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Photo: Taken on the rooftop of the Metal Hammer offices 1990 by Hannah Jordan.

Words by James Sherry.

It’s hard to express quite how important Nirvana were to my life and the direction it took. In the late eighties I started my first job as office junior at Metal Hammer magazine. I had my own fanzine ‘Phobia’ and I was over-flowing with enthusiasm and eager for every bit of nasty noise that came my way; “you used to like everything….everything’s great,” an old work college reminded me recently. And he’s right, I loved it all.

In one of my first weeks in the office I happened upon a package of records that had been sent to the then reviews editor John Duke. He had recently left the magazine and I was charged with the job of sorting through the pile of records for review. One of the packages really caught my eye. It was from Anton at Bad Moon Publicity and had three records inside; ‘Superfuzz Bigmuff’ by Mudhoney, ‘Bleach’ by Nirvana and a Tad record which I now forget. I snuck the records home and suffice to say, they tore my little teenage mind apart. My record collection at this stage was crammed full of a motley collection of punk, hardcore, metal and classic sixties and seventies rock thieved from my father’s collection. These Sub Pop releases seemed to contain elements of all the music I liked. They were heavy, punk, melodic and so fresh and exciting. Nirvana and Mudhoney soon became my favourite bands.

Metal Hammer at the time was still very much in the big hair metal phase. Thanks to the lovely and hugely encouraging editor at the time, music journalist legend Chris Welch, I was allowed to write small articles and reviews on various underground bands, hidden amongst the Yngwie Malmsteen, Lisa Dominique and Skid Row posters and features. I soon built up a friendship with the aforementioned Anton and he secured me an interview with Nirvana on one of their early trips to the UK in November of 1990, here to promote their ‘Sliver’ single and to play at headline show at The Astoria, with L7 and Godflesh as support. I recall the band calling reception from the top of King Street in Hammersmith saying they were having problems finding the office. I walked up the road to meet them and vividly remember Krist Novoselic’s lanky frame lumbering down the road towards me with Kurt and Dave shuffling behind him. Once we got back to the office and I had made the band a round of tea, we settled down to talk – well at least Krist and Dave did. Kurt, however, sat on the end of the sofa rolling an un-lit cigarette I had given him between his fingers as he stared straight ahead. He had heavy eye-liner caked around his eyes and hunched himself on the end of the sofa, mumbling occasionally. Thankfully Krist and Dave proved to be easy guys to get along with and after the interview they hi-jacked my tape recorder and ran around the office interviewing various members of the staff. “So what do you do here?” questioned Dave, thrusting the Dictaphone into the surprised receptionists face.

Better still, I had tried to get the folks at Metal Hammer to book a photographer to shoot the band so I didn’t have to use a promo picture with the piece but none were available. The office H.R. woman at this point was an abrasive German woman called Hannah Jordan who was in her late fifties and had previously worked as a photographer for a European pop magazine in the seventies. She hadn’t shot a band for years but I asked her to bring her camera in and she kindly agreed and did a shoot with the band on the roof of our offices as I stood and watched. The band really came alive and goofed around for Hannah, amused by her quirky nature. She later sold the pics to an agency and made a bloody fortune. I constantly see them on unlicensed Nirvana merchandise. If I’d known how big the band were going to get I would have taken the bloody pictures myself!

Photo: Nirvana by Anton Corbijn

The second time our paths crossed was sometime in the summer of 1991 in the sunny back garden of our local pub boozer The Salutation in Hammersmith. The band had ‘Nevermind’ finished and were happy and excited about the future – a stark contrast to the paranoid confusion that engulfed the band after their success. At the time they knew they had an amazing record under wraps and couldn’t wait for people to hear it. Kurt was a different person to the one I first met in our previous interview. He was chatty, enthusiastic and excited to ‘maybe sell as many records as Sonic Youth’ with no clue as to the success that was about to engulf them on the records release. On the way back to the office I remember chatting to Kurt about music as we strolled along in the sun. He had a garish psychedelic Butthole Surfers shirt on and we talk about Gibby’s musical lunacy. (Gibby Haynes interview discussing Kurt in rehab here). I was wearing a Poison Idea shirt and we laughed about their thirst for excess on every scale and their punk-as-fuck attitude.

Once Nirvana exploded around the world, I didn’t get to interview them again, apart from a brief phone interview with Novoselic after they had won Metal Hammer’s ‘Best New Band’ award (he was a little bemused by this!) but the fact that the band had broken through to the traditional rock/metal crowd showed how things were changing. It was incredible to watch as ‘Nevermind’ took over the world and how it changed music and affected the band. The build up towards the release of ‘In Utero’ was equally exciting. The press was full of statements from Kurt about how they were going to make an album of total noise to commit commercial suicide and shake off the mainstream success and fans that they never wanted in the first place. When it was announced that Steve Albini was going to record it, the suits gulped. His reputation for being a punk-as-fuck difficult fucker was legendary and it really did seem likely that Nirvana were going to smash their success to bits with a wall of total noise.

As it turned out, that isn’t quite what happened. I can clearly remember hearing ‘In Utero’ for the first time. By this point the Metal Hammer office had moved to Putney and a good friend of mine, who was also a huge fan of the band, lived down the road from the office. The tape arrived in the morning and I held off playing it in the office and took it over to my friend’s house at lunchtime. We cranked it up on his stereo and were instantly floored by the production and how insanely heavy Grohl’s drumming sounded – it totally blew us away, so excited by it as we leap around his front room in a frenzy of air guitar and drums. And as we got our heads into the record it just got better and better. The sheer honesty of the lyrics, that opening line. Even now when I hear opening song ‘Serve The Servants’ and the verse about Kurt’s dad “I just want you to know that I don’t hate you anymore,” still sends shivers down my spine.

Photo: Nirvana by Anton Corbijn

In Utero is an incredible album and it fully deserves the recognition and reissue treatment it is getting now. At the time, as Kurt’s depression and drug dependency became more apparent it was becoming clear the journey might not last long but nothing could have prepared us for how it was going to end. When the news came through of Kurt’s death I was in a studio with a band I was playing drums in and we were obviously stunned. We spent the afternoon jamming Nirvana songs. We were all so shocked. Empty. It was such a violent, brutal end to an incredibly exciting journey and they will always be the most important band of my youth. Once you peel away the bullshit, the drugs, the media attention and the eventual tragic suicide, all you’re left with is the music and 20 years later, it still resonates as powerfully and dramatically as it did big then. God bless Nirvana.

James Sherry

Enjoy these original interview dictaphone recordings (cleaned up by Jody Sherry) that were released on CD back in 2004. Today, these have been officially released to the internet by James Sherry for the first time and the first in a series of original interviews from the 90s that we will unleash this winter.

In Utero has been re-issued this month in a dope new boxset. Find it, treasure it and reminisce one of the greatest bands to ever entertain us.

Interview 1:

British journalist James Sherry (then 21 years of age) interviews Nirvana the summer before Nevermind was released. This discussion took place to in a pub called the Salutation on King Street in Hammersmith, London in 1991.

Interview 2:

Krist Novoselic is interviewed on the phone in James Sherry’s suburban family home in Surrey, England to discuss the mammoth success of Nevermind and the new found fame that came with a platinum selling record.

Interview 3:

This interview recorded at the Metal Hammer offices may be the hardest to hear audio wise but was recorded post Bleach era (November 1990) after Dave Grohl had joined the band. Nirvana are in top form and steal James’s dictaphone at the end to interview people in the office.

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With barely two years under their belts Joanna Gruesome are set to release their raucous debut album this month. ‘Weird Sister’ is packed full of frictional feedback and fuzzy jangle, driven by fast hardcore drum beats this five-piece make an agreeable din. The Cardiff teenage noise-mongers agreed to let us ask them a bunch of questions about their new record and the obligatory ‘what ifs’. Click play to get acquainted.

Hats off to you guys on your debut, how long did you spend on this batch of tunes? Is there a primary song smith amongst you or do you write as a collective?

Owen: Thanks! Spent half a year on them I guess. Some of the songs are older though so maybe like a whole year? I write most of the songs but there is some collective shit going on. The song “Secret Surprise” was written by me, Alanna and Nicholls for instance.

And you’ve been going for around two years now, right? How did you all come together as Joanna Gruesome?

Owen: Yeah, about two years! We met in an anger management class.

Over that time you’ve coined your own breed of lo-fi scuzz, but what/who are your influences outside of indie music?

Owen: I’m kinda peripherally influenced by a lot of trad folk- stuff like Anne Briggs, Dick Gaughan, Lal Waterson, Shirley Collins and more contemporary folk stuff like Alisdair Roberts and The Trembling Bells. Mainly because I listen to it a lot and grew up with it. Then stuff like Arthur Russell and a lot of disco and Detroit techno. I also listen to a lot of really commercial pop music like Taylor Swift et al and then more dissonant stuff like Jandek and The Shadow Ring to balance it all out. A lot of black metal too and a lot of Converge. Obviously growing up with the internet we all listen to a load of different shit but I guess that’s the stuff that comes to mind as a direct influence to the band outside of d.i.y indie pop/indie rock music.

A load of new bands are instantly deemed by critics as sound-a-likes because of their influences, but this seems irrelevant considering your eclectic taste. Still, are these armchair warriors something the band pays attention to or does it not matter to you?

Owen: Haven’t met any yet! I think there was a certain amount of 90’s homage going on when we formed the band but I think on this record we just sound a lot more like ourselves if that makes sense?

Nicholls: Bluebirds!

It does! Weird Sister strikes me as an expressive record where nothing seems off-limits. Could you elaborate on what this album is all about?

Owen: There’s not really an overall concept but themes include aliens, death cannons, graveyards, comic books, fighting misogyny + homophobia/bad journalism, stealing scooters and mental illness.

Have you always kept a DIY approach in the past when it comes to recording? How was it jumping into a larger studio this time around and working with MJ from Hookworms?

Owen: Yeah before this record we just recorded in a living room with our friend/former drummer Matt (now in the awesome band Plaids). We were kinda tentative to record in an actual studio but we totally trusted MJ and it worked out really well. He’s produced loads of good shit, we share the same taste/ethos and the studio’s right by this takeaway where you can get a falafel wrap and chips and a drink for £4!

When you’re not eating falafel you guys gig loads. It seems you’re building an impressive reputation for raucous live shows. What is your favourite track to play live and why?

Owen: I like playing ‘Secret Surprise’ cause it’s the easiest and you can hear Lan’s vocals over all the feedback.

Aside from the usual collective you share the stage with who would you love to go on tour with?

Owen: Nu Sensae or Lemuria or Los Cripis or Taylor Swift.

So what’s going on over summertime for Joanna Gruesome, any festival appearances you guys are particularly looking forward to?

Owen: We’ve already done most of our summer stuff! But we’re on tour in September to support the album release. Other than that, me and Lan are touring together in our other bands, ‘King of Cats’ and ‘Ides’, through August.

Finally, if you weren’t all playing in Joanna Gruesome, what would you be doing?

Owen: We’d still be putting on shows, releasing records, releasing comics, generally trying to contribute positively to UK d.i.y and our friend’s bands as much as possible. But I think we’d use the time that is now allocated to being in Joanna Gruesome and the money saved to fully concentrate on pursuing our enemies.

Weird Sister is due for release September 16th on Fortuna POP!

Dave Palmer

Festivals are all fun and games to most, but sadly some don’t always go as planned. With festival disasters making the headlines almost on a yearly basis, we are here to share with you some of the most horrific events (and a couple funny) in festival history.

#10 – Bloc Festival 2012

It all went tits up at Bloc in East London last year, with the whole gig being shut down halfway through the opening night. Firstly, crowds of thousands attempted to board the hired party boat, the MS Stubnitz sailed in all the way from Germany to act as one of the stages only to meet masses of kids that swarmed the boat resulting in immense overcrowding.

Overload of fans was not the only cause of this festival failure though; allegedly the sound systems were low budget and well under par for an event of this scale, and, one of the bars had ran out of booze by half past ten!

Snoop Dogg and Orbital were set to headline the event, and as Snoop’s midnight slot neared the organisers announced across the shoddy P.A that the Dogg would not be performing this evening. Shortly after, the thousands of fans were ushered to the exits and disappeared into the night. For Bloc 2012 was to be no more. Surprisingly, crowds were cooperative and no rioting or violence occurred despite the huge amount of frustrated drunk people.

#9 – 1979 Cincinnati Tragedy

This is a night that many would like to forget, The Who’s Riverfront Coliseum headline show in December of ’79. The 18,000 strong crowd that bought out the box office in less than 90 minutes gathered at the entrance to the venue. When Pete Townshend began his sound check later than planned, fans reportedly lost it, storming into the venue like a herd of angry cattle, 11 unfortunate souls got caught up in the rush and were trampled to death. How The Who dealt with this, I don’t know. Dealing with the fact that people put their lives at risk to see your band play must be a total head fuck.

#8 – Woodstock 1999

The 30^th anniversary of this legendary gathering was a cacophony of carnage. With something like 60 punters hospitalised, Woodstock ’99 was one of the biggest disasters in festival history. There was certainly more than one catalyst for the change in Woodstock’s peace and love credential to destruction and damage, but the most obvious party to point the finger at here is the bands themselves. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse and Limp Biscuit were all shunned for encouraging the rioting, fire starting, despoiling and general mayhem that unfolded over the July weekend.

Renowned nutters Insane Clown Posse got everyone fired up by throwing $100 bills into the audience, watching gaily as a ruckus unfolded. Kid Rock went on to encourage crowds to pelt the stage with bottles, while the Chili’s covered Jimi Henrix’s ‘Fire’ as the audience in their thousands lit several bonfires. Allegedly, Kiedis compared the blazes to a scene from the 1979 flick Apocalypse Now. But at the forefront of all this madness was none other than prize fool, Fred Durst. When he burst into his timeless classic ‘Break Stuff’ his fans lost it, proceeding to attack MTV’s camera tower with debris, tear down walls and literally break each other. Peace man.

#7 – Reading Riots, Mind That Child

The Sunday night of the annual Reading Festival was notoriously known for its ‘riots’. Stories of flaming poles being thrown through tents, to a horde of drunk blokes setting alight to portaloos, when Sunday night at Reading roles around it’s either join the troops or run for your lives.

As time progressed and Reading’s programme began to cater for a predominantly GCSE audience, riot police were summoned. In 2010, festival organisers instigated strict fire safety rules and any campfires deemed unsafe were to be extinguished immediately by the new fire safety team. Clad in Ghostbuster style suits, wielding extinguishers and water cannons left right and centre, the brigade insured all the teens were left uncooked.

These efforts paid off and the atmosphere amongst festival goers improved, probably as there were less burning tent fumes to inhale. There was even a ban of no more alcohol to be brought on to the campsites after 6pm Sunday evening. Not to worry, you can still empty your wallet at the bar, or if you’re not old enough, drink the warm cider that you’ve had in your tent for 4 days.

#6 – Glastonbury Floods 2005

The weather always seems to screw us at festivals, and Glastonbury 2005 was no exeption. This soggy event was host to one of the most freak storms Michael Eavis has ever seen. The Friday morning of the event saw the festival take a hit from a thunderstorm so powerful that people literally had nowhere to sleep. Tents were unable to handle the immense downpour that was unleashed upon them, and as shown by the picture, you could literally sail your canoe through the campsites.

Despite the wide-spread flooding at Worthy Farm, only 19 people were injured. The BBC met one lad who had to go swimming in neck deep water in search for his car keys – he’d left his wellies in the boot.

#5 – Roskilde Festival Fatal Crush

One of the most saddening stories now, as Pearl Jam plugged in to play Denmark’s Rokslide 2000, a rush of fans were crushed at the barrier resulting in eight tragic casualties. Witnesses reported that a wave of people fell at the front of the crowd, causing a surge of more people behind falling upon them and so on, literally like a line of dominoes. Pearl Jam cut their set and urged people to push backwards but by the time the crowds cooperated it was too late.

As a sign of respect to the families of those lost, Oasis and The Pet Shop Boys pulled out of the festival and the donated their fee to charities and funding for improved crowd control.

#4 – Pukklepop 2011 Five Fatalities

Five people were killed and around one-hundred injured at Pukklepop 2011. The Belgian rock festival was overwhelmed by disaster when two stages were destroyed due to freak storms. Trees were uprooted by insane winds, sent cascading into The Chateau stage causing the whole stage to collapse and giant viewing screens to fall on the audience. Videos of the horror started to emerge after the festival, which you can see below. The likes of Foo Fighters and Eminem were set to headline the festival, but the event was cancelled for obvious reasons. R.I.P to those that got caught up in this utter tragedy.

#3 – ‘Poo girl’ at Leeds Festival 2009

You always hear the horror stories of people falling in the ‘long drops’ of the campsites of Reading and Leeds. If you’re unaware of the term, picture a line of shitters, back to back, each connected to a communal cess pit full of 500 other peoples shit and piss.

18-year-old Charlotte Taylor was incredibly unlucky and got herself stuck facing head down in the shit filled long drops after trying to retrieve her handbag that she misplaced down there. After a grueling 20 minutes, Charlotte was released by the fire service and given a good hose down in front of other festival-goers. Hats off to the poor girl though, Charlotte stuck it out for the rest of the festival, despite being instantly dubbed ‘poo girl’.

#2 – Violence in Altamont at The Rolling Stones Free Concert

December 1969 was a little while ago now, but to those who were at the Altamont Free Concert, it may not feel like it. The event is sadly known for basically marking the end of the 1960’s and the whole peace/love/swinging mentality. Rather than a celebration of such an influential and important decade, this gig is most associated with the murder of Meredith Hunter.

The 18 year old fan was stabbed twice by a Hells Angels motorcyclist Alan Passaro. The Hells Angels mob had been hired as security; although there is confusion around whom they were employed by, and how loose an agreement was struck. But as one could assume, the tactics employed by the Angels to control crowds were pretty brutal. The murder was captured on camera and can be seen in the documentary Gimme Shelter, Passaro was charged with murder but later acquitted on grounds of self-defence because Meredith Hunter was carrying a gun!

Sadly, three others also died at the event. Two people were killed in a hit-and-run and another drowned in an irrigation canal.

The free concert, which was thought to be attended by up to 300,000 people, was put on because of criticisms from journalists saying that gig tickets were too expensive so The Stones reacted with this free event.

#1 – V Festival, Piss Poor

This is probably the best thing we could find. One of the grimmest and disgusting substances to find upon your person is piss, worse, someone else’s piss. Worse still, when you’re already covered in mud at V festival and the next shower you’re going to get is far from soon. But this guy’s game for all of the above, this lover of urine dives right in there, mouth open, ready for a rinse. Great.

PHOTO CREDITS: Andrew Kendall, US Department of energy, Acrobat83

Dave Palmer

We’ve reached that turning point in the calendar, so with six months of 2013 now behind us we thought it’s time to share some of the best tracks that have graced the Crossfire stereo so far. Here are 20 of our faves compiled by Dave Palmer and Zac. You can add yours in the comments right at the bottom if you wish. Enjoy.

#20 – Wu Tang Clan – ‘Execution in Autumn’

Brand new tunes are buzzing around the interweb and the A Better Tomorrow album is being mixed down ready for launch later this year. Overall the Wu Tang are on the hustle and raring to go in the lead up to their 20th Anniversary. Our inner Killer Bees are buzzing on this, yours should be too.

#19 METZ – ‘Get Off’

The compression levels that this band push their shit too is immense. Add the fact that they can blow a venue up in one song and you are half way to understanding the mesmerizing thump of METZ. This video is so fresh as we press the live button on this feature that the animation ink is still drying.

#18 Fidlar – ‘Wait For The Man’

This track is a poor man’s Black Lips, there’s no doubt about that, but what it does so well is draw you into the chorus and make you sing it in the shower every morning making it legit. The album has been on the stereo a fair bit in here.

#17 King Khan & The Shrines – ‘Born To Die’

If there was a feel good for the summer track for this month it’s definitely coming from King Khan’s camp. ‘Born To Die’ is the first lick from the new album ‘Idle No More’ coming in September and shakes a groove like nothing else.

#16 QOTSA – ‘My God Is The Sun’

These desert stoners are back this month with a new album and have delivered another great dose of cactus pierced rock and roll. This tune has been on repeat.

#16 Savages – ‘City’s Full’

London via France girl gang Savages won critics with their May debut ‘Silence Yourself’, highlights of which come in the form of ‘City’s Full’, a vicious post-punk anthem that howls.

#15 Milk Music – ‘No, Nothing, My Shelter’

From their debut LP, ‘Cruise Your Illusion’, this track is arguably the best on the record. A pounding bass guitar drives frontman Alex Coxen’s from the heart vocal to progress into a touching cry. It feels like homage to Hendrix, the lyrics laced with emotion.

#14 Wax Idols – Sound of a Void

If this track does not make it onto a skateboard video this year we will be surprised. Taking influence from the 80s scene, ‘Sound of a Void’ chugs along doused in a production to die for. Download it for free and look out for their ‘Discipline & Desire’ album out on Slumberland this month.

#13 – Deathfix – ‘Dali’s House’

Any band that has a Fugazi member in their line up needs to be on the stereo. Deathfix here have released a long player that oozes pop sensibility that is doused in Washington DC’s famous punk roots.

#12 Baby Sitter – ‘Holiday’

This three piece from Victoria, Canada may not be on your radar yet, but once you enter their world of fuzzed out shouty garage punk, you will not be turning back. They can rage like a blunderbuss and they can also bring the tempo right down and make you feel all gooey. Dial yourself into their album ‘Eye’, you will not regret it.

#11 Forest – ‘The Great Greens’

If there’s one UK band to keep an eye on this year it’s Cambridge based Forest who have a dynamic blend of DIY scuzz that drips shoegaze and slacker steez on every track. If the strength of their debut self produced ‘Sweetcure EP’ is anything to go by, this lot will be the talk of the town in 2014. Download ‘The Great Greens’ here for free.

#10 Destruction Unit – ‘Sonic Pearl’

‘Sonic Pearl’ is colossal from start to finish, a stampede of thrashing drums accelerate in the wake of an infectiously catchy guitar line that screams in your face, making this A side blood-boil exciting. Not to mention a faint, Bowie-like warble hiding in front man Ryan Rousseau’s vocal style.

#9 Wolf Alice – ‘Fluffy’

Tipped at the top of all ‘ones to watch’ lists at the beginning of the year, Wolf Alice come good with ‘Fluffy’, a soft vocal sits on top of jangly guitars that bite at grungey bass lines, creating something politely reminiscent of ‘Last Splash’.

#8 Big Deal – ‘Dream Machines’

Taken from Big Deal’s second and aptly named LP ‘June Gloom’, this track has a typically Big Deal, brooding boy/girl vocal harmony. However this time around it’s matched with a deep dark bass line and compact drums. Now a four piece, they’ve taken the leap into rock band territory, a step that was dying to be made ever since 2011’s ‘Lights Out’ to enhance their already gigantic guitar sound.

#7 Parquet Courts – ‘Borrowed Time’

Crossfire favourites Parquet Courts stopped everyone in their tracks back in January with the re-issue of their 2012 LP, ‘Light Up Gold’ through What’s Your Rupture? Reaching a deservedly wider audience this second time around, their fifteen tracks of D.I.Y Americana punk sting. ‘Borrowed Time’ will have you tangled in their linear riffs.

#6 Weed – ‘Set Me Back’

‘Set Me Back’ seeps into your system and takes over, a duo of guitars create a powerful wall of sound coupled with a distant vocal chant that switches up to a powerful roar in an instant. They’ve got two key ingredients to a simple recipe; loads of distortion and heavy on the crash. It all blends together into a perfect smokescreen of noise, Canada’s Weed will make you feel great.

#5 Spring King – ‘V-V-V-Vampire’

Manchester based punks Spring King bring a filthy, upbeat garage punk sound to this list. This is brand new, it spits reverb into your face, it’s jagged, out of control, dirty and raw. Just how we like it. Look them up, they ain’t no one-trick punk rock pony.

#4 The Men – ‘I See No One’

Blistering live, The Men deliver hard, fast, melodic punk. This said, their fourth album ‘New Moon’ hosts a more gentle collection of songs that build track by track back towards the noise they make best, from the harmonies and acoustic guitar steez of tracks like ‘The Seeds’ to the electric genius levels of ‘I See No One.’ This is like Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth on steroids and is one of the best tracks of 2013 by far.

#3 Fist City – ‘Boring Kids’

Canadian surf punks Fist City bring a superior blend of garage and indie in their second album “It’s 1983, Grow Up”. ‘Boring Kids’ here is just one of the mammoth tracks on display across the 27 minutes of perfection on this collection of tracks. The church once called them out as being “Satan worshipping reptilian hermaphrodites” and that alone should be enough to want to know more. Get on this.

#2 Cheatahs – ‘The Swan’

This gang need no comparisons to bands of yesteryear; (*cough* apart from Swervedriver- Z-Ed) they are standalone awesome. Fast and heavy beats laced with finger blistering riffs and a cool, sedated vocal. We cannot wait for an album.

#1 – Pissed Jeans – Teenage Adult

There’s not another band out there right now that can churn out the riot filled carnage like Pissed Jeans. This rips harder than your fucking trousers as you bend over your car bonnet begging for mercy. New album ‘Honeys’ could well be the album of the year in these parts. Let’s hope you never break down.

Those who have hip hop roots will already know the genuine respect Rodney P gained throughout the years as a rapper. Starting out back in 1986 when UK hip hop in the underground was buzzing to a new tune, London Posse formed to change all of that and put it on the map with 12″ releases that made serious statements in the game.

In 1990, the crew released the legendary album ‘Gangster Chronicles’. Seen as a game-changer and still standing the test of time 23 years later, this long player is revitalised courtesy of Brighton label Tru-Thoughts who are re-releasing this classic, with unheard tracks, remixes and more as a Definitive Collection.

We tracked down legendary DJ and UK hip hop general Dave VJ at his residence in Antigua to speak to Rodney about the rap game. Press play on this documentary to get up to speed.

Did skateboarding have an influence on you back in the day Rodney?

I love skateboarding. I used to skateboard as a kid when it was all about Kryptonic wheels and people still did slaloms. Nowadays I just like watching my 8 year old son from the sidelines.

How did rap and skateboarding become such a big influence on UK street culture over the years?

Youth culture is always powerful, and both skating and Hip Hop are seen as rebellious. They’re also both a marketing mans dream!

What are your thoughts on saving Southbank from relocation then?

I think it’s fucked up. I’ve been hanging out in that spot since the 80’s. There used to be breakers there too. Building more shops in what is supposed to be a ‘cultural area’ doesn’t make sense to me.

It will be sad to see all of that history go for sure. Let’s talk London Posse. Please take us through the line up.

The original line up was: Me, Bionic, Sipho (The Humanbeat Box) and DJ Biznizz. Then it was just Bionic and myself.

What are your first memories of touring as a band, and did it make you want to stay as a rapper or give it up?

Our first experience was on tour across England with Big Audio Dynamite. I was 16 and jumped straight in the deep end. I had never really imagined a career in music before that, it seemed so out of reach, but after that I was never gonna do anything else.

When you first started rhyming, did u think I’m gonna be a star, or WTF am I doing here, or I need to do something to eat?

It all started really quickly. After the two tours with Big Audio Dynamite we had records out and were touring the World, but when times got hard, people had to really ‘want it’ to stay involved, because the industry can break your heart.

Can you remember friends and family reactions to your decision to try to make money from talking on a record? (as my Dad used to call it lol)

It was generally ‘all good’ but my Mum wasn’t impressed ’till I started working at the BBC. Lol!

Name the labels you have been on and how did each experience affect your choice in moving forward as a rapper?

Big Life: It was a learning experience. We had no clue and I’m grateful to Jazz Summers and Tim Parry for giving us our first opportunity to record.

Justice: Tim Westwood’s label. Westwood played a BIG part in our early years. He really supported us back then.

Mango/Island: The original Gangster Chronicle was released on Mango. It was a good time for us and thankfully they gave us back the rights to the album, hence the re-issue.

Bullet: This was our own label. We released a few singles including ‘How’s Life in London’. We also released ‘Pass Me The Rizla’ on XL Records.

Did you ever get gassed up when you met any of your heroes while on tour?

I can tell you from experience, it’s not always good to meet your hero’s, but I was with Neville Staples of The Specials at the Sunrise Festival once and I felt like a teenaged fan.

As the years rolled by did you think the group thing was not for you, or were you sad to move away from the band thing and go solo?

I was happy being in a group, but over the years we just started moving in different directions. I wasn’t convinced I would have a solo career. It was another skateboarding fan, ‘Dobie’, who used to produce for London Posse (and recently put out a new album on Big Dada) who put me on his album for Howie B’s ‘Pussy Foot’ label in the late 90’s. If you really wanna talk about skateboarding and the Southbank in the 80s and 90s, you should talk to him. He was there and has the photos to prove it.

Has rapping ever become a job, or do you feel lucky to get paid from doing something that comes so naturally?

Rapping is apart of my job, but I definitely feel luck to get paid off doing it. It doesn’t always pay very well, but there are a lot of perks to my lifestyle.

Have you ever looked back and thought I’m at least partly responsible (some say completely) for why we have rap music in commercials on mainstream radio and TV?

I don’t think I’m responsible at all for rap in commercials.

What is your wish for the rap game going forward?

More balance in the style of Hip Hop that gets promoted.

If you had to turn back the clock, what would you change in the rap game?

I wouldn’t turn back time, I wouldn’t want to fuck up the Time/Space continuum.

Listen to Steve Mason’s recent remix

If you won the lottery would you give up rapping? What would you do if £75m came in?

Nah, I’ll always write lyrics. I was writing poetry in primary school before Hip Hop ever came into my life. If I had £75m, I’d invest in the future without having to chase chart positions.

End this interview with one story about your time in London Posse that nobody knows…

One of the last tracks we ever recorded together as London Posse was for Mark Morrison’s album that never came out because he got arrested.

What’s next on the menu for you Rodney?

The London Posse re-issue, Sleeping Giantz and my new album, new Dub Pistols music and more touring. And I’m getting back on my acting hustle, so look out for me.

London Posse’s Gangster Chronicles: The Definitive Collection is released on June 17th on Tru-Thoughts

Photo: Bryce Kanights

Does your pocket player need a new selection of free tunes? If so, this list is made up of all sorts of dreamy, scuzzy, shoegaze, indie goodness, plus a couple of noise-laden treats for good measure. Not all music should be free, a huge amount of effort goes into writing and recording these, so stream, listen and download at will, but don’t forget to support the bands you like so we can do this all over again soon.

Dave Palmer

Pissed Jeans – Bathroom Laughter

Sub Pop’s sludgy legends Pissed Jeans opens this smash and grab and is by far the noisiest option from this selection. Their new album ‘Honeys’ was album of the month here in February. Take ‘Bathroom Laughter’ away as a taster of what absolute annihilation lies within this album. It’s one of the very best long players of 2013 in our opinion.

Splashh – Sun Kissed Bliss

Splashh bring some beautiful sun-tinged dreamy pop to this top ten with a free download of ‘Sun Kissed Bliss’. Keep an eye on this lot.

Cold Pumas – Fog Cutter

This minimalist, scuzzy three piece have a textural shower on offer here. Taken from their debut album, Persistent Malaise, this metronomic mist is a true toe tapper. Download it from their guitarist’s D.I.Y label ‘Faux Discx’ Soundcloud.

Novella – Don’t Believe Ayn Rand

Dreamy London trio Novella have a concrete collection of singles and EP’s, but one of their earlier tracks encouraging their audience to disregard a certain Russian novelist happens to be one of my favourites.

Male Bonding – Demos

London rockers Male Bonding have three rough and ready demos they recorded in their practice room up for grabs.

Honeyslide – Drippin’

Melancholic fuzz makers Honeyslide have a double A side coming out in June that you should investigate but for now you can download their soaking wet, shoegaze steez here.

Bayy – Doctor

Brighton based foursome Bayy are small fish in a big pond with only a handful of shows under their belts but definitely worth checking out. Get the scoop over at their Soundcloud for free downloads of ‘Doctor’ and ‘Aquarium’.

Teardrop Factory – Vanity Unfair

If you like lo-fi, fractured indie-rock then you should download ‘Vanity Unfair’. Teardrop Factory have an E.P due in late May so this should be the perfect introduction via a dose of kaleidoscopic fuzz right here.

Sauna Youth – Psi Girls

Sauna Youth make an unusual, angular breed of punk noise and it sounds fucking cool. Having shared the stage with some Crossfire favourites this year, (namely Parquet Courts and Pissed Jeans) I was more than excited to download ‘Psi Girls’.

Drenge – Necromance is Dead

The Drenge brothers kicked off their summer tour with Temples last week, and in celebration they’re offering a free download of ‘Necromance Is Dead’. Snap this up.