4 Skins Wonderful World Of...
Paru sans doute en 1987 sur Link Record (LINK LP02)
Back sleeve the wonderful world of
Gary Fieldng - The Link
"The 4-Skins more than any other band were probably "too real". They didn't say one thing, and do another. They just lived their lives, and transferred it onto vinyl. But before you could say "What a wonderful world it is..." the arty-farty trendies were on the war path claiming that "This band is sexist...", "This band is rockist (???) this band is that and the other...", "This band preaches violence...". Let's just for once get the facts right.... The 4-Skins didn't preach the glory of violence. They were just singing about what their inner city lives were surrounded by ...... violence! Remember what they said on their debut album "The Good, The Bad and The 4-Skins" .... "We don't incite violence we only sing about what happens". But that's hard sentiments for a suburban middle-class trendy to understand."
"The band's first vinyl releases came via tracks on the two early Oi albums. It was after the success of these records the band were offered lucrative publishing deal with a major publishing company (no names, no pack drill, as the old saying goes!) of which one of the "minor" conditions was a name change to the "Skins 4" or whatever. Obviously, this was not on, and consequently nor was the deal. A small gesture some might say, but a good example of how The 4-Skins never compromised unlike so many of their so called peers!"
"Secret Records stepped in and signed the band, and released their first single "One Law For Them". It wasn't an instant success, which was no surprise due to distribution problems, caused mainly by paranoid record shop owners, who still had Southall in the back of their minds. Maybe they thought anyone who would buy a 4-Skins record , would instantly run amok, and smash up the shop in true "mad skinhead" Fleet Street fashion. Amazingly, this threat to record store owners never quite emerged, and the single, along with all the band's following releases sold by the truck load. At last the band was happening, people were beginning to take notice. None less that the scandal sheets and the rest of their bandwaggon ..... and guess who was top of their hate list?"
"Gary Hodges fed up with all the nonsense that followed quit, as did Steve Pear. An end of an era?"
"Resiliant as ever in came Panther on vocals, and Pete Abbott on drums, as John Jacobs switched to guitar. An album "The Good, The Bad and The 4-Skins", two singles, and two tours the band seemed to lose momentum, and showed the first signs of fading away as Panther, Pete Abbott, and John Jacobs left."
"Bassist Hoxton Tom, who had always been the centre pin of the band refused to give in, and recruited a new line up. Roi of Last Resort fame replaced Panther, while the other two places were filled by Paul Swain (guitar), and Ian Davis (drums). With a new deal from Syndicate Records under their belts they recorded two more albums "A Fistful Of...", and what was to be the band's swansong the live "From Chaos To 1984". The band were now being completely ignored by the music press editorial departments, while the advertising department gratefully and grubbily accepted their money for adverts. An obvious, but distasteful one-sided affair which was to be one of the reasons the band called it a day."
"Thus in late 1984 The 4-Skins gracefully quit on their own terms and nobody else's, and went out as they came in with their heads held high!!!!!"
Face A
1 One law for them
2 Yesterdays heroes
3 Clockwork Skinhead
4 A.C.A.B.
5 I don't wanna die
6 Seems to me
7 Low life
8 On the streets
Face B
1 Plastic gangsters
2 Evil
3 1984
4 Sorry
5 Five more years
6 Jack the lad
7 Wonderful world
8 Chaos
Paroles:
Wearing braces, the red, white, and blue
doing what he thinks he ought to do
Used to be a punk and a mod too
Or is it just a phase he's going through
He's a Clockwork skinhead, just a clockwork skinhead
Clockwork skinhead- got no choice
He's a Clockwork skinhead, just a clockwork skinhead
clockwork skinhead-One of the boys
Take him to the pub, buy him a beer
Tell him what he wants to hear
Wind him up like clockwork toy
wants to be a man but he's just a boy
Believes everything the papers say
What's he gonna be today
What is it hip to be
Will he be himself or will he copy me?
We got in a little fight
Geezer come with a knife in his fist
I got cut along with the wrist said
A.C.A.B., A.C.A.B., A.C.A.B.
All cops are bastards
Coppers come up & say what's the matter with you?
now they see what we can do
Next thing I knew I was in a cell
all my mates are in there as well
I had a court date to plead my case
they had delight at the look in my face
they said we're gonna put you away
I said all I had to say
I like breaking arms and legs
snapping spines and wringing necks
now i'll knife you in the back
Kick your bones until they crack
I'm Evil, evil, evil, evil
Evil, evil, evil, evil
Jump up and down upon your head
Kick you around 'til your dead
Fill your body full of lead
See the roads turn to red
I don't like trendy cunts who pose
Gonna punch you in the Nose
Stick my Marten in your crotch
Don't like you, you're too much
handicapped and eldery have all gotta die
no one fights the system, fight with each other
the combine is laughing, scared of big brother
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
in 1984
Rats leave the sinking ship, theyve got their money made
third world countries, sending us aid
people queue up just to get their ration
not the birth, but the death of a nation
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
in 1984
Will there be some heroes,into 85
when the bomb is dropped,and how do you stay alive
Orwell said it all, he looked the future in the face
Giant test tube babies,build a brand new race
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
What are we gonna get
in 1984
Five More Years
Who wants to work when the cash ain’t there?
Who wants to get up where there’s no where to stay!!!
Who wants a job when there’s nothing about?
You can stuff employment, that’s what we say
Sleeping all day, sitting up all night
Pouncing fags that’s all right
We're on the dole and we're proud of it
We're ready for 5 More Years
Don't want to know about the privileged few
Don't want to know what its costing the land
Don't want to join the job hunting queue
I just want to sit here and hold out my hand
Sleeping all day, sitting up all night
Pouncing fags that’s all right
We’re on the dole and we're proud of it
We're ready for 5 More Years
You can keep the politicians and what they do
You can keep your songs about the down and outs
You can praise the politicians if you knew
They’re responsible for us down and outs
Cheers to the Government who cause redundancies
Cheers to the Unions who make men strike
Cheers to the men who bring the country to its knees
And cheers to us layabouts, the life we like
Sleeping all day, sitting up all night
Pouncing fags that’s all right
We're on the dole and we're proud of it
We're ready for 5 More Years
Just left school cant find no work
Be a building labourer or an office clerk
Cant believe the men youve seen
On the scrapheap and youre only 17
What a wonderful world
What a wonderful world this is
Standing on the corner waiting for a bus
Old Bill come and try to nick you for SUS
You try tell them that youve done nothing wrong
They tell you not to sing the same song
What a wonderful world
What a wonderful world this is
Standing in the pub on your own for the night
Group of nutters try to pick a fight
You can try and plead for your life
Theyre still cut you with a fucking great knife
What a wonderful world
What a wonderful world this is
Do you remember in 1969?
Seeing all the skinheads standing in a line
Foaming at the mouth, Waiting for a fight
High boots, cropped hair, what a fuckin sight
Come back of the skinhead
come back of the boot
People that we don't beat up
We're gonna fucking shoot
We are the new breed, we will have our say
we are the new breed, we ain't gonna die
Trouble east London
Trouble in the street
On the street corners
Where the gang still meets
Talking about the weekend
What they're gonna do?
If you aint careful
They are gonna do you!
Chaos in the city
Civil war now
Skinheads taking over
Like skinheads know how
Skinhead with his boots on
Nobodys fool
Skinheads taking over
Chaos is the rule!
Chaos, chaos, chaos - dont give a toss
Chaos, chaos, chaos - dont give a toss!