“The Bristol Post Punk Explosion Vol 3 – (1979-1985)” Various Artists

Released on Limited Edition Clear with Black Smoke Vinyl (200 copies) on 6th June 2025 via Bristol Archive Records

In the beginning there was rhythm. And that is the driving force of the third epic edition of the Bristol Post Punk Explosion, a vinyl volume that focuses even more on the groove as well as a cutting edge. This Explosion has a blend of local notables and lesser lights, with stories linking the likes of Stiff Records, Smith & Mighty, John Peel, Massive Attack, mega producer Nellee Hooper, Pigbag, The Pop Group, Roni Size, Vice Squad and even the owner of Bristol Archive Records!

To get some rhythm you need some sweat and it is Sweat that set the scene. Their never previously released track ‘Crufter’ is an outlier for the later work of much acclaimed and influential Smith & Mighty. Third in an opening trio salvo of hit those skins and pull those strings, the post departure of later mega producer Paul ‘Nellee’ Hooper version of Mouth, powered by eventual Roni Size drummer Rob Merrill, fizz and trumpet their way through a short and sweet ‘Take Your Coat Off’.

Between these tracks the artier Stiff Records signings Electric Guitars had their own take on skewed, contorted danceability of percussive power mixed with big, fat choruses. ‘Genghis Khan’ rampages its way into the ears taking no prisoners, with Andy Saunders’ giddy-up guitar driving progress forward. Cold had a less common sight in the Bristol terrain at the time being fronted by a female singer/guitarist, Lucy Ray. ‘Sectarian Killing’ is a no holds barred, punchy assault on events in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Vice Squad’s drummer Shane Baldwin featured with the band as Lucy’s song writing partner Tim Clench had been in an early version of the Squad with Shane and Dave Bateman.

Animal Magic add further to the gender balance through trumpeter Gill’s notable contributions to the slip and slide of ‘Get it Right,’ one of several tracks recorded for John Peel’s BBC Radio One programme. The Rimshots were fronted by Archive label head Mike Darby and ‘A Way with Words’ is a swirly flash back trip of heavenly getting to the world on time.

On side two there is a big mood shift in the push me/ pull you insistence within the Glaxo Babies classic ‘Who Killed Bruce Lee?.’ Forget who shot JR and any old detective story, the band home in on the mystery like a dog searching for a bone. There is no let-up next in ‘Dry Ice Hot’ from Birth of Sharon, a gang of pin-stripes mash-up of Gang of Four, early Talking Heads and Captain Beefheart. The economically, on point Creature Beat give us the short, snappy, garage band feel-good corker that is ‘Snob Tax.’ The song’s hook stays in your head like an HMRC tax return or payment deadline that cannot be avoided.

The Escape then brings you back to earth as they scan the possibilities within ‘24 Hours’. This song was one of four later recorded for the BBC Radio One show hosted by Peter Powell. Incongruous heard on drive-time radio, The Escape always knew how to get into the farthest, as well as darkest, corners. The Numbers sported the hugely inventive guitarist Angelo Bruschini, who went on to make major inputs to the long- standing Blue Aeroplanes and Massive Attack. ‘Cross Slide’ provides a delicious amalgam of classic Bowie and early Dirk period Adam and the Ants.

Finally, the sharp lyrics and supersonic guitar work in the Royal Assassins hits the target in ‘Song of a Bullet.’ On demos they blended punk funk, juddering juicy bass synth stabs to a dub consciousness and tribal warfare of sound. Live as a full band they were unstoppable, stretching out the grooves and firing on all cylinders.

Sadly, some of the Explosion album artists are no longer with us. But their music, shock wave pulses and wordsmithery as well as those other’s lives on, getting stronger and more significant with each year.

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