November 16, 2001 by A.S. Van Dorston

There does seem to be a resurging interest in 1979-81 post-punk. As I mentioned before, The Fire Show pays tribute to the era on their site, Primal Scream is supposedly getting into Throbbing Gristle and D.A.F., and a new band called Life Without Buildings has an album that is influenced by the Rough Trade sound. There have been recent reissues of albums by 23 Skidoo and Scritti Politti. The December issue ofUncut (R.E.M. on the cover) features an epic post-punk piece by Simon Reynolds called “Independents Day: Post-Punk 1979-1981”

“Forget about the nostalgia-mongering and kitsch revivalism – the post-punk period of 1979-81 was an astonishingly fertile time for British music, when indie labels flourished and alternative bands made exciting connections between rock, dub and funk. Twenty years after the era-defining NME cassette, C81, Simon Reynolds wonders what happened to the early eighties sprit of exploration and invention.”

It’s a great essay, and will inspire you to take notes. I’ll save you the trouble (though you should definitely read the article — the “director’s cut” is now on Reynold’s site — Independents Day). In addition to most of the bands mentioned in my previous list, he discusses the following bands either in passing or in depth (esp. PiL, Gang Of Four, The Pop Group, Scritti Politti, Cabaret Voltaire). There are many goodies that most of us have never heard. Let the hunt begin.

Alternative TV * Vibing Up The Senile Man (Deptford) 79
The Blue Orchids * Agents Of Change (Rough Trade) 82
Cabaret Voltaire * Extended Play EP (Rough Trade) 78
A Certain Ratio * Graveyard And The Ballroom (Factory) 79
Clock DVA * White Souls In Black Suits (Industrial) 80
	* Thirst (Contempo) 81
D.A.F. * Ein Produkt der DAF (Warning) 79
	* Kebab Traume (Mute) 80
	* Die Kleinen und die Bösen (Mute) 80
Desperate Bicycles * Remorse Code (Refill) 79
Echo & The Bunnymen * Crocodiles (Sire) 80
	* Heaven Up Here (Sire) 81
The Fire Engines * Lubricate Your Living Room: Background Music for Action People! (Pop: Aural) 80
	* Aufgeladen Und Bereit Fur Action (Fast) 81
Josef K * Sorry For Laughing (Postcard) 80
	* The Only Fun In Town (Postcard) 81
Ludus * The Seduction (New Hormones) 81
The Normal * "T.V.O.D./Warm Leatherette" (Mute) 78
The Passage * Pindrop (Object) 80
	* For All & None (Virgin) 81
	* New Love Songs (Object) 81
	* Seedy: Best of Passage (Cherry Red) 79-83
Pink Military * Buddha Walking Disney Sleeping EP (Last Trumpet) 79
	* Do Animals Believe In God? (Eric's) 80
Psychic TV * Force The Hand Of Change (Some Bizarre)
Scritti Politti * 4 A-Sides EP (Rough Trade) 79
	* 2nd Peel Session (Rough Trade) 79
	* Skank Bloc Bologna (St. Pancreas/Rough Trade) 79
	* Songs To Remember (Rough Trade/Virgin) 82
Section 25 * Always Now (Factory) 81
23 Skidoo * Seven Songs EP (Fetish) 82
Subway Sect * Ambition/Different Story (Rough Trade) 78
	* What's The Matter Boy (MCA) 80
	* Retrospective (Rough Trade) 84
Swell Maps * Trip To Marineville (Mute) 79
	* Jane From Occupied Europe (Mute) 80
Wah! * Nah = Poo - The Art of Bluff (Essential/Castle) 81
Various/Andrew Weatherall * Nine O' Clock Drop (Nuphonic) 00 [A Certain Ratio, 23 Skidoo, The Normal, 400 Blows]
    * Rough Trade Shops: 25 Years (Rough Trade/Mute) 01

Other bands and compilations mentioned that don’t seem to be currently available are 400 Blows, Manicured Noise, Bouquet Of Steel, C81 (NME cassette compilation), Hicks From The Sticks, Unzipping The Abstract, Wanna Buy A Bridge.

Posted in: Rants