Andy T - Weary Of The Flesh 12"
Punk pioneers Crass continue their vinyl reissue series, re-pressing their limited releases by adjacent artists through Crass Records, in association with One Little Independent. The series, including over twenty bands and solo artists recorded at the legendary Southern Studios and produced by Penny Rimbaud, continues with two more historic pieces from the Crass Records catalogue; Anthrax’s "Capitalism Is Cannibalism" and Andy T "Weary of the Flesh".
"Weary of the Flesh", by anarcho-poet Andy T, was originally released in 1982 via Crass Records. Lead single Tomorrow is a poem expressing hope for peace. Embracing punk’s ‘anyone can do it’ ethos, he blended his passion for music and poetry into his unique approach.
“Away from the world of more-or-less conventional punk music, Andy T was that rare thing, a punk solo artist. A bit like an angrier, more political John Cooper Clarke” - Spectrum Culture
Penny continues: “When Crass were compiling the first ‘Bullshit Detector’ out of the plethora of tapes sent to us by young hopefuls looking for a break, Andy T’s offering stood out in its innocent rawness. It was all too easy to imagine this very young lad chanting his mournful chant from a messy bedroom, bed unmade, looking out across the Northern moors shrouded by mournful mists. In its lack of pretension, it was as if it were a nerve-end looking to be cauterized; the pain was tangible.
"Andy’s track got selected for inclusion on ‘Bullshit’, but I wanted to hear more, so I got in touch with him with the idea of producing a 7” single, 'Weary of the Flesh’. We recorded the tracks in Crass’ rehearsal room, juggling between two trashy ghetto blasters and a whole lot of chutzpah. To this day, the result remains a vibrant celebration of brazen non-conformity tinged with distinct odours of bohemianism. Andy’s poetry showed the rough’n’tough edge of how it really was and, regrettably, still is. So yes, nothing’s new, and it’s all a matter of learning the hard way. Give it your ears, you won’t regret it.”
Andy adds: “Penny had always liked my poetry and my approach to getting things done, thus they had chosen five of my recordings to go on the first edition of ‘Bullshit Detector’. We agreed to do a single together for the label and spent a weekend up at Dial House, recording everything onto a four-track portable machine. I did have backing tapes on cassette that I used for live performance, though we decided to record everything fresh, using mainly the sound of our voices. We managed to get nearly 15 minutes onto a 7”.
"If we had been able to harness the power of a 12”, in those days, we would have probably managed to get an hour’s worth on there. I worked with Bronwen on the cover and that was another fun weekend in a shed with animal masks and printer’s ink. We did plan to record an album for the Corpus Christi label, though sadly we didn’t get around to it, at the time, as life invariably gets in the way of such things. Though I have done lots of other things for other labels since then, I still have some fond memories for those times.”
Tracklist:
1. Tomorrow?
2. What About the Old?
3. Dirty Squatters
4. Tiny Revolutions
5. Wasted Life
6. Big Boys
7. Death Is Big Business
8. Man's Life
9. Techno Cock-Up
10. Morbid Fascination
11. Exploitation
12. Family Joy
13. Weary of the Flesh
14. Blood-Stained Glass
About this product: this reissue is pressed on 12" black vinyl.