Crisis are an English

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band formed in 1977 in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. An openly

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

band, they performed at rallies for

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

and the

Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right g ...

, and at Right to Work marches. British music magazine '' Sounds'' used the phrase "Music to March To" to describe their controversial and radical left-wing form of music.

History

Formation and career

Crisis formed in 1977 with the lineup of Phrazer (vocals), Lester Jones (lead guitar), Douglas Pearce (guitar), Tony Wakeford (bass) and Insect Robin the Cleaner (drums). Their debut single, "No Town Hall", was released in 1978 on Action Group Records. On 11 January 1978, Crisis recorded four tracks at a

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, with two of the tracks released as the "UK 79" 7" single in 1979 on the Ardkor label. The remaining two Peel Session songs were posthumously issued by Ardkor in 1981 as "Alienation". Crisis's sound distinguished the band from other punk rock groups, as the band could also easily fit into the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

/ gothic sound. In early 1979, the band underwent a major change in personnel when Phrazer and Insect Robin the Cleaner were replaced by Dexter (a longtime fan and roadie) and Luke Rendle. After performing their last show, supporting

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

in their hometown of Guildford on 10 May 1980, the band broke up. A recording of the final show was released in 2008 as the ''Ends!'' CD.

Later projects

Pearce and Wakeford went on to form

Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio. However, after the other members left, in 1984 and 1985, to work on other projects, ...

in 1981. In early 1984, Wakeford was fired from Death in June for "bringing his '

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

leanings into the group'"; at the time he had been a member of the

National Front (UK) The National Front (NF) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently led by Tony Martin. A minor party, it has never had its representatives elected to the British or European Parliaments, although it gain ...

. He subsequently formed the National Front-affiliated

band Above the Ruins, but later distanced himself from right-wing views and formed the

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...

band

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Invincible Sun" or "Unconquered Sun") was the official Solar deity, sun god of the late Roman Empire and a later version of the god Sol (Roman mythology), Sol. The emperor Aurelian revived his cult in 274 AD and promoted Sol Inv ...

. Rendle joined the Straps, then The Pack/

Theatre of Hate Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980. Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Kirk Brandon (formerly of The Pack), the original group also consisted of bassist Stan Stammers (formerly of The Straps ...

. Jones formed

Carcrash International Carcrash International was an English post-punk band associated with the Batcave scene, formed by Dave Roberts (aka Dave Sex Gang), original bass player of Sex Gang Children, who used the name for two projects. History The band made their in ...

. In 1985, Jones also performed as a touring member of Andi Sex Gang & the Quick Gas Gang.

Legacy

The Crisis discography has been compiled on CD twice (as ''We Are All Jews and Germans'' double CD in 1997 by World Serpent, and as ''Holocaust Hymns'' single CD in 2005 by Apop Records), as well as once on vinyl LP ''Kollectiv'' in 2014 by La Vida Es un Mus).

Reformation

In 2015, Wakeford formed the ensemble 1.9.8.4., to perform the songs he had written for both Crisis and Death in June. In 2017, 1.9.8.4., was renamed Crisis, announcing concerts in the UK and Europe in 2017 and 2018. The new Crisis line-up consists of original member Wakeford on bass, Lloyd James (of Naevus) on vocals, Clive Giblin (of

Alternative TV Alternative TV (sometimes known as ATV) are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules". History Alternative TV were fo ...

) on guitar and Igor Olejar (of Autorotation) on drums. In a November 2017 interview with ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...

'', Wakeford said, "It became increasingly obvious that there was major interest in Crisis and that the band and songs held a special place in people hearts...There is obviously a growing interest in that period, with a lot of bands reforming. Crisis were an important part of that history, and I think the band sound fresh and the songs are still valid, perhaps even more so today". In mid-2018, Aurora Lee replaced Olejar on drums.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Hymns of Faith'' mini-LP (1980, Ardkor)

Singles and EPs

*"No Town Hall" 7" single (1978, Action Group Records) *"UK 79" 7" single (1979, Ardkor) *"Alienation" 7" single (1981, Ardkor) *''Holocaust - U.K.'' 12" EP (1982, Action Group Records/Ardkor) *"The Hammer and the Anvil" 7" single (2019, Relaxomatic Vibrator Records) *''Escalator'' 12" EP (2020, Wooden Lung)

Live albums

*''Ends!'' (2008, Neroz) *''Paris '18'' (2018, self-released)

Compilation albums

*''We Are All Jews and Germans'' (1997, World Serpent) *''Holocaust Hymns'' (2005, Apop Records) *''Kollectiv'' (2014, La Vida Es un Mus)

References

External links

Crisis fansite

Crisis on Myspace

Crisis on Facebook

Autorotation official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crisis English punk rock groups Anarcho-punk groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups from Surrey British political music groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1990