The Prefects - Amateur Wankers

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

5...according to our Brian on Thu 21 Feb, 2008.

Also of huge interest (but probably less "importance" to the beard stroking massive) is The Prefects 'Amateur Wankers', an insult levelled at them by some dozy prick with no ears. This is the band that predated The Nightingales, Birmingham's post punk legends. Even Prefects transcended the constraints of punk. 'Going Through the Motions' reminds us more of cult legends This Heat!, a swirling, hypnotic slow-mo dirge with minimal chords, retrograde tub thumping & hazy vocals that make me think of Josh Homme's Desrt Sessions. THAT ahead of their time. They only ever recorded 10 tracks (all here!) , 4 of them for a Peel Session & only ever had 1 single out (posthumously of course) The majority is skittering buzzsaw joy with great harmonies & jittery drums, the most pure expression of DIY punk you can get. It's great to hear how they blossomed later into Nightingales, the seeds all sown here. A vital document if you like outsider bands such as Wire, Swell Maps & The Fall. Also CD only on Acute

Why doesn’t anyone remember the Prefects? Some remember the band they became, the Nightingales, who on Rough Trade and Cherry Red records, blazed trails similar to The Fall and Mekons. But England ’s the Prefects, leaving few artifacts, are the great coulda-shoulda been post-punk band of the late ’70s.
Rubbing shoulders with Wire, Joy Division, the Slits, and the Clash, the Prefects garnered critical acclaim for both their terse and witty punk outbursts and their intense art/post-punk experiments. Acute Records is excited to present for the first time ever their complete studio recordings plus two live tracks for the definitive Prefects collection. With this long overdue reissue, the Prefects’ place among the most significant UK bands of the post-punk era will be restored.
Includes extensive liner notes written by members of the band and the "fifth" Prefect, roadie, sometimes manager Helen Apperly (plus rare photos and flyers).
Includes 2 otherwise unrecorded live songs. "625 Lines" was recorded in 1977 at the final night of the Electric Circus club in Manchester where the Prefects shared the bill with The Fall, Buzzcocks, Magazine and Warsaw (later known as Joy Division.) John Peel’s favourite, the 7 second long "VD" was recorded during a 2001 reunion performance.
TRACKLIST: Faults, Escort Girls, Going Through the Motions, Things in General, Barbarellas, Total Luck, 625 Lines, Agony Column, Bristol Road Leads to Dachau, VD
Forthcoming releases preselling from week commencing 11.02.08

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!