Various - Un-Scene! Post-Punk Birmingham 1978-1982

  by Steve Kinrade

published: 21 / 6 / 2022

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Review

Growing up and having my first musical awakenings in Liverpool, I must confess and apologise unreservedly that I and my fellow spiritual outriders gave not one jot to Birmingham or its cultural larder-stock at the time. And why would we? Liverpool in our eyes was at the epicentre of the post punk / post Beatles cultural renaissance. We had the interesting bands, interesting labels and interesting record shops. Okay, Manchester was a distant second on all categories (although most of us were secretly in love with the city, Factory and Afflecks Palace) and London didn’t count as that was over two hours away by train… So given my intended naivety to the Birmingham scene, listening to this compilation made me realise the similarities born between bands crying out for attention in their immediate locale. There is an evident cacophany of musicality in its embryonic state present, along with a lot of sound and fury signifying future, promised intent. Anyone for Dada with the future Durannie John Taylor on bass duties? But a charming naivety that permeates some musical workouts is very much present and correct. Every one of the nineteen tracks is a gem in its own right, some more polished than others. I was never even a tepid fan of The Prefects, so their nearly ten minute rendition of 'The Bristol Road Leads to Dachau' is a lo-fi loss to these ears. The into to TV Eye’s 'Stevie’s Radio Station' belies the huge importance that Bert Weedon’s 'Play In A Day' had to budding guitarists. But Stevie, we did love you, as we secretly love all Americans, don’t we? All in all, this proves to be an excellent introduction to the sounds of post-punk Birmingham. I enjoyed listening to the CD version of the release - with its excellent liner notes providing background and context - although if you are mature enough to have been around between '78 and '82 to see these bands in the flesh, then the vinyl version with the bigger typeface may be more to your reading comfort. All in all, a worthwhile release to evoke more memories to add to the “back in the day” anecdotes

Track Listing:-

1 Fàshiön Music- We're The Fashion
2 Swell Maps – Vertical Slum
3 Dada - Birmingham UK
4 The Prefects - The Bristol Road Leads To Dachau
5 TV Eye - Stevie's Radio Station
6 Denizens - Ammonia Subway
7 The Hawks - Big Store
8 The Nervous Kind - Five To Monday
9 The Bible Belt - A Fistful Of Seeds
10 The Nightingales - Idiot Strength
11 Lowdown International - Batteries Not Included
12 Joe Crow - The Final Touch
13 Nikki Sudden - Channel Steamer
14 Cult Figures - I Remember
15 Au Pairs - Love Song
16 Fast Relief - What A Waste
17 Vision Collision - Cuba
18 Dance - Revolve Around You
19 The Pinkies - Open Commune

Have a Listen:-