Southend Punk Rock History 1976/1986

The Southend Punk Rock History 1976/1986 website is dedicated to saving the history of this important era before it is lost, whilst simultaneously celebrating the rich diversity of music and creativity that the area spewed forth to an unsuspecting world.

Canvey Islanders Dr Feelgood and Eddie and The Hot Rods helped lay some of the foundations for punk, with the latter even penning one of the classics of '77 in “Do Anything You Wanna Do”, and were high above the radar for a while, inspiring legions in the process.

Garage Punk bands such as Steve Hooker and The Heat, Deeno’s Marvels and The Rubies helped keep raw, burning ‘60’s punk influenced sounds alive and helped flame the fire already set alight by The Rods, and then bands such as The Machines, The Vicars, The Psychopaths, The Sinyx, The Kronstadt Uprising and many others took up the torch - all contributed to a thriving punk scene. Southend had it's own alternative press in the form of fanzines like Strange Stories and New Crimes, it's own punk friendly shops like Nasty's and Projection Records, and most importantly, a wealth of venues for bands to play at, including The Queens Hotel, the Shrimpers Club, The Top Alex, The Grand Hotel, The Focus Centre, The Esplanade and many others.

Local labels recorded some of the bands, such as Wax (The Machines), No Pap (Speedball) and Dog Rock (Kronstadt Uprising). As the timeline section of the site reveals, for a certain period, there was so much going on, that it was almost impossible to keep up with. In addition to the legendary performances by some of the home grown bands, visiting punk bands would often play infamous gigs in the area - including The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, The Ruts and Killing Joke. Crocs (Now The Pink Toothbrush) put on some sterling shows in the era - often getting a local band in to support one of the bigger headline bands.

As the ripples created by punk spread further and further, so too did a whole variety of musical offshoots, creating in the process a very healthy scene and one that was immeasurably diverse. With nightclubs like the aforementioned Crocs, Electric Blue, The Taste Experience, The Swag, The Monkey House and others springing up, the alternative scene truly peaked around the mid-80's, before slowly changing by the decade’s end. It seemed that many local bands eventually folded in 1986, as the scenes changed, various members scattered to the four winds and various banners were lowered. However, many exciting and truly thrilling times were to be had in the period and it is to these times that the site is dedicated and is attempting to document.

Southend Punk Rock History - 1976/1986 - Selected Discography:

The Machines:
7” EP – “True Life”/“Everything's Technical”/”You Better Hear”/”Evening Radio” - (Wax - EAR 1 - March 1978)

“Southend Rock”:
V/A LP - Features The Vicars’ “I'm Going Mad” and The Idiot’s “Ging Gang Gooley” - (Sonet - SNTF 806 - 1979)

Speedball:
7” 45 – “No Survivors”/”Is Somebody There?” - (Dirty Dick Productions/No Pap - DD1 - 1979)

The Sinyx:
LP – “Bullshit Detector Volume #1” – V/A -
Features The Sinyx’s “Mark of The Beast” - (Crass 421984/4 - 1980)

7“ EP – “The Black Death EP” – “Decadence”/”The Plague”/”Animal”/”Zulu” - (Reality Attack - R.A.F. One - 1981)

V/A CD – “Anti State - Anarcho Punk Comp Vol #2” –
Features The Sinyx’s “The Plague” - (Overground - OVER105VPCD - 2005)

The Kronstadt Uprising:
V/A LP – “Bullshit Detector Volume #2” – Features The Kronstadt Uprising’s “Receiver Deceiver” - (Crass 221984/3 - 1982)

7” EP - “The Unknown Revolution EP” – “Blind People”/”Dreamers of Peace”/”End of Part One”/ “Xenophobia” - (Spiderleg - SDL 12 - 1983)"

7” 45 – “Part of The Game”/”The Horsemen” - (Dog Rock - SDL 108 - 1985)

CD – “Insurrection” – 23-track Kronstadt Uprising Compilation - (Overground - OVER 85VP CD - 2000)

V/A CD – “Anti-War” (Anarcho Punk Comp Vol #1) – Features The Kronstadt Uprising’s “Blind People” - (Overground - OVER 103VP CD – 2005) A fanzine A Punkette a record Shouting lads A casette A record sleeve A flyer More shouting A fanzine An attractive display of record sleeves A flyer Cheap beer More beer