Infos:
Punk
Menace were London’s first generation no-nonsense boot boys, pre-dating Sham 69 and Cockney Rejects who overtook them in terms of mass popularity.
They formed in 1976 at the Hope And Anchor in Islington when Webster met the other three members and were soon playing the Roxy. Their high-energy, unpretentious sets won them few admirers in the inkies e.g. the Press, but they swiftly built a strong following that brought together both punks and skinheads. They’re often cited as the first to unite this potentially volatile mix. However, there was nothing premeditated about the audience they attracted. “Sham were more overt in their leanings towards skinheads,” Martin told me. “We had that crossover thing. We liked that idea.” Partly because most of the band themselves were skinheads in their youth.
Half of the band were first generation Irish immigrants. “We were working class lads from around King’s Cross. Charlie and me came over from Ireland when we were about 14. We were both from the Galway area, but we didn’t actually know each other until we met in England. We were in the same class together, at St William Of York school, and being Irish, there was obviously an immediate connection. Steve Tannett was in the year below us. St William Of York was also John Lydon’s school. When we saw him on TV, when the punk thing got going, we couldn’t believe it we knew at school! He didn’t stand out. He wasn’t good at football and he wasn’t one of the tough kids.” Neither Casey nor Martin belonged in the ‘most likely to achieve’ category either. “You automatically became prefects in the fifth form at our school, and we were the only two that didn’t. Charlie lived round the corner from the school, so we’d go to his house make lunch and play our guitars. We hooked up with Steve Tannett after leaving school.” We stated in pub rock band Stonehenge in 1975.
Menace were initially signed to Miles Copeland’s Illegal Records and made their debut single in August 1977 with ‘Screwed Up’ backed by ‘Insane Society’. Charlie Harper of the UK Subs bought the very first copy when he bumped into Martin picking up the first box of singles from Copeland’s office. It was good, honest, working class sloganeering (“If we’re the working class/Why ain’t we got jobs?”) and more musically adept than you might imagine. Sniffing Glue trumpeted that they “are the best punk band in England today!” after witnessing some highly charged early shows at venues such as the Vortex and Hope And Anchor. (Alex Ogg Author of ‘No More Heroes)
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