Punk Bands – Newtown, Wales

A little ancient history. These snaps from the early 1980’s.

Have recently heard from one of these chaps, Tranny, and reminded me that you should see some of these styles. Was quite involved at the time, and helped to get and run a space for the youth of the town, to get space to practice and make a some noise. The local youth service hated it, and, needless to say, they tried to be quite obstructive.

Newtown, Powys. Mid-Wales. This is the region I and my family lived, before I came to Nottingham, to do my Photo-degree at University here. Look forward to getting in touch again.

Harry and Jack at the Montgomery Festival

And these shots of “The Subversives” and Tranny, performing in the Cowshed, Upper Weeg, Dolfor and the Bunker in Newtown, Powys.

As I said in starting, these picture were taken in the early 1980’s. Gosh! 20years ago now.

Have just done an internet search, and see they are not “The Subversives” any more, but, have transmogrified into “Smoke Like a Fish”

http://www.smokelikeafish.co.uk

A brief history of SLAF (written circa 1999)

Smoke Like a Fish are a skapunky collaboration that pumps the offbeat religiously behind the storming harmony vocals and catchy tunes.

They were originally formed a few years back (about seven i think) in Newtown, Mid-Wales

and enjoyed a classic 3 years or so of magical manic gigs up and down the country.

The line-up at that time after initial tinkering was fronted by the super energetic MAXPOTATO-vocals,

TRANNY-guitar& backing-vocals,NICK-keyboards,STEVE-bass,T.H.PHONES- rhythym guitar & non stop bazaar dancing

and NEIL(fluff) -drums.The line-up became a seven piece later on when they came across BEARD THOMAS

an “ex” Newtown silver band failure! who was a gifted cronky trumbone player,an ancient art mastered by a few gifted individuals (mainly in Switzerland). But sadly this line-up came to an abrupt end, when MAX broke STEVES jaw at the end of a gig in their home town after an argument about the bazaar events surrounding their encore for that evening.

So, there you have it!