Chron Gen (short for Chronic Generation) are a British punk band, formed in January 1978 in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchwort ...

, Hertfordshire, England.Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'', MOJO Books, , p. 115-6Glasper, Ian (2004) ''Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980 - 1984'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 234-9

History

Chron Gen initially comprised former members of The Condemned and Optional Xtras. Band members included Glynn (Baxter) Barber (vocals/guitarist), Jon 'JJ' Johnson (drummer), Adam Warwicker (bass guitar), and Jon Thurlow (rhythm guitar), with Pete Dimmock replacing Warwicker after the band recorded their first demo. The band released their debut EP ''Puppets of War'' in 1981 on their own Gargoyle label; It spent almost ten months in the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rel ...

, peaking at number 4. With the success of the EP, Chron Gen were invited to join The Exploited,

Discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

, Anti-Pasti, and The Anti-Nowhere League on the now infamous Apocalypse tour in the UK in the summer of 1981. They released a single on the Step Forward label before moving to Secret Records, who issued the band's debut album, ''Chronic Generation'', in March 1982. It reached number 53 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, and was the last release to feature Thurlow, who was replaced by Mark 'Floyd' Allison. The band toured with Anti-Nowhere League on their 'So What' tour and toured the United States in support of the album. After a further single, Dimmock left to join Chelsea (and later Bandits at 4 O'Clock), and was replaced by Roy Horner. The band's final release was the 1984

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

''Nowhere to Run'', which was recorded before Horner joined and featured session musician Nigel Ross-Scott on bass. It did not match their earlier success and the band split up in October 1984. The band have played occasional reunion shows since. Floyd later formed The Occasional Tables. He died on 31 October 1999. Pete Dimmock died on 12 August 2011. Glynn Barber obtained his nickname 'Baxter' following his own surname being misspelt. He tours local pubs and clubs regularly as a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

using that name. He is also part of a

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style ...

, Rebel Rebel. The surviving members of Chron Gen reformed for the Rebellion Festival 2013. As of 2019, Chron Gen continue to tour, playing the Rebellion Punk Festival again in 2016 and playing the 2019 London Punk Festival.Chron Gen tour dates on ents24.com
/ref> They released an album entitled ''This is the Age'' (2016).

Discography

Chart placings shown are from the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

, except where indicated.

Singles and EPs

*''Puppets of War EP'' (1981), Gargoyle - (#4) *"Reality" (1981), Step Forward - (#2) *"

Jet Boy, Jet Girl "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" is a song by Elton Motello about a 15-year-old boy's sexual relationship with an older man, who then rejects him for a girl. Background but the truth is that the two songs were simultaneous adaptations of the same backing ...

" (1982), Secret - (#4) *"Outlaw" (1982), Secret *"Nowhere to Run" (1984), Picasso - (#25)

Albums

*''Chronic Generation'' (1982), Secret - (#2), (

No. 53), initial copies came with a free Live 7-inch EP *''This is the Age (2016)''

Live albums

*''Apocalypse Live Tour June '81 (Live at Leicester)'' (1982), Chaos Tapes - (#15) *''Live at the Old Waldorf - San Francisco'' (1985), Picasso *''Free Live E.P.'' 7" recorded at the Regal Auditorium - Hitchin 9/12/81

Compilations

*''The Best of Chron Gen'' (1994),

Captain Oi! Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*''Puppets of War: The Collection'' (2004), Rhythm Vicar - (2 CD set with some previously unreleased material)

References

*Text by Mark Brennan from the re-issue of ''Chronic Generation''.

External links

Official Website
(archive copy)

{{Authority control English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1978 People from Letchworth 1978 establishments in England