What larks! We stood in the precinct, a small ragged trousered huddle, and took it in turns to go into WH Smiths and Woolworths…
‘Yes?’
The by now contemptuous staff were used to our vain requests for records by bands they had never heard of.
‘Have you got the new LP by Flux Of Pink Indians?’
He tuts at the name.
‘I doubt it…’
‘Can you check? Will you be having it in?’
‘What’s it called?’
‘The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks’
‘Get out.’
‘Can I order it then?’
‘Out’.
Entertainment was in short supply, you see...
Flux’s second LP, The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks, was in fact banned by retailers (including HMV) and Greater Manchester police found that they had nothing better to do in those halcyon days of law and order than to seize copies from Eastern Bloc record shop, which was charged with displaying "Obscene Articles For Publication For Gain".
I saw Flux Of Pink Indians playing with Crass in 1984. In truth, I preferred them to Crass on record. Their sound, whilst ballsy and abrasive was more accessible. Strive To Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible might sound like the title of some pseudo Buddhist self help book, but it’s actually not a bad way to live is it? Here are two poor quality rips of Flux Of Pink Indians. I find they need a fair bit of volume to be appreciated.
Update: The links are dead- Neu Smell can be found here: http://enemy-of-the-music-business.blogspot.com/2008/03/flux-of-pink-indians-neu-smell.html
And Strive ... here: http://burningaquarium.blogspot.com/2010/09/flux-of-pink-indians-strive-to-survive.html
I have to agree with you as I prefer Flux to Crass, I recall seeing them around the time this was released and had a fucking blinding evening as they played their set twice.
ReplyDeleteI think they were on with Zounds and DIRT, Zounds were blinding as well, although I never really liked DIRT that much. DIRT always seemed to be a cloned version of Crass to me, enjoyable but not memorable ... sorry if anyone from the band reads this!
Suffice to say that Flux (and Crass, Zounds etc) are still listened to as they influenced the way I live/lived my life for the best part of my life
Nice one Harry
ReplyDeleteI remember waiting patiently in a queue in the local WH Smith and politely (and innocently) asking the middle aged woman behind the counter if they had Too Drunk To Fuck by The Dead Kennedys. I was only 13 years old and could hardly see over the counter at the time :)
ReplyDeletehttp://powercorruptionandlieslieslies.blogspot.com
Happy days!
ReplyDeleteA last quickie for today, and thanks Walker for putting this up ... the Epileptics a.k.a the Licks a.k.a Flux were my local band, and I had the great luck to see them with Crass and Poison Girls back in mid-1979, and rushed out to get their first single, the classic "1970's Have Been Made in Hong Kong", backed with, for me, one of the very best punk anthems, "Hitler's Still a Nazi", rivalled only by their "Last Bus to Debden" live EP, recorded at another gig I was at, which included the pre-Crass version of "Tube Disaster". Rare stuff indeed that I have on vinyl with no way to rip to mp3 ... but thanks to the generosity of Mike Ether, out on the web here:
ReplyDeletehttp://rbkwh.blogspot.com/2009/05/licks-1970s-have-been-made-in-hong-kong.html
The link has disappeared, although still active; here it is:
http://rapidshare.com/files/238571835/Licks_-_1970_s_Have_Been_Made_In_Hong_Kong_7___1979.rar
Go get before it goes! Cheers, Dave Sez.
PS: what the info site linked to Mike's page doesn't say is that the Epileptics changed their name to the Licks for the first version of this single (on Stortbeat Records) because the Royal Epileptic Society threatened prosecution ... the Licks name would last only for the first Stortbeat cover and one gig before the group reverted to the name Epileptics.
Oh, and while I'm at it, one of the other local bands on Stortbeat Records was the Sods' whose "No Pictures of us" was one of the best punk synth riffs, in me humble opinion. Here ya go:
ReplyDeleteThe download link is: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=43PXGF2S
Filename: Sods (UK) - No Pictures of Us (Stortbeat).rar Size: 3.42 MB
The link won't last for ever; go for it!
Cheers, Dave Sez.
Flux of Pink Indians has such badass album titles
ReplyDeleteenemy-of-the-music-business is an excellent anarcho-punk (and more) site which also posts most of post-Epileptics/Licks Flux of Pink Indians here:
ReplyDeletehttp://enemy-of-the-music-business.blogspot.com/2009/07/flux-of-pink-indians-taking-liberty.html
Cheers, Dave Sez.