Poison Girls
| Poison Girls | |
|---|---|
 Poison Girls on December 18, 1982 |
|
| General information | |
| origin |
Brighton , UK
|
| Genre (s) | Anarcho-punk |
| founding | 1975, 1995 |
| resolution | 1987 |
| Website | www.poisongirls.co.uk/ |
| Founding members | |
Vocals, guitar |
Vi subversa |
Vocals, guitar |
Richard Famous |
Tapes, bass, electric violin |
Nile (until 1985) |
Bass, synthesizer, piano |
Bella Donna (until 1977) |
Drums |
Lance D'Boyle (Gary Lance Robins) (until 1984, † 2017) |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Vi Subversa (Frances Sokolov) († 2016) |
Vocals, guitar |
Richard Famous |
bass |
Andy (1989) |
Drums |
Agent Orange (since 1984) |
| former members | |
bass |
Bernhardt Rebours (1977–1981) |
bass |
Pete Fender (1978, 1984) |
bass |
Scott Barker (1978) |
bass |
Chris Grace (1982-83) |
bass |
Mark Dunn (1983-84) |
Synthesizer, vocals |
Cynth Ethics (Sian Daniels) (1983-84) |
bass |
Martin Heath (1984) |
bass |
Max Vol (1984-87) |
The Poison Girls ( English for poison girls ) were an English anarchopunk band .
Band history
Poison Girls was founded in Brighton in 1975 . Vi Subversa (Frances Sokolov) was 42 years old at the time the band was founded and a mother of two, had lived in Brighton, her birthplace, and as a social worker in Israel . Her boyfriend at the time Richard Famous, with whom she already had a cabaret show called That Famous Subversa, was involved as a guitarist. She herself did the main vocals. Lance D'Boyle (Gary Lance Robins) was the band's longtime drummer. Another founding member was Bella Donna. Originally founded only for an impromptu theater performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the band began to move on under the impression of the burgeoning punk wave. Over the years the bass was a vacant position within the band and changed almost every year. On March 17, 1977, the first appearance took place in the Vault in Brighton.
Initially based in Brighton, the band moved to Burleigh House, a squat outside Epping near Essex , in August 1977, near the Dial House , the commune- like estate of the anarcho-punk band Crass . The two bands were good friends, so Vi Subversa's daughter "Gem Stone" spoke the beginning of the track Reality Asylum (single, 1978), which can also be found on the Crass debut album The Feeding of the 5000 (1978). After initially releasing the Extended Play Hex on their own label, Xntrix Records, Crass signed the band. Penny Rimbaud had already produced the EP. He also took on the production of her debut album Chappaquiddick Bridge . The LP became the first release on Crass Records that was not from Crass himself. In May 1980 a split 7 '' with the piece Persons Unknown was released . Crass' song was called Bloody Revolution . It was a benefit single, the proceeds of which should go to help build an anarchist center in London. Originally, UB40 was supposed to provide the split side instead of the Poison Girls. In fact, because of this , the British secret service MI5 had created a file on the Northern Irish band. The two bands also performed together frequently. A total of 97 joint gigs have been handed down. Poison Girls were also represented at the Stonehenge Festival in 1980 when a bunch of rockers stormed the festival and attacked the punks there. The riots also ensured that neither Crass nor Poison Girls could perform. The band also played a number of their own gigs in and around the UK. Their status as an anarcho-punk band made them a frequent target of attacks from the burgeoning right-wing skinhead scene around the National Front and the British Movement . They were also victims of the attack by radical fascists during the riots in Conway Hall in Holborn .
In 1980 the band moved together to Leytonstone in London after their squat was vacated and demolished. In 1981 the live album Total Exposure was released , which was recorded during their last gig with Crass. This was followed in 1982 by the concept album What’s the Pleasure , which was about sex. With Songs of Praise they released their last album in 1985. Numerous tours and appearances in Europe followed. The last to appear in 1988 was the musical Aids - The Musical , to which the Poison Girls contributed nine songs and could be heard as a backing band. At the end of 1989 the band finally broke up. Her last gig took place at the University of Zagreb in Yugoslavia .
In 1995 the band got together for the last time. The band played one last gig in London's Astoria on the occasion of Via Subversa's 60th birthday .
Vi Subversa died on February 19, 2016 after a brief illness. Lance d'Boyle (Gary Lance Robins) passed away on January 16, 2017.
Music and lyrics
The Poison Girls described their everyday life from an anarchist point of view. Her songs are often ironic or sarcastic. The main theme of the band was, in addition to anarchism, feminism and self-determination. Among other things, front woman and singer Vi Subversa advocated legal abortion and legalization of soft drugs at all times . Musically, the music was very experimental. Even their first EP Hex consisted of just a 30-minute piece that mixed elements of Berlin cabaret from the 1930s, punk and various samples from radio and telephone recordings. Vi Subversa's singing was rough and smoky. While the next albums were still clearly punk, the single Real Woman and her farewell work Songs of Praise combine pop music with Celtic folk , funk and cabaret.
Discography
- Albums
- 1980: Chappaquiddick Bridge (LP including Flexi-7 '' Statement , Crass Records)
- 1981: Total Exposure (LP, Xntrix)
- 1982: Where's the Pleasure (LP, Xntrix)
- 1985: Songs of Praise (LP, Xntrix)
- Singles / EPs
- 1979: Hex (12``, Small Wonder Records / Xntrix)
- 1980: All Systems Go (7``, Crass Records)
- 1980: Bully Boys / Pretty Polly (Flexi-7``, In the City Fanzine)
- 1983: Are You Happy Now…? (12`` / 7 '', Illuminated Records)
- 1983: One Good Reason (7``, Illuminated Records)
- 1984: I'm Not a Real Woman (12`` / 7 '', Xntrix)
- 1985: The Price of Grain and the Price of Blood (12``, Upright Records)
- Split releases
- 1979: Violence Grows (Split-12 '' with 'Fatal' Microbes, Small Wonder Records / Xntrix)
- 1980: Persons Unknown / Bloody Revolutions (Split-7 '' with Crass, Crass Records)
- 1982: Anarchy Live (Split MC with Crass, BBP Records)
- Compilations
- 1984: 7 Year Scratch (2LP, Xntrix)
- 1995: Real Woman (CD, Cooking Vinyl )
- 1995: Statement - The Complete Recordings (4CD, Cooking Vinyl)
- 1997: Their Finest Moments (CD, Nectar Masters)
- 1998: Poisonous (2CD, Recall 2CD / Snapper Music)
- Sampler contributions
- 1979: Closed Shop on Labels Unlimited - The Second Record Collection ( Cherry Red Records )
- 1982: Statement on Wargasm (Pax Records)
- 1983: Take the Toys from the Boys on Let the Children Play (Panic Records)
- 1984: The Offending Article on Who? What? Why? When? Where? (Mortarhate Records)
- 1985: Rockface on Communicate !!!! Live at Thames Poly (TPSU Records)
- 1985: Cry and Voodoo Pappadollar on Dig This: A Tribute to the Great Strike (Forward Sounds International)
- 1986: Jenny on Safari Internacional (DRO)
- 1987: Feeling the Pinch (Live Bakke Bydelshus Trondheim, Norway 03/10/85) on Knall the Album (Knallsyndikatet)
- 1989: The Offending Article on This Is the ALF (Mortarhate Records)
- 1992: Promenade Immortelle on A Sides Part One. 1979/1982 (Crass Records)
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Discography (English)
- Fan Site (English)
- Poison Girls at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Chris Salewicz: Vi Subversa: Inspirational elder stateswoman of punk who co-founded Poison Girls, denizens of its anarchist fringe. The Independent , February 22, 2016, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ^ Intro: 1975-1978. Official website, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ↑ George Berger: Subversive Times - The Crass Story . Bosworth Music, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86543-320-6 , pp. 151 .
- ↑ George Berger: Subversive Times - The Crass Story . Bosworth Music, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86543-320-6 , pp. 191 .
- ↑ George Berger: Subversive Times - The Crass Story . Bosworth Music, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86543-320-6 , pp. 205 .
- ^ Stonehenge Free Festivals chronology. 1980. June 13th-26th. Ukrockfestivals.com, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b 1stVerse / Chorus: 1979 - 1982. Official website, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic (English). Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ↑ 2nd Verse / Chorus: Oct '84 - July '89. Official website, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Outro: July '89 - Nov '89. Official website, accessed February 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Ged Babey: Vi Subversa: 20th June 1935 - 19th February 2016: Flesh and blood is what we are. In: louderthanwar.com. February 20, 2016, accessed February 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Gred Babey: Lance d'Boyle from Poison Girls: RIP and appeal to raise funeral costs by downloading Poison Girls music. Louderthanwar.com, January 17, 2017, accessed February 7, 2017 .