Angelic Upstarts - Upstart {1978}

#alternative_music
#Peel_session

The Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the punk subculture and skinhead subculture.

The band released eight studio albums in their first decade. After a brief split they reformed in 1988, and a number of times subsequently, with new albums appearing in 1992, 2002, 2011, and 2016. More than two decades after its release, their debut single, "The Murder of Liddle Towers", was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.

Mensi noted Peel's contribution to their success when discussing their debut The Murder Of Liddle Towers:

"We done a couple of shows and got the money together and we pressed 500 singles, and then Small Wonder/Rough Trade re-released it, and it got to number one in the indie charts. With no radio play. Apart from John Peel, nobody else played it, and it was actually banned off any sort of play list in the northeast. Fair play I say."

THREE Peel Sessions:

1. Recorded: 1978-10-24. First broadcast: 30 October 1978. Repeated: 23 November 1978, 12 March 1979

We Are The People / Student Power / Upstart / Youth Leader

2. Recorded: 1980-09-17. First broadcast: 01 October 1980. Repeated: 03 November 1980

Guns For The Afghan Rebels / Last Night Another Soldier / Kids On The Street / Sticks' Diary

3. Recorded: 1981-06-23. First broadcast: 29 June 1981. Repeated: 21 July 1981

Two Million Voices / You're Nicked / I Understand (pt. 3) / New Values