 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Crisis" punk band – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Crisis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Guildford,Surrey, England, UK |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1977–1980, 2017–present |
| Labels | Action Group Records, Ardkor |
| Members | Tony Wakeford Clive Giblin Lloyd James Aurora Lee |
| Past members | Douglas Pearce Lester Jones Phrazer Insect Robin the Cleaner Dexter Luke Rendle Igor Olejar |
Crisis are an Englishpunk rock band formed in 1977 inGuildford,Surrey. An openlyleft-wing andanti-fascist band,[1] they performed at rallies forRock Against Racism and theAnti-Nazi League, and at Right to Work marches. British music magazineSounds used the phrase "Music to March To" to describe their controversial andradical left-wing form of music.[2]
Crisis formed in 1977 with the lineup of Phrazer (vocals), Lester Jones (lead guitar),Douglas Pearce (guitar),Tony Wakeford (bass) and Insect Robin the Cleaner (drums).
Their debut single, "No Town Hall", was released in 1978 on Action Group Records.
On 11 January 1978, Crisis recorded four tracks at aPeel Session forBBC Radio 1,[3] with two of the tracks released as the "UK 79" 7" single in 1979 on the Ardkor label. The remaining two Peel Session songs were posthumously issued by Ardkor in 1981 as "Alienation". Crisis's sound distinguished the band from other punk rock groups, as the band could also easily fit into thepost-punk/gothic sound.[4]
In early 1979, the band underwent a major change in personnel when Phrazer and Insect Robin the Cleaner were replaced by Dexter (a longtime fan and roadie) and Luke Rendle. After performing their last show, supportingMagazine andBauhaus in their hometown of Guildford on 10 May 1980, the band broke up.[2] A recording of the final show was released in 2008 as theEnds! CD.
Pearce and Wakeford went on to formDeath in June in 1981. In early 1984, Wakeford was fired from Death in June for "bringing his 'right-wing leanings into the group'"; at the time he had been a member of theNational Front (UK).[5] He subsequently formed the National Front-affiliatedpost-punk bandAbove the Ruins,[5] but later distanced himself from right-wing views and formed theneofolk bandSol Invictus.[6] Rendle joinedthe Straps, then The Pack/Theatre of Hate. Jones formedCarcrash International.[2] In 1985, Jones also performed as a touring member ofAndi Sex Gang & the Quick Gas Gang.
The Crisis discography has been compiled on CD twice (asWe Are All Jews and Germans double CD in 1997 byWorld Serpent, and asHolocaust Hymns single CD in 2005 by Apop Records),[2] as well as once on vinyl LPKollectiv in 2014 byLa Vida Es un Mus).
In 2015, Wakeford formed the ensemble 1.9.8.4.,[7] to perform the songs he had written for both Crisis and Death in June. In 2017, 1.9.8.4., was renamed Crisis,[8] announcing concerts in the UK and Europe in 2017 and 2018. The new Crisis line-up consists of original member Wakeford on bass, Lloyd James (ofNaevus) on vocals, Clive Giblin (ofAlternative TV) on guitar and Igor Olejar (of Autorotation) on drums.[1][9] In a November 2017 interview withLouder Than War, Wakeford said, "It became increasingly obvious that there was major interest in Crisis and that the band and songs held a special place in people hearts...There is obviously a growing interest in that period, with a lot of bands reforming. Crisis were an important part of that history, and I think the band sound fresh and the songs are still valid, perhaps even more so today".[1] In mid-2018, Aurora Lee replaced Olejar on drums.
