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From Derby England



(Taken from Punk's Not Dead magazine)

When the angels ask me to recall the thrill of it all Anti Pasti'll be pretty high on the list. Not because they're particularly original, they're not, but because live they cut through critical analysis dealing out pogo pogrom after pogo pogrom of supercharged knees-up and rousing the rabble with the best of them. Like Discharge they do this via the sort of punk music I like best of all: hard-driving Subsian-type assault with rowdy singalong choruses. Martin Roper is a great populist front man whipping up the audience and leading them thsough a solid selection of good strong SONGS firmly rooted in the problems of being young in '81. But many people find their pre-occupation with the military too obsessive and overpowering.

Martin is unrepentant: "We've always written about things that mean a lot to us at the time. Conscription is a big threat at the moment, so to us it's something well worth writing about. You can see it coming, there are three million or more unemployed and something's eventually got to be done with all those people. We'll be the first to go, kids of our age. All we can do is make people aware of the facts from our songs and hope they'll make their own minds up - or at least realise the dangers." The inner city riots of this summer are just one indication of how desperate the dole generation are getting. Yet the response of many of our rulers isn't to pour money into jobs and industry but to echo the traditional establisment reaction; birch 'em, flog 'em, lock 'em up in Borstals, blame their parents (they should suffer in silence?), put 'em all in the army, give 'em a bit of discipline. And remember at the same time the historical truth that war arises out of crisis. . .

This is the message of the Pasti's debut album 'The Last Call', spelt out in over half their songs. To my mind this isn't over-reaction, just plain good sense. . . The band formed as the Scrincers just over two years ago in Derby, guitarist Doug Bell half-inching the name Anti-Pasti from an Italian restaurant menu - it means 'starters'. Only he and Martin survive from the original incarnation, bassist Will Hoone and drummer Kevin Nixon joining around September '80, debuting at the Ajanta in Derby last October in front of an audience including a couple of gents from Mansfield independent Rondelet Records. Rondelet picked up the band's first EP 'Four Sore Points'.
"We'd scrounged like hell to get that out originally", says Martin. "We'd pressed the first thousand on our own Dose label and sold 'em mostly to our supporters in the Derby area, then we pressed another load in clear vinyl before Rondelet took it up." It was an Alternative Chart smasher, and it's follow-up 'Let Them Free' even more of one. Supporting UK Subs was their other chief way of crashing into the punk public's consciousness - even though they did have to shell out a cool grand to get on the tour. ("And they call that punk - it wasn't the group's fault though, it was their former manager's, who they've since sacked..")

At time of writing they've just released their debut elpee after going down a storm on the Apocalypse tour, and are about to set out on a headline tour of their own before recording a new single. . The album is strong although a trifle marred to these ears by a rough old production job that weakens a couple of the numbers, dragging them down a touch by making them sound leaden when they should be urgent. But over-all it's a more than fair intro to their spirited live performance, running the whole gauntlet of their lyrical/musical barrage from 'No Government' right through to 'Freedom Row'. "We cover quite a range of subjects", says Martin, "But we're not political in an aggressive sense. We just sing about things that bother us and make us think. The lyrics might not be our strongest point, but it's the ideas behind them that matter most. Take 'No Government', that isn't a plea for anarchy, but a warning that it's too easy for the individual to get pushed around these days. We're saying - don't allow yourselves to be taken over, and let unemployment and social security problems grind you down. When it comes down to it we're just four young people who generate exciting music. We're not walking around with a placard saying The Spirit Of '77 and all that stuff. We're trying to capture the sense of fun you got from those times just by watching a band and feeling part of the evening. We may move to another style as we getter older and better - providing we keep the excitement. The only thing that worries us is if things get too big, and we lose control over things like the price of a record. That'd let the down the people who've been following us and we never ever want to do that."


Martin - Vocals
Dugi - Guitar
Stu - Bass
Will - Bass
Stan - Drums
Kev - Drums


Four Sore Points 7"
Dose Records 1980
DOSE 001

Side A:
No goverment
1980
Side B:
Two years too late
Something new





1st pressing on black vinyl/yellow labels 500 copies.
Repressed on clear vinyl/white labels same year 1000 copies.


Four Sore Points 7"
Rondelet Records 1980
ROUND 2

Side A:
No goverment
1980
Side B:
Two years too late
Something new



Don't Let 'em Grind You Down SPLIT 7"
Exploited Record Company 1981
EXP 1003




Anti Pasti tracks:
Ain't Got Me
Another Dead Soldier



V/A Backstage Pass LP
Supermusic Record Company1981
SUP LP. 2001



Track: No Government







Rereleased in Poland as PLP 0036 on Pronit Records 198? with different back of cover
Also released in Portugal (scan, cat # etc needed)


Live Lyceum London Tape
Chaos Tapes 1981
LIVE 002

Tracks:
No Government
1980
Another Dead Soldier
Ain't Got Me
Two Years Too Late
St George
Something New
Freedom Row
Hell
Night Of The Warcry
Call The Army
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Let Them Free
Another Dead Soldier



Let Them free 7"
Rondelet Records 1981
ROUND 5


Side A:
Let Them Free
Side B:
Another Dead Soldier
Hell


Available on red or black vinyl



Six Guns 7"
Rondelet Records 1981
ROUND 10



Side A:
Six guns
Side B:
Now's the time
Call the army (I'm Alive)



The Last Call LP
Rondelet Records 1981
ABOUT 5
Side A:
No Government
Brew Your Own
Another Dead Soldier
Call The Army
City Below
24 Hours
Night Of The Warcry
Side B:
Freedom Row
St. George(get's his gun)
The Last Call
Ain't Got Me
Truth And Justice
Hell
I Wanna' Be Your Dog


Also released 1981 on Shatter Records as SH1958 in the US
Rereleased on et Back in 1996 with bonus tracks from 1st 2nd and 3rd EP's


East to the west 7"
Rondelet Records 1982
ROUND 18



Side A: East To The West

Side B: Burn In Your Own Flames



Caution in the wind 7"
Rondelet Records 1982
ROUND 26
+ Sticker attached to the cover


Side A:
Caution In The Wind
Side B:
Last Train To Nowhere
Blind Faith



Caution in the wind LP
Rondelet Records 1982
ABOUT 7
Lyric innersleeve
Side A:
Caution In The Wind
One Friday Night
X Affair
Get Out Now
Mr Mystery
East To The West
Side B:
See How They Run
Hate Circulation
Agent ABC
The Best Of Us
Guinea Pigs
Beyond Belief

Also released in Netherlands on Roadrunner Records RR 9959


V/A The Only Alternative LP
Rondelet Records 1982
ABOUT 10




Tracks:
No Government
Let Them Free



Singles LP
Rondelet Records 1983
ABOUT 13
Side One:
Two Years Too Late
Another Dead Soldier
Call The Army (I'm Alive)
No Government
Let Them Free
Six Guns
Freedom Row
East To The West
Blind Faith
Side Two:
1980
The Last Call
Something New
Hell (version)
Ain't Got Me
Now's The Time
Burn In Your Own Flames
Last Train To Nowhere
Caution In The Wind



V/A Burning Ambitions DLP
Cherry Red 1984
D RED 3



Track:No Government



Released as cassette as CD RED 3. Also released in Japan as 91.300(?) on VAP Records 198?
"BACK TO THE THINK TANK / A BIG THANK YOU TO RICHARD BRANSON...... / ...... AND MAURICE OBERSTEIN!"



Rondelet Punk Singles Collection LP
Captain Oi! Records 1996
AHOY LP 513

Tracks:
No Government
Two Years Too Late
Another Dead Soldier
Six Guns
East To The West
Caution In The Wind



God Save The Queen 3LP
Dressed To Kill 1996
DTKLP50
(White vinyl)





Track: Another Dead Soldier