ALBUM REVIEW: Punk And Disorderly The Albums – The Sound Of UK82 (Captain Oi!)
Punk And Disorderly was a seminal series of three compilation albums originally released between March 1982 and summer 1983.
Each gathered 16 songs from some of the most popular punk bands of the day, at a time when the scene was quickly changing.
Many bands who had followed the first wave had gone, or, in the case of The Damned and Cockney Rejects, were morphing into something quite different.
Where better to look for successors than the thriving indie scene, where labels like No Future and Riot City were releasing records by the new breed of groups?
RELATED: No Future set gathers some of the best singles released by punk’s third wave
Often faster and even more pissed off-sounding than those who’d gone before, their names found their way onto the back of legions of leather jackets.
Cherry Red Records subsidiary Captain Oi! brings all three volumes together as a 3CD digipak set for the first time. That’s fitting, as it was two Cherry Red employees who had the idea for the compilation in the first place.
For good measure, they add a handful of bonus tracks to each volume, from notable bands the original series somehow missed.
There’s 16 bonus tracks in all – a whole album’s worth – featuring names like Discharge, Anti-Nowhere League, Mau Maus, The Varukers, Resistance 77 and Major Accident.
The original Punk And Disorderly LP, on Abstract Records, kicked off with Last Rockers by Vice Squad – one of more than a dozen bands who are still going, nearly 40 years on.
It also contains prime cuts by The Adicts, Peter And The Test Tube Babies, Blitz, The Partisans, Abrasive Wheels, and G.B.H.
Standout tracks
Unusually for a UK compilation it features a US band, Dead Kennedys, whose Kill The Poor is a standout track.
There’s scarcely a bad one, with Demob’s No Room For You and Chaos UK’s 4 Minute Warning standing out alongside those mentioned above.
Punk And Disorderly sold so well that it reached No 48 in the UK Charts, as well as spending eight months in the indie chart, peaking at No 3.
A second volume, Punk And Disorderly – Further Charges, was released in September 1982, this time by Anagram Records, and again it sneaked into the national chart (No 91) as well as reaching No 6 in the indie version.
G.B.H., Abrasive Wheels, The Insane, Vice Squad and Disorder returned from Vol. 1, and were joined by bands like Court Martial, The Enemy, The Wall and Erazerhead.
Everyone will have their own favourite tracks; mine include Gangland by Violators, Channel 3’s I’ve Got A Gun, and One Way System’s Stab The Judge.
The third disc in the set is Punk And Disorderly III – The Final Solution. Again originally on Anagram, it adds more big names to the mix, including UK Subs, Angelic Upstarts and The Vibrators.
There was no national chart appearance this time, though it did still make No 10 in the indies, thanks to the presence of UK82 big guns like The Exploited and Chron Gen.
Abrasive Wheels continued their ever-present run, and One Way System, The Expelled, The Adicts, Action Pact and The Violators returned from previous volumes.
RELATED: Riot City singles collection of UK82 punk stands the test of time
Despite the big names, it’s certainly the weakest of the three volumes, with The Samples’ still-awesome single Dead Hero the best track by a mile.
Airbrushed out
It’s cover is presented here with the infamous Nazi swastika flags outside No 10 Downing Street airbrushed out – a sensible move, given how controversial it was in 1983, let alone now.
Once those bonus tracks have corrected a couple of obvious omissions (presumably for licensing reasons at the time) these three albums make for a good overview of the UK82 scene. There’s no anarcho bands present – but that might just be another story…8/10.
- Punk And Disorderly is released on July 23 and is available direct from Cherry Red Records HERE.
