'1979: The Story So Far' continues from our December issue.
With the Piranhas spending so much time out of town, playing gigs the length and breadth of the country, it was a chance for some of the other bands to hog a bit of the limelight, such as it was. The Brighton music scene had been starved of success for so long and so had largely been ignored by major record labels.
With the lead taken by Attrix and the Piranhas, it seemed there was a chance for some of us to actually get a record out there. And so emerged Vaultage 79, featuring the Vandells, The Chefs, Golinski Brothers, The Lillettes, Ijax Allstars and Woody & The Splinters. The album’s predecessor had all but sold out three pressings and it was hoped this latest offering would enjoy at least as much success and achieve a similar amount of exposure on John Peel’s show.
It was generally well received in the music press, though it obviously lacked some of the impact of Vaultage 78. Brighton punk had in all fairness really been and gone with the demise of the early raw bands such as Wrist Action, The Poison Girls, Flesh, The Depressions and the Molesters - and the Piranhas’ sound had changed with the addition of Zoot on saxophone - they had incorporated a ska/reggae feel which had squeezed out some of the more rocking punk numbers they played in their earlier days. Only Peter & The Test Tube Babies continued to carry the punk torch. They enjoyed a cult following and were starting to play a lot of gigs out of town and abroad, gaining popularity in various European cities and beyond. And as far as I know, they are still at it almost 30 years ago to the day!
The bands featured on this latest Vaultage offering were more diverse and had a stronger pop feel about them. But the album didn’t even merit a mention in the Argus, who were too busy doing features on nice, safe, middle-of-the-road acts like Elton John and Fleetwood Mac. So in effect, nothing much would seem to have changed. Maybe in truth, the Brighton bands simply weren’t considered good enough, or perhaps we weren’t nasty enough to warrant exposure in the leading local newspaper. Click the album cover to check it out. To be continued...
