Customer Reviews

Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980-1984

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Very similar to that series of DVDs,this one includes unreleased footage on well known bands as well as more obscure acts.Half of the tracks have good sound and can be cranked up and the other half are interesting to watch.Some are very well shot promo clips from the early 80's and most are surpringly (and wisely) extracted from festivals from 96-04,for either lack or earlier footage or the benefit of better,well shot,nicer and better executed and sounding versions of the current line-ups of the bands.The Exploited's UK 82,live in Japan is a teaser for the complete gig + the Buenos Aires 93 one that's going to be released late this year.Bands like Disorder, The Skeptix,Broken Bones, Discharge, GBH, Abrasive Wheels, Vice Squad,Varukers (30 in all) give this DVD a unique historic value for the hardcore punk rocker. Weird thing on this DVD and not uncommon among Cherry Red releases is a channel imbalance with treblier and louder sound on the right channel practically throughout the whole disc and a not very accurate TOC that can get very annoying.All in all a good buy and a nice piece of history on briti hardcore punk.

Best if you read the book of the same name before (or after for that matter.

This DVD starts strong. Discharge, GBH, and The Exploited all demonstrate why it is that you're watching this (the history of 80's U.K. punk) by turning in some strong performances. Unfortunately, that's about all the video has to recommend itself, and the quality of the music pretty much jumps off a bridge after that. I must admit that I think much less of Toy Dolls, Peter And The Test Tube Babies, and Anti-Nowhere League after watching this - and those are some pretty big names. The lesser-known bands here range from uninteresting to incompetent, with some moments of Benny Hill-inspired punk that are just about unwatchable. I have listened to Crass compilation albums from the 80's, so I know that there was good stuff going on in the U.K. at the time. This DVD not only doesn't capture it, but had me squirming to turn off the TV most of the time.