By
Rob Jones
Many great British punk bands surfaced in the 70’s! Wales may not have been viewed as having major players in the overall picture. However, to avoid The Partisans is to overlook a potent part of a TNT tale that spread far and wide from its London core!
The Partisans were formed in Bridgend, South Wales in early 1978 and a fiery foursome eventually got signed to No Future Records. 1981 had the Mid Glamorgan marauders score a number 5 on the UK Indie Chart with the anthemic Police Story/ Killing Machine double ‘A’ side and the following year 17 Years of Hell went to second slot.
The band got tagged in to the ‘Oi’ scene and along the way there have been changes in personnel-but, a core of Rob ‘Spike’ Harrington and Andy Lealand have kept the band alive to this very day. In 1983 a critically acclaimed eponymous debut album hit the top 5 of the alternative hit parade as well as reaching the peak of the punk chart. The Partisans album is a 19 track bumper CD on the Captain Oi! Label-and, the fast and furious fare volleys the feel of a youthful perspective in a yesteryear, crumbling industrial valleys landscape. A visceral voice set against a boisterous backdrop leads to a series of soaring songs. The spirit of Spike as vehement vocalist comes across as crystal clear as the peripheral fires of bass, guitar and drum blaze!
The dozen tunes that constituted the original release are joined by essential bonus material of the era to make for a dynamite document. The Partisans confirm that the principality did have an incendiary impact upon a rock rebellion that is still worthy of attention in 2015!
