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A band from the good old days of Punk Rock

(From the forthcoming 2005 "Bible" of independent releases 1976 - 1979 by Mario Panciera)

A primitive but wonderful single from a criminally underrated D.I.Y. Punk band from Peterborough, formed in the first half of 1977 by Mike McGuire (v, ex-The Faderz), Steve Rolls/Rowles (gtr, ex-The Faderz), Paul Faz Farrow (b) and Joe MacColl (d). After a few local gigs, The Now joined Londons Punk circuit playing at the Vortex Club on August 30 on a bill that also featured 999, Art Attacks and The Flys: their set included self-penned numbers mostly penned by Rowles and McGuire, alongside re-makes of A HARD DAYS NIGHT and THE SHAPES OF THINGS TO COME. A self-financed single was recorded in September and was issued on November 4 on the local Ultimate label. With hints of The Sex Pistols energy and of The Desperate Bicycles enthusiastic amateurism, the 7" garnered positive reviews (only Danny Baker destroyed it in the pages of Zig Zag: shame on him) and sold about 2,000 copies. The A-side is an under-produced Punk nugget, a rough gem which deserves a place in any UK Punk collection. The flip deserves an honourable mention, too. A re-issue made by the band in March 79, pressed on blue vinyl and housed in an insert sleeve, sold only 200 copies out of 1,000 pressed (the remaining copies were later destroyed by band members "using the vinyl as Frisbees": shame on them!). In 2002 German label Last Years Youth Records re-released the single (500 hand-numbered copies) with the addition of the bonus track DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS Rough Version (Cat.No. LAST-11).

"This sounds like the Desperate Bicycles, and is a very simple, but effective protest song about a subject that should be dear to your hearts. And fuzztone fizzedelic guitar! You need more?"

Jon Savage, Sounds, Nov 5

"Amateur to the point of severe embarrassment" Ian Birch, MM, Nov 5

"It sounds like the rough first cassette of two really good songs from a Peterborough punk band. Usual late 77 cynicism, plus (skeleton) Pistols-style melodic strength. I like it. Try and hear it"

Vivien Goldman, Sounds, Nov 12

"Well-intentioned identipunk. For specialists only"

Charles Shaar Murray, NME, Nov 19

"If you like Patrik Fitzgerald with a backing, youll like this"

Alan Lewis, Sounds, Mar 31, 79

"Quality stuff apart from embarrassing lyrics" Tony, Ripped & Torn, issue 9

"Even though the sound is strictly garage production level, the songs too long, and the sleeve packaging mateurish in the most boring way, this is worth checking out. Why? has an intro reminiscent of an old Velvet Underground tune (you decide which one), then bursts into one of the most anguished, bewildered cries at lifes futility Ive ever heard"

Chris D., Slash, Apr 78

The NOW 1- INTO THE 80S (Then) 2- NINE OCLOCK (Then)
11/79- Raw Rec. RAW- 31 no ps - 7"

A deal with Lee Woods Raw Records was signed in mid-78 and two songs recorded in late 77 were re-mixed and scheduled for March 23 release on a 7" single which was delayed due to economic problems which would soon force the Cambridge-based label to close down. When it eventually emerged on November 30, only 800 copies were pressed, with at least half of these being destroyed in a fire at Raws werehouse. An improvement even on the excellent debut, this 7" is undoubtedly one of the very best Punk platters to have emerged out of the UK indie scene. The fragile underproduction is still there in all its charm, the guitar lines are an aural delight and
both tunes are spectacular. This is arguably the quintessential post-SPIRAL SCRATCH D.I.Y. single. It would be - unfortunately - the bands swansong, as The Now split soon after its release. In the 80s, Mike McGuire and Steve Rolls formed A Sudden Sway, a worthy post-Punk combo whose interesting output emerged on their own Chant label and later on Rough Trade and Blanco Y Negro; Joe Macoll joined The Name (along with former members of Gobblinz and The Dole), whose lone unsuccessful single appeared on the DinDisc label in 1980, and later re-surfaced with Dead Sellers; Allen Adams played with The Destructors. Between 2002 and 2003, Last Years Youth Records released three platters credited to The Now: a straight reissue of the INTO THE 80S 7" using a reproduction Raw label (Cat.No. LAST-1), a limited three-track EP housed in an 8-page booklet cover (LAST-12) featuring the single version of INTO THE 80S plus unreleased demos of both sides of the original 7", and an LP entitled HERE COME THE NOW, which includes five previously unreleased demos taped in 1979 alongside six other songs recorded in 2002 by the re-formed combo.

RELEASES BY: The Now


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