Vice Squad - Stand Strong Stand Proud

Back in the dark days of 1982, much of my time was taken up with listening to the makers of what was known at the time as 'hardcore punk'. It was all about fast, loud guitar rock music with a political message of anarchy and war. All very heavy. Bands such as Discharge, GBH and One Way System come to mind. Vice Squad were cut from the same cloth. Vice Squad could produce good music, and indeed this album entered the top 40 charts of the time. Thankfully the second album Stand Strong Stand Proud was a marked improvement. Of course, it’s sod’s law that it didn’t fare as well as the dodgy debut in the UK charts, but in every other way, it was superior. Better songs, better playing, better sound and you could actually hear the vocals properly too. Not exactly a great record, but a good one. Out Of Reach, a smart enough single which trailed the album just about made the Top 75, but this was to be the high watermark for the band. The anthemic title track was another good single, but missed the chart completely.
Stand Strong Stand Proud, despite several throwaway numbers, clashes with social malignancies like vivisection (“Humane”), political passivism (“Freedom Begins At Home”), and the steady erosion of punk values (“Out Of Reach”) with power and complete credibility. In addition, Beki’s point of view provides a welcome contrast to the typical male-dominance in modern-day hardcore. Of the other material ‘’Cheap’’ sounds a bit like the pop-punk of C86 four years early, perhaps the Shop Assistants in a bad mood and ‘’No Right To Reply’’ is agreeably fast and riffy. The band cover Bowie’s doomy ‘’Saviour Machine’’ quite well and ‘’Rock “N” Roll Massacre’’ combines powerful guitar work with a song about pop music fatalities including Jimi and Sid. There are a couple of offerings that fly by without leaving much impression, but the album ends strongly with the neat mid-pace stomp of ‘’Deathwish’’ and strong anti-war song ‘’Propaganda’’.
Highly recommended.

Vice Squad - No Cause For Concern

Formed in early ’79 in Bristol England, in the wake of the breakup of two local bands, Contingent and TV Brakes, Vice Squad grew to become one of the most successful bands of the second British punk era. The initial line-up featured Beki Bondage (aka Rebecca Louise Bond) on lead vocals, Dave Bateman on guitar, Mark Hambly on bass, and Shane Baldwin on drums. After just three rehearsals, the new band made their live debut on April 12, 1979 in a show at Bristol University. They made powerful music with bitterly intense lyrics and had — until she departed, following a disagreement over animal rights — a major focal point in lead singer Beki Bondage.

Playing strong, straightforward songs with anthemic choruses and a defiant tone, Vice Squad were willing to be rabble rousers and took pride in their connection to the underground even during their short tenure as a major-label act. After the success of their first two singles, the band struck a deal with EMI's Zonophone label to distribute their recordings for Riot City. The definitive document of the band's initial run from 1979 to 1985 was their debut album, 1981's No Cause for Concern, which included their signature tune "Last Rockers."

Vice Squad – Last Rockers / Resurrection

U.K. punk rockers Vice Squad were a significant band in the second wave of British punk. At a time when the music was becoming more stylistically monochromatic and male, they stood out as one of the few groups with a female leader, vocalist Beki Bondage, and she was also one of the first artists on the scene to use her music to support animal rights and vegetarianism. It took a while for Vice Squad to find their footing in the U.K. punk scene, but that changed in 1980 when their fledgling Riot City Records released the three-song 7" "Last Rockers" b/w "Living on Dreams" and "Latex Love." The disc rose to number seven on the U.K. Indie Chart, and their next release, 1981's "Resurrection" b/w "Young Blood" and "Humane," peaked at number four on the indie charts.