Just learned today the sad news that Mensi of the Angelic Upstarts has passed away (yesterday, I believe) aged 65, after a recent battle with Covid.
Can't imagine too many people here being into the Upstarts, I can only think of myself and Radium Girl, but they were a great band back in the day, an anti-fascist/working class punk band formed in South Shields in 1977, who had some powerful songs and were always good live.
'I'm An Upstart' remains a punk classic........other songs of note include, 'The Murder Of Liddle Towers', 'Teenage Warning', 'Police Oppression', 'Leave Me Alone', 'Never 'Ad Nothing'
Mensi, far left
...always loved the band logo, and the cover art for this single
It was of it's time, of course it was, but that's how it was always meant to be!
I'm An Upstart still sounds fresh and vibrant today, and, in this case, is still relevant.
Checking out the numbers you've recommended.
'Who Killed Liddle Towers'. Almost Beatles-like in the chords department and it's got psychedelic touches throughout. Beatle John might've liked this one, methinks. So far what I've heard of TAU there's much more musicianship and chops than many of the scene. Was the three-chord ethos really adhered to as much as was hyped though? 😶
Wonder if they shared a bill with '70s Ultravox!.
'Teenage Warning' is another good 'un. I like the lyrics. Mensi didn't phone in the vox it can be confidently said.
'Teenage Warning' on TOTP . . .
'Police Oppression' starts out with the UK sirens that don't exist anymore, do they? The sirens now sound more like the US ones?
'Leave Me Alone' seems to have inspired The Violent Femmes song 'Blister In The Sun.' I see the title 'Leave Me Alone' and I think of the song by New Order, which I used to listen to often in 1983.
'Never 'Ad Nothing' I've heard before and wondered about it. Great 'un. Another familiar riff used by someone else. What is that? It actually reminds me of the groove in Sesame Street Jazzy Numbers. 😎
😊 Your scenario reminds me of the title of this track . . .
By "gotcha" I meant "I understand where I was wrong before." It's an Americanism. Sorry about that.
Yes, I appreciate that Alec, but that 'members' list is about one day old. Mensi, an original founding band member, was on the list a day ago. The current members include non of the originals because Mensi just died.
Those three guys under "Members" in the Wikipedia entry aren't any of the originals is what I'm referring to.
Thanks for the information and song link. I like the name and it would've looked good on a bill with The Upsetters. The Upsetters were Lee 'Scratch' Perry's house band. LSP had a song called I Am the Upsetter and that's how that band got its name, from that song. If I was a DJ back then I'd have both of those numbers on a playlist.
From the LSP Wiki:
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.
Looking over the Wikipedia page for The Angelic Upstarts, I notice the list of members is very long indeed and includes Paul Thompson of Roxy Music in there. The current members include none of the originals. I always wonder about that when that happens.
Noticed COVID took another from The Angelic Upstarts camp this year.
From TAU Wiki:
On 22 February 2021, former member Tony Morrison (aka Tony Feedback) died after contracting COVID-19.[9] Mensi died on 10 December 2021, aged 65, after also being infected with COVID-19.[10]
You never know who likes what. I never realised how much stuff I liked that had Robbie Shakespeare on bass until I looked at his Wikipedia page the other day.