Various Artists: Armagideon Time – When Punk Met Dub

Buy @ Piccadilly Records

A tidy 3CD box-set from Cherry Red, the follow up to the Roots Rock Rebels set (LTW review) that came out in 2024, on that occasion the sleeve notes came courtesy of Don Letts; for this edition Jah Wobble has provided a personal insight into the world of dub; not surprisingly Wobble appears within the collection under both his own name, and as part of Public Image Ltd. Wobble reflects and elaborates on the “cross-fertilisation of the two rebel music forms from the late 70s into the early 80s” that Letts referred to on the early set; similarly, the music within this mammoth 57-track collection builds on those foundations as it looks at the time period of 1978-1984.

Alternative TV open up proceedings with Life After Dub, which first appeared on the B-side of the Life After Life 7” in 1977, ATV were always a band that absorbed then reinterpreted their influences, and this with Dennis Burns providing the bass and Jools Holland the piano is the perfect opener, that joining of styles, the merging together of ideas that later spearheaded post-punk. Steel Pulse need no introduction, their links to the UK punk scene were cemented when they aligned themselves with the Rock Against Racism movement, they also toured alongside the likes of The Stranglers, as such when Prodigal Son Dub was released as part of deluxe reissue of their legendary Handsworth Revolution it was widely welcomed within the punk scene.

Demon Preachers are worth a mention, began by future Alien Sex Fiend Nik Fiend, and featuring Max Splodge on drums, they issued Perfect Dub in an interesting sleeve as the flip side to Little Miss Perfect via Small Wonder Records in 1978, it borrows heavily from Junior Murvin’s Police And Thieves; it’s got a naive charm and hints at some of ASF’s future dabbling’s, in addition a decent original copy of this one would set you back at least £50. Another notable inclusion comes from The Flying Lizards, best known for their Top Ten hit Money (That’s What I Want), however here they offer up Crab Claw which was part of a dub album recorded in Jamaicia in late 1978 that remained unreleased for some twenty years – this is glorious, cavernous bass, stretched beats and all sorts of studio wizardry tumbling from the speakers. Dillinger’s Funky Punk first appeared on the reverse of Cocaine In My Brain which brought him to an international audience, Dillinger secured his punk credentials when he was name checked within the Clash classic (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais.

The Slits were arguably the band that fused reggae to their primitive punk creating their own distinct sound; Newtown has every element, the punk attitude, the charged lyric coupled with the stunning production courtesy of Dennis Bovell. Red Beat were a London based outfit that included Paul and Roy Jones (brothers of Howard Jones who was three years off releasing his New Song hit) who released Machines In Motion via Malicious Damage in 1980, its prime early post punk, the band seeking to stretch their musical palate, though sadly it does not really stand the test of time
Disc Two opens with The Ruts track Love In Vain, which remains a staple of their live set to this day, from the very outset The Ruts didn’t just dabble with reggae and dub versions, they intrinsically understood the music, the power of the music and message it delivered. Dennis Bovell appears yet again, this time at the production helm for X-O-Dus who issued their only English Boys via Factory Records – the group hailed from the Moss Side area of Manchester; the track is a perfect snapshot of the transition of reggae into dub that was appearing at this time. Max Splodge makes a further appearance, this time under his own name with Bicycle Seat (Dub), a calypso-tinged novelty tune, though it picked up credence as Denis Bovell also produced this one.

I was frankly staggered to find The Jam included, was/is mod-dub a thing; having heard this I hope not; apparently it was given away on a flexi disc by Flexipop magazine in 1981; thankfully things recover with inclusions from Suns Of Arqa and the mighty Prince Far I. Creation Rebel had previously backed Far I, and appear here with New Age Steppers who included former Slit Viv Albertine in the ranks, Threat To Creation is dub at its finest, a bass that hits you in the chest, stretched and twisted guitars, cymbals that crack the night sky. The Chicken Granny seem to only have ever recorded a single track; Quit The Body – this has passed into punk folklore as actually being the work of John Lydon, when in fact it was Dennis Brady alongside members of The Pop Group and Rip Rig & Panic, the lilting reggae track appeared on the Adrian Sherwood curated Wild Party Sounds Vol One album which also included Alan Pellay’s Demonic Forces, this was number of years before the transformation into the Leigh Bowery dressed Lana Pellay who hit the international charts with Pistol In My Pocket, a track which included Three Degree member Shelia Ferguson on vocals; this tenuous link must be the only time King Charles favourite group have ever been connected to dub!!

Train Dub from Surface Mutants is another of those obscure tracks that captures the efforts of bands to broaden their musical horizons, this one was recorded at Cabaret Voltaire’s Western Works studio with the Cabs taking on production duties; as to be expected its more post-punk experimentation as opposed to dub, whilst London Underground’s Dreams Are Better is a deep dive into dub, the group were linked to Sherwood’s On-U Sound which should tell you it’s a crucial track in the genre development. The Mothmen were an experimental band from Manchester that formed out of the ashes of an early Durutti Column, they are best known for the Does It Matter Irene single; here they offer up Afghani Dub a minimal track with a wonderfully haunted treated guitar – two of the band, Chris Joyce and Tony Bowers went onto worldwide success with Simply Red! The inclusion of The Boomtown Rats is a curveball, they released House On Fire (12” Dub version) in 1982; to me this just smacks of the label attempting to cash in on the then success of dub by simply adding some basic studio trickery to an average track. There is nothing average about Aswad here with Dub Fire, and no dub collection would be complete without the inclusion of Neil Fraser aka the Mad Professor whose English Connection is lifted from his Beyond The Realms Of Dub (Dub Me Crazy! The Second Chapter) album. Good to hear Devil’s Dub from Bad Manners a track which remained unreleased for many years and ably demonstrates the band understanding of dub.

This is an excellent release which gathers together a what initially appears to be a widely disparate collection of artists, what does bring them together though are their efforts to broaden their music, to embrace new rhythms, styles and studio techniques; it’s a perfect time capsule that outlines what was going on in the UK underground at the time and offers itself as an ideal introduction to those new to the genre and also ideal as a track filler for the more familiar collector.