Last Year's Youth - LAST BIG 1 - Germany 2002 - 900 copies, 500 on red vinyl and with booklet
Unreleased radio shows & demos - First 500 copies on red vinyl w/ repro of 16pp promo/press booklet from 1980.
THIS IS THE RED VINYL VERSION!
Tracks:
Time To Be Proud
Radio On
Claw & Clutches
Mission Impossible
Murder on the Second Floor
Bewerewolf!
Crimson
Tigerland
Excitment
Toytown
Frozen By Your Touch - Life
If ever geography and circumstances conspired to kill a band it was Rudi. Unfairly overlooked by the history books, its time to set the record straight on Rudi, the band that time forgot.
Northern Ireland is not perhaps well known as a hotbed of musical talent let alone Punk yet for Brian Young armed with a band name stolen from a single by Jook they had the right credentials with influences such as the New York Dolls, Bowie and T Rex when punk came a knocking in mid 1976.
Building up a fearsome live reputation round Belfast through 77 the classic line up was Brian Young Vocals & Guitar, Ronnie Mathews Vocals/Guitar, Graham Marshall Drums and Gordon Blair (Ex Highway Star with Jake Burns !!) on Bass. Songs in the set included the infamous 'Cops' featuring the chant SSRUC. On one of their live occasions they were witnessed by Terri Hooley who owned the record shop Good Vibrations and who stumped up the money for the single '"Big Time"in April 78 and so the Good Vibrations label was born. It sold by the bucket load and received a unanimous thumbs up from all quarters of the music press and radio.
In a way you can see trouble coming. Its mid 78 and Rudi had only just released a single and the scene is already changing. So Rudi came to England to set the scene alight arriving in London without an agency and without a home. While gigs came in thick and fast including Raped, their punk holiday in the smoke was cut short by our generous boys in blue the SPG who jailed Ronnie & Graham for a week and the band to avoid further trouble returned straight home unable to build on their name.
So back to Belfast and more packed gigs. This was followed in February 1979 by the release of "Overcome By Fumes" on the double single "Battle Of The Bands"featuring among others The Outcasts. Things were picking up, Polydor were interested, John Peel was raving about them and they were featured on TV. Another single in October "I-Spy" was released again to much acclaim yet still not breaking them. 'Big Time' was re-issued. A couple of singles were recorded for release but never released. They did sessions for Mike Read. Instead of a major they opted to sign for The Jams label 'Jamming'. Another single 'Crimson' made Sounds single of the week though by this time they had long ceased having a punk sound and had become a threesome with keyboards.
With everything set up for the next single to tip them into the, excuse the phrase, 'big time' it all went pear shaped as The Jam split and their record label folded. And then calling it a day Rudi was no more.
Time and time again thru the site we've seen how success and the media can distort history. It must grate on Brian that mention Northern Ireland and we think of SLF and The Undertones as being the bands who achieved commercial fame and who gather the plaudits. For them one single catapulted them into success and fair play to both they produced some excellent singles.
However its bands like Rudi tho that should be remembered as being a seminal part/ influence of the scene and thru bad luck never made it. Buts that's rock'n'roll and them's the knocks !!!!
The above loosely based on Brian Young's sleeve notes to the Anagram CD 'Best Of Rudi ' with contributions from cuttings from Brian Young and Joseph Donnelly.
Product Code: Last Big 1 - 2002
