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The Ruts were a reggae
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
-influenced British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 punk rock
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
 band
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, notable for the 1979 Top 10 hit
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was much played and highly regarded by the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a United Kingdom international radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in current popular music throughout the day, with a slight bias to Rock music & Independent music music....
 disc jockey
Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
, John Peel
John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
.

band consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox
Paul Fox (musician)

Paul Fox was a United Kingdom musician and singer, best known from his work with the United Kingdom punk rock band , The Ruts. The Ruts' style combined punk with dub music, a sound that owed much to Fox's guitar skills and earned him respect and admiration....
 (guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
), John "Segs" Jennings (bass
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
) and Dave Ruffy (drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
). As part of the People Unite collective
Collective

A collective is a group of people who share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective....
 based in Southall
Southall

Southall is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, West London. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hillingdon, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt....
 in West London
West London

West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with London Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses....
 the band were active in anti-racist
Anti-racism

Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their Race , however defined....
 causes, and their song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 "Jah War" is about the Special Patrol Group
Special Patrol Group

The Special Patrol Group was a unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service, it was formed in 1965, to provide a centrally-based mobile squad for combatting serious public disorder and crime, along with other incidents that could not be dealt with by local Police division....
's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach
Blair Peach

Clement Blair Peach was a New Zealand-born teacher who died as a result of alleged police brutality during a demonstration in London, England. At the time he was teaching at a special education school in London and was an active member of the Socialist Teachers' Association within the National Union of Teachers and a member of the Socialist...
 was beaten to death and Clarence Baker was severely injured.

The Ruts backed Laurel Aitken
Laurel Aitken

Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music....
 who was then signed to the Secret Affair
Secret Affair

Secret Affair was a mod revival band , formed in 1978 and disbanding in 1982, reforming to perform and record in the 2000s....
 record label, I-Spy Records on a John Peel session for BBC Radio 1, in April/May 1980, and also backed Aitken on his support tour to Secret Affair
Secret Affair

Secret Affair was a mod revival band , formed in 1978 and disbanding in 1982, reforming to perform and record in the 2000s....
 - The line-up was Aitken, Fox, Jennings, Ruffy, Owen and Barnacle.

Malcolm Owen died from a heroin
Heroin

Heroin is a opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-acetate ester of morphine . The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, however heroin Freebase may also appear as a white powder....
 overdose
Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced....
 on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26.






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Encyclopedia


The Ruts were a reggae
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
-influenced British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 punk rock
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
 band
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, notable for the 1979 Top 10 hit
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was much played and highly regarded by the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a United Kingdom international radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in current popular music throughout the day, with a slight bias to Rock music & Independent music music....
 disc jockey
Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
, John Peel
John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
.

Career

The band consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox
Paul Fox (musician)

Paul Fox was a United Kingdom musician and singer, best known from his work with the United Kingdom punk rock band , The Ruts. The Ruts' style combined punk with dub music, a sound that owed much to Fox's guitar skills and earned him respect and admiration....
 (guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
), John "Segs" Jennings (bass
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
) and Dave Ruffy (drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
). As part of the People Unite collective
Collective

A collective is a group of people who share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective....
 based in Southall
Southall

Southall is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, West London. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hillingdon, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt....
 in West London
West London

West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with London Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses....
 the band were active in anti-racist
Anti-racism

Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their Race , however defined....
 causes, and their song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 "Jah War" is about the Special Patrol Group
Special Patrol Group

The Special Patrol Group was a unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service, it was formed in 1965, to provide a centrally-based mobile squad for combatting serious public disorder and crime, along with other incidents that could not be dealt with by local Police division....
's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach
Blair Peach

Clement Blair Peach was a New Zealand-born teacher who died as a result of alleged police brutality during a demonstration in London, England. At the time he was teaching at a special education school in London and was an active member of the Socialist Teachers' Association within the National Union of Teachers and a member of the Socialist...
 was beaten to death and Clarence Baker was severely injured.

The Ruts backed Laurel Aitken
Laurel Aitken

Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music....
 who was then signed to the Secret Affair
Secret Affair

Secret Affair was a mod revival band , formed in 1978 and disbanding in 1982, reforming to perform and record in the 2000s....
 record label, I-Spy Records on a John Peel session for BBC Radio 1, in April/May 1980, and also backed Aitken on his support tour to Secret Affair
Secret Affair

Secret Affair was a mod revival band , formed in 1978 and disbanding in 1982, reforming to perform and record in the 2000s....
 - The line-up was Aitken, Fox, Jennings, Ruffy, Owen and Barnacle.

Malcolm Owen died from a heroin
Heroin

Heroin is a opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-acetate ester of morphine . The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, however heroin Freebase may also appear as a white powder....
 overdose
Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced....
 on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26. The b-side
A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which single s were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or flipside, is a secondary song that ofte...
 "H-eyes" of "In a Rut" was a song against heroin use, and two other songs, "Dope for Guns" from the album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 The Crack, plus "Love in Vain" (b-side of "Staring at the Rude Boys") were also anti-drug songs. 1980 also saw the collaboration of the remaiming band members with Kevin Coyne
Kevin Coyne

Kevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The former "anti-star " was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004....
 on one half of his double album Sanity Stomp
Sanity Stomp

Sanity Stomp is a double studio Gramophone record by the rock music artist Kevin Coyne which was released in 1980....
, at a time when Coyne was suffering a nervous breakdown.

The band continued as Ruts D.C.
Da capo

Da Capo is a musical term in Italian language, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C.. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music....
 (D.C. standing for Da Capo meaning 'back to the beginning') but never repeated their earlier success. As Ruts D.C., the band toured Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in the autumn of 1980, playing at the small nightclub
Nightclub

A nightclub is a Alcoholic beverage, Dance and entertainment Music venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers....
, To Act, in rural Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
 (Weißenohe, near Nuremberg
Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....
). However, without the charismatic persona, stage presence and voice
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 of Owen (and despite guitarist Paul Fox handling the vocals), the band struggled to re-live their past glories.

On 16 July 2007 the band reformed for the first time in 27 years and played a special one off benefit gig
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
  for Paul Fox, following his diagnosis with lung cancer
Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissue of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs....
. Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins is an United Statesn singer-songwriter, spoken word, stand-up comedian, author, actor, activist and publisher.After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C....
 (of Black Flag
Black Flag (band)

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes....
), stood in for Owen. They were supported by Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson is an English singer/songwriter and Presenter probably best-known for the UK chart-topper songs "Glad to be Gay" , "2-4-6-8 Motorway" , "Don't Take No for an Answer" ...
, The Damned
The Damned

The Damned are an English Rock music band formed in London in 1976. They are notable for being the first punk rock band from England to release a single , an album , and to tour the United States....
, Misty in Roots
Misty in Roots

Misty in Roots began life as a Southall-based United Kingdom roots reggae reggae band in the early 1970s. Their first album was 1979's Live at the Counter Eurovision, a record full of Bible Rastafari movementan songs....
, U.K. Subs, Splodge (Splodgenessabounds
Splodgenessabounds

Splodgenessabounds is an England punk rock musical ensemble formed in Keston, Bromley, Kent. The band is associated with the Oi! and Punk Pathetique genres....
), John Otway
John Otway

John Otway, is a singer-songwriter, who built a large cult audience through unrelenting touring, a surreal humour sense of humour and a winning underdog persona....
; and the Peafish House Band which featured Lee Harris, (The Blockheads
Ian Dury

Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, songwriter, and bandleader who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk rock and New Wave music era of rock music....
), Tony Barber (Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks are an England punk rock band formed in Manchester in 1976. They have been led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Pete Shelley for nearly their entire existence....
) and Rowland Rivron
Rowland Rivron

Rowland Rivron is a British comedian, musician, writer and a television presenter. He was brought up in Hillingdon, West London.Rivron first came to fame through his appearances as the comedy character of "Dr Scrote" on the Jonathan Stephen Ross chat show The Last Resort, before appearing on Night Network's Bunker Show....
, plus Edward Tudor-Pole
Edward Tudor-Pole

Edward Tudor-Pole is an England musician, singer , Television presenter, and actor....
 and T. V. Smith
T. V. Smith

T.V. Smith is a United Kingdom punk rock singer songwriter, who was part of the band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then, he has played with other bands, as well as pursuing solo work....
.

Fox, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
 in mid 2007, died on 21 October of the same year at the age of 56.

Discography


Albums

  • The Crack
    The Crack

    The Crack is The Ruts first album, released in 1979 and containing the United Kingdom hit singles: "Babylon's Burning" and "Something That I Said" The white-reggae-ish "Jah War" which was written in the aftermath of the Southall unrest and the over-use of force by the Metropolitan Police Service's Special Patrol Group in 1979 was also r...
     (September 1979: Virgin
    Virgin Records

    Virgin Records is a United Kingdom record label founded by England entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972 in music. It was later sold to Thorn EMI, and then, in the US, merged with Capitol Records in 2007 to create the Capitol Music Group....
    , V 2132) # 16 UK Albums Chart
    UK Albums Chart

    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus....
  • Grin & Bear It
    Grin & Bear It

    Grin & Bear It is The Ruts? 1980 second album and features a compilation of singles, B-sides and live performances recorded at London?s famous Marquee Club....
     (part-compilation) (October 1980: Virgin, V 2188) # 28 UK
  • Animal Now
    Animal Now

    Animal Now is an album by The Ruts, released in 1981 on Virgin Records....
     (as Ruts D.C.) (May 1981: Virgin)
  • Rhythm Collision (as Ruts D.C.) (July 1982: Bohemian)
  • BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert (Windsong International) split with Penetration


Selective compilation albums and E.P.s

  • The Peel Sessions
    The Peel Sessions (Ruts album)

    The Peel Sessions was the 1986 album release of the sessions The Ruts recorded in May 1979 for BBC Radio 1's John Peel Show. Although released as a 12 inch vinyl platter the record was designed to be played at 45 rpm ....
     (December 1986: Strange Fruit)
  • Peel Sessions – Complete Sessions 1979-1981 (May 1990: Strange Fruit)
  • Demolition Dancing (1994: Receiver) - mostly live material, but including two tracks by the Damned
  • Something That I Said: The Best of the Ruts (March 1995: Virgin)
  • Bustin’ Out: The Essential Ruts Collection (June 2001: EMI)


Singles

  • "In a Rut" / "H-Eyes" (May 1978: Record label
    Record label

    In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
    :People Unite, SJP 795 & RUT 1)
  • "Babylon's Burning" / "Society" (June 1979: Virgin, VS 271) Also released as a 12 inch single # 7 UK Singles Chart
    UK Singles Chart

    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
  • "Something That I Said" / "Give Youth a Chance" (August 1979: Virgin, VS 285) # 29 UK
  • "Jah Wars" / "I Ain't Sofisticated" (November 1979: Virgin, VS 298)
  • "Staring At The Rude Boys" / "Love in Vain" (April 1980: Virgin, VS 327) # 22 UK
  • "West One (Shine On Me)" / "The Crack" (August 1980: Virgin, VS 370) # 43 UK
  • "Different View" / "Formula Eyes" (as Ruts D.C.) (February 1981: Virgin, VS 396)
  • "Whatever We Do" / "Push Yourself – Make It Work" (as Ruts D.C.) (July 1982: Bohemian, B 02)
  • "Weak Heart" / "Militant" / "Accusation" (as Ruts D.C.) (March 1983: Bohemian, B 03)
  • "Stepping Bondage" / "Lobotomy" / "Rich Bitch" (as Ruts) (May 1983: Bohemian, B 04)


Audio sample


See also

  • List of British punk bands
    List of British punk bands

    List of United Kingdom punk rock bands...
  • List of Peel sessions
    List of Peel sessions

    This is a list of artists who recorded at least one session for John Peel and his show on BBC Radio 1 from 1967 to his death in 2004. the first session was recorded by Tomorrow on 21 September 1967, and the last by Skimmer on 21 October 2004. ...
  • List of performers on Top of the Pops
    List of performers on Top of the Pops

    Top of the Pops is a long-running United Kingdom UK singles chart television programme It was originally shown each week on BBC and is now licensed for national versions around the world....
  • Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
    Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)

    In the 1970s, music from the United Kingdom further diversified. Heavy metal music grew into glam metal in the United States, and other American metal bands like Blue ?yster Cult, Aerosmith and Kiss helped move the UK from the forefront of the metal world....


External links

  • on www.punk77.co.uk
  • on Punkmodpop