While the rejuvenated Cockney Rejects are out there playing anywhere that will have them, Vice Squad have taken a different path. I don’t think they’ve performed live since lockdown – deliberately so – taking the route of recording at home (Rebecca & Paul’s place, VS vocal/guitar & guitar) and creating social media videos from home. Very effectively, it seems to me – and good luck to them.
There’s little or no money in touring at the club level, and a lot of risk, so the Squad seem to be a good example of a heritage act (I’m sure they’d hate that phrase) operating a firmly DIY operation to get their music out to fans from their living room/kitchen without schlepping around the country playing to 40 people a night or whatever it may be.
They have a new ‘best of’ just out – titled ‘Punk Rockers’ (lest there be any confusion), own label, own distribution – featuring newly recorded versions of classics. I salute them for ignoring the remains of the trad record industry and doing it themselves.
They have a knack for decent tunes, adding aspects of pop to their metally punk. Speaking of which, on this number, ‘Punk Police’ (in the comments), the Bekster hits back at those who think they’re ‘too pop’ or ‘too metal’.
‘Punk Police’ – they’re coming for you!
Another one from the new best-of – the T-Rex/Slade-ish ‘The World is Wrong’. And I generally find that it is.
Words from the Squad, from the video description:
Grab one of the available packages DIRECT from the band – we are 100% DIY….. https://www.vicesquad.co.uk/product-t…
THANK YOU ALL FOR SUPPORTING US 🙂
VICE SQUAD x
After 3 years of battling with equipment failure, re-mixing and, in some cases, re-recording songs from scratch, searching through old photos for the sleeve and learning (the hard way!) about manufacturing licenses, it’s good to finally see the fruits of our labours in the form of vinyl and CD… Phew!
Nothing worthwhile is easy, and we felt it was time Vice Squad’s musical history was told by those who carried the torch and kept the name alive for the last 28 years.
And fair play to them for keeping going on their terms.
I have the first album (Cause For Concern) but not much else.
Did see Beki Bondage & the Bombshells in late 80s at a club in London (I think it was Camden?) … Lemmy was in the audience (or at the bar anyway)
This was the first Vice Squad track I heard on a cheap punk compilation.
And I’m still half convinced that Beki Bondage and Hazel O’Connor might be the same person
Last Rockers would not sound out of place on the Breaking Glass soundtrack
Lemmy, you say? The Squad have recorded around half a dozen Motorhead songs in tribute – most of them on an EP in 2021.
Here’s one:
And here’s another – a rather convincing C&W ‘Ace of Spades’:
That’s rather good. Up to to Lemmy’s own revisions of the song for lager adverts.
Nice tune of its genre.
Don’t need to hear it again though.