Various Artists - Small Wonder Vol.2

It has been a while since I posted the first ten Small Wonder singles, hasn’t it?!. Well thanks first of all for being so patient and for recognising just how difficult it is to find some of the additional B side tracks. It has to be noted that without great resources to visit like Always A Wanker with his incredible selection of punk and post-punk bands, collating complete compilations would be near impossible. So, without further bla bla blah, I am taking it as understood that you are all familiar with the concept of Small Wonder Records, it being an early independent label that specialised in releasing punk and post-punk bands. This 25 track collection covers releases “Small Eleven” through to “Small Twenty” which includes artists such as The Cravats, Fatal Microbes, The Wall, Cockney Rejects, The Molesters and The Cure. With a tiny bit of help from the indie archives of a real collector, it’s time to get acquainted / re-acquainted with some real gems from the vaults.

 

Closed Shop/Violence Grows

This 12” split EP was the recording debut of Essex based Poison Girls and Fatal Microbes, on the Small Wonder and XNTRIX Records co-release. The Fatal Microbes side was re-released in 1979 on Small Wonder as a 7″ single with an extra track Cry Baby. Both The Poison Girls and Honey Bane from The Fatal Microbes were to go on to work very closely with nearby Essex based neighbours Crass in 1979 sharing gigs, recording at Southern Studios and releases on Crass Records. This release was recorded at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. After Fatal Microbes split, Honey Bane was first to release a non Crass record on the Crass Record label, then she went solo and worked with Jimmy Pursey releasing records on EMI. Pete Fender and Gem Stone formed Rubella Ballet with fellow Essex punks Sid and Zillah Minx.

During the lifespan of the group, Poison Girls became a massive influence to the audiences in the UK. Originally hailing from Brighton in 1976 before moving to Burleigh House in Essex the band featured singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, who just happened to be a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, often from an anarchist perspective. They worked closely for a number of years with fellow anarchist band Crass, playing over 100 gigs together. In 1979 they contributed to the revival of the peace movement by playing a number of benefit gigs, again with Crass and paying for the production of the first CND badges since CND's heyday.

Violence Grows

Fatal Microbes were an English punk rock band formed in 1978. The main line-up of the band consisted of Honey Bane on vocals, Gem Stone on drums, Pete Fender on guitar, and Scotty Barker on bass. The band's name is regarded as a reference to the theme of disgust and toxicity, explored and embraced by many punk rock acts in the late 1970s and early 1980. Releasing only one 7” single and a split four track 12” with Poison Girls they’re best known for the start of Honey Bane’s career first on the Crass label and eventually being picked up by EMI.