Disorder

DISORDER

Punk was once again mutating and now with the added Discharge factor it was spawning a new breed of bands far noisier and far more ragged than any that had ever gone before, no better illustrated than in Disorder, from Bristol.

When first starting out, the Sex Pistols had been cast as 'Dickensian urchin types' and though Johnny Rotten had the demeanour to fit this description it shouldn't be forgotten that a lot of their clothes were being supplied from Malcolm McLaren's and Vivienne Westwood's clothes shop. Disorder, on the other hand, were feral youths dressed in greasy rags that in no way could even be described as 'Oxfam chic' because Oxfam would never have accepted these kind of clothes in the first place.

On their return from their first tour of America, The Clash had traded in their zips and bondage Punk clothes for dark suits and trilby hats; Joe Strummer declaring at the time: "We don't walk around with green hair and bondage trousers any more. We just like to look, sort of, flash these days."

Disorder were as far from 'flash' as a band could probably get, creating a sound to compliment their tramp-Punk style that was so seemingly simplistic yet so energised that they too would go on to influence a swathe of new bands themselves.

Their début EP, Complete Disorder, captured perfectly the spirit of the lifestyle that they and their friends were leading, revolving around squatting, drugs, gigs and protests. These were the first real steps towards adopting Punk as a sub-cultural way of life, grounded in poverty yet enthused by Punk as a vehicle into alternatives to the mainstream. The social make-up of this scene was as probably to be expected, pretty disparate; the main bond being a love of Punk Rock and a penchant for drugs, be it alcohol, glue, tuinol or even heroin.

Come the release of Disorder's second EP, Distortion To Deafness, the heights of Punk delirium were scaled with tumbling drums, thudding bass, screeching feedback and screaming; almost obliterating the lyrics within: "Come to the gigs and you have a fight, and that's fine until you're doing time. Anarchy means this: do what the fuck you want. If you wanna fight, then you're gonna fight. But there must be more than fights? Must be more than fights, must be more than fights..."

Over time, protest and creativity would become less important factors to the Bristol squat-Punk scene as (no doubt driven by the hardship of the lifestyle) drug abuse would become the raison d'etre and noise become a way of blocking out the world so as not to hear it. For a short moment at least, however, early Disorder gigs were wild celebrations of a pure freedom through screaming and sheer fuzzed-out noise, forging an almost proto Punk-nirvana experience, particularly when performing the Pistol's Anarchy In The UK in their inimitable Disorder manner.

Discharge - Why

DISCHARGE - WHY

Whether or not there was a corpse in the mouth of Cal, lead vocalist of Discharge, was negligible. What was certainly true, however, was that there were plenty of corpses in his dreams and visions - and subsequently in his lyrics.

Snapping at the heels of their three classic singles, Why was Discharge's first foray into 12" vinyl territory and though it may well have suggested to some that they were perhaps a one trick pony; what a mighty, thoroughbred, uncastrated stallion of a pony it was.

Consisting of nine brilliant slabs of roaring Punk intensity, Why was the sound of the anti-war/CND/peace movement being dragged completely away from the trappings of the 1960s into the ugly reality of the 1980s. Combining once again Cal's haiku-like lyrics with the sonic violence of the music, taken as a whole, Discharge had forged a quite astonishing Zen-Punk-like experience:

"My head is filled with fear of war, fear and threat of war. Horrific disturbing visions of war fill my head. Among the maimed and slaughtered my body lies... I look out my window to a blinding bright light, Enola passes, passes by. Hysterical men, women and children run in search of their families. Skin is shed like that of snakes but it's not the work of mother nature. Tomorrow, tomorrow, a look at tomorrow... Besides her man she kneels, holds him tight and begins to cry. Her loved one's just another piece of meat on the battlefield. Why, why, why but why... Men, women and children cry and scream in pain, wounded by bomb splinters. Streets littered with maimed and slaughtered, in rigid pathetic heaps... In order to satisfy their mania for conquest, lives are squandered... Scorched earth is all that's left where trees and flowers once grew. Nothing left but wasteland littered with human flesh and bone... Sounds of distant aircraft get louder. Men, women and children flee from the open in search of safety. A woman breaks down and cries, her child is left playing in the street - massacre of innocence... Why, why, why but why..."

Could there be any better way of conveying such thoughts other than through harsh blasts of furious noise? What Discharge had created was the almost perfect vehicle for such anger and horror that in time would be much copied but never bettered.

Whilst the focus of Why was rightly upon the subject of war, two songs that stood out from the set dealt with wholly different topics. On the track Does This System Work?, that very simple question is posed along with a very brief example of why the answer might be in the negative: "Men and women, young and old, out on the streets homeless. In plastic bags they carry their homes, clothes in rags they walk the streets. In bins they search for the odd dog end, the odd dog end and food. Does this system work?"

It was enough to make you wonder, at least.

The other song - and probably the best track on the record - entitled Ain't No Feeble Bastard, turns their noise into an immediate and in-your-face proclamation of empowering defiance: "Ain't no feeble bastard that has no say, I say what I think not what they want me to think. Ain't no feeble bastard, no fucking scapegoat."

This was the kind of song that if heard by any parent being sung by their children might make them slightly worried. The kind of song that if heard by your average Daily Mail reader might make them fearful as to what was becoming of the younger generation.

In truth, however, all the songs on Why were extremely positive and life-affirming. All, in actual fact, very sane responses to an insane situation. "The voice of common sense has to be heard, for man is an endangered species," said Cal in Discharge's first and only interview with the NME "Throughout the world, peace and anti-war movements are blossoming as never before. We each have a contribution to make."

The times were harsh and the harshness of Discharge was reflecting this perfectly. 

This was unlistenable music for unliveable times.

Unrelenting and unpretentious.

Maze

MAZE

There was a sense of newsiness about Crass that was very unique to them. A sense of being very on the ball and of being very up to date on worldly matters. So much so, in fact, that people were looking to Crass to interpret not only the news but the world itself. People trusted them and had a lot of faith in their interpretation and understanding of what was going on and how the world was - and the possibility of there being something that could be done about it.

Whether it was a conscious decision or not, their album Penis Envy was Crass almost reinventing themselves and presenting a credible interpretation of the world through the eyes of woman. The world, however, was changing fast and in Britain events were taking place that anyone working in the medium of music would find impossible to keep pace with let alone report on.

In a bid to gain special category and political prisoner status, Irish Republican prisoners being held within the H-Blocks of the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland had been conducting a 'dirty protest' consisting of smashing up furniture, refusing to wash, shave or wear clothes, and smearing their own excrement over the walls of their cells.

Upping the ante further, a hunger strike was started by the IRA leader in the Maze, Bobby Sands. At the same time, Sands stood from jail as a candidate in a local by-election which if he won would make him a Member of Parliament. Despite all the best efforts of the British authorities to prevent this happening, Sands did indeed win the parliamentary seat, leading to news headlines around the world.

Other governments, newspaper editorials and protest marches came out in support of him, demanding that Thatcher relent and grant Sands and other IRA prisoners political status. She refused. The Iron Lady was not for turning, choosing instead to face down all her opponents. To Thatcher, the Republican prisoners were terrorists, murderers and just plain criminals and in no way were their crimes political.

Bobby Sands MP died on Tuesday 5th of May 1981, his death provoking large-scale rioting in Londonderry and Belfast. More significantly, however, from that date on Thatcher became the IRA's top target for assassination.

None of this, of course, was touched upon by Crass in Penis Envy, nor, to be fair by any other Punk band in their recordings. Crass instead were singing of love - albeit the politics of love - but in doing so giving much credence to the oft quoted words of Belgian Situationist, Raoul Vaneigem:

"People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraint - such people have a corpse in their mouth."

Crass - Penis Envy

CRASS - PENIS ENVY

Through no fault and through no real desire of their own, Crass were rapidly becoming spokespersons for all things 'alternative' and their views and opinions being sought on a variety of relatively difficult subjects. At the same time, however, they were still very much a music group - a hardcore Punk Rock anarchist music group but a music group all the same - operating within a variety of similar fields to any other pop group.

Whilst a hardcore of their audience were taking the Crass vision seriously there was still a large element who were into Crass purely for the music, the image and the trend - or anti-trend. From these, Crass would be asked the same kind of questions that all groups might be asked such as 'when's the next album coming out?' and so on, to which they would patiently and very politely reply. Another element of their audience, recognising a consciousness in Crass that was rare would approach them on a more deeper philosophical or political level, asking them what they thought, for example, of specific Indian gurus or particular Russian anarchists - to which Crass would oft times respond with a terse 'fuck off'. Others, after listening to Crass were learning to stop looking for answers in groups/bands/music, etc and to actually start thinking for themselves. Learning to say No. Even this element of their audience, however, were still somewhat in awe of Crass and like all the other elements were looking up to and hanging on to Crass's every word.

It was at this point that Crass were on the verge of becoming one of the biggest Punk bands ever - up there in terms of popularity with the Sex Pistols and The Clash - and this success, albeit on their own terms had come as quite a surprise. When first starting out, never in a million years did they anticipate or expect one day to find themselves in such a powerful and influential position. There never had been and never would be any kind of grand, ten-point program.

Though steeped in a history of libertarian, alternative cultural references and ideas - reanimated through the Punk shock - Crass, just like everyone else were learning all the time and however much it may have seemed, really didn't know or have all the answers to everything.

Crass were obviously intelligent enough to be fully aware of the position they held and knew full well there was a huge number of people eagerly awaiting their next album release. Major political issues were being played out and unless you were a total hedonist with your head stuck up your arse, it was impossible not to be aware of it and even more impossible not to be affected in some way by it.

Thatcherism was cutting deeply into everyone's lives, some on the surface seemingly for the better but many more for the worse. Crass, being the most political of bands in Britain would bound to have plenty to say about the way in which the social fabric was being torn apart, wouldn't they? Wouldn't they?

Come its release, Crass's second album proper came as a surprise to say the least. Given the somewhat eye-catching title of Penis Envy, Crass were presenting a whole new side of themselves to their audience. So much so, in fact, that they could almost have been an entirely different band to what had gone before. Almost.

Out entirely were the vitriolic Punk vocals of Steve Ignorant and Pete Wright, in instead were the more measured voices of Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre. Out were any traces of basic three-chord Punk ramalama, in instead was a more melodious form of Pop Punk. Out was ferocity and anger, in was forceful intelligence and thoughtfulness. Out was Punk as male-dominated aggressiveness, in was Punk as female-powered assertiveness.

Driven by Penny Rimbaud's enhanced drumming skills though absolutely carried by Pete Wright's sublime bass playing, all of the songs on Penis Envy still swam in a rush of tortured fuzzbox guitar, suggesting that Andy Palmer was the actual, real provider of the honey at the core of Crass's sound.

Lyrically, the majority of the songs dealt with issues of life from a woman's perspective and though taken as feminist statements by both critics and Crass fans alike, some of the songs could just as easily have been sung by Steve Ignorant.

Where Next Columbus, for example, concerns itself with the subject of leadership and of being led, a subject obviously applicable to all genders: "Who do you see? Who do you watch?" asks Eve Libertine "Who's your leader? Which is your flock?"

Marx? Mussolini? Jung? Sartre? Einstein? Jesus? All of these great and much-lauded thinkers are swiftly dismissed with cutting one-liners: "The books are sold, the quotes are bought, you learn them well and then you're caught," regarding Marx. "The stage was set, the costumes worn, and another empire of destruction born," regarding Mussolini. "You're not yourself, the theory says, but I can help, your complex pays," regarding Jung. "Revelling in isolation and existential choice, how can you be alone if you use another's voice?" regarding Sartre. "They realised that their god was dead, so they reclaimed power with The Bomb instead," regarding Einstein. And "The guilt is sold, forgiveness bought, the cross is there as your reward," regarding Jesus.

The persuasiveness of these comments are fuelled by the utter conviction in Eve's voice and though anarchism isn't mentioned in the song, between the lines the idea of self-rule is clearly there: "Do you watch at a distance from the side you have chosen? Whose answers serve you best? Who'll save you from confusion? Who'll leave you an exit and a comfortable cover? Who'll take you to the edge but never drop you over? Who do you watch? Who do you watch?"

Likewise, the track What The Fuck? - a meditation on the masters of war and the mindset of those who would destroy the earth - could easily have been sung by any of the Crass vocalists, male or female, without losing any of its power: "Your war and raving of it is so total, you're consumed by it as you'd consume us. Would you see the fire from your sanctuary of death? What terrible pain you need to hide. In your hatred you'd seek to destroy the earth. What is it that you have been denied? What the fuck are you thinking? What the fuck? What the fuck are you seeing? What the fuck?"

The same too for Systematic Death, an almost paint-by-numbers Crass song describing the life journeys of both men and women as lived through the system: "Poor little fuckers, what a sorry pair, had their lives stolen but they didn't really care. Poor little darlings, just your ordinary folks, victims of the system and its cruel jokes."

Admittedly, Eve's precise intonations do actually raise the songs to a whole new level, particularly - oddly enough - in lines that contain swearing, as in for example: "Poor little sweety, poor little filly. They'll fuck her mind so they can fuck her silly - FUCK her mind so they can FUCK HER SILLY!"

In an interview with BBC Radio 1 at the time of the album's release, Penny Rimbaud was asked whether Crass were "a bunch of anarchists?", to which he replied: "We talk a lot about that and we always end up saying we're people first. Broadly we would agree with most anarchist theory. Equally well we'd agree with most feminist and pacifist theory."

If Crass shied away from being labelled, it was probably true to say that they would also shy away from labelling Penis Envy as a feminist record. There was little doubt, however, that it was a woman's record - but for both men and women. From the front panel of the fold-out sleeve depicting the face of a blow-up dolly encased in plastic packaging etched with the words 'Teenage doll. An amazingly life-like companion', to other photomontage images on the sleeve of women in bondage. From the bible quotation accompanying an image of an abattoir worker arranging pig carcasses - 'And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man', to the majority of the songs themselves.

On the track Bata Motel, Eve takes on the unlikely role of woman as servile victim, "trussed and bound like an oven-ready bird". The fact that her public persona was that of a strong woman - all mad-eyed, fiery and cloaked in black Viet-Cong chic - made the opening line of the song somewhat amusing: "I've got 54321, I've got a red pair of high heels on!" But as Eve runs through a torrent of images depicting female masochistic victimhood, culminating with a plea to "burn me out, twist my wrists. I promise not to shout - beat me with your fists," the over-riding effect is slightly disturbing yet at the same time quite thought-provoking.

If these images of women as conveyed by Eve ("My breasts to temp inside my bra, my face is painted like a movie star... I'll be your bonsai, your beautiful bonsai, your black-eye bonsai, erotically rotting") are unacceptable, then where do they come from? Why is it that women are always being disempowered in such ways? Why do so many women happily conform to such powerless roles? And what exactly are the benefits of high heels?

On the track Poison In A Pretty Pill answers of a sort are suggested: "They tell your lover he must hold a gun, you're the pornographic reassurance he's a man," sings Eve in what is actually a rather complex lyric. "Your bondages of silky robes and lace are the bandages on a bullet-punctured corpse."

Comparisons are made between the soldier and the blushing bride, suggesting both are cruel lies and that the image of female beauty as sold to women is a facile one. According to Eve, these roles are traps that both men and women fall effortlessly in to, leading to a "barrenness of dishonesty and fear... Wrapped up in haze and flow of bridal gown... Red lips, shimmer-silk and body bags." All "layers of precious imitation worn", all "layers of history to suffocate the unborn."

If a sense of empathy comes across on Poison In A Pretty Pill, with the song Berkertex Bribe there is nothing but condemnation. In what is probably the best track on the album, it starts as a rather mellow, Buddy Holly-type groove thang before changing abruptly when Eve once again starts swearing, as in: "The object unsoiled is packed ready and waiting to be owned, to be cherished, to be FUCKED for the naming." Then, in a series of scathing lines the institution of marriage is put to death without mercy: "The public are shocked by the state of society but as for you, you're a breath of purity. Well, don't give me your morals, they're filth in my eyes, you can pack them away with the rest of your lies. Your painted mask of ugly perfection, the ring on your finger, the sign of protection, is the rape on page 3, is the soldier's obsession. How well you've been caught to support your oppression: One god. One church. One husband. One wife."

Who would have thought that something so seemingly innocent, something so traditional as marriage could cause so much ire? Something so consistently cited by Right-wing, Christian, moral pundits as being the bedrock of their favoured society? But here was Eve Libertine, asking if there was really nothing better than this State-sanctioned union of men and women? Was this all that there was when it came to realising loving relationships? Or as Eve was putting it: "What vision is left and is anyone asking?"

Of course, an institution so deeply embedded into society such as the 'normality' of marriage was never going to be displaced by a mere song, though the power of Berkertex Bribe was in the way it succeeded in sowing a tiny seed of doubt.

Continuing and developing the same theme, the track Smother Love takes Eve's argument forward to include not only marriage but the concept of love itself as being "another skin-trap, another social weapon. Another way to make men slaves and women at their beckon." Her argument, however, unlike that against the idea of marriage, isn't against love per se but love as sold by "the magazines, the cinema, the glossy shops."

According to Eve, this particular version or type of love didn't so much make the world go round but held it right in place, keeping us thinking that "love's too pure to see another face." Or as she puts it in a more scathing fashion: "Love's another sterile gift, another shit condition that keeps us seeing just the one and others not existing."

If anyone thought Crass were being a little ambitious in taking on the government, the industrial military complex, even Christianity, then taking on such a universal theme as love - even if it was the love as promoted by business and the media - was something else again. But surely, if people the world over drew no recognition from this love as sung, spoken, written about and depicted in the mainstream then wouldn't it be without currency and therefore be a redundant concept? And anyway, what exactly was the alternative? What greater love was there other than that between two people? Again, according to Eve: "If we didn't have these codes for love, of tokens and positions, we'd find ourselves as lovers still, not tokens of possessions."

So did this mean that Crass were all for opening up relationships? For open relationships? Were Crass advocating polygamy? Was monogamy repression? Were Crass promoting free love?

"Do you love me? Do you? Do you? Don't you see they aim to smother the actual possibilities of loving all the others?"

What Crass were doing here was challenging one of the most fundamental issues of human experience and questioning to what extent this experience was being shaped for the benefit of man-made systems rather than for the benefit of the individual. Love as presented by these systems was a distortion of a far greater love that all people were capable of. Love was a gift not a commodity. Love was a force for freedom not a tool for oppression.

This was Crass doing what they were very good at: concentrating on an accepted norm or tradition and blasting it wide open so as to reveal it in a whole new light; then debunking, disputing and questioning its worth, its truth and its validity. Highlighting the fact that there was a problem that required a solution but not offering any real solutions or answers themselves (apart from the trinity of anarchy, peace and freedom) but convincing others to question that accepted norm also.

This important aspect of Crass, however, was one that was causing a lot of confusion, particularly amongst their own audience. People were looking to Crass for answers, with some even looking to Crass as if they were the answer but essentially all Crass were doing was asking questions. Crass were a question. The real solution lay in thinking for yourself. The real solutions, the genuine answers were to be found within.

"Is there anyone prepared to tell me why? Tell me why I'm being sucked dry?" asks Eve on Dry Weather, the penultimate track on Penis Envy. But she already has her answer: "You don't want person, you just want woman." And as a woman, from her personal perspective, this is indeed an answer that makes sense to her: "You want woman cos she's children for your system, well people wither in that living death. You hide behind your prejudice, afraid of my wisdom, afraid I might question your unquestioned worth."

And from this answer comes a resolution and a very simple one at that: to reject, to denounce, to protest. To say 'No'. Or as Eve puts it as though it's the most obvious thing in the world: "I don't want these games."

Penis Envy ends with an unlisted track by the name of Our Wedding, a schmaltzy pastiche of what might easily be a commercial ode to wedded bliss. Over the sound of a synthesized church organ, Joy De Vivre angelically sings words that would be cheesy in anyone's book let alone when sang by the same person who had screamed "Fuck is women's money, we pay with our bodies," on Feeding Of The 5000: "All I am I give to you, you honour me, I'll honour you... Never look at anyone, anyone but me. Never look at anyone, I must be all you see. Listen to those wedding bells, say goodbye to other girls. I'll never be untrue , my love, don't be untrue to me."

Coming from Crass, it's pretty obvious the words are being sung sarcastically but might anyone who didn't know of Crass actually agree with and see value in those same words? Apparently, yes. The editor of a teen romance magazine entitled Loving for one, who prior to the release of Penis Envy had been 'tricked' into offering the song as a free flexi-disc to her readers, seriously proclaiming it to be 'a must for all true romantics'.

On being informed that the artistes behind the record - Creative Recording And Sound Services - were really evil anarchist Punk band Crass, the editor wasn't very amused. It was, however, all good publicity for Penis Envy and an amusing jape all round, proving also that Crass had a really quite wicked sense of humour.

Penis Envy was Crass's most melodic and tuneful offering so far and therefore their most approachable and accessible, serving as a great introduction to the band for those with a more discerning and delicate musical palette. It was obvious it wasn't quite the album that people were expecting from them but it was very much liked by everyone all the same. It was also another stark reminder that Crass were not going to play up to anyone's expectations, not their audience's nor their many critic's.

Penis Envy was a slab of pure genius.

The Brixton Riot

THE BRIXTON RIOT

By 1981, if the communities within the inner cities weren't already potential time-bombs waiting to explode, they certainly were after suffering two years of Thatcherism and increasing police prejudice.

Racial tensions in London were further stoked when a fire took place at a house in New Cross, leaving 13 young black people dead. Family members, friends and neighbours all felt the police simply weren't doing enough to establish what the cause of the fire was, particularly after it was suggested it may have been arson perpetuated by racists. In any other circumstances the deaths would have been considered a national tragedy but the event went hardly acknowledged by the authorities. In any other circumstances The Queen would have typically sent a message of condolence but instead there was silence. It seemed to the black community that if the victims had been white, perhaps the police and the media would have been more sympathetic and taken the incident more seriously.

As an expression of dissatisfaction and protest against the apathy as shown by the police and authorities regarding the deaths, a Black People's Day of Action was held and up to 20,000 people marched from the borough of Lewisham to central London; chanting and bearing placards with the words 'Thirteen dead, Nothing said'. The march was noisy but peaceful and viewed as a symbolically significant moment for Britain's black community for this was the first time they had ever amassed on the streets in such numbers. The next day's papers, however, depicted the event somewhat differently.

Unbeknownst to most people on the march, a fight had broken out between some black youth and the police and though it was an isolated incident and over very quickly, it was this that led the newspaper headlines. Darcus Howe had been asked his view of the demonstration and he had replied "It was a good day". His quote was used by the Evening Standard as a headline but juxtaposed with a photo of an injured police officer and it was this that was used to characterise the entire day. Other headlines read 'Black day at Blackfriars', 'When the black tide met the thin blue line', and 'Day the blacks ran riot through London'.

It was unbelievable. You couldn't make it up.

For many, the final straw came with Swamp 81, the name given to a police operation conducted in London that involved flooding specific areas with police in a bid to hunt down muggers and robbers. As nobody likes a mugger this was all well and good although as one of the main areas targeted was Brixton, to call the operation 'Swamp' was a tad insensitive as it was an obvious echo of Thatcher's pre-election comments regarding white neighbourhoods fearing being swamped by minorities. It didn't help matters that many entirely innocent people were being stopped, searched and arrested for no apparent reason, it appeared, other than being black. In Brixton, 1,000 people were stopped in just five days.

It was one such incident involving the harassment and arrest of a black taxi-driver that was the spark that caused Brixton to erupt into a riot that lasted for three days that saw the first widespread use of petrol bombs on the British mainland.

As in Bristol exactly one year before, objections from a crowd suddenly escalated from the verbal to the physical, to the throwing of missiles to full-blown riot. Unlike Bristol, however, the Commander in charge of the police was determined not to have his officers forced out of the area by the mob even under the most ferocious of assaults and the most dangerous of circumstances, choosing instead to remain on the streets and to suffer the consequences. In a bid to retain control 3,000 police officers from different areas were bussed into Brixton immediately though all to no avail.

A torrent of missiles were rained down upon the police lines - bricks, stones, bottles, pieces of iron, paving slabs, petrol bombs, even glass china plates. At one point whisky was poured over police riot shields in a bid to set them alight. Police cars, police vans and private vehicles were overturned and set on fire. Barricades were erected from overturned cars and corrugated iron. A car and even a hi-jacked bus was driven and pushed as battering rams into police lines. Wheelie bins were set alight and then pushed at the police. Youngsters taunted the police causing them to chase after them, only to lead them into dead ends where their friends waited to ambush them with volleys of bricks. Houses, shops and pubs were looted and burnt out. The police were battered, hammered and ultimately beaten.

Although complete disorder seemed to reign it was apparent there was a logic to the violence, evidenced by the properties that went untouched. Certain pubs and shops were left as smouldering ruins while others were left totally alone. The local anarchist squat/bookshop at 121 Railton Road, for example (which just so happened to be sporting a poster of the Bristol riot in its window), was left without a scratch.

By the end of the riot, Brixton was a scene of utter devastation. 60 civilians had been arrested but over 300 policemen had been both injured and hospitalised. Burnt-out cars littered the streets and buildings stood burnt-out, looted or damaged. 56 police vehicles had been destroyed. To the black community the riot would for ever more be known as 'The Insurrection' or 'The Uprising' but for the Metropolitan police it would be known as the first most serious riot of the 20th century.

According to the then Metropolitan police commissioner Sir David McNee and various reports in the newspapers, the violence in Brixton had been instigated by "trouble-makers from elsewhere" though no evidence was ever proffered to substantiate this. Much more likely was that the main influence upon the riot was the St Paul's riot in Bristol a year earlier which if nothing else had served as an inspiration. It would have been more relevant in actual fact for the police to have wondered why - following the Bristol riot - had it taken so long for Brixton to do likewise? But instead it seemed as if they preferred to apportion blame upon shady individuals, at one point even raising suspicion about the anarchists lurking within 121 Railton Road.

One thing for certain, however, was that Britain's most infamous anarchists at that time - Crass - had absolutely nothing to do with it. Though sympathetic to the anger and the reactions of the rioters to their conditions, Crass felt that rioting would only serve to increase the forces and modes of oppression.

In the official investigation (The Scarman Report) that followed the riot it was indeed stated that the police needed to be better organised for riot control, while the Met would later announce that many important practical lessons had been learnt from the experience which they would apply to any such future riots. Sir David McNee was also to put in a request as a matter of urgency for proper riot equipment which included a greater variety of shields, more vehicles, longer truncheons, water cannon and sufficient stocks of rubber bullets. At a grass roots level it also left the police wanting revenge. So in effect, Crass were correct though that's not to negate the very positive aspects of the Brixton riot:

Never again would the police feel so easily able to surge into a community such as Brixton; stopping, searching and arresting people on the most flimsiest of pretexts.

Never again would the police feel so easily able to blatantly disrespect the black community without also knowing of the risk being run.

And if any other community ever felt in the words of Discharge that they'd "been shit on for far too long", an example had been set about what could be done about it and what the authorities could expect as a result...

Poison Girls - All Systems Go

POISON GIRLS - ALL SYSTEMS GO

If Discharge were blazing a whole new trail for Punk Rock to travel then the Poison Girls were doing likewise but going off at a completely different tangent. Both bands were sat at almost opposing extremes though both were similar in the way they were polarising critics, leading to both being either loved, hated or studiously ignored.

If Discharge were playing unlistenable music (for unliveable times) then Poison Girls were playing music for pleasure in a very mature manner and it was a sign of the times that the only people able and willing to appreciate both bands at once was the Punk crowd who were acknowledging, perhaps, not only the form but the content.

All Systems Go was Poison Girls' first 7" record totally of their own and featured two tracks, Promenade Immortelle and Dirty Work. Though very much their own record, the connection to Crass was still on full display as in being released on Crass Records, produced by Penny Rimbaud, featuring Eve Libertine on backing vocals, with photography by Gee Vaucher.

Piano, gliding synthesizer, delicate guitar and gentle bass created a grand audioscape buoyed by perfect drumming for the vocals of Vi Subversa and Bernhardt Rebours to caress the listener with words of hope and defiance: "Strong with the strength of all that has gone and all that will change. Strong with the strength of the longing and pain that flows through our veins. Strong we are strong with the rage of the past and all that will fade. Strong we are strong with wave upon wave of change after change.

Wave... Wave... Wave upon wave upon wave. Wave... Wave... And we have survived and we stand here again."

There was something of the epic about Promenade Immortelle; something modestly, even shyly majestic. If ever a song was fit to be played on national radio then surely this was it? If ever a record might appeal to teenage Anarcho Punk Rockers and their parents alike then - surely - this was the one? Promenade Immortelle should have been the song that took Poison Girls from being viewed purely as an underground Anarcho group to being cast into the mainstream where up against other groups with much bigger budgets and major label support they could have proudly held their own. But alas, it didn't happen and it begged the question as to why? What was preventing such a talented, original and accessible band such as Poison Girls from being picked up on by a mainstream audience? Not that there was anything to suggest this was what Poison Girls wanted or that they were looking to be signed to a major label or any such nonsense but now and again these things would happen whether a band was actively seeking them or not. So why were they only being appreciated by their hardcore audience? Why weren't they being at least offered a slot on Top Of The Pops or even a John Peel session? Was the Crass connection doing them more harm than good, perhaps?

Not that Poison Girls had lost their edge in any way nor their spikiness as evidenced by the other track on the record, Dirty Work. Propelled by tribal drumming and scorched by fuzzbox feedback, the words are delivered in an almost robotic fashion: "Bombing cities pulling switches we won't do your dirty work, making death is full employment we won't do your dirty work. Bombing cities bombing people while you eat your dirty meal, we won't serve you at your table screw your dirty deal."

At a time of escalating mass unemployment when simply having a job was considered to be lucky, to question how you might earn a living and the effects of your job upon others was a thorn in the eye for the likes of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) who were demanding The Right To Work. Nuclear power and weapons manufacturing were two (entwined) industries whose tentacles spread far and wide, with both offering a living wage but at what cost? And because they offered employment did it mean these industries had the backing of the TUC?

"Bombing cities washing dishes we don't want your dirty work, easy living easy killing we won't do your dirty work. We won't make your dirty weapons to defend your dirty law... We won't do your dirty washing, war machine is bloody real... We don't want your dirty war!"

Poison Girls may have been making music for what could could be termed 'easy listening' but they weren't in any way making for easy listening.

Discharge

DISCHARGE

Like Britain, the once broad church that was Punk was also fragmenting and splintering into different factions with a wave of new Punk bands emerging, many with a totally unique slant on the form.

From London came the Cockney Rejects with their street-tough/football terrace anthems, introducing themselves to the world with a cry of "Freedom? There ain't no fucking freedom!" From Edinburgh came the Exploited, epitomising the bondage-trousered/mohawked branch of Punk but with accompanying dumbed-down lyrics. From Derby came Anti-Pasti, arriving with their classic EP, Four Sore Points, containing the songs No Government ("Brew your own it's about to ferment, no Maggie Thatcher and no government") and Two Years Too Late; the latter song having been 'borrowed' from The Epileptics who had last been seen being bottled by bikers at the Stonehenge festival. From Bristol came Vice Squad with vocalist Beki Bondage, who apart from being awarded the dubious title of 'Punk pin-up' was one of the first people in Punk to talk about animal rights. And from Stoke-on-Trent came Discharge who by revving up their guitars to such an intense degree, by accident rather than design created a whole new Punk genre.

With the release of three seminal 7" EPs throughout 1980, Discharge tapped into an unspoken frustration being felt not only by Punk Rockers but by people far beyond the Punk demographic.

Realities Of War, the first EP, served as an introduction to the band, causing a good many people to prick up their ears. Influenced and obviously born from the Sex Pistols/Clash/Damned axis, Discharge seemed to be reducing Punk into a much purer form.

By the time of their second EP, Fight Back, the process was complete and the resulting sound was spectacular. Jettisoning all frills, speeding up to a startling degree, inserting the briefest of guitar solos and entering a whole new sonic dimension, Discharge had captured in sound a moment in time and history of great importance. Like the moment just before the dawn when the world can either be re-born or come totally crashing down. Claiming to be anti-war, anti-government, anti-system, anti-press and anti-fame, Discharge were on the side of the angels.

Shouted and screamed out by enigmatic vocalist Cal, Discharge lyrics were perfect pearls of haiku-like wisdom: "They're always there with their restrictions, always there to put you down. Anarchy's the only solution now. Smash to fuck the fucking system... It's a messed up, fucked up fucking system... Government and Queen are your only enemies, don't be fooled by their plastic smiles. They want you kept in the darkness of the realities of war. Meat flung yards apart from bodies are typical sights of war. War's no fairytale, guns and bombs aren't fucking toys... Stand up, fight for freedom, stand up, fight for your rights. Fight the system - fight back... Realism's what we're preaching, are you really so afraid?... "

With Decontrol, their third release, their legacy as them being one of the most unique and consequently influential Punk bands of all time was sealed: "They fill you up with their fucking lies, you're the victim of government schemes. They take liberties they've no right to take and you're led to believe they're oh so right."

Though operating in the same Punk Rock sphere as Crass, Discharge were showing that there was more than one way of getting a point of view across. To many, however, the music that Discharge were creating was an even more impenetrable racket than that which Crass were making but even if the words were hard to decipher there was no denying the energy and the gut-level anger that Discharge were exuding: "They only show concern when war's declared cos you're their power and glory. This whole affair's so fucking unfair, it's so fucking sick."

Up to that point in time, Decontrol was their longest recorded song - taking up a whole side of a 7" single - and there's an argument for it also being their most important song due if only to the one line: "Decontrol! Decontrol! We've been shit on for far too long."

Screamed out over a speeding storm of electric Punk power, those few words seemed to echo what a good many people were feeling and though not their natural audience, particularly among ethnic minorities within the inner cities...