john eden said:
Any recommendations, Martin -
To be honest, I find a lot of it quite funny, especially the more over the top stuff. It was also a great contrast to the self-pity and lethargy of the grunge scene, back in the day. I can't be arsed with it now (though it is good during rush hour) But these ones are OK
1) V/A - United Skins ('81 Rock A Rama, reissued on CD by Pure Impact)
There's a great band on this called TDA, who do a BLISTERING noisy yob-punk self-titled track about pulling a bird in a stolen motor and crashing into everything that moves. "TDA! TDA! / STANDS FOR TAKIN AND DRIVIN AWAY / I SAID TDA! TDA! / FUCKALLELSE TO DO ANYWAY!". There's also two Skrewdriver tracks which don't feature racist lyrics (for some reason on the repress the band name's replaced by "Freedom of Speech?" so it was probably put together by some paranoid right-winger who thinks the Zionists are out to get him). There's a band called Sedated who sing "Smash your tables, break your chairs / Kick your furniture down the stairs" and the obligatory "my best mate got banged up by the filth" song, "Take Him Away". There's also a hilarious poem about football violence by some Scouse bloke which was probably intended to be well 'street', but actually comes across like a homo-erotic Pam Ayres, with some ludicrous pseudo-religious bits at the end.
2) LAST RESORT / COMBAT 84 - Death or Glory
Last Resort = sounds like it was recorded on half-track, but probably the most stereotypical example of what an Oi! band was meant to be. Puerile as fuck, but check out the lyrics - "Wake up in the morning / Have me Ready Brek / drink me cup of Bovril / Wring me mother's neck / Go out into town / beat a soul boy black and blue / Put fruit gum in the meter / Cos there's fuckallelse to do" (recurring theme here) and "Smashing everything up in sight / Making old ladies die with fright". Combat 84's "Right to Choose" is an enjoyable enough anti-CND song, with the killer line, "Bigger and better bombs!" In a sort of Exploited vein, but pro-Tory and even more stupid.
3) MENACE - GLC RIP
I don't know whether this'd be considered more 'punk', but apparently the first Oi! band. "GLC" is brilliant, like more hard-edged '77 style stuff.
4) JAPANESE OI!
Weird hybrid, a million miles from Garry Bushell's vision of Oi! As most Japanese people don't go in for punching each others' lights out at second division (sorry, League 2) football matches, their Oi! is a lot more like distorted pop punk but with "Oi!" shouted as many times as possible. Bands to check - Ghoul, Laughin' Nose, Cobra, Angry Ducks, Sa.
5) SOCCER HOOLIES - We are the Soccer Hoolies
Tape-only release that came out in the early 90s. Sick bastards really - I've lost my copy, but they did a cover of Bananarama's "Robert de Niro..." re-titled "Liverpool Fans in Belgium Killing Italians"
6) THE OPPRESSED - Oi! Oi! Music
Maybe Johnny come latelys, but still a top record. Especially like the contrast between Welsh bloke trying to sound Cockney / brickwall rough guitar / Miami Sound Machine drum loops