The Apostles Totally Explained

Everything about The Apostles totally explained

The Apostles are an experimental punk rock band who developed within the confines of the 1980s Anarcho Punk scene in the UK, but didn't necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement.

History

The Apostles were formed in the Islington area of London in 1979 by William 'Bill' Corbett, Julian Portinari, Dan McIntyre and Pete Byng-Hall. This line-up of the group didn't play any concerts and only appeared in a couple of fanzines (including Paroxysm Fear and New Crimes) before Bill Corbett left the group. Andy Martin joined as vocalist and primary song-writer in late 1981. The group played their first concert on 22 September 1981.
   Dave Fanning (ex-Innocent Bystander) joined on bass in 1982, with Chris Low (ex-Political Asylum joining on drums in 1983. Low later played and recorded with Oi Polloi and The Parkinsons, as well as spending most of the 1990s as a highly successful DJ and club promoter.
   Variation was always key in music styles as they progressed from punk, to industrial, with influences like Lemon Kittens, Nocturnal Emissions and Five Or Six cited, through to pure avant garde experimentation.
   Over their lifetime the core of the group remained stable, as Andy Martin, Dave Fanning who were later joined by Geordie guitarist Malcolm "Scruff" Lewty, later of Hellbastard, Sidewinder, Nero Circus and Heavy Water and drummer Chris Wiltshire. This was the group which most people regard as the definitive line-up. Toward the end of their uneven and tempestuous career they also recruited 2 members of The Demolition Company, Sean Stokes and Colin Murrell. Original guitarist Pete Bynghall re-joined late in 1988 for their last recordings and final concert (cf Live At The Academy).
   Always highly critical of the seemingly inward looking anarchist movement of the times, the autonomous and extreme libertarian approach of The Apostles seemed to portray classic anarchism, as opposed to the conformity of many of their contemporaries, This led to much respect from notable members of the anarcho-punk movement such as Conflict, who released three records by The Apostles, and Crass with whom the band co-operated with during the squatting of the Zig-Zag Club and during the time in which the The Autonomy Centre and Centro Iberico anarchist venues operated. Both Andy and Dave worked at Little @, an anarchist printers next door to the autonomy centre. The anti-communist and anti-gay lyrics of 'Rock Against Communism' and 'Kill or Cure' on the 'Giving of Loving Costs Nothing' and other similarly themed later songs however cast a shadow over the Apostles' body of work. Whilst this material was recorded to expose the supine attitudes of those within the 'anarcho punk' milieu who didn't challenge such blatantly provocative sentiments, they undermined the coherence of the band's ideology, leading Stewart Home, in his book Cranked Up Really High, to describe The Apostles as "locked into...a stasis if not actual paralysis". During the time the band was together Andy Martin began to write about his homosexuality and the subject in general which alienated many of their former fans but didn't deter Martin. In 1989, Andy and Dave did an interview with Homocore fanzine which addressed this issue¹. Among their many recordings released, The Apostles contributed the song "Forbidden Love" to the first queercore compilation, JD.s Top Ten Homocore Hits, released by J.D.s fanzine in 1990.
   The Apostles split as a group in 1990, immediately forming Academy 23 which also included Nathan Coles (of The Unbelievables) and Lawrence Burton (formerly of Konstruktivists). The group collaborated with the industrial band The Grey Wolves on two songs, "Terror Chamber" and "Terror Intensifies", both featured on compilations. Academy 23 were later renamed in 1994 as Unit who continue to record and perform to this day.

Albums

Live at the LMC, Jan 1983 (Split live LP with The Mob) bootleg
Punk Obituary, 1985, Mortarhate Records
The Lives & Times Of The Apostles, 1986 COR Records
The Acts Of The Apostles In The Theatre Of Fear, 1986 Acid Stings
How Much Longer?, 1986 Acid Stings
Equinox Screams, 1987
The Other Operation, 1988, split album with Statement
Hymn To Pan, 1988 (only available in America)

EPs

Chart placings shown are from the UK Independent Chart.

Blow It Up, Burn It Down, Kick It Till It Breaks!, 1982

Rising From The Ashes, 1983 #21

The Curse Of The Creature, 1983 #17

The Giving Of Love Costs Nothing, 1984

Smash The Spectacle, 1984 #22

Anathema/The Apostles, 1985

Death To Wacky Pop!, 1986 (features members of The Joy Of Living)

No Faith No Fear, 1986 The Joy Of Living were a female folk/punk band who released 1 cassette demo in addition to the above recording.

Demo Albums (cassette only)

The Apostles 1981

The 2nd Dark Age 1982

Libertarian Propaganda 1982

Topics For Discussion 1982

A Sudden Surge of Sound (retrospective on CFC Cassettes) 1983

Swimmers In The Sea Of Life 1983

Live At The Recession Club 1983

Will I Ever Be Free? 1984

Fire In The Sky 1985

Visions Of The End 1985

Punk Leftovers 1986

Private Performances 1987

Gary Cooke Was Here 1987

The Progressive Blues Experiment 1988

The 12th Gate To The Underworld 1988

Death 1988

How To Suck Seed 1988

Life 1989

Live At The Academy 1989 (the last ever performance 23/02/89)
Tracks On Compilations

Mob Violence (Part 2) - We Don't Want Your Fucking War 1986 LP Mortarhate

'Inner Space - God Save Us From The USA 1987 LP Happy Mike

Walls - You've Heard It All Before (Crass Covers compilation) 1993 LP Ruptured Ambitions Records

Hyde Park 1988 LP Released by German band Doc Wor Mirran featuring international groups, not all punk

J.D.s Top Ten Tape - Forbidden Love 1990 cassette Several early Apostles tracks are featured on the Cause For Concern CFC compilation A Sudden Surge of Power. An excellent sampler of the early 80s post-Punk Industrial music scene, it also features contributions from Nocturnal Emissions,Test Department, Attrition, 400 Blows, We Be Echo and ex-Throbbing Gristle members Chris and Cosey.

Further Information
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