In the late 1970s, during the heady days of British Punk Rock, I was living in the UK, going to gigs twice a week, reading NME from cover to cover and tuning into the John Peel show as often as possible. Strange therefore that The Machines from Southend-On-Sea never once appeared on my radar.
Their True Life EP was originally released on Wax Records in 1978, apparently got played by Peel and in 2006 was listed in Record Collector as one of the 100 most collectible Punk records.
The four songs were the sum total of their recorded output until they reformed in 2006 and these feature as 'bonus tracks' on what is, better late than never, the band's debut album.
The album also includes two demos from 1977 and ten other tunes, three of which are re-recordings of 'lost classics' form the same year. With a playing time of just over 38 minutes they do not win any prizes for their prolific output.
The one constant is Nick Paul on guitar and vocals. For The Machines Mark II, original band members Ian 'Duf' Duffy on bass and John Dee on drums have been replaced by Stephen Reddhough and Steve Pegrum respectively.
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They draw strongly on influences from American bands as is most evident on Girl In Black, dedicated to the New York scene in general and Johnny Thunders in particular
You have to admire how Paul spits out the words like he still feels the rage he had over three decades ago although on a track like Parents Zone, one of the best of the new songs, there is something comical about a 50 something complaining of the limitations of home life and singing : "Get out of my face, Just leave me alone, Gotta build my own space out of my parents zone".
Just goes to show that old punks not only don't die they never really grow up either. And why should they?
The Machines' website
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