Special Duties

SPECIAL

DUTIES 1977 -

PRESENT DAY



   

 In the summer of 1977 Steve Green (Aka Arrogant), Steve

Norris (Aka

Duty), and Nigel Baker attended a comprehensive council/army estate

school called Alderman Blaxill.

Aged 15 and already good friends they

had began to show a more than passing interest in a new kind of music

fuelled fashion called Punk Rock. Endless hot summer evenings were

spent listening to Ramones, Clash, Lurkers and Sex Pistols records in

each others bedrooms. Then one day at school Arrogant read in Sounds

that The Adverts were taking in boring Colchester on their tour.

 Although they later found out that Adam and the Ants,

Generation X and

others had already played their hometown, to them this was to be the

turning point.

   

   Supported by Dick Envy, The Adverts

played to a packed

Essex University

audience of punks, students and curiosity seekers.

Needless to say, TV Smith, Gaye Advert (Wow!), Howard Pick Up and

Laurie Driver were nothing short of brilliant. The very next

day the 3

schoolboys started their very own band. They couldn't play and didn't

own any instruments but that was not stopping hundreds of bands from up

and down the country from forming punk groups.  

 



   



   Arrogant's Dad got them

a place to rehearse in an army gym and when that was being used they

used his garage. Practice consisted of Ramones and Lurkers covers as

they were the easiest to learn. That early line up consisted of

Arrogant on vocals, Duty on guitar and Baker on Bass. There was no

drummer until enough courage was found to ask 18 year old Stuart Bray.

Stuart was Colchester's answer to Billy Idol and well respected by punk

rockers throughout the region.

After months of attending punk gigs and rehearsing at Brooklands youth

club in Colchester a gig was arranged underneath the towns new precinct

one Sunday afternoon. The band called themselves Special Duties for the

very first time and did a 15 minute version of their only self penned

number "There'll be no tomorrow". Had the police not arrived with Marks

& Spencers' security to turn off the power it would have been a

longer version. The band that opened up that day was Day Release who

featured Bart Povah on guitar. Incidentally the name Special Duties was

used as a local punk had stolen a box of badges from his school which

were worn by prefects. It was cheaper than getting badges to suit a

name. 



  

      The bands first

proper gig was in 1979

supporting

Splodgenessabounds at Essex University and

featured Bart on guitar.

Splodge were in the UK charts at the time so the place was packed.



"Violent Society", "I Think Of You" and "SPG" were in the set that

night amongst others. The local paper was very enthusiastic with it's

review. Shortly afterwards Stuart left to form Chelmsford punk band

Waxwork Dummies. Mick Nice came in on drums for a six track demo which

would later appear as bonus tracks on the CD version of "77 in 97".

Mick was not really into punk and was replaced by Mark Gregory for the

Charnel House 7" of "Violent Society". Steve Duty had gone AWOL on the

demo but returned for the single. John Peel gave the bands' debut

plenty of airplay and they were signed by Rondulet Records who despite

the Duties wishes insisted on re-issuing "Violent Society". Stuart was

back in on drums and Mark Gregory would later turn up in a 1998 line up

of Condemned 84. The re-recorded version was weak but thankfully the

band followed it up with the classic "Police State" 4 track EP which

made the independent and

punk charts featured in Sounds.



  

     By 1982 the

outspoken Arrogant had declared war on the hippie anarchist band Crass.

The debut LP "77 in 82" was released and was followed by their biggest

selling single "Bullshit Crass". However success was short lived. Small

Wonder and Rough Trade, punk music's leading distributors refused to

stock any more of the bands material. Promoters pulled the plug on

their gigs and the end was nigh. The kind of "freedom" that Crass and

their like preached was nothing short of censorship.



  

     In 1983 the Duties

moved to Expulsion and released what was thought to be their last

single

"Punk Rocker". It was well received but distribution was

difficult. In 1983 the band split. A 12 year rift followed and then in

1995 a certain Mark Brennan called Arrogant to request information on

the band to use as sleeve notes for a CD re-issue of "77 in 82".

Arrogant tracked down Bart, Steve and Stuart to break the news.

Ironically none of the band owned a CD as all were still stuck in a

punk time warp. Brennan explained the relevance of street punk in the

90's and persuaded the band to reform for 1995's Fuck Reading at the

Brixton Academy. The Duties were by now all married with children but

threw themselves back into scene. 4 years later they are still gigging

and recording regularly with the same line up.

They may decide to take

an extended break but won't be quitting again



Here's to 77 in the

millennium and beyond.



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