1982 was truly a fine year for the UK punk singles, Inspired by the fierce rioting that swept the under-privileged parts of the nation the previous year, "summer of '81" by The Violators begins innocuously enough with a simplistic, sombre bass intro, but quickly escalates into a passionate frenzy fuelled by huge pounding rhythms, molten guitars and desperate female vocals. Whilst on the flip-side, this time powered by intense male vocals, the irrepressible Live Fast, Die Young rages as id there no tomorrow. All in all, a commanding one-two that turned heads the length and breadth of the country and guaranteed the band a place in the annals of punk rock history. A shame then that they played so few shows and released to little vinyl, one can only imagine what may have resulted had they been stuck in a decent studio with a proper budget and let loose on a full album. Confirmed in Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1979 by vocalist Shaun (Cess) Stiles and bassist John (Matchi) Marchington (both formerly of The Dismal Sports), The Violators also comprised Helen Hill on vocals, Mark Coley on guitar, and Anthony (Ajax) Hall on drums, and (like their near-neighbours from New Mills, Blitz and Attak) were soon signed to Worcestershire label, No future. Their vinyl debut came with two on the hugely popular "A country fit for heroes" 12", the moody "Die with dignity" and exuberant "Government stinks" both ably demonstrated the diversity and musical ambition at work. Sadly, after two glorious punk singles that both made the top ten of the independent charts the aforementioned classic, "Summer of '81", and "Gangland" and a 12" that mainly compiled all of their vinyl appearances to date, the band imploded before theyd even hit their creative stride. Helen and Coley left to form the brief-lived Taboo, whilst Shaun and Co. recruited Louise (Lou) King on vocals and Andrew Hill on guitar for the "Life on the red line" single. It was the last stand for The Violators though as Shaun, Matchi and Lou went on to form Ice the falling rain, who did one further single, "Life illusion", for the No future offshoot future, before also disintegrating.
The late 70 early 80's UK hardcore punk band From New Mills, this was another of the good Punk/Oi! bands produced in the Stockport/Manchester area. The Violators used the stark imagery from the film "A Clockwork Orange" to great effect. Never really comfortable in the punk role they, nevertheless, produced some great songs and were much liked by Garry Bushell of 'Sounds' who gave them a lot of press. They split very soon after the release of their second single. Helen and Coley formed Taboo, but never issued any singles. The rest of the band continued briefly as The Violators, releasing a further single on No Future's sister label, Future Records. Styles and Marchington then formed "Ice The Falling Rain", releasing further material on Future Records. Please note that this is not the same band who released a single called "NY Ripper" in 1980.
