Check out the Vaultage album covers

Archive April 2008

Stuart Jones reporting:
Back in January last year I was round at Julie Blair’s place, turning it upside down in my quest for unissued outtakes from Brighton punk bands, in order to get them up on this site as free mp3s. In the course of driving Julie (of Attrix Records fame) completely mad, I stumbled across a box adrift in an archipelago of mouldy duvets, broken bits of furniture and spare cushions in a cupboard behind her bed.

On removing this box and blowing the dust off, I discovered a pile of ancient cassettes from the late seventies. Rubbing shoulders with such long-lost stuff as ‘London Calling’, the Specials first album and some tapes I had put together for Rick and Julie when I first met them (very nostalgic), was a very old tape with the words ‘Brighton Beat’ scribbled on it in Rick’s distinctive handwriting. I asked Julie if I could borrow this and she patiently agreed, bless her, and I nipped home and bent an ear to this tape.

It proved to be an interesting listen: an entire documentary on Radio Brighton from late 1978, obviously recorded off the radio by Rick Blair at the Attrix HQ in Buckingham Place. The quality was lamentable, so I tried improving it as best I could. Here then is a rare glimpse of the local scene from the high watermark of the punk explosion, featuring music and actual interviews with some of the ace faces around town at that time. Quite a scoop, in other words.

Here at punkbrighton.co.uk we are determined to bring you only the best, rarest and most jaw-dropping information and music available. Happy listening!

punkdaddy writes: Thanks to Stu's diligence we now have free mp3's from Brighton's top punk band in 1978, the Depressions (aka The DP's) along with some cover art from their album, If You Know What I Mean. There's a link on their page to the esteemed Captain Oi! website, where you can buy a whole collection of songs by a band that should have made a bigger impression nationally.

• The launch of our free mp3 downloads page in March 2007 was set up in conjunction with Attrix Records to commemorate 30 years of punk (see our March 07 Archive). If you have mp3's of your Brighton-based band (1976-81) and you want them uploaded, keep sending them in. To download a full size, fairly high-res printable jpeg version of our 'Make Your Own CD Cover' go to the July 07 Archive

• Wherever you see the headphone button throughout the site, just click to access the free mp3 download page. Some band pages also have an existing short audio loop to give you a taste...

Above: listen now to the Brighton Beat documentary or download it for later
New! April 2008 The DP's mp3's
New!
April 2008 The Objeks mp3's
Recent mp3's
Vaultage 78 | Vaultage 79 | Vaultage 80

Jamie Barnard
Recent messages of condolence and free mp3's of Special Patrol

Watch punkdaddy's interview with the BBC

Visit last month's Archive March 2008
Check out the Archives to find all the old front pages right back to Year 2000. We go back a long way babies...
Stuart Jones completed his reviews with No.10: Stu's post-punk compilation - yet more free mp3's including Bauhaus, The Lines, TV Smith and more...
Stuart asks: has anyone out there got a recording of a BBC Radio One session the Piranhas taped for Mike Read, dated 15/9/1980? It features two unavailable songs ('Two Time Sally' and 'Anything')