Colin Abrahall
Ross Lomas
Colin "Jock" Blyth
Scott Preece
Past members
Sean McCarthy
Andrew "Wilf" Williams
Kai Reder
Joseph Montero
Charged GBH, commonly known as GBH, are an Englishstreet punk
band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist
Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy (replaced by Ross Lomas by the
time they had signed to Clay records) and Drummer Andy "Wilf" Williams.
GBH were early pioneers of English street punk, often nicknamed "UK82", along with Discharge, Broken Bones, The Exploited and The Varukers. GBH have gone on to influence several punk rock musicians.
The name GBH was inspired by then-bassist Sean McCarthy's trial for grievous bodily harm.
Though the core line up of Colin, Ross and Jock has stayed the same
throughout their history the drum stool has been occupied by a number of
incumbents following Wilf's departure after the Midnight Madness and
Beyond album and Oh No It's GBH again 12" ep. 1986 saw the arrival of
German drummer Kai Reder who played on three albums and an EP (No Need
To Panic, A Fridge Too Far and From Here To Reality, as well as the "Wot
A Bargain" 12"), Kai was then replaced by American, Joe "Fish"
Montanero for one album (Church of The Truly Warped), this was the
band's last release for the Rough Justice label.
The drum stool was then
occupied from around 1994 by former Bomb Disneyland/Bomb Everything
drummer Scott Preece, who has remained to this day and played on all
releases since.
Biography
Charged GBH embarked on several English and mainland US tours during the early 1980s, including several gigs at the 100 Club. 1982 saw the release of GBH's first LP, City Baby Attacked By Rats
which reached number 17 in the UK charts as well as Number 2 in the
respected UK Indie charts where the bands singles had also taken up
residence, leading to a memorable appearance on legendary UK TV
programme "The Tube" doing "Give Me Fire" (UK Indie chart no 2).
Lyrically, the album dealt with criticism of British and European
culture, violence, morbidity
(especially in reference to the song "Passenger On The Menu", which
describes in graphic detail the experiences of the passengers on the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571), atheism, nihilism
and humour.
Colin and I in Dublin Ireland at Fibers pub
Musically, the album was loud and fast, with few songs
exceeding three minutes. The success of the first album was repeated
with second LP "City Baby's Revenge" in 1983 and saw more extensive
touring in America and Europe and higher profile UK shows including the
Carlisle Punk festival which they co headlined with fellow UK82
stalwarts The Exploited, and also featured the likes of Toy Dolls, Chelsea and The Destructors. In 1984 the band dropped the "Charged" from their name and became just GBH (grievous bodily harm) .
Throughout their recording history it has become a tradition to include
a cover version on many of the Albums. Boston Babies - Slaughter and
The Dogs (City Baby Attacked By Rats), I Feel Alright - The Damned / The
Stooges (City Baby's Revenge), Avenues and Alleyways - Tony Christie
(No Need To Panic), Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes (A Fridge Too
Far), Destroy - The Vibrators (From Here To Reality), I Need Energy -
Zero Boys (Church of The Truly Warped).
They and many of their UK82 peers such as The Exploited, Picture Frame Seduction, Discharge, and The Varukers
have all enjoyed resounding success among street punks in the USA.
Although many of their contemporaries have evolved towards other styles
over the years, GBH have remained fairly faithful to their original UK82
sound in subsequent releases. However, the band have experimented to
some degree with a more speed metal-inflected sound, notably with their 1992 release Church of the Truly Warped, although they have since returned to a more purist punk sound. The band is still active and touring and maintain a strong following both in England and the rest of Europe, as well as in the United States and Japan.
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