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Bulletins
Part 1
TRB
gave out free typewritten / roneo stencilled news bulletins
at all gigs right from the early months of the band's
existence. The first four reproduced here date from mid-1977
through to the first record contract with EMI and the
release of "2-4-6-8 Motorway"
The Summer of 77
news/information/propaganda bulletin from
Tom Robinson Band July 1977...
Danny Kustow: gtr punk/backing
vcls/teen appeal
Brian Taylor (The Dolphin): drum
delinquent/ no
political affiliations
Mark Amber: org/pno/renegade
hippy
T. Robinson: boss
Mick Exeter: HGV/hard labour
Tim Collins: sound desk/slave
labor
Colin Bell: wheeling/dealing
GIGS:
July 17 chelmsford city tavern
Aug 13 bracknell arts centre
Aug 18 middlesbro rock gdn.
Aug 27 london jacksons lane community centre N6
Aug 28 london golden lion
+ more london dates end of august see time out & NME
nearer the time
BOOKINGS handled by Bob Salmons at
ITB 01-629-4928
LYRICS to 'Winter of 79' printed in Temporary
Hoarding no.1 from Rock Against Racism (see over).
also 'Kum Bak' printed in Gay News no.61
available from GN 25p incl:- 1a, normand gdns/
greyhound rd/ W14 9SB
THANX to Steve Witter who did six weeks hard
slog on bass & 2nd vocals in the band May thru
July this year for little reward & no money.
Excellent musician & good bloke...
thanks steve
NOOS:
still negotiating a record deal/if it comes of
we'll be recording at once & releasing a single
-possibly 'Motorway' . if it doesn't come off,
fuck 'em - we'll slam in more dates carry on
gigging. Whatever happens Jon Miller will be
producing first album & Roger Wake engineering/
if neccessary we'll press & market it ourselves
this autumn. Other plans - a single of "I shall
be released" in aid of Ince if we get dylans
permission for changed words/an outlet to market
it . The more we hear about frameup of George I
nce the more it stinks. There's no way he'll
survive even half the sentence in present
condition: how come he got that way ? Write to
your MP today and demand action/if you don't
know about case ring 01-987-6542 & ask for a
leaflet. (NB George Davis arrested one week after
coming on march to free George Ince...)
The Nashville Rooms
For reasons best known to albion agency TRB
billed to apear on sat july 2nd. Us, we were
working that nite & couldn't possibly have
appeared/ told em so months beforehand. Also
read with interest we were playing birmingham
punkfest on nite of our chelmsford gig, (july 17)
noos to us tho it woulda bin great to play with
clash. Specially before we all go to jail...
looks like it's too late now the heat's on.
Meanwhile sorry if ya turned up at the nashvile
the other week.
WEIRD GIGS DEPT.
Tonypandy Royal Naval Reserve Club, Rhondda
Valley/a saturday nite/place already packed when
Tim & Mick arrived with truck at 6.00/entire
neighbourhood youth swilling pints waiting to
hear rock band from london under watchful eyes of
village elders who laid it on for 'em/last year's
top 20 played at 3 1/2 watts on 1953 vintage
record player by 1808 vintage DJ/two or three
tables of dope smokers at front/"the polis dont
want to hear but we know which boys are doing,
it" /+ wouldya believe BINGO halfway thru
evening. By allowing certain refreedoms
rock/dope) elders had any youth rebellion nicely
contained within their scheme of things. Fighting
later broke out after "bad language in front of
the womenfolk"
AND BACK ON THE INSIDE
Paid return visit to old buddies in the nick
after our SOUNDS feature which they'd proudly
pinned up against the wall. They too smoked dope
quite openly during the concert / fumes wafting
onto stage all evening. Definite prison hierarchy
& black guys sit at back. Special chairs &
cushions at front for top privileged cons
allowied to help carry gear/talk to band - we
never meet yer average man in the cell...
GO SEE BETHNAL
Working class london streetband for late 70's
well in touch with heat on the street. Young,
hard multiracial four-piece that know which side
they're on. A touch of minldless sexist humour
but remember the stranglers and be thankful. Best
band I've seen for ages/dont miss em... Tom.
IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE DEPT.
Democracy was dead / killed by the crisis long
before hitler buried it / 6 million unemployed/a
hard winter nazis beating up communists / police
charging into crowds maddened with hunger &
despair. There was no sharp dividing line between
the hitler regime & its predecessors that could
be recognised at once by every man & woman.
january 30th 1933 was as dull & miserable as any
other day of the mont. there was no rebellion -
no putsch. hitler was simply asked to be prime
minister of a coalition government exactly as
(before him) br¸ning papen & schleicher had
been
asked. he began his rule with the dissolution of
parliament & the order for general elections to
be held in march.
Feb. 1st: goering issues decree against communist
propaganda
Feb. 3rd: emergency decree 'for protection of the
german people' against all anti-fascist forces
Feb 7th: nazi officials appointed to home office
(ministry of interior)
Feb 9th: all police officers who did not
wholeheartedly support hitler asked to resign
from their posts
Feb 13th: all republican civil servants in high
positions dismissed
Feb 15th: nazis appointed to police in place of
such republicans as had been forced to resign
Feb 17th: the Terror officially sanctioned.
goering orders police to use firearms 'at own
discretion'
Feb. 27th: reichstag burened down/ communists
blamed/party banned by official decree
Feb 28th: thousands of cormmunist party members
including MP's arrested & sent to prison/
concentration camps or just murdered. Meanwhile
entire communist/socialist/ labour press closed
down
March 5th: general election, 288 nazi seats/326
non-nazi seats Communist vote 'illegal' therefore
81 seats invalid. nazis claim absolute majority
May 17th: in last pathetic attempt to save their
party social democrats vote unanimously with
nazis on foreign policy. nazis show merely
contempt & little leniency ...
June 23rd. social democrats officially banned.
suffer same fate us communists a few months
before. nazis tollerated their liberal compromise
only as long, as they considered it useful for
their own ends
July 14th: re-organisation of political parties
prohibited. nazis now only legal party in germany
November 1933: general election
92.2% of electorate vote nazi
7.8% have courage to abstain etc.(polling booth
set up at Dachau - at that time populated
entirely by political prisoners/ mostly
communists. later officially announced majority
had voted for hitler...)
from 'Hammer or Anvil' Evelyn Anderson, 1945
all you downtrodden people
always bear the brunt
just sit back on your fat backside
till you havta face the Front
wait till the bullyboys get you
don't make no kinda sense
and pretty soon gonna be no room
for sitting on the fence
you better decide which side you're on
LOVE MUSIC - HATE RACISM
support Rock Against Racism gigs & publications:
Temporary Hoarding nos 1 & 2 available from RAR
30p ea.incl - 6 cottons gdns london E2
RIGHT ON SISTERS
Spare Rib magazine for women: 45p incl:
27 clerkenwell clo london EC1
Nat. Abortion Campaign: 01-485-4303
Woman's Right to Choose: O1-359-5209
YOU have the right to choose what you do with
your body/ not some pig of a politician or
priest...
fight for women's rights
HOMOSEXUALS
Gay Switchboard: 01-837-7324 is a 24hr
info/advice service for gay women and men
ARRESTED
dont kid yourself it can' t happen to you/
anybody can get arrested anytime for almost
anything/guilty or not. Memorise this number -
01-289-1123. You're legally allowed one phone
call/politely & firmly refuse to make any
statement until you've spoken to RELEASE or a
solicitor - this is your right
THE SUMMER OF 77 doesn't end here - the heat's
just beginning. keep the belief/stick to the
street/ dont believe a word They tell you.
Next bulletin + general TRB info from: linda
Cooke XX montpelier grove Kentish Twon London
XXX. Send stamps if you can afford it - she can't.
THE SUMMER OF ' 77: PART II
news/information/propaganda bulletin from Tom
Robinson Band 28 july 1977
(part I still available - see over )
LINEUP
Danny: 1959 gibson les paul custom
Brian: premier kit/paite cymbals
Mark: mutilated hammond T2/wurlitzer electric
piano
Tom: obsolete yamaha bass
Tim: sunn 8 channel desk
Mick: ford 35cet luton
Colin: GPO executive telephone
GIGS IN AUGUST
13th bracknell arts centre
14th saffron walden 8 bells
15th london music machine ('orrible & overpriced -
dont go !! )
18th birmingham rebecca's
25th high wycombe nags head
27th london jackson's lane community centre N6
29th london gelectric cinema: gig/discussion on
politics/music
29th london golden lion (free)
30th Iondon brecknock (free)
NB some of these changed since last bulletin: allways
check gigs in NME Time Out etc. if in doubt phone venue.
BOOKINGS: Bob Salmons (ITB ) 01-629-4928
INCE: Commons debate on george ince last wed /
front page of evening noos / TV special /
xtensive coverage in grauniad / opening of yet
another official enquiry... & yet another round
of Home Office Bullshit to delay things as long
as possible. They aim to let him out on parole
Sometime next year - that way
*we shut up & sit down
*conviction stays upheld
*they save face... & good ol British Justice
does it again.
they say there'll be a new enquiry
they say there's bin a slight mistake
& while they write reports
we've heard it all before
Just get him out before it' s all too late...
NOOS: ins/outs our record contrax drag on & on &
on - our motto remains IBIWISI (i believe it
when i see it) borrowed off cafe society who
inherited it from march hare (1st-ever casualties
in long line of konk victims ). but when the
record deal finally does get signed we'll give
ya inside dirt on past few months'
events. Unethical ? you bet.
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD...for many months TRB couldn't
get gig at rock garden apparently cos they didn't
wanna attract "those sort of people" to their
nice club - or so we wos told. A paranoid Colin
kept this from the press in case other clubs got
same idea. Eventually got booked (not thru change
of heart so much as change of booking agency) at
rock gdn resulting in july 13 gig when 184 of
"those sorta people" (this means you) parted with
their quids/ sweated in cellar till 11.30 buying
xpensive drinx
/ cheered for an hour / & missed last tube home.
Rock Gdn well pleased so wot wos all this about a
ban. Surely nothing to do with naughty ol' NEMS
agency now was it ?? Anyhow the free gigs at end
of august are for everyone who's paid to see the
band this sumner with all our thanx.
WIEIRD GIGS Dept.
R.Q.Drayson(headmaster of Stowe public school)
stops his car beside '2 scruffy young outsiders'
ambling unconcernedly across 2 miles of grounds
to reach school buildings... "did you want
something" purrs drayson "yes, we're gaing to the
TRB concert" "sorry" sez the hed "it's a private
function - for the school only" "yes" say Tarka
& Wynn "we know" & amble on unconcerned as
ever...
meanwhile as tom/tim/mick roll up in truck some
14 yr old sgueaks "i think the gwoop are here -
some longhaired louts have just awwived" while
school band in nearby rehearsal room belt out
pistols god save the queen with venom. As in
prison audience confined to seats for concert /
incredible audience response to word from world
outside: cheers / whistles / shouts of "white
wiot". Many kids defy ban / stand up to pogo /
only to get dragged outside(by hair) by
shirtsleeved master wearing earplugs. S'funny -
even privileged young of ruling classes all set
for a riot of their own...
dont you worry, i'm alright jack
we've never had it so good
there's plenty of grouse
at the country house
we're eating as we should
hugh's at Sandhurst,
everything safe with Perkins running the farm
half a dozen shotguns in the landrover
ready for the call to arms...
IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE Dept.
Extracts from NF members bulletin november 1974
'all members (but particularly organisers) are
asked to send to head office all copies of all
leaflets booklets/ magazines/ newspapers which
attack the NF... letters attacking the NF in any
local paper should also be sent in appropriately
marked... names & addresses of known leftwing
extremists actively promoting anti-NF activity
within trade unions should be supplied.
organisers should keep their own crossreference
filing system on hostile organisations &
individuals operational in their districts &
should arrange for such activists (including
street sellers of extreme leftwing publications)
to be photographed & the photographs filed...'
source: pp17203 'The National Front' by Martin
Walker (Fontana)
THANX
to Marco Gmys for
* lending us his orange graphic amp
* not breaking our legs when it got nicked with
our other gear in may
* holding out this long while we save up to get
him a new one...
BRIAN' S CORNER: 'PHINARIUM NOOS'
by public demand & general editorial inadequacies
this new addition to TRB bulletins will be
reproduced from vast collection of witty ditties
for the teeny weenies by our very own brian
taylor. Reluctantly & on promise of a day at the
seaside he has submitted this short medley of
popular adaptions to ease you in:
rudolf the red nosed dolphin
had a very shiny fin
rudolph the rednosed dolphin
had a dolphinette called Lin
sometimes it's hard to be norweigan
giving all your love to just one norse
but if you get-bored
sitting by the fjord
drop some barbituates in your sauce
( from 'stand by your Dane' )
i'm dreaming of a big bustle
just like the one Flo used to wear
when she walked - she 'd rustle
the boys knew she'd sussed-all(groan)
that's why they tore out all their hair.
we're riding along
in the back of an 'E' type
as th' speedcops pass us by
theyre flashing their- lights
theyre blowing their whistles
as we poke ' em in the eye
Hey ho... i've broken his nose
Woopee... i've fractured his knee
we're riding along
in the back of an 'E' type
being followed by the SPG
PUBLICATIONS
* Temporary Hoarding from rock against racism 30p
inc: 6 cottons gdns
*Spare Rib magazine for women 45p inc: from
27 clerkenwell close london EC1
* Gay News for homosexual men & women 35p inc:
1a Normand gds greyhound rd W14
OPERATOR GET ME THE HOTLINE
Arrested: make no statement & call
*RELEASE: 01-289-1123(you're entitled to one
phone call)also gen.legal/ med. /drug problems
during office hours.
* GAY SWITCHBOARD: 01-837-7324( 24hrs)
* NATIONAL ABORTION CAMPAIGN need you - one day
you may need them - fight for women' s rights
NAC: 01-485-4303
* A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE: 01-359-5209
* BIT alternative info: 01-229-8219
* FREE GEORGE INCE campaign: 01-987-6542
BACKGROUND
biased selection of reviews / interviews /
features on TRB still available everything
unfavorable / obscure / plain silly ruthlessly
suppressed -
Jan 29 NME: notorious julie burchill feature that
started it all.
Feb 5 NME: short review at breknok
Feb 10 Gay News 112 : review
Mar 19 NME: tom reviewing singles
Apr 16 SOUNDS: feature on chelmsford prison gig
Jun 3 SOUNDS: J.Gill's ludicrously biased review
at red cow
Jun 16 Gay News 121: ICA review
Jul 23 Record Mirror: review of rock gar d e n
Jul 23 Tribune: 'politics of punk' political
overview of TRB
August Album Tracking: TRB feature - by Mike
Flood Page,
Brian Deer's 'Tribune' piece reveals that Tom
lacks 'clear marxist perspective that
distinguishes the true revolutianary from the
agents of imperialism' ...just thought you'd
like to know
NEXT BULLETIN whenever we got some thing to tell
ya /tom feels like it/ whenever, linda cooke's
compiling mailing list of known TRB sympathisers
& subversives so please pass on forwarding
addresses where we can reach you/ meantime if ya
wanna write to us we wanna hear from you & will
even write back: send a stamp tho cos we're all
broke & too proud to beg c/o linda cooke
25 montpelier grove london NW5 (also for part I
of this bulletin, T-shirt enqiries etc. etc. )
*keep the belief/stick to the street / don't
believe a word They tell you...
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