The Peter Pan of broadcasting, Gary Crowley, has a rich history of releasing sensational compilations featuring bands that have graced the tapestry of 40 odd years of being at the forefront of everything hip and happening whilst spinning vinyl to the nations girls and boys about town.

Crowley’s latest release, Punk & New Wave Vol 2, is another fabulous collection of the known, the unknown and the obscure. Dusting down selections from the likes of The Jam, The Clash and Generation X, alongside obscure inclusions by Dislocation Dance, Golinski Brothers and The Rezillos; this collection leaves the listener begging for more as their appetite are firmly whetted with the desire to pogo on the spot and spit in any general direction.

Crowley has kindly allowed Gigslutz some of his time to ask a few questions regarding the compilation:

Do you recall your first interactions with punk/new wave?

Of course! I would’ve been 14 and it would’ve been late 1976 and, via the music press I was reading and of course listening to Peelie late nights, I became aware of this new wave of young bands from mostly the UK and America.

You got a sense that something exciting was happening and then of course the Pistols Grundy interview happened which put it on the front covers of the national press.

What I loved about it was the energy. The fact these bands were only a few years older than me and it was a return to the essence of rock n roll; i.e. great singles and albums choc-a-bloc full of spiky songs.

Were those days in around punks quite a dangerous affair? I’d imagine what with mods, rockers and the introduction of punks/new waves, there might’ve been altercations in various places?

It could get lively! Having a good pair of running shoes in those days certainly helped.

I have a vivid memory of going to my first gig at Battersea Town Hall early summer 1977 to see the Jam and the Boys and being in the queue to get in and a rumour going around that a bunch of Teds were coming down to fight the Punks. Thankfully that didn’t happen, which for a pacifist like me was a relief!

Did you ever wear a safety pin?

Yes! Proudly, on the lapel of my school uniform along with a Clash and Jam badge on either side.

Badges were a big thing back in the late 70s. It was a way to make a statement and letting people know who your favourite bands were and what your political leanings were.

I’ve still got a lot of mine.

Were you guilty of spitting at anyone on stage?

No, that was something I didn’t do. That was one of the worst things I always thought about punk, the gobbing (the spitting) at bands.

I can remember going backstage once at The Lyceum to ask Malcolm Owen from The Ruts for an interview. This was just before they were due to go stage and he had this cool shirt on and him telling us to come back after the show as we duly did. Suffice to say the shirt was covered in a layer of the most disgusting phlegm I’d ever seen.

Horrible!

Did you ever see some of the bands in a live setting that feature in the compilation? Specifically, The Cure, The Clash and XTC? 

Yes, luckily all three! The Clash were one of my favourite bands and in concert were absolutely incendiary. One of my favourite memories of seeing them was at the Notre Dame Hall off Leicester Square in July 1979 when they previewed a lot of the material that would make up London Calling. I got with my first girlfriend Niamh that night which made it doubly memorable!

XTC I also loved and luckily got to see them in the intimate surroundings of the Marquee and also at the Finsbury Park Astoria on the Drums And Wires tour in 1979. They were brilliant. Such energy.

The Cure I saw at the Lyceum and stupidly missed out on seeing them last time.

Didn’t The Cure share a rehearsal space with The Jam in the early days?

That I’m not sure of but you can guaran – damn- tee Mr Weller and Mr Smith won’t be exchanging Xmas cards this yuletide after PW’s recent comments!

What were the best nite clubs to attend to hear the latest punk/new wave sounds?

For me and my pals it was the Marquee, the Nashville and the 100 Club and very occasionally (twice in fact!) the Vortex. We did try to get into the Roxy once but were turned away, but this was the summer of 1977 and its heyday had passed and they were having all these second/third division bands, so we weren’t too disappointed.

Any other memorable performances you’ve seen of the acts featured in the compilation?

The Mo -Dettes I was lucky to see a few times and always thought that they were one of those bands who should’ve/ could’ve been bigger if they were given the time to develop. There’s a wonderful rare clip that’s just surfaced of the band performing the Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’ on the Saturday morning kids show The Fun Factory

When the record company told us this track had been cleared for the box set both Jim [Lahat] and I were ecstatic.

There’s lots of tracks that are new to me featured in the compilation. Can you name 5 tracks listeners need to listen to?

For me it’s the following 5 (Jim will give you a different answer i’m sure)…

1.The Limps – Someone I Can Talk To…this song for me really encapsulates what hopefully makes these compilations special. A ‘lost’ classic from a band oozing attitude.

2.Moving England – Moving Back…an early version of Haircut 100 wearing their Talking Heads influence on their collective sleeves. Wonderful.

3.Golinski Brothers – Bloody …one of Jim’s Desert Island Discs and one of writer David Quantick’s favourites too. A nugget.

4.Liquid Stone – Here Comes The Weekend…Buckingham’s young meteors sound like the b@stard sons of the Ramones.

5.Poet And The Roots – Dread Beat An’ Blood …what a magical pairing Linto Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell was. Two artists who have touched the lives of so many of us. This crisp biscuit reminds of us of listening to John Peel at night and hearing dynamite killer reggae cuts like this.

Gary Crowley’s Punk & New Wave Vol. 2 can be purchased via the following link