The Ballistics
Encyclopedia
The Ballistics were a ska
band from Ipswich
, England
. Formed in 2002, they have built up a healthy following across the UK and have garnered airplay in the U.S.
, Germany
, Argentina
and Brazil
. The band's first album
, Go Ballistic
, was released in 2003 in a limited run and sold out quickly. A first full-length album, Allow Me To Demonstrate
, was released in 2005. A second album, The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane
, was released late 2006. In early July 2009, The Ballistics announced they were splitting up. They played their final show on 12 September that year.
member, Glenn McCarthy, on vocals. He was joined by Mike Claydon (ex-Screaming Holocaust) on bass, Steve Pipe (ex-Stuntchild) on drums, Daz Hewitt on keyboards and Rich on guitar. This line-up recorded Go Ballistic in November 2003. Rich left for Nottingham
at this time, and was replaced by Martyn Peck (aka 'Roki', ex-Optimum Wound Profile
, Red Flag 77, Whiteslug, Raw Noise). This marked a significant shift in the band's sound. The original streetpunk style favoured by The Ballistics was slowly replaced by a sound more reminiscent of ska punk
.
At this point the band started to venture further out of Ipswich for gigs, playing around the UK with bands such as The Beat
, The Selecter
, The Big, The Vibrators
and Adequate Seven
. In January 2005 the band began recording the Allow Me To Demonstrate album. Shortly after its release they were joined by Steve Satan, a trumpet player, and guitarist in the band The Devil Rides Out. Satan lasted until September 2005, when his departure coincided with the arrival of saxophone player, Tom Johnson.
Johnson's arrival prompted a further move away from the ska punk sound that the band had developed, towards a purer ska style. Newer additions to the set were influenced by 1960s ska, 2 Tone
and mod-related music. Although the live shows contained older material, the songs written for the new album were once again different from what the band had done before.
In 2006, the brass section was further augmented by the addition of a second saxophone player, Graeme Cowey, and Mark Schorah on trumpet. The increased use of brass, on both the new and old material, made an impact on the overall sound of The Ballistics. This has resulted in the ska-influenced album, The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane, which was released at the end of 2006. A fourth brass player, Tim Andrews, joined the band on trombone shortly before the release of this album. This nine-piece line-up recorded a cover version
of the Ipswich Town song, "Come On The Town", in aid of MS causes in 2007. Shortly after this Johnson and Andrews left to pursue academic careers, though Johnson occasionally made an appearance.
In 2009 the band announced that they were splitting up. They played their last gig on 12 September 2009.
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band from Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Formed in 2002, they have built up a healthy following across the UK and have garnered airplay in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The band's first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Go Ballistic
Go Ballistic
Go Ballistic is the first CD release by Ipswich ska band, The Ballistics.-Track listing:*This Is The UK*Too Scared To Dance*Burning Out*F++k The Vote*What Does It Take?*All My Neighbours*Go Ballistic*One More Time *Easy Way Out...
, was released in 2003 in a limited run and sold out quickly. A first full-length album, Allow Me To Demonstrate
Allow Me To Demonstrate
Allow Me To Demonstrate is the first full-length CD release from Ipswich ska band, The Ballistics, released in 2005 on Dental Records.- Track listing :All songs written by The Ballistics*"All My Neighbours"*"F++k The Vote"*"Best Foot Forward"...
, was released in 2005. A second album, The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane
The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane
The second full-length cd release from Ipswich ska band The Ballistics, released in 2006 on Dental Records. The title refers to Kelso Cochrane.-Track listing:*My Uncle Fred*City In Decay*Slow Down*Spike*Another Zero*Untouchable*Sucked In, Spat Out...
, was released late 2006. In early July 2009, The Ballistics announced they were splitting up. They played their final show on 12 September that year.
History
The original line-up included former Red Flag 77Red Flag 77
Red Flag 77 are a punk rock band from Ipswich, England. Formed in 1990, Red Flag have compiled a healthy fanbase - The 'Flag Army' are fans from all over the UK and Europe where Red Flag have toured. The band recorded their first album, Punk not Dread, after playing just three gigs...
member, Glenn McCarthy, on vocals. He was joined by Mike Claydon (ex-Screaming Holocaust) on bass, Steve Pipe (ex-Stuntchild) on drums, Daz Hewitt on keyboards and Rich on guitar. This line-up recorded Go Ballistic in November 2003. Rich left for Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
at this time, and was replaced by Martyn Peck (aka 'Roki', ex-Optimum Wound Profile
Optimum Wound Profile
Optimum Wound Profile were an industrial metal band from Ipswich, UK, active between the years 1991-1996. Combining elements of metal, crust punk, and sampling/programming technologies they released three albums and toured across Europe....
, Red Flag 77, Whiteslug, Raw Noise). This marked a significant shift in the band's sound. The original streetpunk style favoured by The Ballistics was slowly replaced by a sound more reminiscent of ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
.
At this point the band started to venture further out of Ipswich for gigs, playing around the UK with bands such as The Beat
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
, The Selecter
The Selecter
The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
, The Big, The Vibrators
The Vibrators
- Early career:The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his...
and Adequate Seven
Adequate Seven
Adequate Seven were a seven piece punk band from the UK who blended music styles such as hip hop, hardcore, punk, and funk who formed in 2000 and split in December 2006.-History:...
. In January 2005 the band began recording the Allow Me To Demonstrate album. Shortly after its release they were joined by Steve Satan, a trumpet player, and guitarist in the band The Devil Rides Out. Satan lasted until September 2005, when his departure coincided with the arrival of saxophone player, Tom Johnson.
Johnson's arrival prompted a further move away from the ska punk sound that the band had developed, towards a purer ska style. Newer additions to the set were influenced by 1960s ska, 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
and mod-related music. Although the live shows contained older material, the songs written for the new album were once again different from what the band had done before.
In 2006, the brass section was further augmented by the addition of a second saxophone player, Graeme Cowey, and Mark Schorah on trumpet. The increased use of brass, on both the new and old material, made an impact on the overall sound of The Ballistics. This has resulted in the ska-influenced album, The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane, which was released at the end of 2006. A fourth brass player, Tim Andrews, joined the band on trombone shortly before the release of this album. This nine-piece line-up recorded a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Ipswich Town song, "Come On The Town", in aid of MS causes in 2007. Shortly after this Johnson and Andrews left to pursue academic careers, though Johnson occasionally made an appearance.
In 2009 the band announced that they were splitting up. They played their last gig on 12 September 2009.
Discography
- Go BallisticGo BallisticGo Ballistic is the first CD release by Ipswich ska band, The Ballistics.-Track listing:*This Is The UK*Too Scared To Dance*Burning Out*F++k The Vote*What Does It Take?*All My Neighbours*Go Ballistic*One More Time *Easy Way Out...
CD (2003) - Allow Me To DemonstrateAllow Me To DemonstrateAllow Me To Demonstrate is the first full-length CD release from Ipswich ska band, The Ballistics, released in 2005 on Dental Records.- Track listing :All songs written by The Ballistics*"All My Neighbours"*"F++k The Vote"*"Best Foot Forward"...
CD (Dental RecordsDental RecordsDental Records is a small, independent record label, based in Ipswich, UK.-Releases:*DRCD0501 The Ballistics - Allow Me To Demonstrate*DRCD0601 Singled Out - Hardcore Seanography*DRCD0602 The Ballistics - The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane...
2005) - All I Want For Xmas Is Abi Titmuss CDR (hand decorated limited edition 2006)
- The Spirit Of Kelso CochraneThe Spirit Of Kelso CochraneThe second full-length cd release from Ipswich ska band The Ballistics, released in 2006 on Dental Records. The title refers to Kelso Cochrane.-Track listing:*My Uncle Fred*City In Decay*Slow Down*Spike*Another Zero*Untouchable*Sucked In, Spat Out...
CD (Dental RecordsDental RecordsDental Records is a small, independent record label, based in Ipswich, UK.-Releases:*DRCD0501 The Ballistics - Allow Me To Demonstrate*DRCD0601 Singled Out - Hardcore Seanography*DRCD0602 The Ballistics - The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane...
2006) - Come On The Town (Edward Ebenezer) CD (ITISC 2007)
- All I Want For Christmas Is Abi Titmuss iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
worldwide download (Dental RecordsDental RecordsDental Records is a small, independent record label, based in Ipswich, UK.-Releases:*DRCD0501 The Ballistics - Allow Me To Demonstrate*DRCD0601 Singled Out - Hardcore Seanography*DRCD0602 The Ballistics - The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane...
2008)
Final line-up
- Glenn McCarthy - vocals
- Martyn Peck (Roki) - guitar (from 2003)
- Daz Hewitt - keyboards
- Mike Claydon - bass
- Steve Pipe - drums
- Graeme Cowey - alto / tenor saxophone (from 2006)
- Mark Schorah - trumpet (from 2006)
Former members
- Rich Garner - guitar (2002-2003)
- Rambo - drums (2002)
- Steve Satan - trumpet (2005)
- Sax Steve - tenor saxophone (2007)
- Tim Andrews - trombone (2006-2007)
- Tom Johnson - tenor saxophone (2005-2008)