PUNK THROWBACK #3
Autumn 2001 ****
We have hear one mans reminiscings,
reviews and views of the 77-80 punk
scene. It comes in installments through
various issues. Ged Baby (the man in
question) sent me this issue as a
sample when I read his offer on the
Penetration board. Like so many he's
come back in from the cold of a
non-punk lifestyle and stale mid-life
crisis. And guess what?...he's
suddenly rediscovered his punk roots
all over again!!! Call me a cynic if you
like but I thought punk never went
away, it's always been here lurking in
the shadows of the late 80's, skulking
through the depression of the early
90's. There was always some gang of
miscreats doing something in a cellar
even when all the weekenders crawled
off to the next big thing. So I do
question what ever happened to the
preceding 20 odd years of punk?
Were us unfashionable types just
playing fantasy role games or wot?
Well however you view punk rock it can
appear band wagon jumping if we
really wanna get petty, but who really
gives a fuck? This is like reading an
enthusiastic, spotty, middle-age teen
diary. Punk Throwback may sound
very old and jaded to the early 80's,
90's punks or even today's young
whippersnappers out there. But Punk
Throwback (especially if you've got
more than a passing fancy for bands
like
Alternatve TV, Chelsea,
Menace, Eater, Magazine,
Penetration
etc) is worth your
perusal. This is a labour of love come
what may. A lot of work has gone into
this, and you can tell Ged the editor
has, like so many others in this 25th
year of punk rock rediscovery enough
suss to tell his tale well. If the writing
was bad then this would be drivel, but
he's got an interesting style. My only
real bone of contention, is it borders
on university professorates sometimes,
if you know what I mean? And his taste
in punk sometimes leaves a lot to be
desired, dismissing the
Pistols as
"dated, leaden and lumpy" while
claiming the current lineup of
Menace
as "fresh, energetic and vital' (snigger)
takes some getting used to. Record
labels like Captain Oi!, Anagram and
Overground must love geezers like
Ged, coz he gives em massive
favorable in-depth reviews. Best bit of
Punk Throwback is
Magazine (the
band) reviews and rare stuff like
the
Pack
, which is always good to read in
this day 'n' age. A neat history lesson
in easy to read minimal format, from
one very enthusuastic perspective.
And no sign whatsoever of full page
ads or the big sell. Number #4 is out
now and highly recommended for a
£1 from
PUNK THROWBACK
DEFIANT POSE #5
Winter 2001 ****
Defiant Pose #5 was written or should
I say glued together back in 1994, and
ain't seen the light of day till now. It's
an historical stop gap till the next
current issue is out and there's only 50
in existence, so your gonna have to be
fast if you wanna copy. As it claims on
the cover this is strictly for
fans/obsessives and is basically a
collection of
Subway Sect cuttings,
flyers, reviews and info xeroxed into
one neat little 28 page zine. If like me
you like to get to know a band inside
out especially if they got character,
then this is for you. Covering the dark
distant days of 77/78 at a time when
bands like the
Subway Sect could fill
Fulham Town Hall and were part of the
infamous 'White Riot' tour of England.
However they weren't the best punk
band in the world, and for some they
were an acquired taste. But the
Sect
were there at the beginning, and I
always liked their early abrasive style
like on the brilliant 'Nobody's Scared'
45. They were as snotty as any 20
year old kid could be at the
time...literally dribbling, which lead
singer Vic Goddard once claimed he
was gonna be. This is the band who
were perpetually in the
Clash's battle
fatigue shadow, as they shared the
same manager and bill although
essentially on a very distant footing.
Defiant Pose editor Mike has really
done his homework on this one and I
suspect he's practically got every
major press interview the band ever
took part in. So if like me you were a
fan of the early punk sound get this
just to see what made bands like
Subway Sect tick. You'll be hearing a
lot more from Mike in a forthcoming
interview within Nihilism on the prowl
real soon, so look out for that.
INFLAMMABLE MATERIAL
SCANNER #11
December 2001 ****
Steve the globetrotting punker from
Ippo in the UK never fails to bring up
the booty input wise. And since last
issue he's been and returned from New
Zealand again, can you believe?  With
travelling around so much and his
computer hassles of recent times he's
made his usual mad dash for the
deadline to get this out even more
breathtaking. Now that is what you call
cramming obsessive writing. It makes
me feel guilty at how long it's took me to
review this, but hey I'm on Carling not
whiskey! So fair play to him for
compressing a zine with style that
features easily the workload of 2
average sized zines into one issue. Like
it says on the inside cover, "this is
larger than life!" This time round were
entertained with 2 fucking scoops,
featuring bands who are really up my
dimly lit street. First off Californian
Caligulas -
the Dickies, are given a
centrespread. Stan Lee supply's us with
a good insight into what's now become
a punk rock institution on the world
punk scene. If that ain't enough to get
yer hand in yer pocket (metaphorically
speaking ), we get a fuckin epic
10-page life story with that Cape Cod
cobra, the irrepressible Cliff Hanger
from
The Freeze. Cliff makes for a
fucking riveting read as he tells us tales
from his highly entertaining and
eventful punk rock lifestyle...drugs,
customs, prison, paranoia, hatred of
Wattie Buchan...you name it it's in here.
I like his no holds barred approach and
as Steve reckons, and rightly so, this
heart to heart is probably the best
interview featured within the Scanner
pages so far!!! Dr Dan McKee resident
terrorist expert gives us his vews on
Sept 11th, again taking the obvious
anti-Yank/pro-bin laden stance which I
find bollocks. Closer to home
The Gas
Drummers/Two Fold
UK tour diary
really spells out a neat fly on the wall
report from the hovels of the UK. It rams
home what my '3rd World Punk In the
UK' column hints at in this issue. The
shit that bands have to put up with to
bring us some honest hardcore is
unbelievable. And all you can do is but
admire em for doing it against such bad
feedback like low turnouts and even
lower gig payment policy's. Other less
humble bands who get scannered in
this issue like
Kids Near Water from
the UK,
Leftover Crack, The Pavers
(who turned out be not one of Steve's
favourite bands at the moment) and
lastly
Manisfesto Jukebox from
Finland, were only here to make up the
numbers in my slash 'n' epoxy book.
They just ain't got the character as the
previous outfits. However Scanner #11
shot straight back up the Richter scale
with an interesting one to one with the
Anarcho publishers AK Press.
Strangest moment of this 84 page issue
came via a profile of the Moulin Rouge
film and that little bloke called Toulouse
Lauttrec! You know the one who always
looked like he was kneeling down on his
shoes (snigger). As always there's
more reviews than is good for our
health or sanity in one sitting, in fact I'm
still trawling through em. The columns
are the usual fare with new boy Boz
from the
Steam Pig taking the
originality stakes.There's loads more to
see and read in this zine, way too much
to feature here, so well worth a quid of
your hard earned giro, and I'm glad to
say this zine is back on track with the
best in the UK scene to date.
SCANNER
Print Run 500
KICK IN THE BALLS #5
2001
**
Kick In The Balls is another zine that
don't get released too often, causing
apathy amongst it's readership. And
with the previous issue hitting the
streets way back in 1999 can yer blame
em? But Big Dave the editor has had
problems...personnel problems!!!
Which are bravely put down in print for
all the world to read in his editorial. You
can tell he ain't his usual witty self. The
real reason for this and the 'go slow' is
coz he's moved base twice since 1999
and got into domestic strife. So that's a
fair cop I suppose. His ex-bird who
hated his love of punk and his zine
career give him torrential grief (sounds
familiar) over it. So much so, he tried to
appease her by trying a new straight
life without punk and a zine addiction.
As the great phrophet once said you
can take the man outta punk, but you
can't take the punk outta the man,
without a fight! (read St. Peters book on
zines, chapter 3, verse 7). Dave's now
relocated to Sheffield which ain't exactly
the land of milk and honey but it's
handy coz there's plenty of blades to
slash yer wrists if needed, only kidding
mate! (Naughty & insensitive - Don't
Care). I think he's wisely realized the
errors of his ways and sacked the
interference and rejoined his roots
hoping to rebuild his punk rock life.
Dave promises a new zine overhaul
next issue? And owns up to only
releasing this half baked read coz he
felt it unfair not to print the contributors
pieces. Which is admirable on
reflection, but it still don't exactly do the
zine any favours, especially if it's
chucked together like an origami
puzzle? Well whatever, good luck to
Dave, hope he finds his Punk Valhalla
coz the zine fucking needs a new shot
in the arm badly. The funny front/back
cartoon covers (done by Pilsen) are it's
peak but it goes down hill fast in the
layout skills once your inside. Which is
a pity coz there's still punk potential
amongst it's 24 pages and with more
crowd control would've put it back in the
game. Nihilist collaborator Bobby
Smith's input is vital to this issue. He
saves Kick In The Balls from being just
another sad football/Oi! mag as he gets
the lowdown on the reformed
Bus
Station Loonies
, who admit not being
football fans (never?). And the
hideously named
Chester, who don't
live up to their (in print at least)
disgustingly bland name. Big Dave with
tears brushed aside volleys in a good
football rant, chips us a
Beerzone
insight and takes the legs from under
Mark Brennan (Captain Oi! Records) as
he strolls down memory lane!!! There's
a full squad of guest rants, a Spanish
scene report and a short interview with
the
Vibrators in the Czech Republic.
But as ever we have to wade through
that fucking dog rough layout that
makes you squint yer eyes to pick out
the faded text on some pages. Hope to
fuck for Dave's sake and ours the new
revamped issue improves a lot more
coz Kick In The Balls #5 is just fucking
3rd division punk print at this stage of
the game and is heading for the
non-league dole drums fast! Cheers for
Mitch for passing it on, I can see why
now!!!
c/o 75c Harlou, Crookes, Sheffield,
S10 IDH, England.
SAFETY-PIN! #12/ #13
August/September 2001
Newsletter
***
Not to be confused with the
Safety-Pin record label or the
Spanish punk band of the same
name, but they may have an
influence? This FREE newsletter
comes all the way from Switzerland,
Europe. It's written by one of
Europe's elder statesmen of DIY'ers,
Pablo. He's published loads of
influential zines including the original
'No Sanctuary'. He's also played in
various bands and now runs the
Strongly Opposed record label. A
label who have put out 7 releases
funded by his day job in a Factory,
so fair play to him coz he's earned
his punk brownie points. Strongly
opposed is a good description of
what the Safety-Pin is all about. It's
100% opposed to fucking loads of
stuff including CDs, computers, meat
eating etc. Which can be hard to
understand in this technological day
'n' age, but I doubt he'll change.
Pablo is basically an Anarcho in the
true meaning of the word, but unlike
most of the blinkered, political fiends
in that genre he freely will admit he
also has a passionate love affair with
early rare English/US punk rock. He
is after all, a self confessed vinyl
fetish and covers a fucking vast
expanse of worldwide material here. I
stupidly thought vinyl was
rare?...seems not! I met Pablo 5
years ago (on the 529 bus going to a
punk gig in Walsall, UK can you
believe?) So he's a well travelled
punk and has been all over the
fucking place and talks and writes
fluent English. This monthly freebie
newsletter is packed to jacksy full of
record and zine reviews, plus we get
a short diary news round up of what
he's been up to since the last issue.
The reviews are all 100% punk vinyl
so if like Pablo punk on vinyl is yer
thing especially the protest genre,
then you'll be in your plastic ecstasy.
I'm still finishing off reading the
reviews as there's a fucking million
squeezed into both sides of each
issues A4 sheet. So be warned the
print is tiny, too tiny for my not so
bionic eyesight but it's a good
informative read and well worth
checking out. He runs a distro and is
the man to see for that rare punk 45
you've been after since your youth.
Available from
Flurweg 29, 2504 Biel,
Switzerland, Earth
...cheers to Mitch again for putting
me onto these.
RIOT ON YOUR OWN #8
Summer 2001 ***
Gotta say this is the sloppiest issue
of this entertaining Belfast freebie I
seen so far. The writing and attitude
is still spot on but the cover, layout
and print job make it appear just
another hastily thrown together
freebie. Pity really, coz this is usually
the best FREE punk read in or
around the UK at the moment
attitude wise. Leaving even the
established Savage Amusement
coming a close second. Highlight this
issue has to be the Morecambe
special with a load of pix from the 3
day, 100 band run around. As I said
the pix what this zine prides itself on
are represented well, but most ain't
up to the usual photocopied
standards. And I've read more than
enough dire Morecambe reviews this
year to be thinking oh no not another
list of bands. But the dry witted Riot
version of events still manages to
create a new angle. Well enough
moaning, coz Bill's got enough of that
from the Leeds 'Cargo Cult'
untouchables, more of later. Onto
the guts,
The Dangerfields are
given more exposure and seem to be
after local heroes
Runnin Riot's
spiky crown for top Belfast punk outfit
(hopefully be spying their almost
legendary live show in a week or two
myself). There's an amusing fashion
article about the young punks and
local gig reviews. There's even book
reviews this issue with Sniffin Glue's
epic rubbing shoulders with Billy
Bragg's socialist dogma. The record
and zine reviews are restrained and
unbiased, despite being baited from
the pious Leeds fraternity. However
the crusties don't get off Scott free.
Their complaints of heavy handed
security measures by old Bill and his
mates at another
Runnin Riot gig,
are dismissed as harmless horseplay
by the editor (tee hee). Had to
snigger at Steve Arrogants football
piece...jeeez! I reckon Steve oughta
stick to writing about '77 instead of
the premiership bollocks. And it
seems the Auzzie street punk scene
are in contact too. So the words
spreading like anthrax and It's still
FREE so what do ya expect for an
s.a.e. these days!?
Write to Bill,
FREE with an SAE to
BILL, 5 GLEN ROAD, BELFAST
BT5 7JH
billyriot@hotmail.com
4 MINUTE WARNING Issue
3 Autumn 2001
****
This issue is in keeping with the
quality of last issues improved
presentation and covers a wide range
of punk cults, traits, and sects that
make up the loverly world of PUNK
today. Mitch the editoress is learning
and improving with haste on her
layout skills. A good mix of type and
handwritten text makes for an
attractive mix. She's cramming more
chunky scripts into the designated
space that a one sided zine provides.
If this zine could find an ecconomical
way to get rid of that begging to be
filled invalidating blank sheet, we'd
really have something to warn our kids
about! But handicap aside 4 Minute
Warning is still the best looking and
varied A4 slash 'n' epoxy zine in the
UK that I've seen today. And this jam
packed warning starts off with young
Southend screamy upstarts
Affray.
Followed closely by probably the last
interview the
Bus Station Loonies
ever did, they've now expired (RIP)
and reformed!. There's a more
in-depth
Barse 77 piece that covers
more ground than the recent spate of
zine interviews these scrawny
Geordies have had the opportunity to
belch in. Ending with a one page
highlight on unknown Belgium punks
(to these ears at least?),
Bad
Preachers
. Considering the
interviews are pretty good I reckon it's
Mitch's opininated articles and profiles
what give this zine it's character. We
get a humourous May Day Riots focus
and a Xena the punkette warrior
spoof. Mitch compares Xena to a 21st
century Siouxsie Sioux!!!! There's a
two-page Joey Ramone obituary,
complete with news cuttings for the
ghouls out there. And a massive
review section of gigs, zines, records
and football match reviews....
Liverpool!?...what about Blackpool??  
There's even a bit of poetry sneaked
in which isn't as bad as it sounds.
Most notable piece was the well
researched article on the origins of
the Mohican haircut. Never knew
World War two US Paratroopers
donned the cut for luck! And punks
arch rivals the teddy boys even had
em back in the 50's!!! You learn
something everyday! There were also
one page spotlights on Flies On Toast
web site and the Really Free distro
plus a load of news and innuendo to
barf at. Great enthusiastic zine. Check
out the back page artwork of
Sidernee. Is there no stopping this
punkette?
£1.20 & A4 S.A.E. from Mitch Elsden
31 Fir Grove, Marton, Blackpool,
Lancs, FY16PJ, U.K.
PUKE #6 Winter
2001
****
20 months in the making and we'd all
but given up hope on the Aylesbury
(nee Birmingham) contingent ever
getting another issue out before their
teenage years expired. But fear not
punk rock residuals, for this 40 page
scribble is still worth the wait!!! I'm big
headed enough to say this is the zine I
was looking for to fill in the abyss left
by the foul mouthed
Suffragette. I
always wondered whether a zine would
ever have the guts to take over where
The Suffragette once pogoed alone. I
was on the hunt for a zine that would
go for eye to eye contact with the punk
hierarchy and tell em and us exactly
what they really think? Well the wait is
over coz new zine blood like
Puke is
the chosen one for sure.
Puke has
finally stepped outta the playground
and into punk prints big bad city. And
you know what?...this could be really
infamous, coz I can sniff in the air It's
gonna be the most reviled zine around
by the ignorant fools who just don't get
real punk rock. But it'll be equally
lapped up with glee by any punk worth
his salt and in need of an intuitive
recommended punk rock read.
Puke is
sussed beyond belief coz it's already
spewing forth real gems of wisdom.
And some bands/zines just don't like
being told the truth. I can see
Puke set
for a career of being the UK's newest
whipping post by the pompous spotty
zine elite just for being dare I say it,
blatantly honest!!!! But that ain't
gonna worry
Puke in the least, coz
they wouldn't have it any other way
and we wouldn't want it any other way
either. With Becca Puke at the helm
and the love sick Jemma Puke just
mopping up, Becca's definitely the
main driving force at work in this issue.
We've at last got a bird who ain't afraid
to tell it like it is. This tiny tyrant has
got her targets well and firmly set in
her panda eyed sights. It makes you
wish you was this sussed at 18!!! And I
like her attitude. I can suss she's in it
for all the right reasons and ain't afraid
to break a few hearts (
Intention and
Fracture take note tee hee) along the
way. But you know what it ain't all hot
air either coz she's good with it. This
ain't just blatant teenage abuse, this is
clever constructive critique, and her
writing style is infectious and getting
better by the second. She'll tell ya if
your a cunt or a waste of space, which
is no bad thing. No time for
passengers or favourites in
Puke
either, everything and I mean
everything including sugar daddy
Raggitys musical taste is judged on
merit alone. It's great to read a zine by
someone who's young enough to be
as cocky as Johnny Rotten circa '76
and wise enough to tell the older mob
where to get off with ammo to spare.
And great vision which is telescopic to
the point of embarrassment for us
older toss pots. The bands featured
are picked well with veteran
Liverpudlians
M.D.M. and Harlow's
harlots
The Antibodies who are both
benchmarks on good taste.
Entertaining gig reviews lurk amongst
sulphuric acid record/zine reviews.
Puke is all glued together with a
fucking one-off sensa yuma and
comes in a progressive slash 'n' epoxy
design that shows imaginative, artistic
skills with a smudged eye for detail.
Scruffy enough to know this is from the
heart and gutter but precise enough to
click there's a brain lurking inside. My
one and only concern (and it's a major
one) is this zine hits the streets as
frequent as a white Christmas on a
Wolverhampton council estate! Which
is a fucking bummer! Because in the
zine world (just like bands) you have to
hit while the irons hot else you soon
lose your audience. That aside with a
new base in Brum and access to more
punk, Puke is destined to become the
real view from the streets.
BECCA PUKE
PAGE 1 - PAGE 2
SOAP N SPIKES #8
Summer 2001
*****
Over 12 months in the making has
Dick Vein, the Stanley Kubrick of the
Canadian punk scene kept us waiting
for this one. But by golly it was worth it
in the end. How many PUNK zines
today can actually give you such a
diverse array of name punks in their
pages? Most hide under the punk
banner but feed us inferior characters
masquerading as punk. Or we either
get the usual fat beer bellied dross
that's such a bore to plough through.
But
Soap N Spikes is always
guaranteed punk entertainment in
print.
Soap N Spikes aims at the big
guns and gets em most of the time.
Take
Johnny Rotten or Jimmy Zero
talking straight with no bullshit and no
ego's. Plus a strong supporting cast of
English Dogs, Billy Club and Sick
On The Bus
all in one issue!!! Even
the more renowned big publications
like MRR, Flipside etc. couldn't pull
that one off. The
Rotten exclusive
alone taken from Dick's online radio
chat is all the questions you ever
wanted answering on the band the
books never seem to cover. We get
Rotten views on Exploited, Crass
and
Siouxsie Sioux. Plus what it was
really like walking the London's streets
as public enemy number one...
."I
might as well have had a neon sign
saying 'kill here, and a brass band
advertising my coming down a high
street'!"
The concluding part of
Jimmy Zero's ultra amusing tales of
life within the
Dead Boys is a truly
fascinating read. This insiders view on
what made em such a volatile class act
punk band should inspire bands to
fuck shit up. Moving up a decade, we
get the 80's covered with bands I ain't
really enamored with, but fair play
Pinch's hilarious life on the road with
the
English Dogs won me over. The
dubious Karl from
Billy Clubs
infighting stories with Wattie and
getting banjoed at
GBH gigs was funny
too. Never heard of
Nauzwaar
before?...me neither, and I initially
thought who is this joker? But keep
with it coz it's another funny expose.
Sick On The Bus are another band
who aint in my top ten but yet again
the questions and answers are good to
read. The columns in this issue are
pretty much across the board giving
any cunt a license to air their views.
Take Lee Havoc (ex-
One Way
System
) who has gotta be the most
misunderstood individual in punk
(snigger). Of course 8 pages of record
reviews which actually cover punk rock
are actually a blast this issue. And on
summary this maybe accused of more
reminiscing from some punk circles
who like it political or PC or just safe.
But
Soap N Spikes should be and will
be an insight for younger punks and
older punks alike. Anyway if your
gonna hear tales of punk legends you
might as well get it from the horses
mouth. Next issue will be a Frisco HITS
dominated issue with some crazy
backstage subterfuge supplied by
Exploited, Slaughter, GBH, ANL and
the Dickies etc. Can't fucking wait.
DICK VAIN
SMALL SAILOR 8.5/
JELLYBRAIN #9
Split Issue May 2001
****
Now here's a couple of current UK
zines who show zeal, panache and try
and cover other ground than is the
usual regulated punk fair. This is what
real zines are all about. They give us a
good, clean presentation with lots of
energy and bite. Small Sailor
reappears after a 16 month hiatus and
is one of the few Yorkshire zines left to
have an open view on the punk world
with an attractive sharp 'slash n epoxy'
layout. However the duel editorial
seems to have a split in the ranks, with
Paul Sailor jumping ship to the
subtropical delights of the Nottingham
slums. While Thirsk HQ is held by the
Rich T. empire, who has now
expanded into fanzine distroland....
there maybe trouble ahead? The
interviews are always short 'n' sweet,
covering
Jam fanatics Odd Numbers,
from San Jose, US and the UK is
represented by
The Restarts from
North Laaainnduunn. See what I
mean...diversity is strength! There's a
blatantly censored Portland, US scene
report. Which is made hilarious by the
obvious absence or even a mention of
Portland's premier punk bad
boys...
Statch And The Rapes. But
what do you expect as it was written by
the goff guru and PC president from
Ryleh Rising zine!!! Some well
observed columns on irritating Mobile
Phones and the luxury of Filthy Lucre
get shipwrecked, plus a backpacking
article makes for extra depth. We end
our small voyage with another cultish,
surreal Dark Figure scribble!
Small
Sailors
a good, fast read!
Jellybrain (boo hisssss) is probably
the best zine 'read' around in today's
miniscule UK punk typewriter circles.
With only the mammoth
Scanner neck
'n' neck for pure volume of material.
The layout skills in this zine oughta be
taught as blueprints to kinda garden
zinesters taking up their first pen. And
even old Mr Cactus (if we could drag
him out his incontinent squat) could
learn a thing or two here. Paul's writing
has that by now classic sarcastic style,
that only a real bitter 'n' twisted, but fat
black humoured individual can
possess and put in print. A talent that
makes it entertaining instead of very
sad. Coventry interlektualz
Academy
Morticians
give a massive interview
(for
Jellybrain standards) and it was
good to see they ain't po-faced
morons who can't take a joke.
Red
Flag 77
get asked questions like what
position they use for taking a shit?
(snigger). And the cuddly Italians
Kim's Teddy Bears are here for our
editors entertainment alone. Quite a
few rants are aimed at the apathy in
supporting the local punk scene. And
the style and geographics always
makes yer think he is aiming this at
'you' or 'me'?....(paranoia or wot).
There's a great
Pee Wee's UK tour
diary, which are always good fun to
read without the music getting in the
way too much. It's a guaranteed laff
reading how the UK toilets get a
visitation by (on this occasion Italian)
strangers. There's a fucking skip load
of reviews. Shame about the obvious
greasy addiction for safe, tame,
brylcreamed dego pop, but they're
made compulsive reading by splendid
references like....
"This is excellent
stuff to tap your foot to, and hum
along to as you do the dusting in
your dead Grandma's negligé"

(guffaw!) It's all rounded off by wacky
trivia and cartoons. Funniest zine
around!
I got my copy from Small Sailor for
50p & S.A.E. from 39 Station Road,
Thirsk,North Yorkshire, YO7 1QH,
England
JELLYBRAIN
BALD CACTUS #18
Early 2001
***
This is the first issue of Bald Cactus
zine I've read since last century!!!
Yeah I know what a fucking inactivated
cunt I am. I was curious to see how it's
progressed in the preceding 2 years,
but gotta admit I only really bought this
for the
Rudimentary Peni interview.
And what do ya know?.....the said
exclusive interview is only nicked off
the 'despised and hated' internet so I
needn't have bothered ha!. But
despite Andy's obvious misgivings
about the 'sycophant' questions
(reading between the lines he's dead
jealous) the interview is pretty fucking
good if your a
Peni fan. The other
notable thing about this issue is the
Mark Barnsley interview. Mark is a
geezer currently serving 12 years for
violence in which a gang of drunken
students attacked him, his wife and
their child. Which resulted in one of em
getting cut by one of their own knives.
Remarkably Mark (the only one to get
arrested) got fitted up by the cops,
legal system and any other cunt in
authority it seems. He was an active
anarchist so maybe that's why it's a fit
up job? But who cares what he's into,
coz no-one deserves prison for self
defence. He's been fighting his
wrongful conviction for over 6 years
now. Also under the
Cactus spotlight
are
Eastfield, Brezhnev (who don't
bow to PC views) and
Chokehold
from the US. Plus lots of right on views
with the vegans fighting amongst
themselves over who's a real vegan
and who ain't (snigger). The 3 year old
reviews are out of date and blinkered
in the extreme. The reviewing
technique is pretty fucking dismal too,
but he likes the right stuff thank
gawd!!! What really gets me about this
zine is it's so jaded and out of date it's
like being stuck back in the late 80's
when no-one cared and we accepted
everything coz it was a punk rarity.
However it's 2001 now so no excuses.
A crappy layout and even worse print
job make this a real fucking chore to
read. It's great producing a zine that's
got its own niche and doesn't bow to
outside trends no matter what. But
Bald Cactus is just really stale
compared with other zines today.
There's no real humour, no new
ground gets broken, just the same old
tired opinions get covered with a
depressing veneer. He's done this for
fucking 18 years and it did have it's
great moments, but time really has
caught up with the karate kid!!! I'm just
glad I never got involved with this
rapidly decreasing 'right on' UK zine
ghetto coz its a pretty fucking jaded
bunch who need something 'new' to
moan about in their tight knit crew.
BALD CACTUS
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