Live at the Lyceum London 1982 i was there headlined by Wasted Youth(Decay 2nd from top),other bands that played were Sex Gang children/ Erazerhead / crown of thorns & New Model Army were on first they replaced March Violets
I’ve been a fan of UK Decay since seeing them blow Theatre of Hate (my favourite band at the time) off the stage in early 1981 without appearing to raise a sweat. Given that Theatre of Hate were in their pretty much unassailable live prime during this period, you get an idea of just what a fantastic band UK Decay were. It was the start of a serious obsession for me. Pretty much everyone I knew liked UK Decay, but no one liked them as much as I did. I went to every gig I could, bunking the fare to out of town gigs, dodging skinheads and sleeping in train stations. They were arty! They were doomy! They were punky! They had tunes! And style! And a great front man! And a great bassist! And a great (really great) drummer! Theatre of Hate had all these things of course, but they did not have Spon, and they most certainly did not have Instrument X. Anyone who knows UK Decay will know what I mean, and if you don’t, stop reading this and play the tracks in youtube in the links below I loved (and still love) all UK Decay’s records, which got better with every release in a radical about face to the usual rapid decline, but until this release they’d been marred by flat production which never really captured their live power. However, this 12”, finally caught their live lightning in the studio bottle. I don’t so much hear these songs as experience them, even now after all these years, they do something to my synapses that I can’t really explain. Lead track 'Werewolf' is possibly my favourite song ever. This changes depending on mood of course (sometimes it’s just nudged out of #1 position by Complete Control), but it’s never out of the top three. It’s also probably one of the oddest songs ever; prefaced by 2½ minutes of disembodied growls, the song proper clocks in at just under 8 minutes (9½ minutes in total!) with no chorus, no riff and no hook. Anchored by a blisteringly intricate (and lifetime best) performance by drummer Steve Harle, it builds menacingly in the opening section, with bassist Twiggy powering through a circular, almost motorik groove. The rhythm section thunder darkly, with the rumble of a fast approaching storm, while slashing guitar chimes provide brief flashes of illumination, like lightning strikes at night. And when the bass drops into a descending double-time run around the 3½ minute mark, it pulls you right into the middle of the maelstrom. And this is when the whole thing just EXPLODES... Guitarists Spon plays ... I’m not sure exactly; it’s guitar; but unlike anything you’ve heard before. Feedback howls, space echo spirals, phasing, delay: all combine to create a shimmering, constantly shifting aurora. The phrase ‘sonic cathedral’ would fit here, if it didn’t have such diffident connotations. Make no mistake - UK Decay are a punk band, and they produce an intensely physical, almost claustrophobic sound. The lyrics (and vocal delivery) are correspondingly dark and oppressive, with singer Abbo (literally and figuratively) howling lines like “Man is the beast... aware”. But as always with his work, he isn’t necessarily dealing with the subject that he first appear to be. Rather than being about a werewolf as such, the song uses the werewolf myth as a metaphor to examine the innate savagery of the human race, and the way both religious and secular rituals (a UK Decay gig for example), tap into that animalistic, primal energy to create altered mental states (“When the light of the day is dead/ The spark of night ignites/ Beast/ Dormant inside/ Comes alive”). The most impressive thing about Werewolf though, is its visceral, transformative power, which almost has the ability induce the trance-like, hallucinatory state it describes. It really does do something to the spinal column and the brain, short circuiting the logic centres and reconnecting the listener to atavistic impulses that the patina of civilisation barely contains. I was 18 when this record first came out, and I honestly thought it was the greatest 9½ minutes ever committed to vinyl. 40 something years later, I still do.
Just love Steve Harle's tribal drumming which is reminiscent of Killing Joke's Big Paul Ferguson. First saw both bands in Cardiff's Top Rank circa '82/'83 and have been smitten ever since.
I was there in Cardiff early 80's to witness both bands and that tribal drumming style of both Harle and Ferguson. And yes, I was smitten too and, if the truth be known, l still am although my focus ( since 2020 ) is now on the Holy Bible 1611 and especially the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God my Saviour.
Live at the Lyceum London 1982 i was there headlined by Wasted Youth(Decay 2nd from top),other bands that played were Sex Gang children/ Erazerhead / crown of thorns & New Model Army were on first they replaced March Violets
Blows me away every time!
Loved the way this track started!
Great Tune and video...why can't we have bands like this any more.
Because kids don`t have enough imagination now,they`re all phone zombies.
I’ve been a fan of UK Decay since seeing them blow Theatre of Hate (my favourite band at the time) off the stage in early 1981 without appearing to raise a sweat. Given that Theatre of Hate were in their pretty much unassailable live prime during this period, you get an idea of just what a fantastic band UK Decay were.
It was the start of a serious obsession for me. Pretty much everyone I knew liked UK Decay, but no one liked them as much as I did. I went to every gig I could, bunking the fare to out of town gigs, dodging skinheads and sleeping in train stations.
They were arty! They were doomy! They were punky! They had tunes! And style! And a great front man! And a great bassist! And a great (really great) drummer! Theatre of Hate had all these things of course, but they did not have Spon, and they most certainly did not have Instrument X. Anyone who knows UK Decay will know what I mean, and if you don’t, stop reading this and play the tracks in youtube in the links below
I loved (and still love) all UK Decay’s records, which got better with every release in a radical about face to the usual rapid decline, but until this release they’d been marred by flat production which never really captured their live power. However, this 12”, finally caught their live lightning in the studio bottle.
I don’t so much hear these songs as experience them, even now after all these years, they do something to my synapses that I can’t really explain.
Lead track 'Werewolf' is possibly my favourite song ever. This changes depending on mood of course (sometimes it’s just nudged out of #1 position by Complete Control), but it’s never out of the top three. It’s also probably one of the oddest songs ever; prefaced by 2½ minutes of disembodied growls, the song proper clocks in at just under 8 minutes (9½ minutes in total!) with no chorus, no riff and no hook.
Anchored by a blisteringly intricate (and lifetime best) performance by drummer Steve Harle, it builds menacingly in the opening section, with bassist Twiggy powering through a circular, almost motorik groove. The rhythm section thunder darkly, with the rumble of a fast approaching storm, while slashing guitar chimes provide brief flashes of illumination, like lightning strikes at night. And when the bass drops into a descending double-time run around the 3½ minute mark, it pulls you right into the middle of the maelstrom.
And this is when the whole thing just EXPLODES...
Guitarists Spon plays ... I’m not sure exactly; it’s guitar; but unlike anything you’ve heard before. Feedback howls, space echo spirals, phasing, delay: all combine to create a shimmering, constantly shifting aurora. The phrase ‘sonic cathedral’ would fit here, if it didn’t have such diffident connotations. Make no mistake - UK Decay are a punk band, and they produce an intensely physical, almost claustrophobic sound.
The lyrics (and vocal delivery) are correspondingly dark and oppressive, with singer Abbo (literally and figuratively) howling lines like “Man is the beast... aware”. But as always with his work, he isn’t necessarily dealing with the subject that he first appear to be. Rather than being about a werewolf as such, the song uses the werewolf myth as a metaphor to examine the innate savagery of the human race, and the way both religious and secular rituals (a UK Decay gig for example), tap into that animalistic, primal energy to create altered mental states (“When the light of the day is dead/ The spark of night ignites/ Beast/ Dormant inside/ Comes alive”).
The most impressive thing about Werewolf though, is its visceral, transformative power, which almost has the ability induce the trance-like, hallucinatory state it describes. It really does do something to the spinal column and the brain, short circuiting the logic centres and reconnecting the listener to atavistic impulses that the patina of civilisation barely contains.
I was 18 when this record first came out, and I honestly thought it was the greatest 9½ minutes ever committed to vinyl. 40 something years later, I still do.
Love it. One of my fave bands
Wow. Despite being an admirer of Decay's work for more than two-and-half decades, I wasn't even aware that this footage existed. Thank you.
Right?!
gives you a good context for all those post punk bands that drifted into a kind of mainstream sensibility
This is the real deal. I hope someone leaves a comment at least once a year on this video in honour of a band gone but not forgotten.
Yes! From July 2023!
It still rocks❤️
Like Pink Floyd on extra strong bad musshies!
ha,good comparison,UKDK were quite a trip with all the dry ice and strobe lights they used and Abbo`s charisma too of course.
The best!!!!!
Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!
Just love Steve Harle's tribal drumming which is reminiscent of Killing Joke's Big Paul Ferguson. First saw both bands in Cardiff's Top Rank circa '82/'83 and have been smitten ever since.
I was there in Cardiff early 80's to witness both bands and that tribal drumming style of both Harle and Ferguson. And yes, I was smitten too and, if the truth be known, l still am although my focus ( since 2020 ) is now on the Holy Bible 1611 and especially the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God my Saviour.
classic i was at that gig London Lyceum best days
Me too.
@@presstoeject Me three.
Was that when they supported 999? Seem to remember the Meteors in the bill as well.