S*M*A*S*H - "Bang, Bang, Bang. It's the sound of my head against the wall....Fuck 'em all!'

The year was 1993. The World trade Centre was bombed for the first time. Iraq was under attack, Britain was still under Tory rule and musically the nation was raving on. The time was ripe for a dose of healthy punk rock anger, and it came in the shape of S*M*A*S*H, a 3 piece from suburban Welwyn Garden City. One part The Clash, a bit of Jesus and The Mary Chain, MC5 and a lot of soul and passion. With the help of the music media and their need to create little scenes S*M*A*S*H found themselves as part of ’The New Wave Of New Wave’, which was what it said on the tin, bands like Elastica and S*M*A*S*H touring buddies These Animal Men who had their roots in late 70’s punk/new wave. The band were never really comfortable with this tag. An appearance on Top Of The Pops without having a chart record saw them blasted into the nations front rooms and endless touring , saw the yoof of the nation take them to their collective hearts. Here was a band that mattered. Championed by the likes of Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg, It’s a shame that their singles and album didn’t capture the bands live intensity. But hey that’s were this release comes in. Originally issued in a limited run of 50 cassette tapes it has been unavailable for 13 years. Recorded at one of their many gigs in Stevenage, this is raw and emotional stuff. Just check out their Tory baiting Kill Somebody. The names and party may have changed but the sentiments still ring true 14 years later. Get it here. By 1995 the band had split up due to a combination of bad reviews and inter band tensions, shame. Any way fast forward, it’s now 2007, S*M*A*S*H are back playing live and have just released a new album, can’t comment on that cos I’ve not heard it yet, but saw ‘em live in 2006 and they still rawked.