The Apostles (band)

This article is about the British punk group. For the 1960s British beat group, see The Snobs. For the work by Edward Elgar, see The Apostles (Elgar). For other uses, see Apostle (disambiguation).

The Apostles
The Apostles performing at the Spread Eagle, Southend on Sea, December 1981
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Punk rock, anarcho-punk
Years active	1979–1990
Labels	Mortarhate Records
Past members	Andy Martin William 'Bill' Corbett Julian Portinari Dan McIntyre Pete Byng-Hall John Soares Chris Low Dave Fanning Chris "Widni" Wiltshire Malcolm "Scruff" Lewty Sean Stokes Colin Murrell

The Apostles were an English experimental punk rock band, who developed within the 1980s anarcho-punk scene in the UK, but did not necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement and were critical of what they saw as its ideological conformity and especially pacifism.

History

The Apostles were formed in the Islington area of London in 1979 by William 'Bill' Corbett (vocals), Julian Portinari (bass), Dan McIntyre (drums) and Pete Byng-Hall (guitar). This line-up of the group did not play any concerts, and only appeared in a small number of fanzines (including Paroxysm Fear and New Crimes) before Bill Corbett left the group.

Andy Martin joined as vocalist in summer 1981, and the group played their first concert on 22 September 1981. This line-up of the group then recorded an eponymous demo tape later that year.

The music of the group is generally characterised by a varied eclecticism which encompasses punk and blues rock, with influences like Lemon Kittens, Five Or Six, and other avant-garde groups.

The remaining founder members of the group left the group in early 1982. Martin recruited Dave Fanning (ex-Innocent Bystander) as bass player, along with a revolving line-up of musicians – including John Soares, Kev Apostle, Flump, Chris Low (ex-Political Asylum) and Olly Bucket (Eat Shit) – to continue the group.

Andy Martin and Dave Fanning were joined in 1984 by Malcolm "Scruff" Lewty (later of Hellbastard, Sidewinder, Nero Circus and Heavy Water) and drummer Chris "Widni" Wiltshire, which created a line-up which remained relatively stable (with the addition of Sean Stokes and Colin Murrell) until the group's demise at the end of the 1980s. The group released numerous demo cassettes, seven 7" singles and seven 12" LP's between mid-1984 and 1990. Original guitarist Pete Bynghall re-joined the group in late 1988 for their last recordings and final concert (recorded and released as the Live At Thee Akademie 108 cassette).

The Apostles split as a group in 1990, immediately forming Academy 23, which also included Nathan Coles (of The Unbelievables) and Lawrence Burton (formerly of Konstruktivists) alongside Andy Martin and Dave Fanning. The group collaborated with the industrial group The Grey Wolves on two songs, "Terror Chamber" and "Terror Intensifies", both featured on compilations. Academy 23 were renamed in 1994 as Unit. Fanning left UNIT in 2007.

Political orientation and controversies

Always highly critical of the seemingly inward looking anarchist movement of the times, the autonomous and extreme libertarian approach of The Apostles seemed to portray classic anarchism, as opposed to the conformity of many of their contemporaries. This led the group receiving respect from notable members of the anarcho-punk movement such as Conflict, who released three records by The Apostles, and Crass with whom the band co-operated during the squatting of the Zig-Zag Club and during the time in which The Autonomy Centre and Centro Iberico anarchist venues operated. Both Martin and Fanning worked during this period at the Little @ printers – an anarchist printers located in the same building as the Autonomy Centre in Wapping. The Autonomy Centre was founded with proceeds from the Crass "Bloody Revolutions" single in 1980, where Martin was a keyholder prior to joining The Apostles.

Early songs like 'Pigs For Slaughter' and 'Mob Violence' included lyrics about direct action which were out of step with the pacifism usual in the anarcho-punk scene of the time, as was the title of the first EP: Blow It Up Burn It Down Kick It Till It Breaks. This EP's sleeve included practical advice on squatting and constructing an incendiary device. Cultural critic Stewart Home states that "...the Apostles blazed a trail that would be mined for its black humour and media potential by the Class War movement. The track 'Pigs For Slaughter' on the second Apostles EP (Scum Records 1983) defined what would become the platform of anarchist regroupment a year or so later.". Anarchist newspaper Class War referenced the group in its second issue: "The Apostles and the Anti-Social Workers link with the war against the rich and make for the real possibility of taking the anger and frustration away from the gig and out onto the streets and once and for all saying 'Fuck that' to the shitty rituals that pass for pleasure."

The anti-communist and anti-gay lyrics of 'Rock Against Communism' and 'Kill or Cure' on the 1984 Giving of Love Costs Nothing EP and other similarly themed songs on 1987's The Equinox Screams LP opened the group to charges of fascism and homophobia. Whilst this material was intended to expose the attitudes of those within the 'anarcho punk' milieu who did not challenge such blatantly provocative sentiments (a tactic which Andy Martin had used since his entrance to the group), they undermined the coherence of the band's ideology, leading Stewart Home, in his book Cranked Up Really High, to describe The Apostles as "locked into...a stasis if not actual paralysis".

Andy Martin wrote about his homosexuality and the subject in general which alienated many of their former fans but did not deter Martin. In 1989, Martin and Fannig gave an interview with Homocore fanzine which addressed this issue. Among their many recordings released, The Apostles contributed the song "Forbidden Love" to the first queercore compilation, JD.s Top Ten Homocore Hits, released by J.D.s fanzine in 1990.

Discography

Albums

• Live at the LMC, Jan 1983 (Split live LP with The Mob) bootleg
• Punk Obituary, 1985, Mortarhate Records (reissued in 2014)
• The Lives & Times of the Apostles, 1986, Children Of The Revolution Records
• The Acts of the Apostles in the Theatre Of Fear, 1986, Acid Stings
• How Much Longer?, 1986, Acid Stings
• Equinox Screams, 1987, Andy Brant Inc.
• Cartography / The Show Trial Asylum, 1987 (Split cassette with The Demolition Company. The Apostles' side on the album is "Cartography")
• The Other Operation, 1988, Active Sounds Records (split album with Statement (Patrick Poole))
• Hymn To Pan, 1988, No Masters Voice (only available in America)
• Eine Antwort / Dipinti Sotterranei, 1988 (Split cassette with F.A.R. (Final Alternative Relation); The Apostles' side on the album is "Eine Antwort")

EPs

Chart placings shown are from the UK Independent Chart.

• Blow It Up, Burn It Down, Kick It Till It Breaks!, 1982
• Rising From The Ashes, 1983 No. 21
• The Curse of the Creature, 1983 No. 17
• The Giving Of Love Costs Nothing, 1984
• Smash The Spectacle, 1984 No. 22
• Anathema/The Apostles, (Split EP orginally planned for release on Fight Back Records in 1986, but eventually released by Inflammable Material in 2019)
• Death To Wacky Pop!, 1986 (features members of The Joy Of Living)
• No Faith No Fear, 1986

The Joy Of Living were a female folk/punk band who released one cassette demo in addition to the above recording.

Compilations

• Segments (cassette compiled of studio material; the release date is unknown)
• The Acts of the Apostles 1985 (cassette compiled of live material; not to be confused with the 1986 album with the similar name)
• Final Manifesto 1992 (cassette compiled of the band's last and unreleased studio recording sessions from March 1988 and January 1989)
• No Faith No Fear 1993 (cassette compiled of recordings of an unreleased double album the band recorded in 1986; rereleased in 2006 in CD-R format with two bonus tracks)
• The Singles & Compilation Album Tracks 2018 (digital collection compiled of EP material and tracks which appeared on various VA compilations; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• The 1st & 2nd Studio Albums 2018 (digital collection compiled of the albums "Punk Obituary" and "The Lives And Times Of The Apostles"; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• The 3rd & 4th Albums 2018 (digital collection compiled of the albums "The Acts Of The Apostles In The Theatre Of Fear" and "How Much Longer?"; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• The 5th & 6th Albums 2018 (digital collection compiled of the album "Eine Antwort" and the "Final Manifesto" compilation cassette; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• Make Up 2019 (digital collection compiled of material for a cassette the band recorded in April 1988 called by the names "Grant Munro & The Apostles" and "Make Up", which was believed to be lost for 27 years; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• Cassette Chaos 2020 (digital collection compiled of four different recording sessions from the years 1983, 1987 and 1989; available on Unit's Bandcamp page)
• Best Forgotten 2022 (Double LP of Early Demo, Live and Practise Tapes 1981-1983) Horn Of Plenty
• There Can Be No Spectators 2024 (Double LP of four early seven inch singles) Grow Your Own Records

Demo albums (cassette only)

• The Apostles 1981
• The 2nd Dark Age 1982
• Libertarian Propaganda 1982
• Topics For Discussion 1982
• A Sudden Surge of Sound (retrospective on CFC Cassettes) 1983
• Swimmers in the Sea Of Life 1983
• Live at the Recession Club 1983
• Christ, Its The Apostles! 1983
• Will I Ever Be Free? 1984
• Fire in the Sky 1985
• Visions of the End 1985
• Punk Leftovers 1986
• Private Performances 1987
• Gary Cooke Was Here 1987
• Strength Through Purity 1987
• A.S.P.A. Demo 1987
• Une Réponse 1987
• Fine Antwort 1988
• The Progressive Blues Experiment 1988
• The 12th Gate to the Underworld 1988
• Death 1988
• How To Suck Seed 1988
• Life 1989
• A Consumer Commodity 1989
• Live at the Academy 1989 (the last ever performance 23/02/89)

Tracks on various artists compilation albums

• Mob Violence (Part 2) – "We Don't Want Your Fucking War" 1986 LP Mortarhate
• Inner Space – "God Save Us From The USA" 1987 LP, Happy Mike
• Walls – "You've Heard It All Before" (Crass Covers compilation) 1993 LP Ruptured Ambitions Records
• Hyde Park 1988 LP (released by German band Doc Wör Mirran featuring international groups, not all punk)
• J.D.s Top Ten Tape – "Forbidden Love" 1990 cassette

Several early Apostles tracks are featured on the Cause For Concern compilation A Sudden Surge of Power. A sampler of the early 1980s post-punk industrial music scene, it also featured contributions from Nocturnal Emissions, Test Department, Attrition, 400 Blows, We Be Echo and ex-Throbbing Gristle members Chris and Cosey.

External links

• Website for The Apostles' current band UNIT
• Website for The Apostles
• Article about The Apostles
• The Apostles interview with Homocore zine