Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in

Epping, Essex Epping is a market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. The town is northeast from the centre of London, is surrounded by the northern end of Epping Forest, and on a ridge of land between the Riv ...

in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action,

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

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, anti-fascism, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

. The band used and advocated a

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

approach to its albums,

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throu ...

s, leaflets, and films. Crass spray-painted stencilled

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

messages in the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

system and on advertising billboards, coordinated

squats Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to: Body position * Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs * Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...

and organised political action. The band expressed its ideals by dressing in black, military-surplus-style clothing and using a stage backdrop amalgamating

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s of perceived authority such as the Christian cross, the swastika, the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

, and the

ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...

. The band was critical of the punk subculture and

youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasi ...

in general; nevertheless, the anarchist ideas that they promoted have maintained a presence in punk. Due to their free experimentation and use of tape collages, graphics, spoken word releases, poetry, and improvisation, they have been associated with

avant-punk Avant-punk is a punk music style characterized by "screeching experimentation," and a term by which critics used to describe the wave of American punk bands from the 1970s. It originated with the New York-based rock band the Velvet Underground, ...

and

art punk Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spiri ...

History

1977: Origins

The band was based around an anarchist

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in a 16th century cottage, Dial House, near

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

, Essex, and formed when commune founder Penny Rimbaud began jamming with Steve Ignorant (who was staying in the house at the time). Ignorant was inspired to form a band after seeing

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

perform at Colston Hall in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

,"At the end of the Clash gig there was all these people shouting and saying 'your shit!' and Joe Strummer stood there and said 'if you think you can do any better go ahead and start your own band.' And I was like what a great idea!" whilst Rimbaud, a veteran of avant garde

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

groups such as

EXIT Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

and Ceres Confusion, was working on his book ''Reality Asylum''. They produced "So What?" and "Do They Owe Us A Living?" as a drum-and-vocal duo. They briefly called themselves Stormtrooper before choosing Crass in reference to a line in the

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

song " Ziggy Stardust" ("The kids was just crass"). Other friends and household members joined (including

Gee Vaucher Gee Vaucher (born 1945 in Dagenham, Essex, England) is a visual artist. Biography Vaucher met her long-lasting creative partner Penny Rimbaud in the early 1960s when both were attending the South-East Essex Technical College and School of Ar ...

, Pete Wright, N. A. Palmer and Steve Herman), and Crass played their first live gig at a squatted

street festival A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

in Huntley Street,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. They planned to play five songs, but a neighbour "pulled the plug" after three. Guitarist Steve Herman left the band soon afterwards, and was replaced by Phil Clancey, aka Phil Free. Joy De Vivre and Eve Libertine also joined around this time. Other early Crass performances included a four-date tour of New York City, a festival gig in Covent Garden and regular appearances with the U.K. Subs at

The White Lion, Putney The White Lion is a Grade II listed public house at 14–16 High Street, Putney, London, close to the southern end of Putney Bridge. It was built in 1887. It later became a Slug and Lettuce chain pub, then ''The Litten Tree'', then a Walkabout ...

and Action Space in central London. The latter performances were often poorly attended: "The audience consisted mostly of us when the Subs played and the Subs when we played".Rimbaud, P; "...In Which Crass Voluntarily Blow Their Own", sleeve note essay included with ''Best Before 1984'' album Crass played two gigs at the Roxy Club in Covent Garden, London. According to Rimbaud, the band arrived drunk at the second show and were ejected from the stage; this inspired their song, "Banned from the Roxy", and Rimbaud's essay for Crass' self-published magazine ''International Anthem'', "Crass at the Roxy". After the incident the band took themselves more seriously, avoiding alcohol and cannabis before shows and wearing black, military surplus-style clothing on and offstage. They introduced their stage backdrop, a logo designed by Rimbaud's friend Dave King. This gave the band a militaristic image, which led to accusations of fascism. Crass countered that their uniform appearance was intended to be a statement against the " cult of personality", so (in contrast to many rock bands) no member would be identified as the "leader". Conceived and intended as cover artwork for a self-published pamphlet version of Rimbaud's ''Christ's Reality Asylum'', the Crass logo was an amalgam of several "icons of authority" including the Christian cross, the swastika, the

and a two-headed

Ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...

(symbolising the idea that power will eventually destroy itself). Using such deliberately mixed messages was part of Crass' strategy of presenting themselves as a "barrage of contradictions", challenging audiences to (in Rimbaud's words) "make your own fucking minds up". This included using loud, aggressive music to promote a pacifist message, a reference to their

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

ist, performance-art backgrounds and

situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an Proletarian internationalism, international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and Political philosophy, political theorists. It was prominent in Eu ...

ideas. Meanwhile, Johnny Rotten stated that the band was "too political for my liking. They preach to ''themselves'' with a communist slant." The band eschewed elaborate stage lighting during live sets, preferring to play under 40-watt household light bulbs; the technical difficulties of filming under such lighting conditions partly explains why there is little live footage of Crass. They pioneered

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

presentation, using video technology (back-projected films and video collages by Mick Duffield and

) to enhance their performances, and also distributed leaflets and handouts explaining anarchist ideas to their audiences.

1978–1979: ''The Feeding of the 5000'' and Crass Records

Crass' first release was ''

The Feeding of the 5000 In Christianity, the feeding the multitude is two separate miracles of Jesus reported in the Gospels. The first miracle, the "Feeding of the 5,000", is the only miracle—aside from the resurrection—recorded in all four gospels ( Matthew 14:1 ...

'' (an 18-track, 12" 45 rpm EP on the

Small Wonder Small Wonder or variants may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Small Wonder'' (TV series), a 1985–1989 American sitcom * '' A Small Wonder'', a 1966 Australian television film * '' Small Wonders'', a 1995 documentary film * ''Small Wond ...

label) in 1978. Workers at an Irish record-pressing plant refused to handle it due to the allegedly

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

content of the song "Asylum", and the record was released without it. In its place were two minutes of silence, entitled "The Sound of Free Speech". This incident prompted Crass to set up their own independent record label, Crass Records, to prevent Small Wonder from being placed in a compromising position and to retain editorial control over their material. A re-recorded, extended version of "Asylum", renamed "Reality Asylum", was shortly afterwards released on Crass Records as a 7" single and Crass were investigated by the police due to the song's lyrics. The band were interviewed at their Dial House home by Scotland Yard's vice squad, and threatened with prosecution; however, the case was dropped. "Reality Asylum" retailed at 45 p (when most other singles cost about 90p), and was the first example of Crass' "pay no more than..." policy: issuing records as inexpensively as possible. The band failed to factor value added tax into their expenses, causing them to lose money on every copy sold. A year later Crass Records released new pressings of "The Feeding of the 5000" (subtitled "The Second Sitting"), restoring the original version of "Asylum".

1980: ''Stations of the Crass'' and ''Bloody Revolutions''

In 1979 the band released their second album ('' Stations of the Crass''), financed with a loan from

Poison Girls The Poison Girls were an English anarcho-punk band from Brighton. The singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, often from an anarchist pers ...

, a band with whom they regularly appeared. This was a double album, with three sides of new material and a fourth side recorded live at the Pied Bull in Islington. The next Crass single, 1980's "Bloody Revolutions", was a benefit release with Poison Girls which raised £20,000 to fund the Wapping Autonomy Centre. The words were a critique (from an anarchist-pacifist perspective) of the traditional Marxist view of revolutionary struggle, and were (in part) a response to violence marring a gig at

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

in London's

Red Lion Square Red Lion Square is a small square in Holborn, London. The square was laid out in 1684 by Nicholas Barbon, taking its name from the Red Lion Inn. According to some sources, the bodies of three regicides—Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and He ...

at which both bands performed in September 1979. The show was intended as a benefit for the so-called "Persons Unknown", a group of anarchists facing

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

charges. During the performance Socialist Workers Party supporters and other

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

attacked British Movement neo-Nazis, triggering violence. Crass afterwards argued that the leftists were largely to blame for the fighting, and organizations such as

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 ...

were causing audiences to become polarised into left- and right-wing factions. Others (including the anarchist organisation

Class War Class War is an anarchist group and newspaper established by Ian Bone and others in 1983 in the United Kingdom. An incarnation of Class War was briefly registered as a political party for the purposes of fighting the 2015 United Kingdom gener ...

) were critical of Crass's position, stating that "like

Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activist ...

, their politics are up shit creek". Many of the band's punk followers felt that they failed to understand the violence to which they were subjected from the right. Crass Joy

"Rival Tribal Rebel Revel", a

flexi disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

single given away with the ''Toxic Grafity'' fanzine, was also a commentary about the events at Conway Hall attacking the mindless violence and tribalistic aspects of contemporary youth culture. This was followed by the single, "Nagasaki Nightmare/Big A Little A". The strongly

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

lyrics of the first song were reinforced by the fold-out-sleeve artwork. It featured an article by Mike Holderness of ''

Peace News ''Peace News'' (''PN'') is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), and from 1990 to 2004 w ...

'' magazine connecting the

atomic power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

industry and the manufacture of nuclear weapons, and a large poster-style map of nuclear installations in the UK. The other side of the record, "Big A Little A", was a statement of the band's anti-statist and individualist anarchist philosophy: "Be exactly who you want to be, do what you want to do / I am he and she is she but you're the only you."

1981: ''Penis Envy''

Crass released their third album, ''

Penis Envy Penis envy (german: Penisneid) is a stage theorized by Sigmund Freud regarding female psychosexual development, in which young girls experience anxiety upon realization that they do not have a penis. Freud considered this realization a defining m ...

'', in 1981. This marked a departure from the hardcore-punk image ''The Feeding of the 5000'' and ''Stations of the Crass'' had given the group. It featured more-complex musical arrangements and female vocals by Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre (singer Steve Ignorant was credited as "not on this recording"). The album addressed feminist issues, attacking marriage and

sexual repression Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own sexuality. Sexual repression is often linked with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses. Defining characteristics and practices ass ...

. The last track on ''Penis Envy'', a parody of an MOR

love song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...

entitled "Our Wedding", was made available as a white

to readers of ''Loving'', a teenage romance magazine. Crass tricked the magazine into offering the disc, posing as "Creative Recording And Sound Services". ''Loving'' accepted the offer, telling their readers that the free Crass flexi would make "your wedding day just that bit extra special". A tabloid controversy resulted when the hoax was exposed, with the '' News of the World'' stating that the title of the flexi's originating album was "too obscene to print". Despite ''Loving''s annoyance, Crass had broken no laws. The album was banned by the retailer HMV,Rimbaud, P; "...In Which Crass Voluntarily Blow Their Own", sleeve note essay included with Best Before 1984 album and copies of the album were seized from the Eastern Bloc record shop by

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

under the direction of Chief Constable James Anderton. The shop owners were charged with displaying "obscene articles for publication for gain". The judge ruled against Crass in the ensuing court case, although the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal (except the lyrics to one song, "Bata Motel", which were upheld as "sexually provocative and obscene").Rimbaud, P; sleeve notes to 'The Crassical Collection; Ten Notes on a Summer's Day' Crass Records, 2012

1982–1983: ''Christ – The Album'' and strategy change

The band's fourth LP, 1982's double set ''

Christ - The Album Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'', took almost a year to record, produce and mix (during which the Falklands War broke out and ended). This caused Crass to question their approach to making records. As a group whose primary purpose was

political commentary Political criticism (also referred to as political commentary or political discussion) is criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also *Bad Subjects * ...

, they felt overtaken and made redundant by world events: Subsequent releases (including the singles "How Does It Feel? (to Be the Mother of a Thousand Dead)" and "Sheep Farming in the Falklands" and the album ''

Yes Sir, I Will ''Yes Sir, I Will'' was the fifth and penultimate album released in March 1983 by anarcho-punk band Crass. The album is a virulent attack on then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher and her government in the aftermath of the ...

'') saw the band's sound go back to basics and were issued as "tactical responses" to political situations. They anonymously produced 20,000 copies of a flexi-disc with a live recording of "Sheep Farming...", copies of which were randomly inserted into the sleeves of other records by sympathetic workers at the Rough Trade Records distribution warehouse to spread their views to those who might not otherwise hear them.

Direct Action and internal debates

From their early days of spraying stencilled anti-war, anarchist, feminist and

anti-consumerist Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology that is opposed to consumerism, the continual buying and consuming of material possessions. Anti-consumerism is concerned with the private actions of business corporations in pursuit of financial and ...

messages in the

and on billboards, Crass was involved in politically motivated direct action and musical activities. On 18 December 1982, the band helped co-ordinate a 24-hour squat in the empty west London Zig Zag club to prove "that the underground punk scene could handle itself responsibly when it had to and that music really could be enjoyed free of the restraints imposed upon it by corporate industry". In 1983 and 1984, Crass were part of the Stop the City actions co-ordinated by London Greenpeace which foreshadowed the

anti-globalisation The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...

rallies of the early 21st century. Support for these activities was provided in the lyrics and sleeve notes of the band's last single, "You're Already Dead", expressing doubts about their commitment to non-violence. It was also a reflection of disagreements within the group, as explained by Rimbaud; "Half the band supported the pacifist line and half supported direct and if necessary violent action. It was a confusing time for us, and I think a lot of our records show that, inadvertently". This led to introspection within the band, with some members becoming embittered and losing sight of their essentially positive stance. Reflecting this debate, the next release under the Crass name was '' Acts of Love'': classical-music settings of 50 poems by Penny Rimbaud, described as "songs to my other self" and intended to celebrate "the profound sense of unity, peace and love that exists within that other self".

Thatchergate

Another Crass hoax was known as the "

Thatchergate Thatchergate was the colloquial title of a hoax perpetrated by members of the anarcho-punk band Crass during the aftermath of the 1982 Falklands War. Using excerpts from speeches by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, a recording was spliced t ...

tapes", a recording of an apparently accidentally overheard telephone conversation (due to crossed lines). The tape was constructed by Crass from edited recordings of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

and Ronald Reagan. On the 'rather clumsily' forged tape, they appear to discuss the sinking of during the Falklands War and agree that Europe would be a target for nuclear weapons in a conflict between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Copies were leaked to the press via a Dutch news agency during the 1983 general election campaign. The U.S. State Department and British Government believed the tape to be propaganda produced by the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

(as reported by the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

''). Although the tape was produced anonymously, ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' linked the tape with the band. Previously classified government documents made public in January 2014 under the UK's ' Thirty Year Rule' reveal that the prime minister was personally aware of the tape and had discussed it with her cabinet.

1984: Breakup

Questions about the band in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and an attempted prosecution by Conservative Party MP

Timothy Eggar Timothy John Crommelin Eggar (born 19 December 1951) is a British businessman and former politician. He holds positions on the board of directors, boards of multiple organisations including Shiplake College and Cape plc, and was the Conservativ ...

under the UK's

Obscene Publications Act Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by Lord ...

for their single, "How Does It Feel...", made them question their purpose: The band had also incurred heavy legal expenses for the ''Penis Envy'' prosecution; this, combined with exhaustion and the pressures of living and operating together, finally took its toll. On 7 July 1984, the band played a benefit gig at Aberdare, Wales, for striking miners, and on the return trip guitarist N. A. Palmer announced that he intended to leave the group. This confirmed Crass's previous intention to quit in 1984, and the band split up. The group's final release as Crass was the "Ten Notes on a Summer's Day" 12" single in 1986. Crass Records was closed down in 1992 - its final release was ''Christ's Reality Asylum'', a 90-minute cassette of Penny Rimbaud reading the essay he had written in early 1977 that gave him the impetus to form Crass.

Crass Collective, Crass Agenda and Last Amendment

In November 2002 several former members arranged Your Country Needs You, a concert of "voices in opposition to war", as the

Crass Collective Last Amendment, formerly known as The Crass Collective and Crass Agenda, is the working title of a series of collaborations by ex-members of the anarcho-punk band Crass and others. Although Crass had formally split up in 1984, Penny Rimbaud, G ...

. At Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank, Your Country Needs You included Benjamin Britten's ''

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was bui ...

'' and performances by Goldblade,

Fun-Da-Mental Fun-Da-Mental is a British-based multi-ethnic hip-hop– ethno-techno– world fusion music group formed in 1991. The group is notable for its energetic fusion of Eastern and Western musical forms, for its outspoken political stance, and for i ...

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

and Pete Wright's post-Crass project, Judas 2. In October 2003 the Crass Collective changed their name to Crass Agenda, with Rimbaud, Libertine and Vaucher working with Matt Black of

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musicians such as Julian Siegel and Kate Shortt. In 2004 Crass Agenda spearheaded a campaign to save the ''

Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in ...

'' Jazz Club in Stoke Newington, north London (where they regularly played). In June 2005 Crass Agenda was declared to be "no more", changing its name to the "more pertinent" Last Amendment. After a five-year hiatus, Last Amendment performed at the Vortex in June 2012. Rimbaud has also performed and recorded with

Japanther Japanther was an American punk band established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and collaborated with a diverse pool of artists su ...

and the Charlatans. A "new" Crass track (a remix of 1982's "Major General Despair" with new lyrics), "The Unelected President", is available.

2007: Ignorant's ''The Feeding of the 5000''

On 24 and 25 November 2007, Steve Ignorant performed Crass' ''

'' album live at the

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

with a band of "selected guests". Other members of Crass were not involved in these concerts. Initially Rimbaud refused Ignorant permission to perform Crass songs he had written, but later changed his mind: "I acknowledge and respect Steve's right to do this, but I do regard it as a betrayal of the Crass ethos". Ignorant had a different view: "I don't have to justify what I do...Plus, most of the lyrics are still relevant today. And remember that three-letter word, 'fun'?"

2010: Crassical Collection reissues

In 2010 it was announced that Crass would release ''The Crassical Collection'', remastered reissues of their back catalogue. Three former members objected, threatening legal action. Despite their concerns the project went ahead, and the remasters were eventually released. First in the series was ''The Feeding of the 5000'', released in August 2010. ''Stations of the Crass'' followed in October, with new editions of ''Penis Envy'', ''Christ – The Album'', ''Yes Sir, I Will'' and ''Ten Notes on a Summer's Day'' released in 2011 and 2012. Critics praised the improved sound quality and new packaging of the remastered albums.

2011: The Last Supper

In 2011 Steve Ignorant embarked on an international tour, entitled "The Last Supper". He performed Crass material, culminating with a final performance at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 19 November. Ignorant said that this was the last time he would sing the songs of Crass, with Rimbaud's support; the latter joined him onstage for a drum-and-vocal rendition of "Do They Owe Us A Living", bringing the band's career full circle after 34 years: "And then Penny came on...and we did it, 'Do They Owe Us A Living' as we'd first done it all those years ago. As it started, so it finished". Ignorant's lineup for the tour were Gizz Butt, Carol Hodge, Pete Wilson and Spike T. Smith, and he was joined by Eve Libertine for a number of songs. The set list included a cover of "West One (Shine on Me)" by

The Ruts The Ruts (later known as Ruts DC) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly pla ...

, when Ignorant was joined onstage by the Norfolk-based

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

crew with whom he volunteers.

Artwork and exhibitions

In February 2011, artist Toby Mott exhibited a portion of his Crass ephemera collection at the Roth Gallery in New York. The exhibit featured artwork, albums (including 12" LPs and EPs), 7" singles from Crass Records and a complete set of Crass' self-published

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

, ''Inter-National Anthem''. Artwork by Gee Vaucher and Penny Rimbaud, including a recording of the original 'Thatchergate Tape', featured as part of the 'Peculiar People' show at the Focal Point Gallery in

Southend on Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

during the Spring of 2016, part of a series of events celebrating the history of 'Radical Essex'. Vaucher's painting 'Oh America', featuring an image of the Statue of Liberty hiding her face with her hands, was used as the front page of the UK

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

newspaper to mark the election of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

as US President on 9 November 2016. From November 2016 to February 2017 the

Firstsite Firstsite is a visual arts organisation based in Colchester, Essex, which opened in 2011. It was the national Art Fund's Museum of the Year in 2021. The building Firstsite occupy as tenants was designed by Rafael Viñoly and the freehold is r ...

art gallery in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, hosted a retrospective of Gee Vaucher's artwork. In June 2016, "The Art of Crass" was the subject of an exhibition at the LightBox Gallery in Leicester curated by artist and technologist Sean Clark. The exhibition featured prints and original artworks by Gee Vaucher, Penny Rimbaud, Eve Libertine, and Dave King. During the exhibition, Penny Rimbaud, Eve Libertine, and Louise Elliot performed "The Cobblestones of Love", a lyrical reworking of the Crass album "Yes Sir, I Will". On the final day of the exhibition there was a performance by Steve Ignorant's Slice of Life. The exhibition is documented on The Art of Crass website.

Influences

For Rimbaud the initial inspiration for founding Crass was the death of his friend Phil 'Wally Hope' Russell, as detailed in his book ''The Last of the Hippies: An Hysterical Romance''. Russell had been placed in a

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psy ...

hospital after helping to set up the first Stonehenge free festival in 1974, and died shortly afterwards. Rimbaud believed that Russell was murdered by the State for political reasons. Co-founder Ignorant has cited The Clash and David Bowie as major personal influences. Band members have also cited influences ranging from

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

and

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

situationism The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, the poetry of Baudelaire, British working class ' kitchen sink' literature and films such as '' Kes'' and the films of Anthony McCall (McCall's ''Four Projected Movements'' was shown as part of an early Crass performance). Crass have said that their musical influences were seldom drawn from rock, but more from classical music (particularly

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, on whose work, Rimbaud states, some of Crass' riffs are based),

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

, European atonality, and avant-garde composers such as John Cage and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

Legacy

Crass influenced the anarchist movement in the UK, the US and beyond. The growth of anarcho-punk spurred interest in anarchist ideas. The band have also claimed credit for revitalising the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

and the UK

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Others contend that they overestimated their influence, their radicalising effect on militants notwithstanding. Researcher Richard Cross stated: Crass' philosophical and aesthetic influences on 1980s punk bands were far-reaching. A notable example is

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...

co-founder

, who followed some of Crass' anti-consumerist and DIY principles in his own label and projects, particularly with the post-hardcore band Fugazi. However, few mimicked their later free-form style (heard on ''Yes Sir, I Will'' and their final recording, ''Ten Notes on a Summer's Day''). Their painted and collage black-and-white record sleeves (by

) may have influenced later artists such as

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...

(with whom Vaucher collaborated) and the

subvertising Subvertising (a portmanteau of '' subvert'' and ''advertising'') is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. The cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term in 1991. Subvertisements are anti-ads that d ...

movement. Anti-folk artist

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating i ...

's 2007 album, ''

12 Crass Songs ''12 Crass Songs'' is the fourth album by anti-folk artist Jeffrey Lewis. It was released on October 1, 2007 on Rough Trade Records. The title is literal, as all 12 songs on the album were written and first recorded by the band Crass Cras ...

'', features acoustic covers of Crass material.

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...

, in his early teens at the time, was a big fan of the band, would play their records at home and much later cited them in a radio interview, when asked about what band or artist had first made him want to get up on stage as a singer: "Crass! Their energy on stage was incredible, I was very impressed". During September 2022, the auctioneer Colin Young was seen wearing a brooch featuring the Crass logo, on the ITV series Dickinson's Real Deal.

Members

* Steve Ignorant (vocals) * Eve Libertine (vocals) * Joy De Vivre (vocals) * N. A. Palmer (guitar) * Phil Free (guitar) * Pete Wright (bass, vocals) * Penny Rimbaud (drums, vocals) *

(artwork, piano, radio) *Mick Duffield (films) * John Loder,

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

and founder of

Southern Studios Southern Studios is a recording studio in the Wood Green area of London. It was founded in 1974 by John Loder, and came to be the recording studio of choice for Crass and their record label Crass Records. Southern Studios Ltd. continues to grow ...

, is sometimes considered the "ninth member" of Crass. (died 2005) *Steve Herman (guitar; left shortly after their first performance and died on 4 February 1989)

Discography

(All released on Crass Records unless otherwise stated.)

LPs

*''

'' (LP, 1978, 45 rpm,

Small Wonder Records Small Wonder Records was a British independent record label owned and managed by Pete and Mari Stennett, that specialised in releasing records by punk rock and post-punk bands. It operated out of a record shop of the same name at 162 Hoe Stre ...

– UK Indie – No. 1. Reissued in 1980 as LP 33 rpm as '' The Feeding of the 5000 – Second Sitting'', UK Indie – No. 11) *'' Stations of the Crass'' (521984, double LP, 1979) (UK Indie – No. 1) *''

'' (321984/1, LP, 1981) (UK Indie – No. 1) *''

Christ – The Album ''Christ – The Album'' is the fourth album by Crass, released in 1982. It was released as a boxed-set, double-vinyl LP package, including one disc of new studio material and another, entitled ''Well Forked.. But Not Dead'', a live recording of t ...

'' (BOLLOX 2U2, double LP, 1982) (UK Indie – No. 1) *''

'' (121984/2, LP, 1983) (UK Indie – No. 1) *'' Ten Notes on a Summer's Day'' (catalog No. 6, LP, 1986, Crass Records) (UK Indie – No. 6)

Compilations and remastered editions

*''

Best Before 1984 ''Best Before 1984'' is a compilation of Crass' singles and other tracks, released in 1986, including lyrics and a booklet ("...In Which Crass Voluntarily 'Blow Their Own'") which details the history of the band in their own words. The album was ...

'' (1986 – CATNO5; compilation album of singles) (UK Indie – No. 7) *''The Feeding of the 5000 (The Crassical Collection)'' (2010 – CC01CD remastered edition) *''Stations of the Crass (The Crassical Collection)'' (2010 – CC02CD remastered edition) *''Penis Envy (The Crassical Collection)'' (2010 – CC03CD remastered edition) *''Christ – The Album (The Crassical Collection)'' (2011 – CC04CD remastered edition) *''Yes Sir, I Will (The Crassical Collection)'' (2011 – CC05CD remastered edition) *''Ten Notes on a Summer's Day (The Crassical Collection)'' (2012 – CC06CD remastered edition)

Singles

*"Reality Asylum" / "Shaved Women" (CRASS1, 7", 1979) (UK Indie – No. 9) *"Bloody Revolutions" / "Persons Unknown" (421984/1, 7" single, joint released with the

, 1980) (UK Indie – No. 1) *"Rival Tribal Rebel Revel" (421984/6F, one-sided 7" flexi disc single given away with ''

Toxic Grafity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

'' fanzine, 1980) *"Nagasaki Nightmare" / "Big A Little A" (421984/5, 7" single, 1981) (UK Indie – No. 1) *"Our Wedding" (321984/1F, one-sided 7" flexi-disc single by Creative Recording And Sound Services made available to readers of teenage magazine ''Loving'') *"Merry Crassmas" (CT1, 7" single, 1981, Crass' stab at the Christmas novelty market) (UK Indie – No. 2) *"Sheep Farming in the Falklands" / "Gotcha" (121984/3, 7" single, 1982, originally released anonymously as a flexi-disc) (UK Indie – No. 1) *"How Does It Feel To Be The Mother of 1000 Dead?" / "The Immortal Death" (221984/6, 7" single, 1983) (UK Indie – No. 1) *"Whodunnit?" (121984/4, 7" single, 1983, pressed in "shit-coloured vinyl") (UK Indie – No. 2) *"You're Already Dead" / "Nagasaki is Yesterday's Dog-End" / "Don't Get Caught" (1984, 7" single, 1984)

Other

*''Penny Rimbaud Reads From 'Christ's Reality Asylum (Cat No. 10C, C90 cassette, 1992) *''Acts of Love – Fifty Songs to my Other Self'' by Penny Rimbaud with Paul Ellis, Eve Libertine and Steve Ignorant (Cat No. 1984/4, LP and book, 1984. Reissued as CD and book as Exitstencilisms Cat No. EXT001 2012) *EXIT ''The Mystic Trumpeter – Live at the Roundhouse 1972, The ICES Tapes'' (pre Crass material featuring Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, John Loder and others) (Exit Stencil Music Cat No. EXMO2, CD and book, 2013)

Live recordings

*''Christ: The Bootleg'' (recorded live in Nottingham, 1984, released 1989 on Allied Records) *'' You'll Ruin It For Everyone'' (recorded live in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Scotland, 1981, released 1993 on Pomona Records)

Videos

;Crass: *''Christ: The Movie'' (a series of short films by Mick Duffield that were shown at Crass performances, VHS, released 1990) *''Semi-Detached'' (video collages by Gee Vaucher, 1978–84, VHS, 2001) *''Crass: There Is No Authority But Yourself'' (documentary by

Alexander Oey Alexander Oey (born 1960, Amsterdam) is a Dutch film director who has directed numerous documentaries for Dutch television, including the controversial ''Euro-Islam According to Tariq Ramadan'' (see Tariq Ramadan) and '' My Life as a Terrorist: T ...

, 2006) documenting the history of Crass and Dial House. ;Crass Agenda: *''In the Beginning Was the WORD'' – Live DVD recorded at the Progress Bar, Tufnell Park, London, 18 November 2004

Suggested viewing

* ''The Art of Punk - Crass'' ( The Museum of Contemporary Art) (2013) - Documentary featuring the art of Dan King and

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (originally issued as a pamphlet with the LP ''Christ – The Album'', much of the text is now published online at ) * ''International Anthem: A Nihilist Newspaper for the Living''. Exitstencil Press. 1977–81. (see )

External links

* * {{Authority control Anarcho-punk groups Anti-consumerist groups English art rock groups British hardcore punk groups DIY culture English anti-fascists English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Squatters' movements Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom