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The following
is a transcription of the 18th December, 1982 'NME' article
named
New Musical Express 18th
December, 1982
Luton & Burning
UK Decay – the cult that came before the cult.
by Richard North
My friend, come with me into the forest tonight deep down into
its heart where there is a clearing. Yes here, where the heat
howls and the electric tension crackles all around until you
are lost, alone, in the sizzling atmosphere. Suddenly thunder
and lightning shatter the gloom illuminating some sort of path;
an escape. It begins to rain, a cool refreshing rain. Yes, as
the saying goes, sometimes you’ve got to lose yourself
in order to find yourself. Now, come and meet UK Decay my friend…..
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The band have been working for
three years now as the purveyors of a heavy, harsh and sometimes
discordant musical style that has suddenly been picked up by
the likes of The Sex Gang Children, Danse Society and Ritual
and made into a cult.
Further more, the black, almost mystical imagery has also been
echoed – but whereas some of the siblings seem to use
the darkness purely for stylistic effect, portraying only the
superficial, negative values, the men from UK Decay –
Abbo, Spon, Steve and Eddie – amplify the shadowy trappings
in an altogether more optimistic way.
‘Out of the darkness. It’s a battle that’s
been going on in the human race since man first started scribbling
on walls. Man is infatuated with extremes – good and evil,
light and dark – a lot of people will see us as evil and
menacing whereas its quite the opposite. What we are in fact
saying is that you’ve got to choose for yourself. Every
individual has got to choose his own right or wrong and face
the consequences.’
Spon talks about the concept of individuality with pride; the
band, in his eyes, are the manifestation of this ideal. They’ve
fought their way out of the wastelands of Luton with no manager
or record company, basically doing it all by themselves until
now, with their records selling well and their gigs selling
out, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
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Spon
gushes excitedly, ‘It’s within everybody to do something.
They can either go ahead and perform these instincts or they
can sit back, get depressed and do nothing or maybe take drugs
to subvert the natural need to go out and progress. It would
be good if everybody stood up and thought, well, I am…me!
I don’t believe in all the shit; authority, government,
communism, capitalism – its basically down to the old
human ideal of coping for yourself.’
The UK Decay line of thought appears to go through and beyond
the heartless politics that are woven around people’s
lives, keeping them in the dark, as it were. Theirs is a basic,
day to day view of reality but one charged with an optimism
and flair that in its simplicity seems mysterious. Which is,
after all, what mysticism is all about; the return to a basic,
underlying, but hidden motor-current.
It’s a current that UK Decay seem to have tapped. Their
later records reflecting that power – especially the last
one, the ‘Rising From The Dread’ EP, an exciting
and invigorating spark of creative noise. ‘Testament’
is the standout track and the one that sums up their positive
tone.
‘Walking through the
garden, the garden of temptation, tempestuous youth seeks the
testament of truth,’
quotes Abbo, the cheerful, extrovert singer. ‘Youth has
always been a time for rebellion.
Everyone rebels in their teens but settles down later –
its bullshit. Their power is diluted by various apples in this
garden of temptation – join the SWP, join the NF, join
the ANL…religion, whatever. Its like a garden where people
find their reason to exist by joining organisations; living
to become part of a group to justify their self-existence. All
you need is your own conviction, its got to be an inner feeling
– 'But when rebellion’s the cause, like a Spartacus
its yours,’ he finishes the quote.
Rebellions may come and rebellions may go but human aspiration
for individuality and light remains. UK Decay have rejected
both faith and reason as the ultimate answers to the problems
of existence. Faith because it may be a faith in the wrong god
or wrong teacher. Reason because it cannot get beyond the permutations
and combinations of its own axioms. There only remains the method
of experiment and mystery.
The path out of the forest passes through this
way.
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