Crisis are an English punk rock band formed in 1977 in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest 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 name "Guildf ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. 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 with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups i ...

, and at Right to Work marches. British music magazine ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' used the phrase "Music to March To" to describe their controversial and radical left-wing form of punk rock.

History

Formation and career

Crisis formed in 1977 with the lineup of Phrazer (vocals), Lester Jones (lead guitar),

Douglas Pearce Douglas Pearce, known professionally as Douglas P (born 27 April 1956), is an English folk musician, record label owner, photographer and actor who is best known for his neofolk project Death in June. Pearce was born in Sheerwater in Woking, Surr ...

(guitar),

Tony Wakeford Anthony Charles "Tony" Wakeford (born 2 May 1959) is an English neofolk and neoclassical musician, who primarily records under the name Sol Invictus. Wakeford lives in London and is married to Sol Invictus violinist Renée Rosen. Musical wor ...

(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), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, 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". 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 publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

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, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the gro ...

in 1981. Wakeford later joined The Runners from 84,

Above the Ruins Above the Ruins were an English post-punk band. They were controversial for their association with the National Front (UK). Although the band's membership was unknown at the time, it was later discovered that it had been formed by Tony Wakeford, ...

and

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes simply known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists a ...

. Rendle joined

the Straps The Straps are an England, English streetpunk band, formed in 1977 in Battersea, South London by vocalist Howard Jackson and guitarists Dave Reeves & Steve MacIntosh & Brad Day on drums Theatre of Hate Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980. Led by singer-songwriter Kirk Brandon (formerly of the Pack), the original group also consisted of bassist Stan Stammers (formerly of the Straps and the Epilept ...

. Jones formed Carcrash International. 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 for ...

) 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 journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'', 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 Political music groups Musical groups from Surrey