RELEASES

THE X-CERTS

Vinyl LP – Limited Edition 500 Pressing with Insert plus Strictly Limited Replica CD and Download

‘RATED XXX’

Released 8th August 2011

1978 and especially 1979 were confusing times for young punks in the provinces. If you didn’t want to go all arty and post-punk, or buy a stupid skinny tie and go New Wave, you were doomed to be terminally unfashionable. Two years later, you were still terminally unfashionable, but you could sell records. But that’s another story.

As 1978 wore on, we thanked God for the likes of UK Subs and Angelic Upstarts, and here in Brizzle…the mighty X-Certs! With Clive Arnold (vocals and guitar), Simon Justice (guitar), Taf (bass) and Neil Mackie (drums), The X-Certs served up welcome blasts of Clash-style punk anthems. They were politically charged and passionate, friendly and down to earth, and a great live act, but for some reason their recordings were relatively few and far between. One track, Blue Movies, on Hearbeat Records’ 4-Alternatives EP, and another called Anthem on the same label’s acclaimed Avon Calling compilation album. And that’s yer lot with the original line up.

Live, though, they were real contenders, pulling as many as 500 people into Trinity Church before they even had a record out, and supporting the likes of the afore-mentioned Angelic Upstarts, Pere Ubu, Misty In Roots, The Only Ones, and most famously, The Clash, at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 11 February 1980, on the 16 Tons Tour, with none other than Topper Headon mixing their sound.

By the Clash gig the line-up had changed and so had the band’s style, exploring new musical territories including reggae, but this album captures the original four-piece at the peak of their Punk Rock powers.
“We Are What We Are. We Are – The X-Certs”

ARTIST: The X-Certs
TITLE: ‘Rated XXX’
FORMAT: Limited Edition 500 Pressing Vinyl LP plus strictly limited edition hand made replica CD and Download
LABEL: Bristol Archive Records
DISTRIBUTION: Shellshock
CAT NO: ARC138V and ARC138CD
RELEASE DATE: 8th August 2011
WEBSITE: www.bristolarchiverecords.com
CONTACT: Mike Darby, E: [email protected] T: 07885 498 402

Track Listing:

1. Anthem
2. Together
3. Blue Movies
4. People of Today
5. You Have Been Warned
6. Spotlight
7. City Claustrophobia
8. Suicide
9. Fight Back
10. Gotta Get Away

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3-D PRODUCTION

7” Vinyl – Limited Edition Single
“RIOT” and “Re-Arrange (Version)”
Released 11th July 2011

The success of “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1979-1983”, has helped many new fans discover some of the wonderful reggae music hidden away and half forgotten in Bristol’s musical story. Many people have got in touch with us and asked if there was any chance of re-releasing some of these tunes in their original seven or twelve inch vinyl format. Having dipped our toe in the reggae singles market with our very limited release of a Joshua Moses/Sharon Bengamin split seven inch for Record Store Day we are delighted to announce our first full release is the most requested track from the album, 3-D Production “Riot”, coupled with it’s original B side, “Re-Arrange (Version)”.

3-D Production were an offshoot of The Radicals with John Carley on vocals, guitar and percussion and Black Roots member King providing the bass lines. This two man core were then supplemented by other local musicians. The single was released in 1980 on the small reggae label Third Kind and judging from it’s scarcity it seems to have sunk without trace, fortunately we didn’t forget it !! So after more than thirty years it will be re-released on Bristol Archive Records.

The title “Riot” needs no explanation and is about the St. Paul’s riot that had only just happened, a classic case of reggae reportage, opening with police sirens and the sound of smashing glass. The original picture cover is adorned with an image of the burning Lloyds Bank on Ashley Road whilst the rear features a burned out police panda car. Perhaps it’s no surprise “Riot” was banned by the BBC!

The B side “Re-Arrange (Version)” didn’t appear on the LP and has not previously been reissued. It presents a complete contrast to “Riot”, a sparse dub obviously inspired by late period Black Ark recordings with the snippets of vocal harmonies dropping in and out of the mix. A real grower that you find yourself drawn back to again and again wishing that there was a proper vocal version to accompany it.

The single will be released on Monday 11th July housed in an updated version of the original picture sleeve and with perfect attention to detail, we have even used the same colour for the labels as used on the original.

ARTIST: 3-D Production 7” Vinyl
TITLE: ‘Riot / Re-Arrange (Version)’
FORMAT: Limited Edition 7” Vinyl Single
LABEL: Bristol Archive Records
DISTRIBUTION: Exclusive to www.bristolarchiverecords.com
CAT NO: ARC185V
RELEASE DATE: 11th July 2011
WEBSITE: www.bristolarchiverecords.com
CONTACT: Mike Darby, E: [email protected] T: 07885 498 402

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TALISMAN
‘DOLE AGE’ – The 1981 Reggae Collection

Released on 9th May 2011

CD, DOWNLOAD and LIMITED EDITION VINYL ALBUM

11 STUNNING TRACKS 7 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED IN ANY FORMAT, 5 DIFFERENT TRACKS ON THE VINYL ALBUM (INCLUDING THE 12″ MIXES)

Hot on the heels of the critically acclaimed “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983″ Bristol Archive Records return to the City’s rich reggae heritage with another album full of lost gems. This time it’s the criminally neglected Talisman who benefit from a long overdue and well deserved release.

Originally formed in 1977 as Revelation Rockers, a name they soon changed, by the early 1980s, Talisman were consummate performers not only vying with Black Roots for the title of Bristol’s number one reggae act, but also one of the country’s most popular live bands. They toured the UK building up a loyal following and leaving memories of gigs that are still discussed to this day. The band’s prowess earned them support slots with acts as diverse as Burning Spear, The Clash and The Rolling Stones and they were more than capable of playing in such esteemed company.

Despite their undisputed talent a major record deal never materialised and until now the only way to hear Talisman has been to track down their two difficult to find singles from 1981, or their two later LPs, “Takin’ The Strain” from 1984 and “Jam Rock” From 1990. Now after nearly thirty years Bristol Archive Records have lovingly compiled a CD of the band at their peak in 1981. Not only does the CD contain the band’s two original 7″ singles, but also seven carefully selected live cuts from classic shows at Glastonbury and Bath University.

This is the first time on CD for this material and is also the first proper release of any kind for the live tracks, though either gig was surely strong enough to have produced a proper live release at the time. If only the finance had been there, at least there was the foresight to properly record the shows for posterity.

Being a reggae release vinyl hasn’t been forgotten. The limited edition LP is effectively a completely different release featuring the full extended 12″ mixes of both singles in their entirety as well as the previously unreleased “Nitty Gritty”.

As with the label’s previous foray into the local reggae scene, which incidentally also features tracks from Talisman, this release allows a new generation to hear some great music and strongly makes the case that there was a lot more to the UK reggae scene than Aswad, Steel Pulse and Misty In Roots, Bristol was rocking just as hard as London or Birmingham and Talisman were a large part of the reason why!

Talisman ‘Dole Age’ – The 1981 Reggae Collection

Cat Nos: ARC199CD

Tracklisting:

1. DOLE AGE 7″ Mix 5.53 (Joseph / Talisman) 1981
2. FREE SPEECH 7″ Mix 4.18 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
3. RUN COME GIRL 7″ Mix 4.18 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
4. WICKED DEM 7″ Mix 4.02 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
5. STRIDE ON 5.54 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
6. CALAMITY 6.00 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
7. AH WHA U SEH 8.52 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
8. NOTHING CHANGE 6.26 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
9. SHINE ON 5.38 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
10. WORDS OF WISDOM 14.22 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
11. SLOW POISON 8.13 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981

Track 1,2,3,4 Originally released on Recreational Records and recorded at Crescent Studios, Bath, UK
Track 1 and 2 Engineered by David Lord and Produced by Talisman and UK Scientist
Tracks 3 and 4 Engineered by Steve Street and Glen Tommey and Produced by UK Scientist
Tracks 5, 6, 7 Recorded live at Glastonbury Festival 1981 – Mixed in London by UK Scientist
Tracks 8, 9, 10, 11, Recorded live at Bath University 1981 – Out front sound UK Scientist

Cat Nos: ARC199V

Side 1

1. DOLE AGE 12″ MIX 11.06 (Joseph / Talisman) 1981
2. FREE SPEECH 12″ MIX 8.35 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
   
   Side 2
3. RUN COME GIRL 12″ MIX 8.35 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
4. WICKED DEM 12″ MIX 8.05 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981
5. NITTY GRITTY 3.44 (Taylor / Talisman) 1981

Track 1,2,3,4 Originally released on Recreational Records and recorded at Crescent Studios, Bath, UK
Track 1 and 2 Engineered by David Lord and Produced by Talisman and UK Scientist
Tracks 3 and 4 Engineered by Steve Street and Glen Tommey and Produced by UK Scientist
Track 5 Recorded live in the studio (Studio location unknown) – Mixed by UK Scientist

The Line Up:

Bill Bartlett – Keyboards
Donald de Cordova – Drums
Leroy Forbes – Lead Guitar, Vocals, Synth
Desmond (Lazarus) Taylor – Rydim, Lead Vocals
Dennison Joseph – Bass, Vocals
Brendan Whitmore – Sax, Harp

Except on Tracks 5,6,7 Keyboards Chris Potter

All tracks originally re-mastered by Shaun Joseph at Optimum, January 2010 and compiled, edited and remastered by Steve Street December 2010

All Rights Reserved

P&C Bristol Archive Records 2011

All recordings owned by Talisman and exclusively licenced to Bristol Archive Records

All songs Copyright Control 1981

Except Tracks 3 and 4 Published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Tracks 1,2,5,6 and 7 Published by All Media Music

Thanks to Chris Parker, Lloyd Harris, Richard Lewis, Zulu PA, Ken Pustelnik, Dave Massey, Steve Street, Sam Giles, Michael Eavis, Dingwalls ( Boss Goodman) and The 100 Club, John Curd (Straight Music), Angela Davis (Terry King Associates) and John Peel.
Front cover design taken from the original Lloyd Harris 1981design

Artwork by [email protected]

This album is dedicated to the memory of Revolver Records

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SPLIT 7” Vinyl – Limited Edition Single – Hand Numbered 250 Copies
Featuring ‘Pretty Girl’ and ‘Mr.Guy’
Released as part of ‘Record Shop Day’ April 16th 2011

Bristol Archive Records are extremely pleased to announce their participation in the phenomenon that is ‘Record Store Day’ For our contribution we have selected two tracks from our highly popular album “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978 – 1983”, (ARC191), and coupled them on a strictly limited seven inch single.

This double A sided release finds us in a mellow mood as we couple Joshua Moses’ “Pretty Girl” with Sharon Bengamin’s “Mr Guy”.

“Mr Guy” is a lovely slice of lover’s rock and somewhat overlooked when released in 1980 but it has become a firm favourite with us here at Bristol Archive. “Pretty Girl” finds Roots singer Joshua Moses showing his softer side, it was something of a hit on the original release and makes a natural pairing with Sharon’s tune.

Both tracks were originally released as singles on Bristol label Shoc-wave Records some thirty years ago and were given their first digital release with their well deserved inclusion on “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978 – 1983”. “Mr Guy” also made it onto the limited vinyl version of the album, but running time constraints meant there was no room for “Pretty Girl” something we a very pleased to rectify with this vinyl release.

To compliment the vinyl we’ve designed a custom die-cut sleeve that pays homage to those original reggae disco bags of the late seventies, each sleeve is individually hand numbered with the pressing being limited to just 250 copies.

The record will be available to buy on Record Store Day April 16th 2011

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Various Artists ‘The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983′

Released worldwide on 21st February 2011

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.

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 and Restriction 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, Talisman show another side to their music and are joined by tracks from Buggs Durrant 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 eight track Vinyl album, which sits perfectly along side the 14 Track cd version 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.

Vinyl

Cat. No ARC191V Tracks:

Side 1

1. Bristol Rock – Black Roots    4.18
2. Wicked Dem (Live) – Talisman     5.38
3. Four Point Plan – Restriction    4.02
4. Africa (Is Our Land) – Joshua Moses    5.57

Side 2

1. Tribal War 12″ Mix    – Black Roots    4.20
2. Run Come Girl (Live) – Talisman    7.27<
3. Baby Come Back (Home) – Buggs Durrant    3.35
4. Mr.Guy – Sharon Bengamin    4.31

CD

Cat. No ARC191CD Tracks:

1. Black Roots : Bristol Rock (Bunny Marrett) (Arranged by Black Roots) p Nubian Music 1981
2. Joshua Moses : Africa (Is Our Land) (Joshua Moses 1978) p Copyright Control 1978
3. Talisman : Run Come Girl – Live (Taylor / Talisman 1980) p Recreational Music 1981
4. Restriction : Four Point Plan (Restriction 1983) p Unitone Publishing 1983
5. Black Roots : Tribal War 12″ Mix (Black Roots) p Nubian Music 1981
6. Restriction : Restriction (Restriction 1983) p Unitone Publishing 1983
7. Joshua Moses : Pretty Girl (Joshua Moses 1979) p Unitone Publishing 1979
8. Talisman : Wicked Dem – Live ( Taylor / Talisman 1980) p Recreational Music 1981
9. 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

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THE PIGS

‘1977’

Released on 4th October 2010

LIMITED EDITION 500 COPIES VINYL ALBUM

100 Copies will have a special Limited Edition Insert featuring stories and exclusive pictures

“When we finally got to see The Cortinas at the Granary – up till then we had them down as more of the Feelgood thing – wow we really got the message!! And that’s what did it. It was so energizing, it felt like we had to get our band started the next day, the same night probably. The Punk train came and we all jumped on it, like a lot of people did, but we were the first ones on in Bristol, after The Cortinas.”

So says guitarist Kit Gould, who indeed formed The Pigs with drummer Ricky Galli, bassist Nigel Robinson and singer Eamonn McAndrew, in time to release the second Bristol Punk single to hit the shops after said Cortinas debut.

New Bristol Records was set up after the band supported Generation X at Chutes, where they met Miles Copeland. “We decided to set it up, it was our idea, with Vernon and John (their managers), and he just went along with it”, says Kit. “Now, looking back, it’s obvious that if Miles Copeland’s going to pay for you to do a recording, he’s not just donating it to you so you can set up your own label, whereas at the time that seemed like an entirely realistic proposition. It’s just naïve kids really that don’t have a clue about the music business. Miles Copeland came on board, he was our London connection.”

The band went into Sound Conception Studio on 12 August 1977 and recorded their whole set, from which four tracks were selected for the ‘Youthanasia’ EP. It gained airplay on John Peel’s show and sales were reasonable, but it proved to be their only release. They continued to gig regularly, including two more shows with The Cortinas, a support slot with Siouxsie and the Banshees at Barton Hill Youth Club, and even a headliner at the legendary (but by that time sadly ailing), Roxy, on 13 January 1978 with Open Sore and The Heat, but they called it a day the following March.

And now we are proud to give you, for the first time, all eleven tracks that the band recorded at Sound Conception, on lovely vinyl, in a rather dinky sleeve.

TITLE: “1977″

LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: Bristol Archive Records / Shellshock

CAT NO: ARC090V

FORMAT: Limited Edition 500 copies Vinyl Only

Tracklisting:

Side One
1. Psychopath
2. Youthanasia
3. Ran Me In
4. National Front
5. They Say
6. Exploitation

Side Two
7. General Election
8. Nuclear Disarmament
9. Personality Change
10. Give It Ball
11. They Shoot Horses Don’t They

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