Chappaquiddick Bridge

Poison Girls are considered pioneers of the late 1970s anarcho-punk scene in England alongside fellow DIY icons Crass, seeking nothing less than to radicalize us with their music. Functioning outside the sphere of Punk™ and its mohawked media circus, Poison Girls and Crass resisted that era's mainstream commodification of anarchy and rebellion. They released albums, shared over 100 gigs and collaborated musically; Crass drummer Penny Rimbaud produced 1979's Hex and 1980's Chappaquiddick Bridge. As sneered with piercing sarcasm on Bridge's uncredited opening track: "State control and rock and roll/ Are run by clever men!/ Politics are ultra-chic/ And wars are in again!"

At the throbbing heart of Poison Girls' crude rock experiments was singer-guitarist Vi Subversa, who brought a fiercely original perspective as a 44-year-old mother of two. Subversa's lyrics were radical feminist poetry in the most literal sense and her raw voice was pure fire, magic, passion and soul, unleashing a tender, sing-song expression of alienation at one turn and a post-apocalyptic witch spell the next. Sans mere sloganeering, her intellect burned stereotypes to the ground with explicit goals: changing how we think about capitalism and anarchy, feminism and racism, gender and sexuality, war and peace, age and motherhood. "I was energized by the punk stuff and the opportunities it gave us to talk about things that were important to me as a mother," Subversa said in an interview with Maximum Rocknroll. "The press was like, 'Punk mom in the suburbs, blah blah,' and I hated that. I wanted to be there as a person in my own right joining in the fun and making music and exchanging ideas and being where the action was."

Their music itself pushed boundaries; with songs often breaking the four-minute mark, it wasn't "punk" in sound as much as politicized art-rock, incorporating piano, violin and odd, cassette-spun effects. Owing to their sense of exploration, Poison Girls even recorded an "orchestral" version of their all-caps manifesto track, "Statement", a version of which is included with Chappaquiddick Bridge. Subversa roars, "I DENOUNCE THE SYSTEM THAT DENIES MY EXISTENCE/ I CURSE THE SYSTEM THAT MAKES MACHINES OF MY CHILDREN." Language didn't fuel their power as much as create it on a level that many of the eras more acclaimed bands couldn't have. Their music is far less accessible, but Poison Girls should be remembered as British predecessors of riot grrrl along with the Raincoats, the Slits, and X-Ray Spex.

Bloody Revolutions/Persons Unknown

‘Bloody Revolutions’ is the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ of anarcho-punk. Around the central musical, and symbolic, motif of La Marseillaise, this 6 minutes and 24 seconds packs in five distinct musical movements, linked only by lyrical content. After an initial collage of sound, comes the dull thud of monotone bass and drum over which Steve Ignorant intones, “You talk about your revolution, well, that’s fine /But what are you going to be doing come the time? / Are you going to be the big man with the tommy-gun?”  There is little question that this is a reference to The Clash’s ‘Guns of Brixton’ and ‘Tommy Gun’ although only later in the song does it become apparent that it is also a critique of their perceived posturing. But Crass are far more concerned with wider issues than mere rock star ‘revolutionaries.’ Not for them, the adoption of left wing credentials: ‘Bloody Revolutions’ is an attempt to put a metaphorical bomb under the notion of left wing revolution. Just like Crass themselves, ‘Bloody Revolutions’ is an unholy mess and yet it somehow works. Within the confines of a pop song, there is an intelligent argument posited whether you agree with it or not. The shouty, barking, male lead is counterbalanced by a beautiful femininity. And whatever you think of Crass’ politics, they put their money where their mouths were. From the proceeds of this single, they established the Wapping Autonomy Centre as a central meeting place and venue for anarchists. The fact this closed due to the disagreements of the different factions of anarchists only highlights the naive idealism at the heart of this band.

At a time when female visibility in bands was generally restricted to the glamorous and young, Vi Subversa, formed Poison Girls in her mid-forties. With a honeyed voice that has echoes of Marianne Faithfull, Lesley Woods and Eartha Kitt, Vi uses the phrase ‘Persons Unknown’ to encapsulate all ordinary people whom the authorities may choose to brand with that nomenclature: “Housewives and prostitutes / Plumbers in boiler suits / Truants in coffee bars /Who think you’re alone.”  The suggestion is that any of us could end up like Bennett and Mills, accused of a crime we did not commit and vilified by press and government. Throughout the song, Subversa makes the point that society encourages people to live lives of isolation making it easier for the authorities to exercise control: “Habits of hiding /Soon will be the death of us /Dying in secret from poisons unknown.” The only response to this is to try to reclaim power from the state by not being scared to speak out about what we feel is right: “Survival in silence / Isn’t good enough no more /Keeping your mouth shut / Head in the sand.” The music is swaying, circular, woozy: it reminds me of the music of a carousel, albeit a carousel powered by electric guitars. In the course of the song, Subversa covers the whole gamut of society from “accountants in nylon shirts” to “cleaners of lavatories” but, above all, it is a call to arms challenging each and every one of us to cast aside the social conventions imposed by the state that shackle us: “Flesh and blood is who we are / Flesh and blood are what we are /Flesh and blood is who we are /Our cover is blown….”

by theartyassassin

You Can Be You/All Systems Go

Yeah…back again with a double post of more, yes can you believe it, more from the world of Crass Records. As mentioned in the Split 12” Closed Shop post, Honey Bane was the first artist to appear on Crass records with a banging 7” EP. Originally starting out as Donna And The Kebabs (or Honey And Crass) the three tracks explore some of the underside of London circa 1979 as seen through a young Ms Bane’s eyes while on the run from Social Services. Girl On The Run explores the homeless and desperate conditions of a young pregnant girl on the city streets. Porno Grows has a deceptively pretty piano that belies the rants at the seedy side of Soho and the Red Light sex industry exploitation, while the final track Boring Conversations does exactly what it says on the tin, kicking off with some Spanish Flamenco Guitar, Bane talks about the conversations she’s had with the Social Services and how she wasn’t letting them into her head.

If Discharge were blazing a whole new trail for Punk Rock to travel then the Poison Girls were doing likewise but going off at a completely different tangent. Both bands were sat at almost opposing extremes though both were similar in the way they were polarising critics, leading to both of them being either loved, hated or studiously ignored.

If Discharge were playing unlistenable music (for unliveable times) then Poison Girls were playing music for pleasure in a very mature manner and it was a sign of the times that the only people able and willing to appreciate both bands at once was the Punk crowd who were acknowledging, perhaps, not only the form but the content. All Systems Go was Poison Girls' first 7" record totally of their own and featured two tracks, Promenade Immortelle and Dirty Work. Though very much their own record, the connection to Crass was still on full display as in being released on Crass Records, produced by Penny Rimbaud, featuring Eve Libertine on backing vocals, with photography by Gee Vaucher. There was something of the epic about Promenade Immortelle; something modestly, even shyly majestic. If ever a song was fit to be played on national radio then surely this was it? If ever a record might appeal to teenage Anarcho Punk Rockers and their parents alike then - surely - this was the one? Not that Poison Girls had lost their edge in any way or their spikiness as evidenced by the other track on the record, Dirty Work. Propelled by tribal drumming and scorched by fuzzbox feedback, the words are delivered in an almost robotic fashion.

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.

Old Tarts; Hex

First of a number of re-upped and re-posted entries to come during the rest of October. This particular one is from November 2106 and it's a cracker. Go On! You know you want to. It's just a click away...

Poison Girls were an incredible force of nature. Spat out from the underbelly of the UK punk scene, they paired up with a dodgy band down the road called Crass. The two bands played 100 shows together in the span of three years and they bonded on a conceptual and artistic way to approach punk.

Vi Subversa was a child in the East End of London during the Second World War, an evacuee during the Blitz, became part of the Soho anarchist scene of the 50s, took part in the original CND march to Aldermaston, then a counter culture drop out of the 60s, finally found herself in the mid 70s, aged 40, with two children, living in Brighton. There, along with Richard Famous, Lance d'Boyle and Bella Donna - all attached to activities at Brighton's Resources Centre (an old Presbyterian church with a rehearsals and gig space in its vaults) she formed Poison Girls. After relocating to the Burleigh House squat near Epping and eventually recruiting Bernhardt Rebours on bass, Poison Girls first music release was 1979's Piano Lessons / Closed Shop on their own Xntrix label in collaboration with Pete Stennett's Small Wonder Records (Bauhaus, The Cure, Patrik Fitzgerald, Crass, Cravats, Anthrax....), a local shop-based independent record label. Later in 1979 followed HEX.  Recorded at Southern Studios, produced by Penny Rimbaud and engineered by John Loder, HEX is a 12” 45rpm mini-album, again released with the help of Small Wonder Records. HEX is an extraordinary punk record. With additional vocals by Eve Libertine of Crass and including contributions by Vi Subversa's children; Pete Fender and Gem Stone (also known as Honey Bane), the album lays out the band's vision in Vi's searing lyrics against a backdrop of deep, beautiful and sometimes frightening music. Vi channels the anger and frustrations of any mother living in what was (and still is) a man’s world. From the opening salvo “If I had my time again, I’d like to come back as a man!” to the final “Reality Attack, Reality Attack Reality ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK” the record bristles with a fiery passion and intensity. The lyrics explore the expectations of normality, political correctness, pressures of conformity, pain and mental illness and the horrors of war. The music is diamond hard but with a tender edge, and the whole soundscape is overlaid with ‘found’ recordings of everyday life.