Atrox

Having a new line-up led fairly quickly to the need for a name change. “Atrox” was suggested having been found in a Latin dictionary left lying around the Sixth Form common room. (As one of it’s meanings was “shocking to society” it was deemed a good choice, though more because it sounded good!) The rest is non-history. Real school blazer punk stuff …long after school blazer punk had stopped being cool. Other names that had been tossed about before being tossed out included “Shock Format” and the considerably worse “Shocking Floormats”. Practicing started at the Boys Brigade Hall, Dorchester but quickly move to the tranquil surroundings of Cerne Abbas village hall, hired under the pretext of rehearsals for a music “event” to be performed before the village at some later date. Dream on.

While the band was writing new material, Alex continued to compile and co-edit Mentally Unstable punk fanzine with friend Andy Thorne as he had from the STTS days. Charlie joined for issue 3, and number 4 (which though never printed at the time existed in printer-ready mock-up form until early 2006 when an ultra limited edition of 5 copies was printed off for friends!).

After only 1 or 2 gigs with the new line up, there was enough new material with lyrics or music provided by all members of the band, and the opportunity to re-record some of the old STTS tracks, to justify a trip to a studio. Alex was particularly keen to capture what the band were doing, and he booked Atrox into Monitor Studios in Milborne Port near Sherborne to record their 1st demo “Hit The Oxide!” (Xorta Tapes 00001). The recording and engineering was handled by the genial Chris on 3rd + 4th March 1984.

“Hit The Oxide!” Track listing: -
1. Intro – an instrumental
2. Picture On The Wall – old STTS track re–recorded.
3. In For The Kill -
4. Religious Rejection – STTS
5. The Carcass Lies Red (a poem) – often laughed at in later years. A dire attempt at the sort of right-on poetry that proliferated on cassette releases back then.
6. You’ve Got Ten Seconds -
7. Kill – the Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias classic given a snottier teen treatment
8. Banned Again – STTS.
9. Obnoxious Governing – STTS
10. Into The Eighties
11. Marks Car – a homage to Mark’s Mark 1 Cortina which provided gig transport during the year he was in the band, and also prompted by a real car crash we had late one night near Bridport on the way back from seeing GBH in Exeter. We ended up running a mic lead from the studio out into the car park to record the engine revs heard during this track.

While recording “Hit The Oxide!”, engineer Chris played us recently recorded material by Andy Partridge ? (XTC or was it Barry Andrews???), the Comsat Angels (or was it the Martian Schoolgirls??!!)) and Robert Fripp. The stand out was a great track called “Chasing the Demons (?)” by ?. (We would love to hear it again – anyone know anything about it?).

Bournemouth was the main hub of the local punk scene and Butcher and Self Abuse probably it’s two most popular bands. If Butcher had been supportive of STTS, then Self Abuse did the same for Atrox, getting them the bulk of their out of town live dates. More than any other band they sorted Atrox out for support slots and the band were very grateful. Earlier on, this had even led to an onstage collaboration several gigs in a row where Alex and Dave joined Self Abuse onstage to play Chron Gen’s “Subway Sadist” and a cover of Sid Vicious’ version of “C’mon Everybody”. Andy Nazer recently recalled this team-up as Abuse To The System, and interested parties can view the unsavoury footage on a Self Abuse DVD from a 1983 gig available from the band’s website (I think!).

Only 8 months later with live confidence building, Alex had us haring up to Milborne Port again (narrowly avoiding another car crash while fumbling for cassettes) to record more songs we’d never have guessed would be released a quarter of a century later. The second demo “Screaming At Deaf Ears” (Xorta Tapes 00002) was recorded again by Chris at the same studio on 24th + 25th November 1984. Our set generally ranged from melodic mid-tempo punk songs to faster UK style hardcore of the time, but this demo saw us also trying some other ideas.

“Screaming At Deaf Ears” Track listing: -
1. Protest with Action
2. Blind Acceptance
3. Belfast Hornpipe – as it says. A hornpipe – with penny whistle and acoustic guitar. Oh, and overdubbed “pissed-up-reveller” type noises. What were we thinking?
4. Is This Tomorrow Or The End Of Time? – title stolen from “Purple Haze” Hendrix lyric
5. DB Interlude – a drum and bass instrumental before such things were “OK”
6. Short Songs – our only real stab at fast intense hardcore! Around this time Charlie was mainly listening to US/Euro hardcore. After regular hassle to play “something much faster”, this song was the bands attempt to keep him happy. Always popular at Southampton gigs.
7. Seeing Blind Dead –
8. Under The Influence – a marginally better attempt to mix some acoustic music into our set. The vocals suck. The lyrics were later used for Hate That Smile’s song Realms Of Acid (1st Demo)
9. Elitist’s Prey –
10. Recollections – with time left spare in the studio, someone had the idea of laying down a bass line that Paul had had knocking around with a drum track, then improvising, overdubbing and generally messing around with studio trickery over the top to see what would come out. The result was not punk rock! *** (See footnote)

Through ’84 we had all really come on musically and were also getting into various types of music outside punk – traditional Irish and British folk, folk-rock, psychedelia, industrial noise, early prog rock, hardcore, Hawkwind etc. It was inevitable that we would try some different things on the 2nd demo. Some of it worked, some lesser bits are embarrassing to listen to now. No regrets though. Shortly after the 2nd demo, Shaun Hemsley (a friend of the band from Wimborne) joined Atrox in late ’84/early ’85 again giving the band 2 vocalists.

In 1985 having been sent the demos, Andy Thompson of Hull based punk label Xcentric Noise offered to put a couple of tracks (“Protest With Action” and “Is This Tomorrow Or The End Of Time?”) on what would be one of the label’s last releases, the “Party Pooping Punk Provocations” LP. The LP also included a couple of tracks by, at the time, one of the most intense UK hardcore bands, The Stupids, as well as good tracks by Protest and local mates Self Abuse amongst others. Charlie also drew the picture used on the sleeve to this LP, in a style that owed an excessively heavy debt to Nick Blinko – see both cassette covers too. Nothing would compare for Alex, Dave and Charlie in spring ’85, on receiving the package from Andy at Xcentric Noise to opening it – our band on an LP!! Unbelievable! (A couple of years later, the band discovered two tracks had also mysteriously appeared on a bootleg LP called “Punk Lives Lets Slam” whose origin they weren’t able to trace for years. Recent info reveals Rot Records as the culprits.)

As Atrox continued through into the summer of ’85, everyone knew that 3 of the band would be leaving for college in September and that the band would effectively be over but no-one talk about it. August came and we got a call from Rich Levene in Southampton who we’d met at previous Bournemouth gigs. He was starting to promote gigs in Southampton, and we would be playing the first he’d put on. That month and the next, we played 2 of the best gigs we’d ever done to a very responsive crowd in Southampton who even tolerated our dismal version of Iron Man. After the 2nd gig the band eventually called it a day. Charlie, Dave and Paul Simmons all left the band to go to college later that month (September ’85), which was effectively the end of Atrox. It would be another year before Alex, Paul Chambers and Shaun would team up again to get Hate That Smile off the ground, though Rich Levene continues to put on gigs in Southampton to this day.

Gigs

Atrox played a total of 14 gigs by Paul C’s reckoning – here are the 12 the band can remember

Atrox, Confession Of Sin, Breakout (?), Idiom Tribe. A-Heads, Self Abuse @ Capone’s, Bournemouth – Feb/March/April(?) 1984 – Mark and Charlie’s first gig. Shitting of pants… We may have played this gig as Shock To The System (but probably not) – the only pre-name-change gig under that name with the new line-up. Paul C. phoned Mel Bell of the A-Heads and cajoled her into getting us the support for this gig.
Atrox, Helius, Disgusting Pukey Scarves, + other unknown bands (??) @ Cotlands Road squat venue, Bournemouth – 5th May 1984 – benefit for BHAM (Bournemouth Housing Action Movement – squatters group) and the Animal Liberation Front. This gig was covered by the Evening Echo (?) local newspaper which showed 2 photos including one of Atrox playing.
Mad Are Sane, Atrox, Self Abuse, Subhumans @ Winton Continental Cinema, Bournemouth – 22nd July 1984 (this was probably our most prestigious gig. Memorable too – it was a seedy soft porn cinema that ended up that evening with it’s front row of seats ripped out by ‘angry’ punks) – Mark’s last gig as vocalist before leaving for college.
Atrox, Self Abuse @ Pembroke Arms, Bournemouth – 28th November 1984
Mucus Collectors, Atrox, Invade The Stage, Victims, Self Abuse @ Bridport Football Club, Bridport – 1st December 1984 – the flyers for this gig also included The Omen who were going to be a band including Andy Anderson (of Damaged ‘zine) on vocals; for some reason it never happened.
Atrox, Haywire, Disorder @ The Pembroke Arms, Bournemouth – late ’84/early ’85 – most memorable for Taff (Disorder bassist) getting electrocuted heavily from a badly earthed bass. After being thrown to the floor by the shock, he staggered up dazed, knocked back a medicinal pint of cider and the gig went on!
Atrox, General Belgrano, Mass Of Black @ The Pembroke Arms, Bournemouth – late ’84/early ’85
The Other Side Of The Fence, Disciples Of The Elder, Atrox @ The Cornwall, Dorchester – 15th March 1985 – an Animal Aid Benefit. 75p admission!
General Belgrano, Atrox, Bad Noise, Blare, Plague @ The Greyhound (???), Bridport – April/May 1985
Propatria Mori, Atrox, Suicide Pact @ West Indian Club, Southampton – Thursday 8th August 1985 – The Instigators were billed to play at this one (and are on the poster/flyer) but didn’t for reasons long lost in the mists of time. £1.50 entry!
Richard (from Disciples Of The Elder), Other Side Of The Fence, Atrox @ The Cornwall, Dorchester, 28th August 1985
All The Glory, Suicide Pact, Atrox, Pale Shade Of Black (formerly Self Abuse) @ West Indian Club, Southampton — 19th September 1985. This was Charlie’s last (and favourite) gig with the band before leaving to go to college. It was also one of very few gigs by final Self Abuse incarnation PSOB. No mention of them on the Self Abuse website. £1.50 entry

Recordings

“Hit The Oxide!” (Xorta Tapes 00001) – 3rd + 4th March 1984. [There was a glut of these around Pisa in Italy after Charlie took a bagful and sold them at the “Victor Charlie” punk club (at a CCM + Negazione gig!!) in the summer of ’84]
“Screaming At Deaf Ears” (Xorta Tapes 00002) – 24th + 25th November 1984
A number of practice and live tapes including the last 2 Southampton gigs, mostly recorded by Paul Chambers.

Records

“Protest With Action” and “Is This Tomorrow Or The End Of Time?” on “Party Pooping Punk Provocations” LP (Xcentric Noise, 1985)
“Protest With Action” and “Seeing Blind Dead” on “Punk Lives Lets Slam” (Rot Records, 1987?)
Upcoming – comprehensive compilation of STTS/Atrox studio recordings – hopefully due out 2008?

Line-ups
Atrox #1 Alex Vann, Dave Redfern, Paul Chambers, Mark Hodder, Charlie Mason, Paul Simmons
Atrox #2 Alex Vann, Dave Redfern, Paul Chambers, Charlie Mason, Paul Simmons
Atrox #3 Alex Vann, Dave Redfern, Paul Chambers, Charlie Mason, Paul Simmons, Shaun Hemsley
Atrox #4 Alex Vann, Dave Redfern, Paul Chambers, Paul Simmons, Shaun Hemsley

Other songs Atrox played live, or at practices but didn’t get to record in the studio included:-

Under The Sun (later a Hate That Smile song), Double-O Egg (an Atrox instrumental named after a Bournemouth greasy spoon), A7 (another instrumental…), Hustle Bustle, and Outrage (this is on an old set list but was probably a working title which was quickly changed – Paul C is adamant no song of that name existed!). All these may be on the yet-to-be heard live tapes!

Although never recorded in the studio, the band also used to play cover versions of Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Dead Kennedys), Iron Man (Black Sabbath), Holidays In The Sun (Sex Pistols), Silver Machine (Hawkwind), Loose (Confession Of Sin from Stooges), The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill (Husker Du), You Really Got Me (Kinks), and live and/or at practices.