area of Bristol and Barton Hill Youth Club.

Barton Hill also gave us The X-Certs, who by 1978 could already pull audiences of 500 into Trinity Church, without the aid of a safety net or record contract. Though we didn’t realise it at the time, they effectively bridged the gap between the late 70s Bristol scene and what our American cousins like to term the UK82 bands.

Vice Squad and Heartbeat Records boss Simon Edwards formed Riot City Records toward the end of 1980, releasing the band’s first single Last Rockers in January 1981. It sold well and after a second Vice Squad single the label recruited other Bristol bands like Portishead lunatics Chaos UK, Court Martial and The Undead, while Disorder recorded for their own label, all achieving impressive sales. The less said about Chaotic Dischord, the better.

Lunatic Fringe, with the mighty Bear Hackenbush on vocals, recorded their first single on the short-lived Resurrection Records label.

The Bristol Punk Explosion brings you all these bands, and closes with a track from Death Metal Monsters Onslaught. Before all this “Spitting blood in the face of Gaaaahd!” malarky, Onslaught were a Discharge-style hardcore punk band, and here we include the snapilly-titled Thermo Nuclear Devastation Of The Planet Earth from their first demo.
In short, this is the history of Bristol punk, from its very beginnings, through the early 80s, and up to the point when hardcore began to morph into thrash, metal, and, um, thrash metal.

(Sleeve notes by Shane Baldwin – Vice Squads Drummer and Record Collector / Big Cheese Journalist)

The release includes a 16 page full colour cover with 4000 word sleeve notes.

Tracklisting:

1. The Cortinas – ‘Defiant Pose’ (The Cortinas 1977) (p) Step Forward Music
2. The Pigs – ‘National Front’ (Kit Gould 1977) (p) New Bristol Music
3. Social Security – ‘I Don’t Want My Heart To Rule My Head’ (Social Security 1978) (p) Heartbeat Music/Cherry Red Music
4. The Pigs – ‘Youthanasia’ (Kit Gould 1977) (p) New Bristol Music
5. Social Security – ‘Choc Ice’ – (Social Security 1978) (p) Heartbeat Music/Cherry Red Music
6. The Posers – ‘Good Advice’ (The Posers 1978) (p) copyright control
7. The Media – ‘New Blood’ (J Britton 1978) (p) copyright control
8. The Primates - ‘ Generation Warfare (Live)’ (Britton, Shennan, JJ 1977) (p) copyright control
9. The X-Certs – ‘Fight Back’ (S Justice 1978) (p) copyright control
10. 48 Hours – ‘A Soldier (Demo)’ (A Peters 1979) (p) copyright control
11. The Verdict – ‘IRA Man’ (The Verdict 1978) (p) copyright control
12. The X-Certs -‘ Stop The Fussing And The Fighting’ (Culture 1979) (p) copyright control
13. Vice Squad – ‘Resurrection’ (Bateman, Bond 1981) (p) Heartbeat Music/Cherry Red Music
14. Disorder – ‘Complete Disorder’ (Allen, Curtis 1981) (p) Complete Music
15. Chaos UK – ‘Four Minute Warning’ (Greenham 1982) (p) Heartbeat Music/Complete Music
16. Court Martial – ‘Gotta Get Out’ (Burrough, Burrough, Braybrooke, McPherson 1982) (p) Heartbeat Music / Complete Music
17. The Undead – ‘It’s Corruption’ (Hamm, Hamm, Denning, Scarlet, Simmonds 1982) (p) Heartbeat Music/Complete Music
18. Lunatic Fringe – ‘Who’s In Control?’ (Finch 1982) (p) Heartbeat Music / Complete Music
19. Chaotic Dischord – ‘Who Killed E.T? (I Killed The Fucker!)’ (Chaotic Dischord 1983) (p) Heartbeat Music / Complete Music
20. Onslaught – ‘Thermo Nuclear Devastation Of The Planet Earth’ (Onslaught 1983) (p) Irate Music Publishing

Track 1 originally released on Step Forward Records 1977

Tracks 2 and 4 originally released on New Bristol Records 1977

Tracks 3 and 5 originally released on Heartbeat Records 1978

Tracks 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11,12 all previously unreleased

Tracks 13, 15, 16, 17, 19 all previously released on Riot City Records and licenced from Captain Oi!  Records 2010

Tracks 14 previously released on Disorder Records 1981

Track 18 previously released on Resurrection Records 1981, never re-released or made available

Track 20 previously unreleased until 2008 when it appeared on the Candlelight Records album Shadow Of Death.

Track 1 Engineered by Simon Humphrey, A Turner, Copeland, Cortina Production

Tracks 2and 4 Engineered by Chris David and Produced by The Pigs at Sound Conception

Tracks 3 and 5 Engineered and Produced by Simon Edwards at GBH

Tracks 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17 Engineered and Produced by Steve Street at SAM

Track 7 Engineered by Roger Wall at The Facility

Track 8 Recorded live by Simon Edwards

Track 10 Recorded at Duffys Anerley

Track 18, 20 Engineered by Steve Street and Produced by Shane and Dave for S.A.D Productions at SAM

Track 19 Engineered by Sven and Steve Street at Frome Musical and Produced by Shane and Dave for S.A.D Productions

Track 13 Engineered by Andy Allen and Produced by Vice Squad at Cave

Track 14 Engineered by Andy Allen and Produced by Disorder at Cave

Track 15 Engineered by Andy Allen and Produced by Chaos UK at Cave

All tracks re-mastered by Steve Street Feb 2010

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