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A CERTAIN RATIO   pos   wks    entry  
Manchester punk-funkers who never found much of a public image, but were prolific with their brass-driven experimentations. Line-up was Simon Topping (vocals & trumpet), Peter Terel (guitar), Martin Moscrop (guitar & trumpet), Jeremy Kerr (bass), and Donald Johnson (drums).
Singles
FLIGHT (Factory FAC 22) 7 24 8/11/80
WATERLINE (Factory FAC 52) 10 12 19/12/81
GUESS WHO (Factory Benelux FBN 17) 23 4 24/7/82
KNIFE SLITS WATER (Factory FAC 62) 3 8 25/9/82
NEED SOMEONE TONIGHT (Factory FAC 72) 8 6 15/10/83
LIFE'S A SCREAM (Factory FAC 112) (12" only) 6 14 22/12/84
BRAZILIA (Factory Benelux FBN 32) (12" only) 13 7 23/2/85
WILD PARTY (Factory FAC 128) (12" only) 4 10 6/7/85
MICKEY WAY (Factory FAC 158) (12" only) 9 8 25/10/86
Albums
TO EACH (Factory FACT 35) 1 20 2/5/81
SEXTET (Factory FAC 55) 1 11 30/1/82
I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU AGAIN (Factory FAC 65) 2 12 11/12/82
THE GRAVEYARD AND THE Ballroom (Factory FACT 16C) (cassette only) 29 5 14/12/85
THE OLD AND THE NEW (Factory FACT 135) 3 19 1/2/86
FORCE (Factory FACT 166) 2 9 8/11/86
LIVE IN AMERICA (Dojo DOJOLP 47) 10 7 31/1/87
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
Futuristic electro-poppers from Liverpool, comprising Mike Score (vocals & keyboards), Paul Reynolds (guitar), Frank Maudsley (bass) and Ali Score (drum machines). They were to have a brief flurry of US chart success following in the wake of Duran Duran.
Singles
TALKING (Cocteau COO 3) 45 4 20/6/81
(IT'S NOT ME) TALKING (Cocteau COOT 3) 22 7 9/4/83
A GUY CALLED GERALD
Gerald Simpson, dance-orientated synth man and producer, formerly with fellow Manchester synth/dancers 808 State.
Singles
VOODOO RAY (EP) (Rham! RS 8804) 2 23 19/11/88
THE PEEL SESSION (Strange Fruit SFPS 071) 9 4 22/7/89
Albums
HOT LEMONADE (Rham! RA 1) 13 3 15/4/8
A HOUSE
Dublin-based rock band who were big on the city's live circuit in the late 80s, and supported the Waterboys and others on tour.
KICK ME AGAIN JESUS (Rip ARIP 001) 24 4 11/4/87
SNOWBALL DOWN (Rip ARIP 002) 8 5 20/6/87
A WITNESS
Manchester-based quartet comprising Keith Curtis (vocals) Rick Aitken (guitar), Vince Hunt (bass) and Alan Brown (drums - recruited from Big Flame to replace their original drum machine), famed for unremitting thunderous rhythms and sharp, quirky lyrics.
Singles
LOUDHAILER SONGS - LUCKY IN LONDON (EP)      
(Ron Johnson Z RON 5) (12" only) 9 11 21/12/85
Albums
I AM JOHN'S PANCREAS (Ron Johnson Z RON 12) 18 4 8/11/86
ABRASIVE WHEELS
Pop-punk quartet from Leeds (Dave Ryan, Shonna, Harry and Nev), whose music was far chirpier and more commercial than their standard "sod the system" lyrics.
Singles
THE ABW EP (EP) (Abrasive ABW 1) 35 4 2/5/81
THE VICIOUS CIRCLE (EP) (Riot City RIOT 4) 12 11 13/2/82
ARMY SONG (EP) (Riot City RIOT 9) 24 10 17/4/82
BURN 'EM DOWN (Riot City RIOT 16) 14 14 30/10/82
JAILHOUSE ROCK (Clay CLAY 24) 13 12 2/7/83
BANNER OF HOPE (Clay CLAY 28) 10 8 17/12/83
THE PRISON ER/CHRISTIANNE (Clay CLAY 33) 27 4 7/7/84
Albums
WHEN THE PUNKS GO MARCHING IN (Riot City CITY 001) 3 13 27/11/82
BLACK LEATHER GIRL (Clay CLAYLP 9) 8 8 7/4/84
A C MARIAS
Essentially, this was Angela Conway, an associate of Wire who had contributed backing vocals to a variety of the band's projects. She now works as a video director.
Singles
TIME WAS (Mute MUTE 70) 27 1 20/2/88
THE ACCURSED
Punk trio from Kent who were produced by ex-Burlesque and Trimmer & Jenkins guitarist Billy Jenkins. Line-up was Steve Hall (vocals & guitar), Gaz (bass & vocals) and Glen(drums).
Singles
GOING DOWN (Wreckem ACC 3) 41 3 17/3/84
THE ACID ANGELS
Singles
SPEED SPED ECSTASY (Product Inc. FUEL 001) 18 1 3/12/88
ACID REIGN
Harrogate-based speed metal quintet who toured with the likes of Exodus and Nuclear Assault. Line-up was H. (Howard) Smith (vocals), Gazz Jenkins (guitar), Kev (guitar), Ian Gangwer (bass) and Ramsay Wharton (drums).
Albums
THE FEAR (Under One Flag FLAG 31) 10 4 25/3/89
ACTIFED
Forthright punk rockers from Hounslow, West London, originally produced by Tony James of Gen X/Sigue Sigue Sputnik.
Singles
CRUCIFIXION (Jungle JUNG 11) (12" only) 15 5 11/8/84
THE ACTION
One of the top-rated mod-Motown bands on the mid-60s London live circuit, but without luck on record at the time, they finally found chart status 20 years later via an astute reissue of a zippy Marvelettes cover and the first-ever compilation of their old singles.
Singles
I'LL KEEP HOLDING ON (Edsel ED 101) 37 4 2/5/81
Albums
THE ULTIMATE ACTION (Edsel ED 101) 30 1 8/8/81
ACTION PACT
A very young Essex/East London punk outfit with socially aware lyrics, signed to Fall Out when some of them were still at school. Members were Des 'Wild Planet" (guitar), Kim Igoe (bass), Joe Fungus (drums) and part-Israeli female lead singer George.
Singles
SUICIDE BAG (EP) (Fall Out FALL 003) 6 11 4/9/82
PEOPLE (EP) (Fall Out FALL 010) 13 8 19/3/83
LONDON BOUNCERS (Fall Out FALL 018) 23 5 23/7/83
QUESTION OF CHOICE (Fall ut FALL 019) 36 6 3/12/83
YET ANOTHER DOLE QUEUE SONG (Fall Out FALL 026) 7 7 4/8/84
COCKTAIL CREDIBILITY (Fall Out FALL 029) 33 7 1/12/84
Albums
MERCURY THEATRE - ON THE AIR AGAIN! (Fall Out FALL LP 013) 5 12 11/6/83
ADAM & THE ANTS
Signed to Do It at the start of the rapid elevation to superstardom which was to give them a string of international hits on CBS, the band was always tightly focused around singer Adam (Stuart Goddard), who steered them from punk to polyrhythmic pop before eventually going solo.
Singles
ZEROX (Do It DUN DUN 8) 1 59 9/2/80
CARTROUBLE (Do It DUN 10) 1 70 22/3/80
Albums
DIRK WEARS WHITE SOX )Do It RIDE 3) 1 90 19/1/80
BARRY ADAMSON
The former bassist of Magazine and Visage, Adamson became an accomplished composer and player of instrumental film soundtrack music.
Singles
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (Mute MUTE 77) 12 3 5/11/88
Albums
MOSS SIDE STORY (Mute STUMM 53) 9 2 25/3/89
THE ADICTS (ADDICTS)*
Image-conscious punk quartet from Ipswich, Suffolk, who adopted the visual persona of the "Droogs" from the film A Clockwork Orange. Line-up was Monkey (AKA Keith Warren - vocals), Pete Davidson (guitar), Mel Ellis (bass) and Kid Dee (drums).
Singles
LUNCH WITH THE ADDICTS (EP)* (Dining Out TUX 1) 21 12 19/1/80
VIVA LA REVOLUTION (Fall Out FALL 002) 21 13 17/7/82
CHINESE TAKEAWAY (Razor RZS 101) 7 16 13/11/82
BAD BOY (Razor RZS 104) 4 7 21/5/83
Albums
SONGS OF PRAISE (Swed Wecords SMT 008) 15 7 17/10/81
SOUND OF MUSIC (Razor RAZ 2) 2 13 27/11/82
THIS IS YOUR LIFE (Fall Out FALL LP 021) 12 2 30/3/85
SMART ALEX (Razor RAZ 15) 7 5 28/9/85
THE ADVERTS
First generation punkers led by songwriter TV Smith. Regulars at London's Roxy Club, they had seen fleeting late-70s chart success, and had it reprised in the indie chart upon reissue. Their visual signature was panda-eyed girl bass player Gaye Advert.
Singles
GARY GILMORE'S EYES (Bright BULB 1) 5 10 16/7/83
THE PEEL SESSION (Strange Fruit SFPS 034) 19 11 31/10/87
AFFAIRS OF THE HEART
Comprising Joolz (vocals), Martin (Merv) Woolford (keyboards & guitar) and Steve Street (bass), this Bristol-based trio were formed by studio engineer Street. Joolz would change her name to Leah and become singer with the post-Beki Bondage Vice Squad.
Singles
WATERLOO SUNSET (Heartbeat PULSE 100) 46 2 6/8/83
AFRICAN HEADCHARGE
Led by Bonjo, an associate of Adrian Sherwood's On-U-Sound collective.
Albums
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK (On-U Sound) 10 6 18/10/86
AGE OF CHANCE
Noise-dance outfit from Leeds who revelled in an experimental, aggressive, sample-heavy approach, but weren't above covering Prince's Kiss.
Singles
MOTOR CITY (Riot Bible RIOT 1) 26 3 20/7/85
BIBLE OF THE BEATS (Riot Bible RIOT 2) 3 13 8/2/86
KISS (Fon AGET 5) (12" only) 1 21 22/11/86
Albums
CRUSH COLLISION (Fon AGE 9) 4 6 21/3/87
THE A-HEADS
Anarchist-styled punk outfit from Warminster, Wilts., comprising Mel (vocals), Jock (guitar), Nig (bass) and Wally (drums). Dying Man was an anti-glue-sniffing song.
Singles
DYING MAN (TW. HIT 107) 25 8 19/3/83
AKRYLYKZ
A Yorkshire band which rode the ska revival in the wake of the 2-Tone phenomenon. Their vocalist and tenor sax player Roland Gift was destined for much bigger things with Fine Young Cannibals.
Singles
SPYDERMAN (Red Rhino RED 2) 17 6 9/2/80
ALIEN SEX FIEND
Cartoonish gothic rockers with a high humour and outrage content, centering around vocalist Nick Wade, the Alice Cooper-influenced fountainhead of most of their loonyness. Other members were Christine Wade (synth), David James (guitar) and Johnny Freshwater (drums).
Singles
IGNORE THE MACHINE (Anagram ANA 11) 6 16 27/8/83
LIPS CAN'T GO (Anagram ANA 15) 12 12 19/11/83
R.I.R/NEW CHRISTIAN MUSIC (Anagram ANA 18) 4 10 17/3/84
DEADANDBURIED (Anagram ANA 23) 4 15 1/9/84
E.S.T (TRIP TO THE MOON) (Anagram ANA 25) 3 16 17/11/84
IGNORE THE MACHINE (reissue) (Anagram ANA 11) 22 12 23/3/85
I'M DOING TIME IN A MAXIMUM SECURITY TWILIGHT ZONE (Anagram 12 ANA 30) (12" only) 6 9 14/9/85
I WALK THE LINE (Flicknife SFLEP 106) 12 6 17/5/86
SMELLS LIKE SHIT (Anagram ANA 32) 7 7 1/11/86
HURRICANE FIGHTER PLANE (Anagram ANA 33) 12 6 21/2/87
THE IMSIBLE MISSION (Anagram ANA 34) 11 9 27/6/87
HERE CUM GERMS (Anagram ANA 38) 14 7 26/9/87
STUFF THE TURKEY (Anagram ANA 40) 14 6 12/12/87
Albums
WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BRAIN (Anagram GRAM 10) 10 8 10/12/83
ACID BATH (Anagram GRAM 18) 4 8 1/12/84
LIQUID HEAD IN TOKYO (Anagram M GRAM 22) 7 7 20/7/85
MAXIMUM SECURITY (Anagram GRAM 24) 5 8 12/10/85
IT (Anagram GRAM 26) 7 4 22/11/86
HERE CUM GERMS (Anagram GRAM 31) 22 3 10/10/87
ALL ABOUT EVE
Gothic-inflected flower child folkies, previously known as the Swarm, whose hallmark was the ethereal voice of lead vocalist Julianne Regan, also co-writer with guitarist Tim Bricheno (who would depart in 1990 to join the Mission) of most of their material.
Singles
IN THE CLOUDS (Eden EDEN 2) 31 4 3/5/86
OUR SUMMER (Eden EVEN 3) 2 23 25/4/87
FLOWERS IN OUR HAIR (Eden EVEN 4) 1 5 11/7/87
(excluded from the indie chart after 5 weeks when Eden gained major distribution through PolyGram)      
DONNA ALLEN
US soul songstress who scored well in UK clubs with this revival of a disco-era funk hit by Frankie Beverley & Maze.
Singles
JOY AND PAIN (BCM BCM 257) 3 8 10/6/89
MARC ALMOND
(see also SALLY TIMMS & MARC ALMOND) The former vocal half of Soft Cell, who went on to an esoteric solo career from the latter half of the 80s onwards.
Albums
JACQUES (Some Bizzare BREL 1) 9 3 23/12/89
THE ALTERNATIVE
A Scottish anarcho-punk quintet, comprising Craig Nizho (vocals), Eric Beveridge (vocals), Rodney Comme (guitar), Wolf Suuman (bass) and James Murphy (drums).
Singles
IN NOMINE PATRI (Crass 221984/8) 6 12 12/3/83
ALTERNATIVE TV (ATV*)
A loose punk combo originally formed in London in 1977 by Mark Perry (vocals, also the editor of the Sniffin' Glue punk fanzine) and Alex Furgusson (guitar). They split and reformed more than once, with the rest of the line-up never fixed for very long.
Albums
LIVE AT THE RAT CLUB- (Crystal CLP 01) 6 15 19/1/80
ACTION TIME VISION (Deptford Fun City DLP 05) 15 4 5/4/80
AMEBIX
A heavy, almost metal-inclined punk foursome, comprising Rob Miller (vocals), Chris Miller (guitar), Ric Gadsby (bass) and Billy Bug (drums), somewhat surprisingly hailing from the green West Country pastures of Tavistock, Devon.
Singles
THE ENEMY (EP) (Spiderleg SDL 6) 33 3 28/8/82
WINTER (Spiderleg SDL 10) 18 7 12/2/83
Albums
NO SANCTUARY (Spideleg SDL 14) 9 6 26/11/83
ARISE (Alternative Trentacles VIRUS 46) 3 8 14/9/85
ANABAS
Singles
BARRICADES (Flame On FLAME 3) 30 5 24/12/83
AND ALSO THE TREES
Goth-influenced rockers who toured supporting the Cure, and did very well in mainland Europe. Line-up was Simon Jones (vocals), Jo Jones (guitar), Steve Burrows (bass) and Nick Havas (drums).
Singles
A ROOM LIVES IN LUCY (EP) (Reflex 12RE 8) (12" only) 30 4 16/2/85
AND THE NATIVE HIPSTERS
Mysterious minimalist outfit who featured a female vocalist named Blatt, adept at saying in wonderstruck tones, "Ooh, look, there goes Concorde again".
Singles
THERE GOES CONCORDE AGAIN (Heater Volume HVR 254) 5 10 23/8/80
ANGRY ANDERSON
Bald-headed Australian rock vocalist, the former lead singer of Rose Tattoo.
Singles
SUDDENLY (WEDDING THEME FROM "NEIGHBOURS") (Food For Thought YUM 113) 3 12 26/11/88
THE ANDROIDS OF MU
Albums
BLOOD ROBOTS (Fuck Off FLP 001) 15 3 8/11/80
ANGELIC UPSTARTS
Punk band from South Shields, originally formed during 1977, and notable for their serious politicallyand socially-motivated lyrics (exemplified by Liddle Towers) as well as their uncompromisingly hardcore style. Lead singer Mensi (Tom Mensforth) eventually became a social worker.
Singles
THE MURDER OF LIDDLE TOWERS      
(Rough Trade/Small Wonder RTSW 001) 28 8 26/1/80
WOMAN IN DISGUISE (Anagram ANA 3) 18 9 20/11/82
SOLIDARITY (Anagram ANA 7) 24 4 28/5/83
MACHINE GUN KELLY (Picasso PIKT 001) 14 6 10/11/84
BRIGHTON BOMB (Gas GM 3010) 4 11 13/7/85
Albums
REASON WHY? (Anagram GRAM 004) 12 6 7/5/83
ANGEL DUST (THE COLLECTED HIGHS) (Anagram GRAM 007) 14 4 15/10/83
ANIMAL MAGIC
A brassy Bristol sextet led by vocalist Howard Purse, they swiftly developed from a punk to a hardcore dancefloor senisibility.
Singles
GET IT RIGHT (Recreational SPORT 5) 27 4 3/4/82
STANDARD MAN (Recreational SPORT 8) 42 4 19/6/82
ANOTHER SUNNY DAY
Not strictly a band, but one-man music machine Harvey Williams, from Penzance, Cornwall, adept on guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and percussion, which he overdubbed with the professional skill of a communications engineering student.
Singles
I'M IN LOVE WITH A GIRL WHO DOESN'T KNOW I EXIST (Sarah SARAH 7) 12 5 16/7/88
WHAT'S HAPPENED (Sarah SARAH 16) 19 1 17/6/89
YOU SHOULD ALL BE MURDERED (Sarah SARAH 22) 15 2 9/12/89
ANTHRAX
Rabble rousing punk quartet comprising Oskar (vocals), D (guitars), Gareth (bass) and Pete (drums), who hailed, incongruously, from Welwyn Garden City.
Singles
THEY'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG (Small Wonder SMALL 27) 9 6 12/3/83
CAPITALISM IS CANNIBALISM (EP) (Crass 321984/11) 9 10 28/5/83
ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT
A punk band formed in Epping, Essex, in 1980, with a sound that harked back to the Pistols era of three years earlier.
Singles
1980 (Charnel House CADAVER 1) 13 5 5/7/80
THE ANTIGROUP
A project of Adi Newton (of Clock DVA), conceived as "a total inversion of the pop group", who produced a Euro-centric blend of jazz, ambient music and industrial sounds.
Albums
DIGITARIA (Sweatbox SA 012) 26 1 2/5/87
THE ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE
A totally outrageous, confrontational punk band from the incongruous stockbroker-belt territory of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who had a lead singer named Animal and continued on downhill from there. Their delight in wanton lyrical obscenity tended to get them, and their records, banned.
Singles
STREETS OF LONDON (WXYZ ABCD 1) 1 14 26/12/81
I HATE PEOPLE/LET'S BREAK THE LAW (WXYZ ABCD 2) 1 19 27/3/82
WOMAN (WXYZ ABCD 4) 1 14 3/7/82
FOR YOU (WXYZ ABCD 6) 3 17 27/11/82
OUT ON THE WASTELAND (ABC ABCS 004) 3 10 26/1/85
Albums
WE ARE THE LEAGUE (WXYZ LMNOP 1) 1 23 22/5/82
LIVE IN YUGOSLAVIA (Identity NOSE 3) 13 2 30/7/83
LIVE IN YUGOSLAVIA (reissue) (I.D. Records NOSE 3) 2 15 12/11/83
ANTI-PASTI
(see also EXPLOITED & ANTI-PASTI) A noisy hardcore punk quartet from Derby, led by vocalist Martin Roper who departed during 1982. The rest of the original line-up was Dugi (guitar), Stu (bass) and Stan (drums), the latter two being replaced by Will and Kev respectively after the first single.
Singles
FOUR SORE POINTS (EP) (Dose DOSE 001) 11 66 15/11/80
(label of the above changed to Rondelet ROUND 2 after its first chart week)      
LET THEM FREE (EP) (Rondelet ROUND 5) 9 46 7/2/81
SIX GUNS (Rondelet ROUND 10) 1 18 14/11/81
EAST TO THE WEST (Rondelet ROUND 18) 10 7 22/5/82
CAUTION TO THE WIND (Rondelet ROUND 20) 46 1 20/11/82
Albums
THE LAST CALL (Rondelet ABOUT 5) 1 29 15/8/81
CAUTION TO THE WIND (Rondelet ABOUT 7) 7 8 17/7/82
ANTI SECT
Anarchic punk droners a la Discharge, with lyrics in the Crass mould.
Singles
OUT FROM THE VOID (Endangered Musik EDR 4) 11   1/2/86
Albums
IN DARKNESS, THERE IS NO CHOICE (Spiderleg SDL 15) 3 16 21/1/84
ANTI SYSTEM
Punk outfit from Bradford, comprising Nogsy (vocals), Dom (guitar), George (bass) and Phil (drums).
Singles
STRANGELOVE (Reconciliation ECONC 13) 26 4 20/2/85
Albums
NO LAUGHING MATTER (Reconciliation RECONCILE 1) 21 1 2/3/85
A LOOK AT LIFE (Reconciliation RECONCILE 4) 19 1 26/7/86
ANVIL
Hard-grinding power-metal band from Toronto, Canada, who played Donnington in 1982 and loved sexually explicit lyrics. They consisted of Lips (Steve Kudlowicz - vocals & guitar), Dave Allison (guitar), Ian Dickson (bass), and Robb Reiner (drums).
Albums
METAL ON METAL (Attic LAT 1130) 18 4 5/6/82
ANNIE ANXIETY
A vocalist from New York, real name Annie Banbez, who had previously in N.Y fronted Max's Kansas City regulars the Asexuals, and upon moving to the UK linked up with Penny Rimbaud and the Crass set-up in general.
Singles
BARBED WIRE HALO (EP) (Crass 321984/3) 10 10 9/10/81
Albums
SOUL SESSION (Corpus Christi CHRIST ITS 10) 7 11 3/3!84
JACKOMO (One Little Indian) 28 2 5/12/87
AOR & OI PALLOI
Albums
UNLIMITED GENOCIDE (Children Of The Revolution GURT 12) 13 5 2/8/86
THE APARTMENTS
An art-rock band with a dreamy, poetic pop sensibility, led by Australian vocalist Peter Walsh.
Singles
ALL YOU WANTED (Rough Trade FIT 188) 29 6 19/4/86
APB
From Aberdeen, this outfit specialised in neo-funk/dance rock. They were led by vocalist and bassist lain Slater, along with Glenn Roberts (guitar), Nick Jones (percussion) and George Cheyne (drums).
Singles
ONE DAY (Oily SLICK 10) 6 10 23/7/83
DANCEABILITY, PARTS 1 & 2 (Albion ION 160) 25 4 7/4/84
APOCALYPSE
Youthful band whose line-up included Jamming! magazine and label founder Tony Fletcher. Paul Weller produced Teddy; the band re-cut the 12" themselves. They opened on the Jam's final tour, then signed to EMI in 1983, released one single and split up.
Singles
TEDDY (Jamming! CREATE 5) 42 3 23/10/82
TEDDY (RE-RECORDED) (Jamming! 12 CREATE 5) (12" only) 48 1 15/1/83
THE APOSTLES
Enigmatic hardcore punks from North-East London, led by vocalist Andy Martin, who recorded everything privately and offered the results ready-made to various labels.
Singles
RISING FROM THE ASHES (Scum SCUM 2) 21 11 10/12/83
CURSE OF THE CREATURE (EP) (Pigs For Slaughter PFS 1) 17 5 30/6/84
SMASH THIS SPECTACLE (EP) (Mortarhate MORT 9) 22 3 8/6/85
A. R. KANE
A duo, Alex and Rudi, who created dreamy ambient pop which could veer from the experimentally challenging to the soporifically boring. Their big chart moment came when they teamed with Colourbox to become the mega dancefloor one-off M/A/R/R/S.
Singles
OLLITA (4AD BAD 704) 10 12 1/8/87
WHEN YOU'RE SAD (One Little Indian 12 TP 2) (12" only) 23 4 5/9/87
UP HOME' (Rough Trade RTT 201) (12" only) 7 4 14!5!88
LISTEN UP (Rough Trade RTT 299) (12" only) 12 2 27!8/88
LOVE-SICK (Rough Trade FIT 231) 13 3 12/11/88
POP (Rough Trade FIT 239) 11 2 5/8/89
Albums
'69 (Rough Trade R 119) 1 9 9/7/88
I (Rough Trade R 139) 6 2 28/10/89
KEVIN ARMSTRONG'S LOCAL HEROES (SW6)
Quartet comprising Kevin Armstrong (vocals & guitar), Thomas Dolby (keyboards), Lenny Meade (bass) and Kim Barti (frums). Armstrong subsequently joined Dolby's band, and also toured extensively with David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
Albums
HOW THE WEST WAS WON (Oval OVAL 302) 30 1 30/5/81
P P ARNOLD(see The BEATMASTERS featuring PP ARNOLD)
ART ATTAX
Sometimes spelled Art Attacks, this was a short-lived London band of the late 70s who included (later) Wire drummer Robert Gotobed in their first line-up, not to mention NME and Sounds writer Edwin Pouncey on vocals.
Singles
FIRST AND LAST (Fresh FRESH 3) 27 2 19/1/80
ARTERY
Gothic post-punks from Sheffield, who included keyboardist Simon Hinkler (later with the Cure), plus Mark Gouldthorpe (vocals & guitar), Michael Fiddler (vocals & guitar), Neil McKenzie (bass) and Gary Wilson (drums).
Albums
ONE AFTERNOON IN A HOT AIR BALLOON (Red Flame RIF 18) 15 5 23/4/83
DANIEL ASH & GLEN CAMPLING
Ash was a founder member of Bauhaus and also later went on to found Love And Rockets.
Singles
TONES ON TAIL (EP) (4AD BAD 203) 15 6 8/5/82
ASHER D & DADDY FREDDY
A pair of Jamaican yardie MCs who blended traditional dancehall toasting with hardcore hip-hop rhythms.
Singles
BRUTALITY (Music Of Life NOTE 11) 14 5 6/2/88
THE ASSEMBLY
Less an Assembly than a duo - a one-off collaboration between the then-azoo Vince Clarke and the former Undertones lead vocalist Feargal Sharkey.
Singles
NEVER NEVER (Mute TINY 1) 1 14 12/11/83
THE ASSOCIATES
A strongly commercial pop/rock outfit from Dundee, Scotland, formed in 1979 by vocalist Billy MacKenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. Splitting in 1982, they reconvened only occasionally for recording. MacKenzie committed suicide on January 23, 1997.
Singles
TELL ME EASTER'S ON A FRIDAY (Situation 2 SIT 1) 8 8 28/3/81
Q. QUARTERS (Situation 2 SIT 4) 5 9 4/7/81
KITCHEN PERSON (Situation 2 SIT 7) 9 7 29/8/81
TELL ME EASTER'S ON A FRIDAY (REMIX) (Situation 2 SIT 1) 46 3 5/9/81
MESSAGE OBLIQUE SPEECH (Situation 2 SIT 10) 22 7 17/10/81
WHITE CAR IN GERMANY (Situation 2 SIT 11) 11 16 28/11/81
Albums
THE FOURTH DRAWER DOWN (Situation 2 SITU 2) 5 40 26/12/81
VIRGINIA ASTLEY
A singer/songwriter with a formal musical background, having graduated from the Guildhall School Of Music. Specialising in ethereal, atmospheric and often pastoral material, she also launched all-female trio the Ravishing Beauties.
Singles
LOVE'S A LONELY PLACE (Why-Fi WFI 001) 8 16 5/2/83
MELT THE SNOW (EP) (Rough Trade RTT 158) (12" only) 27 4 2/3/85
Albums
FROM GARDENS WHERE WE FEEL SECURE (Happy Valley ROUGH 58) 4 10 27/8/83
ASWAD
One of the UK's most commercially successful indigenous reggae bands, whose strong pop sensibilities would even see them recording with Cliff Richard. Lead vocalist Brinsley Forde was a former teen actor in the 1970s TV series The Double Deckers.
Singles
KOOL NOH (Simba SIM 102) (12" only) 30 3 22/2/86
ATHLETICO SPIZZ 80
A sporty-sounding alter-ego for the mercurial Spizz. See SPIZZ ENERGI for more.
Singles
NO ROOM (Rough Trade RTSO 5) 2 18 14/6/80
ATTAK
Punk band from New Mills, Manchester. Their drummer Lindsay McLennon's brother was in No Future labelmates Blitz.
Singles
TODAY'S GENERATION (EP) (No Future 01 7) 15 8 3/4/82
MURDER IN THE SUBWAY (No Future OI 17) 12 6 2/10/82
Albums
ZOMBIES (No Future PUNK 6) 15 5 2/7/83
ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER
A performance poet, real name John Baine, who actually gave up a career path to stockbrokerhood in order to practise his sharp, ranting style on (mostly) the punk music circuit.
Singles
COCKTAILS (EP) (Cherry Red CHERRY 46) 15 7 23/10/82
Albums
RANTING AT THE NATION (Cherry Red A RED 46) 12 6 30/4/83
ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER/SEETHING WELLS
A meeting of two similarly pissed-off minds.
Singles
ROUGH AND RANTING (Radical Wallpaper RAID 1) 46 2 17/4/82
ATV (see ALTERNATIVE TV)
THE AU PAIRS
A mixed-sex band formed in Birmingham in 1979, comprising Lesley Woods (vocals & guitar), Paul Ford (vocals & guitar), Jane Munro (bass) and Pete Hammond (drums). Associated with forthright, often feminist lyrics and sexual politics, they split in 1983.
Singles
DIET/IT'S OBVIOUS (Human OTO 4) 3 32 20/12/80
YOU (021 OTO 2) 20 10 30/5/81
INCONVENIENCE (Human HUM 8) 2 7 5/9/81
Albums
PLAYING WITH A DIFFERENT SEX (Human HUMAN 1) 1 31 30/5/81
SENSE AND SENSUALITY (Kamera KAM 010) 3 11 11/9/82
LIVE IN BERLIN (AKA AKA 6) 21 3 20/8/83
AUSGANG
Gothic rock outfit from the Midlands, comprising Max (vocals), Matthew (guitar), Cub(bass) and lbo (drums).
Singles
SOLID GLASS SPINE (Criminal Damage CRI 112) 28 7 11/8/84
AZTEC CAMERA
A strong pop-rock outfit from East Kilbride, Scotland, formed in 1980 by singer, guitarist and songwriter Roddy Frame, the stable core of an otherwise shifting line-up. The West Coat-influenced commerciality of Frame's material gained his band a major deal with WEA in 1983.
Singles
JUST LIKE GOLD (tcard 81/2) 10 11 4/4/81
MATTRESS OF WIRE (tcard 81-8) 8 9 22/8/81
FROM PILLAR TO T (Rough Trade FIT 112) 4 15 2/10/82
OBLIVIOUS (Rough Trade FIT 122) 1 19 29/1/83
WALK OUT TO WINTER (Rough Trade RT 132) 3 10 4/6/83
Albums
HIGH LAND, HARD RAIN (Rough Trade ROUGH 47) 1 64 30/4/83

Please note these tracks were compiled for the Indie Hits book and are not
necessarily available to buy from Cherry Red Records.

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