Originally published in Noise for Heroes #21 by Steve Gardner

Adverts - Costello, Elvis  |  Damned - Hollywood Brats  |  Jam - Only Ones
Radiators from Space - Ruts  |  Saints - Thunders, Johnny  |  UK Subs - Yachts

RADIATORS FROM SPACE
TV Tube Heart (Chiswick)
First Irish punk band to release an LP? U2? Get serious! Stiff Little Fingers? Getting warm, but not as warm as if you nuzzled up to the Radiators From Space, who released this LP in 1977...the fourth LP on the indie Chiswick label. The music is sort of glitter punk stuff...the bass motors up and down while the guitar plays these T Rex type chords. This record is another widely ignored one, but I think it's full of classics like "Television Screen", "Prison Bars", "Roxy Girl" or "Blitzin At The Ritz" to name just a few. After this their record company tried to make 'em into power poppers, which they failed miserably at.
See Also: Cockles & Mussels (Chiswick)

RADIO BIRDMAN
Radios Appear (Sire)
I hardly think much needs to be said about this one. If you've bought more than one issue of Noise For Heroes and haven't heard Radios Appear then no amount of preaching is going to help...it's the record that spawned a zillion Detroit punk-metal bands, almost none of whom come close. When you listen to this, you should imagine what it would sound like if it was produced by Rob Younger knowing what he knows about how to use a studio now. Despite the muddy sound it's still loaded with great songs filled with tough guitars, tougher vocals and unlimited energy. Aces.

THE RAMONES
The Ramones (Sire)
Leave Home (Sire)
Rocket To Russia (Sire)
Road To Ruin (Sire)
It's Alive (Sire)
There's how many dozen Ramones LPs at this point? I've lost count. But this first batch were all the ones I think you need; after this the band started to sound like they didn't really know what to do with themselves in the studio, but through these five each new one was an improvement. The Ramones and Leave Home seem fairly slow now, but at the time they were about the most rocking records you could buy. Rocket To Russia was the Ramones really letting out their surf music roots to the max, and then on Road To Ruin (my fave of all of them) they got a super hard and tight sound that really burns. Though never released in the US, It's Alive is great since it shows the Ramones where they were best when they were best; all their best stuff done live.

THE REAL KIDS
The Real Kids (Red Star)
The Real Kids were one of the best bands ever to come out of Boston, and if only they'd cut their hair they'd probably have been ten times as well known. But in a day when hippies were totally disreputable, there's one of 'em on the cover with hair half way down his chest, which probably discouraged a fair segment of the potential audience for this one. Too bad; it's got great songs with a timeless quality. They've got that punk energy but a more roots rock and roll flavor that makes them fit in almost any period...unlike say a Chelsea LP, which couldn't have come out at any time other than 1977 to 1981, if you didn't know that the Real Kids LP came out in 1977 you might have guessed 1989 as well as 1969. John Felice has a great power pop voice and there's a pile of classic guitar rock songs to back him up.

THE REZILLOS
Can't Stand The Rezillos (Sire)
Mission Accomplished But The Beat Goes On (Sire)
One of the rare Scottish punk bands to make it on any level, the Rezillos played a brilliant brand of cartoonish punk rock with a sixties day-glo feel. They had two great singers in Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds, and the male/female vocal blend worked great on all their songs. Added to that is some strong and fat guitar playing and lots of rippling bass. These are their only two LPs, and the second is a live LP done to finish off their record company obligations, but both steam with great, catchy songs about zany topics like flying saucers or girlfriends loved for their sculptures.

RICH KIDS
Ghosts Of Princes In Towers (EMI)
Despite all the hoopla about Sid Vicious, it was Glen Matlock who was the Sex Pistols bass player for most of their career, and he made some big contributions to their sound, writing "Pretty Vacant" among other things. He got kicked out, allegedly for saying he liked the Beatles, and formed the Rich Kids with some former members of the glam pop band Slik, including Midge Ure, who later went on to make an ass of himself in Ultravox. But the one Rich Kids LP is a real kick of stomping power pop. The production is a little murky, but the guitars are still strong and there's a pile of great songs, like the title track, "Hung On You", "Cheap Emotions", "Young Girls" or "Rich Kids".

TOM ROBINSON BAND
Power In The Darkness (Harvest)
Nobody ever talks about this band but I consider this to be one of the greatest records that came out in the late 70s and I can't figure out why nobody else does. Robinson is a bit of an opportunist...his previous band Cafe Society was a pretty mild folky outfit and since the early 80s he's gone through the post-punk Sector 27 and then into some really revolting lounge type stuff, so I don't pay attention to him anymore, but this one LP is a big kick in the butt. You have to put yourself in the period...England was in a bit of a shock as they were finally realizing that they were falling off the world stage into hard times from which they wouldn't emerge for a long time. It's probably worse now than it was then, but now the expectations have diminished, too. Back in 1977 there were constant warnings about England going up in riots everywhere and police crackdowns and all that, and Robinson put it right out there in his lyrics along with some strong music. The words to songs like "Winter Of 79" sound a little funny now...the song was written in 1977 from the perspective of a guy looking back on 1979 from the future, and none of the stuff happened, but you have to try to put yourself in the context in which it was written. Anyway, "Long Hot Summer", "Up Against The Wall" and "Don't Take No For An Answer" are as good as it gets. Get the US copy...it's got an extra ep with a batch of UK single sides on it.

THE RUTS
The Crack (Virgin)
Another band that I don't think got the credit they deserved...the Ruts made some intense music which they played with a high degree of musicianship and without forgetting that good songs and energy are most important. No pop band here; these guys blended reggae with furious punk. Although it would've been great to have both sides of their first single on this, it still has a pile of ace tracks like the classic rage of "Babylon's Burning", "Something That I Said" and "Back Biter", all of which are killer guitar blasts. Then there's great punk-reggae stuff like "Jah Wars"...so much more real than anything bands like the Police did in those days.