Culture Shock are an English

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band formed in

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in 1986 by Dick Lucas, previously of the Subhumans.

Band history

Culture Shock have played hundreds of

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, including frequent appearances at free festivals, and released six studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s on the Bluurg

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

. Lucas'

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

were mostly concerned with social and political issues, from

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, war, and

social alienation Social alienation is a person's feeling of disconnection from a group whether friends, family, or wider society with which the individual has an affiliation. Such alienation has been described as "a condition in social relationships reflected b ...

, but were far from angry rants, often finding a positive and empowering perspective. Culture Shock split at the end of 1989, as Bill and Nige both had young families to support. Dick went on to form

Citizen Fish Citizen Fish are an English punk rock band that has been active since 1990 and shares members with Subhumans. Citizen Fish does not emphasize the raw political statements and nihilistic viewpoint of the former, instead focusing on issues of ...

with Jasper, the bassist on Culture Shock's final album, and two other former members of the Subhumans. Nige died in 1993.

Reformation

Interest in the band was revived by the release of the ''Everything'' CD retrospective in 2012; Culture Shock reformed as a gigging band and have been playing since 2013. The line-up remains the same except with Alex (from Citizen Fish) on guitar.

Members

* Dick Lucas – vocals * Bill – drums * Jasper Pattison – bass guitar * Alex Gordon – guitar

Former members

* Paul Taylor – bass guitar on ''Go Wild'' and ''Onwards & Upwards'' * Nigel Johnston – guitar, vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''Go Wild'' (1986), Fish 18 * ''Onwards & Upwards'' (1988), Fish 20 * ''All the Time!'' (1989), Fish 23 * ''Attention Span'' (2016) * ''The Humanity Show'' (2018) * ''Mandemic'' (2021)

Compilation albums

* ''Everything'' (3CD/MP3) (2012), Fish 51

Cassette-only releases

* "Living History" (demo) (April 1986), Bluurg Tapes 66 * "Live at the Fish", Earth Zone * "Reality Stop No.44" (demo) (December 1986), Bluurg Tapes 71 * ''Hot and Sweaty'' (live compilation), Bluurg Tapes 79

Compilation appearances

* ''Crisis Point'' EP * ''Stonehenge'' EP * ''Open Mind Surgery'' LP * ''Travellers Aid Trust'' (2LP & CD), Flicknife

References

External links

Bandcamp

Official Subhumans and Citizen Fish site

Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Shock English punk rock groups Anarcho-punk groups English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 People from Warminster 1986 establishments in England Musical groups from Wiltshire