Anti System is an English punk rock band from

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 ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

History

Formed in

in 1982, the original line-up consisted of Phil, George, Dom and Dave Damned on vocals. Following their first gig at the Palm Cove in Bradford on September 14, 1982 (with Friktion Agitators, The End and Complete Disorder), Dave Damned was replaced by Nogsy (Simon Nolan). The band recorded a demo at Lion Studios in Leeds which led to them being signed to Marcus Featherby's Pax Records. Anti System recorded a session at

Cargo Studios Cargo Studios was a recording studio located on Kenion Street, off Drake Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was opened in 1977 by John Brierley (who had gained notoriety in the early 1970s as producer of Tractor's first two albums) ...

from which the tracks ''Mansworld'' and ''Breakout'' were chosen to appear the Pax Records compilation album ''Punk Dead - Nah Mate, The Smell Is Jus Summink In Yer Underpants Innit'' in early 1983. Their next release was the five-track ''Defence of the Realm'' EP. By this time George had been replaced on bass by former Raw guitarist Mickey Knowles although he appears on two of the five tracks. This line-up also played on the tracks ''Schoolboy'' and ''Why Should It Happen'' which appeared on the compilation ''Bollox To The Gonads - Here's The Testicles'', also on Pax Records. By May 1983 Nogsy had been replaced by former Raw vocalist Liam Sheeran. During Liam's time with the band a live album was recorded but remains unreleased. Both Mickey and Liam left in 1984 and former members of the band Subvert/Morbid Humour joined a new line-up. In 1985, Anti System released a split single ''Strange Love/So Long As'' with Morbid Humour's ''Oh, My God (Parts 1 & 2)'' on the flip side. This was followed by the ''No Laughing Matter'' album and the 12" ''A Look at Life'' EP on Reconciliation Records. Like some other anarcho-punk bands of the time, the band were promoters of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

causes, their debut EP being a benefit for animal welfare groups and prior to the recording of the ''A Look at Life'' EP there was a necessity for a new line-up as two of the original members had been imprisoned for various animal rights actions. Mark Keane and Michael Teale were imprisoned in 1986, shortly after recording ''A Look at Life''. In 2009, a family tree and profile of the band was published in the book ''Bradford Noise of the Valleys Volume One - 1967-1987''. In 2012, guitarist Varik formed a new version the band with past members Mark Keane and Mickey Knowles.

Musical style

The band's music has been categorised as

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, hardcore ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

. In an article by DIY Conspiracy, they were referred to as one of the pioneers of UK82. Their lyrics often political, supporting

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

and

. They have cited influences including Black Flag,

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 lifestylism, way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the ...

and Conflict.

Members

;Current *Dean Martindale - Vocals *Mickey Knowles - Guitar *Mark "Varik" Teale - Guitar *Mark "Keaney" Keane - Bass *Kevin Frost - Drums

Discography

Recordings

*''82 Demo ''(Self Release, 1982) *''In Defence of the Realm'' (EP, Pax Records, 1983) *''No Laughing Matter'' (LP, Reconcile, 1985) *''A Look at Life'' (12", Reconcile, 1986) *''Live At Sheffield Marples LP'' - Unreleased *Split 7" w/MORBID HUMOUR (Reconcile, 1986) *''What Price Freedom'' (Boss Tuneage, 2017)

Appearances on compilations

*''Punk Dead? Nah Mate, The Smell is Jus Summink in Yer Underpants Innit'' (Pax Records, 1982) :Tracks - ''Man's World, Aftermath'' *''Bollox to the Gonads - Here's the Testicles'' (Pax Records, 1984) :Tracks - ''Schoolboy, Why Should it Happen''

References

External links

* Anti System on allmusic.combr>Essay discussing Anti-System in paragraphs 4, 12
{{Authority control British crust and d-beat groups English heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 Punk rock groups from West Yorkshire