Violators - Summer of '81

VIOLATORS - SUMMER OF '81

Of much greater appeal and to a larger audience was Summer Of '81 by the Violators, a bona fide classic 7" single of the first degree, released on the No Future label just as 1982 began to draw to a close. Championed by Garry Bushell as fine purveyors of 'street Punk', the Violators were actually from the mean village streets of somewhere called 'Chapel-en-le-Frith', near New Mills in Derbyshire, a place not particularly renowned for its ghettoes. There was something very weird going on in this area, however, as it was also from where Blitz and another very good Punk band called Attack were from.

The Violators were fronted by lead singers Helen and Stylesy, their interchanging and duetting male and female vocals giving them a distinct sound all of their own. On top of this, Stylesy and drummer 'Ant' (along with one of the members of Blitz) seemed to be fully paid-up members of the Clockwork Orange fan-club and in homage to the Kubrick film/Burgess book would dress head-to-toe in full droog fashion - bowler hats, cod-pieces and all.

Summer Of '81 was brilliant, not only for its tuneful but suitably aggressive Punk Rock but for its lyrics, sung in a sweet, mock-Siouxsie Sioux tone by Helen. If only the Banshees were this brazen, however: "There's blood on the streets and the smell is so sweet cos another blue bastard has just gone down. Nightstick in hand, he tried to rule this land but that's no way to make a country great... So it's goodbye to one more fascist clown - we've got a riot, you can't keep us quiet. This is our answer to your law."

Summer Of '81 was a natural, almost instinctive applauding of the previous year's urban riots. A breath of fresh air upon the embers of that month of July, reminding all those who condemned the rioting or even appreciated it that the ghost of civil disturbance still stalked the land, waiting for resurrection.

"We thought the riots were a good thing," said Violators drummer Coley "It was the only way to hammer home to Thatcher that people were pissed off and they weren't gonna take no more."

The song climaxes with a roll call of honour: "Brixton - Riot! Riot! Toxteth - Riot! Riot! Bristol - Riot! Riot! Moss Side - Riot! Riot! England - Riot! Riot!"

It was strange to think that a gravel-voiced Punk Rocker from Derbyshire understood what the riots meant far better than any politician, sociologist or police chief: "If everyone had rioted at the same time on one certain night it would have worked much better," said Stylesy "Think of the power..." Or maybe it wasn't so strange? But yes, there was definitely something very weird going on in that particular area of Britain as there was in Wiltshire also, stamping ground of the Subhumans...