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What can you say about Armitage Shanks a band named
after a fine bit of porcelain..... well quite a lot actually.
Formed in Snodland, Kent in early 1991, good mates of Billy
Childish they released their first single Do
You Want Some Fuckin’ Shirts Off Or What (with
Childish on Vocals) in early 1993, they became the
support band at Thee
Headcoats London shows at the now legendary Wild
Western Room in Archway (mainly because Dick drove Thee
Headcoats van).
They recorded and mixed their debut album Takin’
The Piss (Damgood 34) in three and a half hours at Toe
Rag Studios (still a record I believe), Mr Childish
twiddled the knobs while they drunk excessively. A fantastic
album, still one of the best albums ever on DG.
From there on there was no stopping them, playing to over
20 people sometimes at their own shows in London, they then
headed out on their first (and only) UK tour, drinking their
way around the country followed by a full European tour
the year after.
They did a punk covers album for Vinyl Japan in
which they anhiliated 20 punk classics (a couple of the
roughest out-takes appear on the CD version of Takin’
The Piss) and then released lots of singles on labels
in Germany, France, Japan and America.
Another album Shanks Pony (Damgood 94) followed
in 1995, another stormer and a live album (Cacophony
Now, Damgood 141) was released in mid 1997 which was
recorded at the Hope N Anchor in October 1996.
They then took an enforced break for 5 or so years...
...and the good news is that now the Shanks
are back, a collection of all their singles on one CD (no
vinyl this time) called 25 Golden Showers
(Damgood 216) which is due out on in August and they have
also just finished a brand new album of new material, their
first for 7 years which as ever was recorded in the now
famous Toe Rag Studios in East London.
It's called... wait for it... Urinal Heep
and I reckon it's their best yet.
They still do the odd gig in and around London and are
always entertaining and still, in my opinion, one of the
great DG bands.
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