Instigators were an

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...

band from

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, England, formed in 1980. The original line-up split up in the mid-1980s, but the band carried on into the 1990s.

History

The band was formed in 1980 by drummer

Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw Paul Halmshaw also known as "Hammy" (born 1965) is a British musician who founded Peaceville Records, which signed some of the most infamous death, black, and doom metal and crust punk bands worldwide in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. He ...

and guitarist Simon Mooney, both students at

Thornhill High School Thornhill High School opened on the air force base in Gwelo, Rhodesia (now Gweru, Zimbabwe) in January 1955. In January 1958, the school moved to its present site in Gweru. The first Headmaster was Phil Todd who retired in 1961. He was followed ...

, and the line-up was completed by Simon "Semi" Bridgewater (vocals) and Nicky Djorjevic (bass Guitar).Glasper, Ian (2006) ''The Day The Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980-1984'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 402-7 They took the name Instigators on the suggestion of Ritchie Calvert of the band Disintegrated. The band's first live performance was in summer 1982. Influences on the band included

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

and

Flux of Pink Indians Flux of Pink Indians was an English punk rock band from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, active between 1980 and 1986. Biography The band formed in Hertfordshire, England in 1980 from the remaining members of The Epileptics (who ...

. Djorjevic left to be replaced by "Tompo", who only lasted a few months, playing on the band's first demo, before being replaced himself by Simon "Tab" Elsey. Bridgewater also left for a short time and later became a Web Developer, his replacement Daz Dean. The band's demo got the band a support slot for Flux of Pink Indians in November 1982, and they recorded two further demos, all three getting released on a cassette on Halmshaw's

Peaceville Records Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society) in Dewsbury, England in 1987, who was also a one-time drummer of Sore Throat ...

label, gaining the band more fans. Barbara Drye also added some further input into the band by singing a couple of songs with 'Aggression' been one of them. The band were given another support slot in May 1983, opening for Subhumans in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, a performance that was recorded by Subhumans vocalist Dick Lucas and released through his Bluurg label. Bluurg also released the band's first EP, ''The Blood is on Your Hands'', which reached number 21 on 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 rele ...

.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 120 The 1985 LP release ''Nobody Listens Anymore'' increased their popularity, reaching number 18 on the Indie Albums Chart, and securing them a spot on Pusmort's ''Cleanse the Bacteria'' compilation LP. Bridgewater left later that year after an argument, and the band recruited Andy "Tez" Turner (formerly of Xpozez) as his replacement. Halmshaw and Elsey also soon left, with Mooney and Turner continuing with Andrew "Trimble" Turnbull (Also formerly of Xpozez) on bass guitar and Steve "Cuzzy" Curran on drums. The band's sound changed with the new line-up, taking on a more American influence. They went on to tour Europe and the United States and continued into the 1990s. Halmshaw went on to front

Civilised Society A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Civ ...

, and continued to develop his Peaceville label.

Discography

Singles, Eps

*''The Blood Is on Your Hands'' 7" EP (1984), Bluurg, Fish 6 - UK Indie No. 21 *''Recorded Live in Denmark Feb '86'' 7" EP (1986), Mystic *"Eye to Eye" (1986), Mystic *"Full Circle" 7" (1987), Double A *"Invasion" 7" (1988), Super Seven *"Toshiyuki Hiraoka/With The Instigators–Personal Progress" 7" (1990), Deco Record

Albums

*''Demo'' (cassette) (1982) *''Demo'' (cassette) (1983) *''Demo'' (cassette) (1984) *''Live in Leeds'' (cassette) (1983), Bluurg *''It Has To Be Stopped Live'' (cassette) (1984), 96 Tapes *''All Creatures Great And Small Live'' (cassette) (1984), Bluurg *''Nobody Listens Anymore'' (1985), Bluurg, Fish 11 - UK Indie No. 18 *''We Are The Race Of The Media Fix Live'' (cassette), (1985) Bluurg *''Shrapnel, Instigators–Live At St.Phillips Community Centre''. (cassette), (1985) *''Live In Leeds''(cassette), (1985) *''Demo'' (cassette), (1986) *''Phoenix'' (1986), Bluurg, Fish 13 *''Instigators Live At Huset, Arhus, Denmark, 15 February 1986'' (1987), self-released, later licensed to

Calypso Now Calypso Now was part of the cassette culture movement. Calypso Now was founded in 1983 by the Swiss musician and concert promoter Hotcha (alias Rudi Tüscher), located in Biel/Bienne. Up to 1989, about 200 cassette releases were produced, mainly fr ...

*''Wall of Sound - Live in Berlin'' (1988), Meantime *''Live'' (1988) Black Box Records *''Shockgun'' (1988), Flipside, FLIP 16 *''New Old Now'' (1989), Peaceville *''Recovery Sessions'' (1990), Full Circle *''Demo'' (cassette) (1993) *''Dine Upon the Dead'' (2002), Blackfish - compilation *''The Blood Is On Your Hands (LP)'' (2015), RuinNation *''Nobody Listens Anymore (30th Anniversary Edition) (LP)'' (2015), RuinNation

References

External links

Instigators Facebook Page
{{Authority control Punk rock groups from West Yorkshire Musical groups established in 1980