Filed under: British
CRISIS were contemporaries of bands such as CRASS, GANG OF FOUR and JOY DIVISION and sound exactly like that, but are compared to the other groups mentioned still a bit underrated. CRISIS is slow and melancholic punkrock that could be compared to THE MOB (UK) with (nearly too many haha) political slogans thrown in - the best stuff when you feel hopeless and sad. Formed in 1978 as part of the 2nd wave of british punkrock they were as political as CRASS, but more in a marxist way. After they disbanded in ~1980, two of them formed DEATH IN JUNE whose crude and somewhat esoteric world view was quite a contrast to that…
Anyway, CRISIS released two 7″s and one 12″ during their career and one 7″ posthumous. In the late 90s (I think it was 1997) a double cd called “nous sommes tous des juifs et des allemands” (”we’re all jews and germans”) was released, containing all their studio material + live recordings + demo stuff + unreleased recordings (with one of their absolute killer tracks “Frustration” in a way better recording than on the 12″). Today all their outputs are rare records and often bootleged - I say this, because I want to warn you of the recent LP bootleg, which is of very bad quality what is totally inappropriate to such a great band.
Now enjoy the three 7″s:
1. NO TOWN HALL 7″ (Action Group NOTH 1; recorded & released: 1978)
Holocaust
PC 1984
No Town Hall (Southwark)
2. WHITE YOUTH 7″ (Ardkor CR 1002; recorded: 1978, BBC John Peel Session; released: 1979)
White Youth
UK ‘78
3. ALIENATION 7″ (Ardkor CR 1004; recorded: 1978, BBC John Peel Session; released: 1981)
Brükwood Hospital
Alienation
Posted by: emilok
cool post.
i didn’t know Crisis but always liked the cover that Upright Citizens did of ‘holocaust’ on their Bombs Of Peace ep in 1982.
Great tunes! Thanks.
I never made the Upright Citizens connection… !!! Digging it out now…
Excellent post Emilock. Thanks a lot for this. I used to go and see Crisis back in the day and had 2 of these 7 inches, which I since lost. Just want to add that they were a very underrated band and anyone who wants to find out more about them should check out Stewart Home’s book Cranked Up Really High.
I absolutely loved crisis!
I remember being arrested in the early 80’s whilst very drunk and chanting PC1984 (plus the desperate bycicles ‘what to do if you are arrested’ all the way to the cells)
BTW; I was cautioned.
You’ve made an old man very happy…
Very cool. I’ve been wanting to hear this band for years as I’m a Death in June fan, but wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance. Thanks for the post!
Out of Order (germany)also covered holocaust on their open prison lp,not as good as upright citizens version but still ok.Anyone know where i can download the demos?
Thanks for this post! The discography is a must-have for anyone into Crass Records/Gang of Four/Joy Division. I first became enamored of them when hearing Stewart Home speak of them in 1993. He very generously dubbed their 7″es and a live show for me. I’ve never heard the Upright Citizens cover of ‘Holocaust,’ but Tragedy did a stellar version of it that made me lose my shit.
oh! one of my fav bands..
Cullen, on which record of Tragedy can i find the cover of ‘holocaust’? i’d love to hear it.
The Upright Citizens’ version of ‘Holocaust’ is one of my favorite tracks from one of my favorite hardcore albums, and all this time I never knew it was a cover song! Great to hear the original, although I must confess that at the moment I still prefer the UC version. I think hearing it sung by Germans adds an extra dimension of pathos and emotion to it. Still, really, really great to hear this. I’m not nearly as familiar with early UK punk as I probably should be. Thanks!