Classic records by National Wake, Corporal Punishment, The Popguns, The Radio Rats, Illegal Gathering, KOOS and the Kalahari Surfers are seeing the light of day again.
The Popguns
Formed in Johannesburg in 1980 out of the remnants of Cape Town outfit The Safari Suits and Springs rock band The Radio Rats, The Popguns were a rock band that owed much to the likes of David Bowie, The Damned and Marc Bolan.
No wonder songs such as Home Address…The Burning Road sound a lot like British band Suede, which combined similar influences in the Nineties to create their drug-induced rock.
Featuring Jonathan Handley on vocals and rhythm guitar, Moni on lead guitar, Graham Handley on bass guitar and Gikas Markantinatos and Larry Friedburg on drums, The Popguns’ name was inspired by an editorial in The Star newspaper, which read: “Police use popguns to control riots.”
So head on over to the Rhythm Music Store and get your hands on The Complete Popguns 1980-1981, a fascinating insight into Johannesburg’s punk/new wave scene. Stand-out tracks include Shock Time for Rock, Metal Marie and My Baby’s Giving Me the Bends.
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