

Something went wrong with the mastering - it was one of my worst sounding CD's, dull and lifeless. Bonus tracks were the 7" live ep included with initial pressings of the LP, but the CD sound quality was appalling. The First The Best The Last was the cash-in Sham compilation released after the band split in '79, and it came out on CD in 1992. Polygram put out a compilation and left the albums in the can.
#Sham 69 albuquerque full
A band like Siouxsie and the Banshees who were still active in the 80's did get a full catalogue release from Polygram - Sham's albums were accorded a re-release on vinyl-only by small reissue punk label Receiver in the late 80's. My view is that their albums did not sell all that well on initial release, and other Polydor releases from the 70's did not find their way to CD until well into the 90's, notably Slade, who had much better LP success than Sham. I endured a long explanation from someone at a record fair as to why this was so - because Sham were the real punk deal, anti-authoritarian, from the streets, and the suits at Polygram didn't want to be associated with them anymore, maaaaaaan!

Sham's New York Dolls/Pistols guitar sound from Dave Parsons, coupled with their widely played singles, meant they were the sound most people associated with punk in the late 70's.įor some reason, Polydor did not rerelease their albums in the CD age. Sham's roots and influences were in classic soul and British Invasion bands - the Who, Yardbirds, but with no hint of the psychedelia of bands like Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Damned, or the much of the reggae influence on the Clash, Ruts, etc.

They were (and still are) a terrific live act, but attracted a fiercely violent and at times extremist right-wing crowd which eventually made leader Jimmy Pursey (who distanced himself from the so-called 'Sham Army') dissolve the band in 1979 (ah, but they were back.). They were one of the most commercially succesful punk bands in singles terms, but their albums sold poorly and were, to be honest, not very good. Sham 69 were a strange and funny band, a real mix of contradictions.
#Sham 69 albuquerque pro
Swingin' Utters tracks have been used in the soundtracks of computer games including "Five Lessons Learned", which appeared on the soundtrack to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and "Stupid Lullabies" which was used as the title track to Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX.I'll bite, since no one else has commented this week. Members of the Swingin' Utters have been involved in many musical side-projects, most notably Johnny Bonnel and Darius Koski's Filthy Thievin' Bastards and Druglords of the Avenue (formed in Oakland, California in 2004), and Spike Slawson's Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (in which he is the singer). The Utters paid homage to their influences with a stellar cover of Cocksparrer's I Got Your Number on the Blackout compilation Punk Rock Jukebox. They have been signed to Fat Wreck Chords since 1997.Īs well as being classed as a "punk revival" band (reminiscent of British 1970s bands such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned, Sham 69 and Eddie & the Hot Rods), Swingin' Utters have increasingly shown themselves to be influenced by Irish folk, particularly The Pogues. Having begun in Santa Cruz, California, the band moved to San Francisco where they are now based. Swingin' Utters is an American punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s.
