I see there’s a 5CD Upstarts box set being advertised. Is it time for a reappraisal? Should they be numbered among The Greats? (* thinks he knows answer to this already…*) Anyone got any anecdotes?
Angelic Upstarts: Time for a reappraisal?
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5CDs??
May I be not the first and definitely not the last to say…. what the fuckin’ fuck?
What the fuckin’ fuck?
I knew I wouldn’t be the last!
Here they are rockin’ Bristol last month. (Warning: may contain beer belly)
I can’t see the screen for one.
This one’s quite interesting – their first single, I think – it has the structure of a progressive rock suite, with time changes and parts that are almost musical. Melody seems to be a bit of struggle, mind…
At Butlins Skegness last year, The Cockney Rejects drummer collapsed on stage.
Upstarts drummer, Andy Wilkinson, sat on his his stool *
(* oo-er, sounds a bit rude)
More trivia: Roxy Music tub thumper Paul Thompson played drums on their 1983 album “Reason Why?”
5 CDs – too much for (even) me.
Some good stuff in the back catalogue (honest!) – in a noisy, shouty way.
The suggested “go to” Upstarts track – Lust For Glory
Sure we can’t tempt you, Rij? Only £22.99:
https://www.spincds.com/coming-soon/3cd-bundle-55210
(must resist!)
No – I’m happy with a copy of Teenage Warning, and a compilation Angel Dust: the Collected Highs
(I hesitate to say “Best Of”, and it certainly can’t be classed as a “Greatest Hits” – 7 singles, and only one broke the Top 30)
Who listens to punk anymore?
Me
(sad little man that I am)
Fair play mate.
That is one area where we do diverge!
Ohhh, me too.
England still gets regular plays round ours.
My son (a corporal in the RAF) once got into a spot of bother for playing the above in a multi bed block.
He had to go to GREAT lengths to show his superiors the song, and band were not a bunch of Nazis.
Just like their contemporaries Cockney Rejects and Cock Sparrer they were tarred with that brush….and some folk still believe it.
They were one of my local bands (along with Toy Dolls, Prefab Sprout and Penetration), and I remember an early gig when some police officers appeared in the auditorium. Did I mention that the band had a pigs head onstage, with a policeman’s helmet atop? Anyway, or any road as they might say, on spotting the coppers, singer Mensi uttered the words “I smell shite!’
This, with video from the Tim Roth/Alan Clark ‘Made In Britain’ fillum, captures them nicely. There’s a brief documentary somewhere in which Chris Donald, founder of Viz, sings their praises. Not that singing was ever Mensi’s strong suit, mind but.
I think you are yearning to love this music, given all your plaintive postings about Sham 69 and now this lot. @colin-H , you have my permission. It’s OK, Mummy needn’t know, Jan won’t care and John McL won’t notice.
More Upstart Trivia / Observation / Unconfirmed Conspiracy Theory
The Violent Femmes were big fans of the Upstarts, and nicked the opening riff from Leave Me Alone for Blister In The Sun
Of course!
Meanwhile, 51 seconds into this…..
I did mention this to Jake Burns on the SLF Facebook page.
I think his silence speaks volumes.
There are a number of fans on there who thought I was being provocative and swear there is no similarity
This was their finest three minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_wi7GJzZwA
I think I’ll leave it at that.
It was almost soulful…
Here’s what the Rejects were up to last month – looking for sparring partners in Budapest, it seems:
I’m on a roll now… Here’s Nick Cash showing some serious moves with 999 at the Ritz, Manchester, last year – ‘Homicide’!
Punk band in the 70s: Malcolm McDowell as Alex
Punk band in the 10s: Donald Pleasance as Blofeld
No. No reappraisals. Turgid, tuneless horrible noise. Go and listen to The Ruts instead.
Imagine being a member of the Ruts – 40 years on, you wake up and think, ‘My life hasn’t moved on – I’m stuck in the Ruts…’ 🙂
40 years of continuous Rutting… exhausting!
In a rut. You’ve got to get out of it.