Red Alert (band)
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Red Alert are аn English
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
/
oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was ...
-band, formed in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, England,Huey, Steve Red Alert biography
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, 29 January 2010
in May 1979. The group released five EPs and a studio album, and appeared on numerous compilations, including ''Punk And Disorderly'' (Abstract Records, 1981) and '' Carry On Oi!'' (Secret Records, 1981). Three of the band's releases reached the Top 30 in 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 rele ...
. Red Alert broke up in 1984, reformed five years later and continued touring and recording.


Band history

Red Alert's original line-up — Steve 'Cast Iron' Smith (vocals), Tony Van Frater (guitar), Gaz Stuart (bass) and Dona (drums) — debuted in the summer of 1979, at a carnival in Sunderland, performing mostly Clash and
UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...
covers.Red Alert Interview
Punkoiuk.co.uk. - Retrieved 31 January 2010
Their first demo became their debut release: a self-financed four track EP ''Third And Final'', only 250 copies of which were pressed and then sold at gigs.Glasper, Ian ''Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984,'' Cherry Red Books, 2004, p142-6 With the new drummer Gary 'Mitch' Mitchell the band produced its second demo ''In Britain'' and recorded two tracks for the ''Carry On Oi!'' compilation, only one of which -"SPG"- was included.
Gary Bushell Garry Bushell (born 13 May 1955) is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author, musician and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Cockney Oi! bands GBX and the Gonads. He managed the New York C ...
suggested that the band should send their material to No Future Records which they did and were signed a week later. In the course of two years Red Alert released two 7-inch EPs (''In Britain'', ''Take No Prisoners''), their debut LP ''We've Got The Power'', a single ("City Invasion") and a 6 track 12-inch EP (''There's A Guitar Burning''), all with new drummer Les 'Nobby' Cobb. Matty Forster replaced Cobb in 1984. This change bore little fruit: disillusioned and weary, the band called it quits; the band's last gig was a benefit for the
miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
. For some time Tony and Matty toured with Red London. In 1989, all four original members of Red Alert started meeting again, at a new Kazbah club, opened in Sunderland. In early 1990 the reformed band did a gig with Red London and
Attila the Stockbroker John Baine (born 21 October 1957), better known by his stage name Attila the Stockbroker,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 208 is an English punk poet, multi instrumentalist musician and songwriter. He pe ...
and, inspired by their warm reception, decided to go on — with the exception of Gaz, who was replaced by Tom Spencer. After touring Western Europe alongside Red London, the quartet (with Gaz Stoker of Red London, as a new bassist) recorded their second LP ''Blood, Sweat 'N' Beers'', released on
Nightmare Records Lance King (born November 23, 1962) is an American heavy metal music singer and songwriter specializing in melodic progressive power metal. He has sung with many groups over the last 35 years and started the record label Nightmare in 1990 to ...
in Germany. ''Beyond The Cut'' (Nightmare/Knockout) followed in 1993. With new drummer John Forster (Matty's brother) and later Lainey of
Leatherface Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murdere ...
the band toured the United States and released the ''Super Yobs'' album, a split with
The Templars The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...
. On return they released the "Street Survivors"/"Drinkin' With Red Alert" double 7-inch EP set. In August 1994, new drummer Ian Syborn joined; with him in 1995-96 the band recorded ''Breakin' All The Rules'' CD for Dojo Records. Shortly after the release Lainey returned, this time as bassist. This line-up recorded ''Wearside'', released by PlasticHead Records to coincide with the 1999 ''Red Alert - The Rarities'' compilation (20 previously unreleased tracks) on
Captain Oi! Records Captain Oi! Records is a punk rock and Oi! record label based in High Wycombe, England. The company has released over 300 albums by many notable punk and Oi! bands of the late 1970s and 1980s. The label was set up by Mark Brennan, former bass ...
. Red Alert's latest studio album ''Excess All Areas'' was released in 2005.


Line up

The band's current lineup includes: *Guitar- Mick Jones *Bass- Dave Jones *Drums- Axel Klempin Ian Syborn died in 2002. Tony Van Frater died on 29 October 2015. Steve "Cast Iron" Smith died in Spain on 30 November 2022.Vocalist For Punk Band Red Alert, Steve “Cast Iron” Smith Dies
''XS Rock''. Retrieved 4 December 2022.


Discography


Singles and EPs

* ''Third and Final'' EP (Guardian Records) 1980 eissued as ''Border Guards'' EP (Combat Rock Records) 1994)* ''In Britain'' EP (No Future Records) 1982 * ''Take No Prisoners'' EP (No Future Records) 1982 * "City Invasion"/"Negative Reaction" (No Future Records) 1983 * ''There’s a Guitar Burning'' EP (No Future Records) 1983 * ''We've Got the Power'' EP Live In Mondreagon (Capita Swing Records) 1992 * "Drinkin' with Red Alert" / "Street Survivors" (EP, Nightmare Records / Knockout Records) 1994 * "Visca El Barça" (Plastic Disk Records) 1996 * “Double Aye/Eh Side” * Split EP w/Rough Cuts (Cursed Blessings Records) 2021


Albums

* ''We’ve Got the Power'' (No Future Records LP, CD) 1983 * ''Blood, Sweat 'N' Beers'' (Nightmare Records LP, CD 1992 * ''Beyond the Cut'' (Nightmare Records / Knockout Records) 1993 * ''Super Yobs'' (split with
The Templars The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...
) (Vulture Records) 1994 * ''Breakin' All the Rules'' (Dojo Records CD) 1996 * ''Wearside'' (Plastic Head Records CD) 1999 * ''Excess All Areas'' (Captain Oi!, 2005)


Compilation albums

* ''Red Alert: Oi Singles Collection'' (
Captain Oi! Records Captain Oi! Records is a punk rock and Oi! record label based in High Wycombe, England. The company has released over 300 albums by many notable punk and Oi! bands of the late 1970s and 1980s. The label was set up by Mark Brennan, former bass ...
CD) 1995 * ''Rebels in Society'' (Get Back Records CD) 1997 * ''The Rarities'' (Captain Oi! Records CD) 1999 * ''Best Of'' (Captain Oi! Records CD) 2000 * ''Border Guards'' (Harry May, 2001) * ''Blazin' Thru The Years - The Best Of'' (2005)


Compilation appearances

* ''Punk and Disorderly'' (Abstract Records) 1981 * ''Carry On Oi!'' (Secret Records) 1981 * ''Angels With Dirty Faces'' (No Future Records) 1984 * ''There Is No Future..'' (No Future Records) 1984 * ''Maggie, Maggie, Maggie; Out! Out! Out!'' (Anagram Records) 1987 * ''Kids on the Street'' (Bird Records) 1993 * ''The Bright Side Of Oi'' (Street Kids Records) 1994 * ''LA Compilation'' (Combat Rock Records) 1995 * ''Knock Out in the 1st Round'' (Knockout Records) 1996 * ''Oi! The Rarities Vol 1'' (Captain Oi! Records) 1995 * ''No Future Punk Singles Collection Vol 1'' (Captain Oi! Records) 1995 * ''No Future Punk Singles Collection Vol 2'' (Captain Oi! Records) 1996 * ''Oi! Against Racism'' (Havin' A Laugh Records) 1996 * ''War is Insanity'' (Knockout / Banda Bonnot Records) 1996 * ''On the Streets'' (We Bite Records) 1997 * ''We Are the Firm'' (
Cockney Rejects Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United, and pay ...
tribute) (1,2,3,4 Records) 1998 * ''We Are the People'' (
Angelic Upstarts Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock / Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". Angelic Upstarts Biography AllMusic. accessed 3 July 2006 Th ...
tribute) (Knockout Records) 1998 * ''Voice of a New Generation'' ( Blitz tribute) (Plastichead Records) 1999


References


Further reading

*Kid Stoker, ''Red Alert: The Story So Far,'' Street Music Publishing, 2000


External links


Red Alert @ UK 82
* {{Authority control English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1979 People from Sunderland Musicians from Tyne and Wear Oi! groups