Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Anti Pasti

From Derbyshire, England, Anti-Pasti were part of the commercially successful but critically reviled third wave of punk of the early 80s. The group were formed from local outfit the Scrincers, and comprised Dugi Bell (guitar), Martin Roper (lead vocals), Russell Maw and Eddie Barke. Barke and Maw soon quit, the latter going on to play for the Allies, Aftermath UK and the Egyptian Kings. With the addition of Stu Winfield (bass) and Stan Smith (drums), they released a debut EP, Four Sore Points, on their own Dose label. Winfield and Smith were then replaced by Kev Nixon and Will Hoon before the group signed to the punk/heavy metal label Rondelet Records in 1980, releasing "Let Them Free" in January 1981. Later that year, Anti-Pasti released their debut album, The Last Call, which reached the UK Top 30. Their growing profile was confirmed when a third single, "Six Guns', appeared at the end of the year and reached number 1 in the UK Independent chart, as did the successful joint venture with Oi! punk legends the Exploited on a 12-inch single EP, Don't Let "Em Grind You Down. "East To The West", released in 1982, preceded the last Anti-Pasti album and single, both titled "Caution To The Wind", which featured Will Noon's brother Ollie on guitar. A self-titled singles retrospective surfaced a year later, but the group split in 1984 following the firing of Roper. There was a reunion in 1995, leading to mini-tours of Britain and Germany.

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