Virus are an English punk rock band formed in 1983 which promotes and supports anarchism, vegetarianism, anti nuclear and

environmental issue Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

History

Virus originally formed in the summer of 1983 in

Gillingham, Dorset Gillingham ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It lies on the B3095 and B3081 roads, approximately south of the A303 trunk road and northwest of Shaftesbury. It is the most northerly town in the coun ...

. The band's line up Des, vocals, Bowzer, guitar, Jaz, bass and Rich, drums, recorded their first demo, ''Infected'' in early 1984. Shortly after Des left the band and was replaced by Dave, the new line recorded and released ''You Can’t Ignore It Forever'' in December 1984. In 1985 Des rejoined Virus to create a five piece supported Subhumans, Anthrax, Organised Chaos, Disorder, The Varukers,

Conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

, Liberty,

Culture Shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

and

Zounds Zounds are an England, English anarcho punk/post-punk band from Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshire, England, formed in 1977. Originally they were part of the cassette culture movement, releasing material on the Fuck Off Records label, and ...

. Virus contributed a track to the Mortarhate compilation album, ''We Won’t Be Your Fucking Poor'' before splitting in the summer of 1986. In 1996 Virus reformed with Charlie Barber on drums for a one-off gig. The reformation was an attempt to rekindle interest in the band but logistically it was difficult as Jaz lived in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and Bowzer in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The audience reaction was also not particularly favourable so this reformation was short-lived. After Ian Glasper included Virus in,

The Day The Country Died ''The Day the Country Died'' is the debut studio album by English anarcho-punk band Subhumans. It was recorded in five days in June 1982 and was released in January 1983 through Spiderleg Records. The album was later re-released via Bluurg, t ...

original members, Dave and Jaz, started the band again with a new guitarist, Rich Hoskins and drummer, Mark Smith. This line up stayed together until 2013 and released two studio albums, ''Unacceptable Noise Levels'' (2007), ''Virulence'' (2011) and 7 inch single, ''It’s Not What It Appears'' (2013). In 2013 Mark left Virus and was replaced by Sam Kenyon. The next Virus line up released the 7 inch single ''Illuminati'' through their own record label Subversive Haircuts as well as playing on a split record with Bug Central and The System released through Grow Your Own Records. Shortly after Rich left the band and Virus had some temporary guitarists until 2015 when Tom Weeks joined. In 2016 Virus took part in the Hunt Saboteurs Association Benefit series and 2017 releasing their latest single, ''One Minute’s Silence & Infidel''.

Discography

Albums * Infected (1984) * You Can't Ignore If Forever (1984) * Unacceptable Noise Levels (2007) * Virulence (2011) * Pathogens (2019) * Introvert Extravert (2022) Live Albums * Live At Henrys Cafe (1985) Singles * It's Not What It Appears (2013) * Illuminati / Vanity (2015) * Drunk Lover / Demonic (Benefit for the

Hunt Saboteurs Association The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 De ...

, 2016) * One Minute's Silence (Grow Your Own Records, 2017) Compilations * Futile - Split EP with The System and Bug Central (2015) * The Turkey - We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor (Mortarhate, 1985) * Futile - Birds Of A Feather (2016, Grow Your Own) * Nuclear? No Thanks - Straight Out Of Somerset (The Outsider, 2016)

Band members

Current members * Jaz Wiseman - 1983 to Present * Sam Kenyon - 2013 to Present * Tom Weeks - 2015 to Present Former members * Des Hoskins - 1983 to 1986 * Rich Broklehurst - 1983 - 1986 * Marcus ‘Bowzer’ Bowering 1983 to 1986 & 1996 * Shane Whitehead - 1984 - 1985 * Charlie Barber - 1996 * Mark Smith - 2006 to 2013 * Rich Hoskins 2006 to 2013 *Dave Oliver 1984 to 2018

References

{{Authority control English punk rock groups