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Please give a brief history of the band, including current line up.
The band formed in 1984 in Wolverhampton, and only Martin
the guitarist survives from the original line up. The band have toured regularly
around the UK and Europe. Currently the line up is; - Griff - vocals, Martin
- guitar, Ivor -drums and Trogg - bass.
Discography.
Singles/EPs
Familiarity Breeds Ep
ACAB Ep
War On The Poor EP
Justice For Who? EP
LPs/CDs
Still Fightin On CD
Live In Hagen CD
Shouting The Odds CD/LP
...... plus tracks on loads of compilations
Have any band members played in other bands, if so what?
Ivor has played in loads of bands including Refused Entry,
Visions Of Change, Intention and currently plays in IOD.
Martin, as well as playing in Contempt has played in old bands such as Fear
Inside, Annorexia and Limited Talent.
Trogg played in Sensa Yuma, Police Bastard and Tenonts.
Ian has played in LD50.
Griff - Urban Excretia.
Describe your sound and the main themes to your songs.
Mid tempo-fast singalong punk rock. Lyrically our stuff
is largely anti establishment political stuff with a bit of humour thrown
in for good measure. Some of the topics we cover are animal rights, striking,
class war, the way football is being destroyed by business, environmental
issues, poverty etc etc...
What is the best gig Contempt have ever done and who else
was on the lineup?
We've done loads of good gigs over the years, but the
best gigs with the current line up were on the last European tour. Two gigs
particularly stand out. One in Dresden and the the other in Leipzig. We were
playing with a German band called 'Todshicker'. The crowds at both gigs were
going mad and were well into us.
If you could see any band play live, with of the past or
present who would it be?
Ivor - Dead Kennedys
Griff - past Dead Kennedys, present Cock Sparrer (again!)
Martin - bands like The Ruts/Clash again in their hayday
What is the best sentence you have ever heard that someone
managed to get into a songs lyrics?
Martin - a track from one of the Subhumans Ep's, I think
it was 'Big City'. The line went "flyingsuad? what a faarce, if pigs
could fly, they wouldn't need cars'. Taking the piss out of the police with
some humor thrown in is the sort of thing we like.
What is the punk/oi scene like in your area?
Varies, in Birmingham The 'Old Railway' in Digbeth has
a lot of bands on, and the 'Hand & Heart' in Coventry is doing a lot,
but that's about it in the West Midlands. A mate of ours 'Bic' is trying
to put some gigs on in Telford, but he's finding it difficult to get a regular
venue.
Plans, gigs and releases planned for 2000-2001.
We've got a couple o gigs in November coming up, in Bradford
on the 11th and Derby 24th. We'll have a bit of a break over Christmas and
new year, cos Ivor, our drummer is planning to visit Africa. While he's away
we'll carry on writing some new material for an album to be released next
year. We're hoping to tour Poland/Czech Republic some time next year.
Any final comments?
Form your own band, promote some gigs, write your own
zine - it's the best way to keep punk healthy and on the map. Don't keep
dragging the old bands out of the woodwork to do what you could do better
yourselves!!!!
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Please note that the opinions expressed by band
members does not necessarily reflect the views of this website. Punk & Oi
in the UK Limited are in no way liable for comments made by interviewees.
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