Discharge - State Violence State Control

DISCHARGE - 

STATE VIOLENCE STATE CONTROL

When it came to knowing where to vent their spleen there were no such worries for Discharge, who with their next record release still knew exactly where to aim and in doing so were continuing on their course of aurally pleasuring their very sizeable audience.

State Violence State Control, with its restrained, heavy Punk groove and extended guitar solos saw Discharge stepping slightly away from their normal shredding chainsaw approach though Cal's words were as precise and succinct as ever: "Kept in line by truncheons, rifle butts and truncheons - this is State control."

Regardless of what their critics might say, with each new record Discharge had released there had been a steady musical progression, for many people the zenith being the single Decontrol and the album Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing. Having created a whole new Punk genre, however, the question would sooner or later arise asking 'Where now? What now?'

State Violence State Control was a hint as to which direction the band might eventually head. That direction in the end would turn out to be Heavy Metal and would prove ultimately and unfortunately to be their undoing. For some, there might only be a thin line between Punk and Heavy Metal but for others it's a chasm they're just not willing to leap. This would be the bitter lesson that Discharge would one day learn.

Lyrically, Cal had basically said all he really needed to say. He had said it all. State Violence State Control would arguably be the last great Discharge record but their influence and their legacy would go on and on forever.

Special Duties - Bullshit Crass

SPECIAL DUTIES - BULLSHIT CRASS

Packaged in the usual giant wraparound sleeve, the front cover picture on Bullshit Detector 2 was a depiction of the Royal Family waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, their faces replaced by death skulls. In stencilled letters around the edge of the picture was the wording: 'Right! Hands up who can smell bullshit?'. In a neat twist, their waving had been turned into them answering the posited question in the affirmative. As well as the Royal Family, it was obvious there were quite a few people around who had no problem at all in smelling bullshit, none more so than Special Duties, from Colchester; though the bullshit they could smell was rather different to everybody else’s.

Special Duties were an absolutely formidable Punk group who already had two singles to their name released on the Rondolet label, home to Anti-Pasti, Dead Man's Shadow, Threats, Riot Squad and (later to be Crass-affiliated) The Fits. Both releases were fine, rabid bursts of viciousness, lashing out at society, Colchester Council, the police and politicians. Singer Steve Arrogant's vocals were suitably snarly and the music hard and urgent. Special Duties were a good band. Their third single release, though again a fine piece of Punk Rock was probably, however, a bit of a misjudgement.

Special Duties, it seemed, had a problem with Crass.

Entitled Bullshit Crass, and arriving in a sleeve adorned with a mock 'Crass cover' design, Special Duties third single was nothing less than an outright attack upon everybody's favourite Anarcho Punk heroes. Starting with a chant of "Fight Crass, not Punk", the song hurtled into a short, sharp blast of spite with Steve Arrogant deriding the idea that Crass might not be rich - "Got no money? Ha, ha, ha!" - before asserting "What they preach, there is no way - Bullshit Crass you've been detected."

There was nothing new in groups attacking other groups in song and in print, even Crass themselves had done so with The Clash so in a way, Special Duties were just continuing a tradition. Nothing could have prepared them, however, for the storm of controversy they were whipping up and the backlash they would suffer from the many supporters of Crass, ranging from the Crass fans themselves, major independent record distributors such as Rough Trade and Small Wonder, and major-league Punkers such as the Dead Kennedys.

When it came to tackling rampaging skinheads at Crass gigs there were very few contenders but when it came to jumping on a Punk band who were urging their listeners to fight a fellow Punk band - especially when that Punk band was Crass - then there were plenty who were willing and able to leap into action. And rightly so. It wasn't as if Crass didn't have enough enemies to deal with without Punk bands from Colchester lining up against them also. And as if there wasn't more important things to aim fire at besides top Anarchist Punk bands who were endlessly giving to all kinds of good causes and bands without asking for anything back.

No way could Special Duties have anticipated just how controversial their attack upon Crass would be and though it raised their profile enormously it was for all the wrong reasons, leading to them being ostracised from the very people who might once have been their supporters, losing them a support slot on a US tour with the Dead Kennedys, and then due to promoters not wishing to put them on eventually causing them to split up.

Icon AD - Don't Feed Us Shit

ICON AD - DON'T FEED US SHIT

Of the bands featured on the original Bullshit Detector LP, a number of them were still very much active. Some, such as Amebix, The Sinyx, The Disrupters, and The Snipers had already gone on to have singles released whilst others such as Alternative and Andy T were continuing to play regular concerts. One band by the name of Icon, whose incredibly catchy song called Cancer had been one of the highlights of Bullshit Detector were only now - two years later - having their début single released.

Having undergone a slight change in personnel over the intervening years along with a slight change in band name to reflect this, the Don't Feed Us Shit EP by Icon AD was issued by Norwich-based Radical Change Records. Semi-wrapped in an A4-sized scrap of paper acting as a record sleeve, proudly boasting the Crass-style command 'Pay No More', this was DIY in its most purest form.

The four songs on the record were brilliant examples of politicised Pop Punk, ably supported by intriguing sleeve notes: 'The government has messed itself up so much that it is now losing the support of the people. Take a look at any election result - ok, in this so-called 'democracy' a Party always wins, but forget that - look at the percentage of people who don't vote. In most cases there is a larger proportion of people who don't vote than who vote for the winning Party - why aren't these people's voices heard? Why? Because if they were recognised, then by the 'rules' of democracy this country would now have no government... Don't feed us shit'.

Icon AD's début record would earn them the honour of being invited to record a radio session for the John Peel show which wasn't bad going for a band first introduced to the world on an LP deemed by the NME as 'ill-conceived' and 'excruciating', and by others as being possibly 'the worst record in the world ever'....

Bullshit Detector 2

BULLSHIT DETECTOR 2

Much to the delight of critics and music lovers everywhere, proof of the continuing influence of Crass was presented in Bullshit Detector 2, the imaginatively titled sequel to Bullshit Detector. Like it's predecessor, this was once again basically a fanzine in vinyl format consisting of home-made and cheap studio recordings of tracks from a plethora of Crass-inspired bands from around the country.

This time round, not only was the record twice the size (being a double record set) but was twice as good as the original due to the superior quality of the songs. Potentially even, many of the featured bands could easily have been plucked from their local obscurity, escorted to Southern Studios and after being given the Rimbaud production once-over had singles released by them on the Crass label whereupon fame and fortune would surely follow?

In all, 38 different bands and solo artists were featured and whilst some were simply regurgitating Crass song lines, others were finding new and interesting ways to cover the subjects of war, the Bomb and the system. Others were diversifying into new song subject areas such as apartheid, animal abuse, police brutality, alcohol abuse, and Punk introspection. All, however, were seemingly taking the Crass 'message' very much to heart.

One of the big achievements of Bullshit Detector 2 as a whole was in successfully relaying the fact that there was now a genuine Anarcho Punk movement of bands who after taking heed of the example set by Crass, seemed to have no intention of selling out on their ideas. According to the sleeve notes: 'A lot of the bands on this album may not fit the facile image of what the music press tell us Punk's about. In reality Punk is an attitude of mind, a form of protest against an unjust and uncaring society. Punk is concerned with ideas, not last weeks throwaway fashion. The tracks on this album express the 'real Punk spirit' - protest, independence, originality and lack of compromise, even if some of them don't conform to the media idea of what Punk 'should be'.

Through the inspiration of Crass, people were creatively expressing themselves and becoming united in their ideas; and through that unity, strength was being found. Gravitating toward each other, seeing and meeting each other at gigs and at demos, and together raising a loud, collective voice. Alone, these people were possibly misfits to the system but together they were an alternative.

Omega Tribe, The Suspects, Krondstadt Uprising, Deformed, No Label, The Rejected, Polemic Attack, Naked, Toxic Ephex, Anthrax, Metro Youth, Riot Squad, Youth In Asia, Passion Killers, Destructors, Chumbawamba - all unknown bands at the time but some soon to be very well known and very inspirational in their own right.