In terms of left-wing -- nay, anarchist -- bands which are on occasion used to symbolize the entire British punk era (like where do you think that big A with a circle around it came from, anyway?), no-one can hold a candle to Crass. They were the quintessential anarchist punk ensemble, true believers in their cause. In fact, while the Sex Pistols only sang about Anarchy in the UK, Crass did their darnedest to live and breathe the true meaning of the phrase...

Crass was formed in 1978 by drummer Penny Rimbaud and singer Steve Ignorant at Penny's farmhouse in North Weald, Essex, which was in fact a large, open commune of about a dozen like-minded individuals. The members of this commune soon started generating input into this musical endeaver, so that the original duo quickly grew and expanded to include vocalists Eve Libertine and Joy de Vivre, lead guitarist Phil Free, rhythm guitarist Andy Palmer, bassist Pete Wright and backing vocalist Mick G. Duffield. Resident artist G. Sus (another female -- interesting play on words!) provided creative details such as piano, flute and most importantly cover art, combining piaintings, slogans and collage. Along the same artistic vein, Mick was also a film-maker who often provided a projected backdrop to Crass' live performances, ages before the Butthole Surfers attempted a similar spectacle.

After a live debut at a squatters' free festival, Crass secured a record deal in January 1979 with Small Wonder Records to release Feeding The 5000, a 12-inch EP with an unlikely 17 tracks! In fact, this EP was actually released with only 16 tracks, as no pressing plant would agree to manufacture it because of objections to the opening track Asylum. In the end, in order to release their record, the band agreed to delete the offending article and instead replaced that track with a two-minute silence which they aptly dubbed Free Speech.

Obviously disenchanted with their brushing encounter with institutions in the real world, the group retreated to their commune and launched their own Crass label, on which the remainder of their releases appeared. Crass Records were characterized by Do-It-Yourself artwork, photocopied sleeves which doubled as anarchist propaganda, and a unique cataloguing system which involved a coundown to 1984, a year of clear symbolic significance because of its Orwellian origins. In fact, the group had originally planned to break up during that year, somthing which they did accomplish, although perhaps not exactly in the way they had originally envisioned.

Over the next three years, the band released a number of strongly political singles (Do They Owe Us A Living?, Reality Asylum, Bloody Revolution, Yes Sir I Will, Nagasaki Nightmare, How Does it Feel to be the Mother of 1000 Dead?) as well as three albums, all of which performed extremely well in the indie charts. The first, Stations of the Crass came out in 1979. This was followed in 1981 by Penis Envy, in which Eve and Joy took over full vocal responsibility and embraced the feminism cause : the entire album tears apart society's ill-treatment of women. 1982 saw the release of Christ the Album, a boxed two-album set (the companion record was the live Well Forked But not Dead), complete with a colour booklet -- a bit upscale in comparison to their previous releases, perhaps, but no-one could ever accuse Crass of selling out. Needless to say, all titles ensured that these records were rarely, if ever, stocked my mainstream record stores!

Crass's perceived sincerity to their cause and their adamant refusal to compromise earned them a solid following (although the music itself certainly didn't hurt). To sum it all up: While they lasted, however, Crass probably lived and espoused the minimalist punk lifestyle more that any other band before or since" (quote taken from Barry Lazell's Punk! An A To Z).

Steve later emerged as a member of band Conflict, while the Crass name lived on for a while longer after the actual group's demise in the form of a collaboration between Penny and Eve; they released an album of romantic poetry called Acts of Love in 1986 as well as 10 Notes On A Summer's Day later on that year. Also in 1986, the compilation album Best Before 1984 was released, featuring 20 of Crass's previously released singles. Lastly, in 1993 came You'll Ruin it for Everyone, a post-humously released 1981 live recording. This package was issued with various essys by fans, a complete Crass discography and a "what they're doing now" column...