Along well before 1976, The Vibrators had done there time playing the London Pub circuit, hanging at The Elgin Pub, with Strummer and the 101ers, and crafting there own sound, early recording s with Chris Spedding on the RAK label were pretty much overlooked although they got a Peel session on the back of it, that version of We Vibrate is on the BBC sessions cd within this box.
Rak however offered them a deal which they stalled on, and luckily it paid off, Epic came in and signed them as the punk scene started to gather momentum, and they started work at Whitfield Street Studios in early 77 on what would be the Pure Mania album and the first Epic single Baby Baby .
Being grounded for for a week for stealing lead of the local church roof, I got to know this album well, and its great to have a mastered CD version, sometimes basic and raw and lacking in the production of V2 its still holds up, Baby Baby a slightly different mix from the single is great, and second Epic single London Girls, Petrol and Wrecked On You, are all classic sounds of 77.
For me the band really get it right on V2 produced Vic Maile, the band had developed the songs and were more powerful, prior to the release the band gave us Automatic Lover a single which charted at 35 and resulted in a Top Of The Pops slot.
Although Automatic Lover is the most commercial of the tracks on the album, the other 12 tracks make for a great listen, Pure Mania opens the album followed by the single then Flying Duck Theory, one of the best tracks imo. There`s some other interesting tracks, Nazi Baby uses a section of orchestra, and Troops of Tomorrow a track later covered by The Exploited, the album also contains bonus tracks the single version of Automatic Lover, and another single not featured on the original album, Judy Says ( knock you in the head tonight ).
Also in this 4CD set you get The Vibrators at the BBC, 3 Peels sessions and the Old Grey Whistle Test recording plus Live at The Marquee this includes a great version of No Fun, and although recorded in 77 has a couple of the tracks released in 78 on there… it’s a great snapshot of the sound of the band live, and very good they were too.
Not always regarded as the cool of punk The Vibrators gave us 2 great albums in Pure Mania and V2 and for that this set is most worth having.
Leggy Mountbatten
DISC ONE: PURE MANIA
1. INTO THE FUTURE….
2. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH
3. SWEET SWEET HEART
4. KEEP IT CLEAN
5. BABY, BABY
6. NO HEART
7. SHE’S BRINGING YOU DOWN
8. PETROL
9. LONDON GIRLS
10. YOU BROKE MY HEART
11. WHIPS & FURS
12. STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
13. WRECKED ON YOU
14. I NEED A SLAVE
15. BAD TIME
BONUS TRACKS
16. LONDON GIRLS (LIVE)
17. STIFF LITTLE FINGERS (LIVE)
DISC TWO: V2
1. PURE MANIA
2. AUTOMATIC LOVER
3. FLYING DUCK THEORY
4. PUBLIC ENEMY NO.1
5. DESTROY
6. NAZI BABY
7. WAKE UP
8. SULPHATE
9. 24 HOUR PEOPLE
10. FALL IN LOVE
11. FEEL ALRIGHT
12. WAR ZONE
13. TROOPS OF TOMORROW
BONUS TRACKS
14. AUTOMATIC LOVER (SINGLE VERSION)
15. JUDY SAYS (KNOCK YOU IN THE HEAD)
16. PUSHING TOO HARD
DISC THREE: IN SESSION AT THE BBC
JOHN PEEL 28.10.1976
1. DANCE TO THE MUSIC
2. SWEET SWEET HEART
3. JENNY JENNY
4. I’M GONNA BE YOUR NAZI BABY
5. WE VIBRATE
JOHN PEEL 22.6.1977
6. PETROL
7. KEEP IT CLEAN
8. BABY, BABY
9. LONDON GIRLS
10. SHE’S BRINGING YOU DOWN
JOHN PEEL 6.2.1978
11. AUTOMATIC LOVER
12. DESTROY
13. TROOPS OF TOMORROW
14. FALL IN LOVE
O.G.W.T. 4.4.1978
15. WAR ZONE
16. FLYING DUCK THEORY
17. WAKE UP
18. 24 HOUR PEOPLE
DISC FOUR: LIVE AT THE MARQUEE 1977
1. WRECKED ON YOU
2. NO FUN / RAW POWER
3. LONDON GIRLS
4. STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
5. WAKE UP
6. HE’S A PSYCHO
7. NO HEART
8. BABY, BABY
9. SWEET SWEET HEART
10. FLYING DUCK THEORY
11. WHIPS AND FURS
12. I NEED A SLAVE
13. KEEP IT CLEAN
14. FEEL ALRIGHT
15. SEX KICK
16. JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
17. BAD TIME
18. YOU BROKE MY HEART
19. SHE’S BRINGING YOU DOWN
