Destructors

PeterboroughUnity



PeterboroughKhmer Rouge Boogie



PeterboroughSoldier boy



PeterboroughBullshit



PeterboroughDeath squad



The Destructors had now become a five piece with the addition of Graham (Gizz) Butt who had been offered the position of lead guitarist. We had previously met him when his band The System (no,not that System) had supported us at the Hurlington Centre. The existing lead guitarist Dave Ivermee agreed to become rhythm guitarist and to Graham becoming lead guitarist.

The Destructors had released two EP's at this point - 'Senseless Violence' and 'Religion'. Illuminated Records, who had distributed those two records, agreed to put out an album. The LP was conceived as having 18 tracks and would be recorded in two sessions (11.00-07.00 hours Saturday to Sunday) at the Stix Studios in Peterborough. Dave (Trunk King Echo) Colton had engineered and produced the 'Religion' EP and was engaged to record The Destructors first album.

A convival evening was spent in the Still Public House prior to proceeding to the studio, which was reached via a back gate past the mound of and into the back of the studio which was located at the rear of Stix drum shop. With the addition of the odd stimulant to recover from drinking (coffee?) the band set up and proceeded to knock off the first nine tracks live in the studio. The rest of the time was spent with overdubs, vocals and backing vocals. Finally came the mixing and at 7 a.m Sunday morning the band exited bleary eyed out of the studioholding master tape and cassette copies of one half of the album.

On the second session some friends from North Hykeham in Lincolnshire and a couple of members of the Death Squad were allowed to attend (Mark Turnbull and Mark Massey). This session followed the same pattern as the previous one and Allen Adams paid for both recording sessions which came to a grand total of £125. Most of the songs recorded on 'Exercise The Demons Of Yought' had existed from 1976-78. A few were refined in The Blanks but the original blueprint can be found on 'The Destructors Kill Music' cassette that was around in 1978 (a mixture of live and demo songs, seven in all which still exist today).

If the album had been recorded a few weeks later it would have been called 'Exocet The Demons Of Youth' following the sinking of HMS Sheffield in the South Atlantic. The Exocet missile was produced in Bruges in France, twinned city to Peterborough.

At this time we had acquired management with Dave Colton and Andy Bellwood. They were trying to sell our publishing. Unfortunately Allen assigned it to Illuminated (big mistake) after going out drinking with the two partners Keith and Pat.

That same day Dave Colton had been to BMG publishing where he had a meeting with a German gentleman.Dave put the record on and played 'Only Obeying Orders' - the German said 'This is not suitablefor our company'!

A German version of 'Exercise The Demons Of Youth' was released which sold several thousand copies. To this day the company had not paid the band what it was owed and neither has L llluminated - they went bust when one of the partners allegedly absconded to Africa wit the companies money As always there is no point in cyring over spilt milk and it did lead to the G.B.H "Attacked By Rats" tour.



--- Allen Adams, 2005