Ian Glasper (A Country Fit For Heroes : DIY Punk in Eighties Britain)
SPB: What was the first punk show you saw and do you remember how it inspired you at the time?
Glasper: I'm not sure which was the very, very first punk gig I went to, because it's all got a bit blurry over the years, haha, but it would have been either Screaming Dead in Worcester or The Samples in Malvern. I was definitely fifteen, and had been listening to punk for a few years, but was too young -- and too nervous-- to really go to a 'proper' gig. Both the aforementioned bands were local to me, and both had just released classic singles... The Samples had issued Dead Hero on No Future Records, and Screaming Dead had released Valley of the Dead on Skull Records, which was their own label, I think. Anyway, the atmosphere was charged at both gigs; I can vividly remember the excitement of the ferociously loud music and the ominous feeling of impending violence, with punks from different towns giving each other hostile looks -- it was all ridiculously tribal in 1982 -- and the skinheads spoiling for a fight with pretty much anyone. It certainly kept you on your toes, and with the booze we had managed to get our hands on, we were giddy with the thrill of it all. Most of all though, it was inspirational to see two bands from your area releasing music they had written on vinyl and getting reviewed in Sounds... if they could do it, surely so could we? Early the following year (1983) we formed our first band, Ammonia 77, which eventually became Decadence Within, and never looked back.
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Buy A Country Fit For Heroes : DIY Punk in Eighties Britain.
