V02-T12 Up Against The Wall

.....[From Jon Savage's "England's Dreaming" St. Martin's Press (NYC, first US edition, January 1992) pages 392-396]

.....On August 23, 1977, The National Front (a notorious neo-Nazi group) caused a riot by making a well-publicized march through Lewisham, a predominantly black working-class borough of South London. They were confronted by Socialist Workers Party and Rock Against Racism protesters. British press and television deliberately edited footage and wrote copy to portray the protesters as antagonists and the National Front as innocents under an unprovoked attack.

....."The same week that the music press carried their reports on Lewisham, they announced the signing of the Tom Robinson Band to EMI Records for nearly 100,000 pounds. The TRB-- who were affiliated to RAR, Spare Rib, the National Abortion Campaign and Gay Switchboard-- offered the perfect chance for EMI Record Division, still bruised by the events of December, to claw back some radical chic."

.....The "events of December" Savage was referring to were EMI's collective behavior towards the Sex Pistols in the wake of the Bill Grundy incident (Google it) resulting in EMI cancelling their contract in January 1977.

Volume 2: "WE'RE ALL GOING TO JAIL FOR THIS, AREN'T WE?", track 12

• 03:35 "UP AGAINST THE WALL" (Tom Robinson, Roy Butterfield)
• performed by The Tom Robinson Band
• original source: A-side, 7" EMI 2787 (UK) May 1978
• and my source: CD POWER IN THE DARKNESS Razor and Tie RE2018 (US) 1993

.....Robinson was in a genteel, too-clever band called Cafe Society when he got his first serious opportunity to record. They were one of the first acts signed to Konk, a new label created and owned by The Kinks. Unfortunately, the sessions were nearly finished before Robinson figured out that the direction his band's album should take was just one more bone of contention between the Davies brothers, one more excuse for them to fight with each other. The album came out, and it was OK, especially for a freshman effort, but Robinson couldn't help but think something was missing. He found out what that was the first time he saw The Sex Pistols perform. He would form a punk band.

.....Roy Butterfield was also known as 'Anton Mauve', the first TRB guitarist when they formed in late 1976. Less than a month later not one original member (besides Tom) was still in the line-up. The line-up they did have remained stable until shortly before this single. After a more than a year of touring, a debut single that reached number 5 in the UK charts ("2-4-6-8-MOTORWAY") and a live EP in the top 20 ("RISING FREE") they finished recording this single and the album POWER IN THE DARKNESS when it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the toll it was taking on their 17-year-old keyboard player, Mark Ambler (he was 16 when he was hired). Many rock musicians are stultifying cases of arrested adolescence under the best of circumstances. Being in a politically radical rock band that also has national 'hit' status (and the attention and media coverage that comes with it), led by a very vocal gay activist playing punk venues and targeted by violent terrorist hate groups requires a maturity most high schoolers don't have. For his own sake, Robinson fired him. Eventually he would play in a band with ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, who got fired from that band for being too mature. If it was any consolation to Ambler, after he was fired he got to see the sessions he played on yield this single (which went top 40) and the album within a week or two (which went top 5).