WHEN + WHERE?
The English hardcore-punk band Chaos UK formed in 1979 in Portishead, near Bristol. Over the years (and there’s a lot of them – Chaos UK are still active to this day) there has been fluctuation in their line-up, but the original (1979-83) stood as:
Simon Greenham on vocals
- Low prices on Chaos U.K. Discography of music albums at CD Universe, with top rated service, Chaos U.K. Songs, discography, biography, cover art pictures, sound.
- Uk subs: work in progress: ahoy lp 315: uk subs: xxiv: ahoy lp 317: uk subs: yellow leader: ahoy lp 501: chaos uk: chaos uk lp: ahoy lp 502: chaos uk: the singles: ahoy dlp 503: various punk: riot city punk singles collection vol.1: ahoy lp 504: various punk: secret records punk singles collection vol.1: ahoy lp 505: blitz: complete blitz punk.
Is a UK82 hardcore / hardcore punk / anarcho-punk rock band originally from Portishead in Somerset, formed in 1979. Developing a fast aggressive style of hardcore punk, the band along with contemporaries such as Discharge and Disorder helped drive the development of hardcore punk. 01- Lawless Britain 0:00 02- Living in Fear 2:19 03- Detention Centre 4:36 04- Support 6:57 05- Control 8:51 06- People at the Top 12:44 07- Global Dominatio.
Andy Farrier on guitar
Chaos on bass
Potts on drums
As one of my favourite punk bands of all time, it only felt right to begin this ‘series’ with Chaos UK. During their multitude of singles and albums, their sound has developed and changed, and it’s really up to your taste to decide whether it’s for better or for worse. Personally, although I recognise the improvement in studio production and am still a fan of their more recent hardcore sound, there is nothing in this world I can liken to the rushing, almost sickly adrenaline I felt hearing Chaos UK’s early singles compilation for the first time. It’s an experience that’s impacted me for life… but more of that at another date! (Review coming – I wanted to wait until I was practised enough at writing them so that I can do their (spoiler) fucking ace album any kind of justice). For now, in weak imitation of Ian Glasper in his book Burning Britain – The History of UK Punk 1980-84, I’m going to take you through a brief history of Chaos UK’s releases and what I would recommend, I suppose, depending on the kind of sound you’re after. Buckle up kids!
MUSIC
Yes, I know I’ve already been going on about it, but Chaos UK’s first EPs Burning Britain and Loud, Political and Uncompromising (both born in 1982) showcase not only their finest punk, but the finest punk I’ve heard! Four Minute Warning, Army and What About A Future are fierce with roaring vocals and crackling distortion, and a chundering bassline so heavy it feels like a punch to the stomach. Kill Your Baby shows the complete lack of shits they give (sharing no correlation whatsoever with their ability to make brilliant tracks) while Victimised combats much more serious issues – “[vocalist] Simon wrote Victimised after being arrested for something or other”. No Security is a must-hear – simple as.
Chaos UK’s first, eponymously titled LP arrived in 1983, with bassist Chaos now on vocals. Although the album begins strongly with Selfish Few and showed promise with tracks like Parental Love in their relentless, stomping pace, the album (restrospectively at least) received some negativity that I have to agree with – to an extent. Looking past the self-proclaimed “fillers” and pointless cover of Victimised, the LP still showcases Chaos UK’s brutal, droning sound, Chaos’ more deep and grating vocals signalling a move to a more hardcore tone.
1984 saw changes in line-up, perhaps reflected in a newer, thrashing feel to Chaos UK’s album Short Sharp Shock – the entire record positively rips, redefining the concept of speed. Tracks like Living in Fear and Control share thick, muddy distortion, driven deeper into the dirt by the ever-present, powerfully groaning bass, No One Seems To Really Care giving a distinct nod to early Disorder. More evidence of Chaos UK’s progression in their sound is The Chipping Sodbury Bonfire Tapes, released in 1989. This album presents a metallic, hardcore mood, both in sound and structure. Despite its cut-throat pace and rawness, for me its energy seems a bit too stern and greyed in comparison to their earlier triumphs.
Almost as if they’d read my mind twenty-seven years in advance, Chaos UK’s Cider I Up Landlord (1991) and The Alcoholic (1993) are high-spirited delights, maintaining their hard sound through piss-take lyrics. Cider I Up Landlord was actually the first Chaos UK song I’d ever heard at the ripe old age of nine – I don’t even think I knew what cider was but I just thought it was funny that they sounded like farmers. Apparently I would sing it in the school playground at home time and concern the parents. So of course, getting me on board at age nine is Chaos UK’s greatest achievement. It’s nice to think that things have come full circle – they started in ’79 as just “a laugh”, and have managed to end up in ’93 with lyrical beauties like “got sick on my trousers, got sick on the floor”. Seriously, The Alcoholic has actually racked up 439K views on YouTube, so they must be doing something right.
VERDICT
Although they began as a bunch of kids making noise and writing songs “on the back of a dirty serviette”, Chaos UK produced such a huge, formidable sound in their first releases that there can be no denying of their skill. Yes – you can either laboriously learn how – and why – music sounds good through schooling and lessons, or you can just know that something sounds good by ear and keep it up. As ex-guitarist Andy Farrier explains to Ian Glasper in Burning Britain: “punk was just about getting up and having a go”; snobbery over ‘musicianship’ in punk is stupid and pointless. Every single track just on Chaos UK’s first two EPs delivers some of the most storming, angry and exhilarating punk to hit the UK, and I have no qualm in stating that, wait for it… No Security is the best punk song ever written. And that’s pretty fucking impressive.
Chaos Uk Discography Wikipedia
SOUNDS LIKE…
DISORDER, DISCHARGE
(MENTIONED) DISCOGRAPHY
THE CHIPPING SODBURY BONFIRE TAPES (1989) – Slap Up Records
INFO
Chaos Uk Discography Band
Ian Glasper – Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980-1984