The Eratics

(Picture coming soon)

     Even though they couldn't really play and never released anything besides one track on Bullshit detector one, The Eratics (before that they were known as The Pox, The Dogclips, The Clones and some other names)were still a part of the 'Anarcho' punk scene with their intelligent ideas and connections with Crass. Formed somewhere around 1979, The Eratics were bassist Terence 'Stringy' Castle, guitarist Martin 'Snout' Seward and drummer Kevin 'Bondage' Lester on drums while they were all in school in Waltharn Cross. After seeing the first wave of punk play around the United Kingdom including Crass, it inspired them to get up and just start a band, no matter how bad some of them were at playing instruments. They played their first gig with the Epileptics, Urban Decay and Rubella Ballet on June 15th, 1979. Stringy played bass and sang, until they were joined by Mark 'Roper' Double on vocals.
   

 
      Roper played his first gig with the Eratics with The Sinyx at the Focus in Southend, a band the guys would become close friends with. At this point, Stringy was living on the streets, and moved into a squat full of hippies. The band used that squat as the 'old church' and arranged some gigs there thanks to other punks that moved in. Their second song was called 'Factory Floor' because some of the members left school at 15 and got dead end factory jobs to afford going to gigs and buying records. Their first song was called 'Tablets', written by Stringy, and was about the drugs he had to take at a hospital after a car accident busted his leg. Urban Decay played that song and eventually released it as their own, but without crediting the Eratics.

     By 1981, the band had still not made an official recording, but did record a track onto a regular tape recorded named 'National Service' in Sount's front room for Crass's first Bullshit Detector. It was all about gigs for the band, they were too busy with that to ever record anything for a release. Unfortunately, the end came that same year after a violent gig in Walthamstow. Fortunately for Bondage, he didn't turn up, so the drummer of D & V filled in on drums. While they played, a bunch of people smashed in and started wrecking the place and beating people up, so the band had to make a run for it.

     Their last gig with Bondage was at the Stevenage Bowes Lyon House. However, no one really turned up, plus they felt they were playing like crap(and it was snowing). The Eratics were trying new experimental numbers, but Bondage couldn't manage to catch on because of his lack of experience on the drums. This might explain why he didn't show up at their last gig. After that last show were he didn't show up was over(from the violence), Bondage was never heard of again and the band called it a day.


"No More war(You gotta be Proud)"


Me house is blown up, me brothers dead
Me father got wounded, it sent him strange in the head
Me mother got so scared, she dont speak any more
and nearly all me friends got killed in the war
Should me grandad be me hero for killing a jap
He killed twenty Germans, arrgh give him a clap
Could someone please tell me what I'm S'posed to owe
'cos to tell you the truth I don't fucking know

(chorus)


But we still won, yeah glory is ours
Replace my family with a bunch if flowers
but oh yeah we was the winning side
and all what we lost, has been made up for in pride

Yeah we won the war, I should be proud
I got my pride for an A. bomb cloud
Yeah we was the bravest, we was the best
Look we won the war, so fuck the rest
Well I wont fight,no not for you
Do you know What's gonna happen, we'll I'll give you a clue
We'll be running for out shelters, but It'll do us know good
Yeah they'd have you there now if they thought they could.

No, we all lost, nobody won.
Too many people got killed by the gun
and surely you dont want that to happen again
When you've blown up all the people, what then?
Do you think you will be happy when you get control?
They'll be no more people left for you to push around
They'll be down in the shit where they've always been
You and your wars are both obscene
Your prepared to use us to fight your war
but when we need help you always shut the door.

You'll all fucking die, and what if you dont
Do you think you'd live in that destruction I can tell you, you wont
So why dont we stop 'em? Yeah lets stop 'em now
I think I would if I could, but I dont know how
Send the government a letter, they'll just throw it away
So it looks like the threat could be here to stay
They're using a war to keep us all in hand
If I told that to me grandad, do you think he'd understand?

No, he'll wanna be loyal, be a hero to the end
keep giving them an enemy, they've been programmed to defend
They'll always be some shithead pushing for a war
You gotta fight and kill, be brave, no matter what for
Yeah, there always be some shithead pushing for a war
You could give him the whole world and he'd still want more
The royal family and government pretend that they care
but they aint really bothered 'cos they wont be there.


"Russia"


World dommination is you'r aim,
pull the trigger, don't refrain,
freedom aint important to you,
so what the fuck are you gonna do?

Russia, Russia, communist state,
Russia, Russia, You can't wait,
fascist commies, don't dictate,
don't you know you'r years too late,

Lenin Stalin were both the same,
shoot the royalists, kill and maim,
revolutions come an go,
nothing changes, you should know.

Fight in Asia, fight in Iran,
take over countrys far from home,
western countrys are just the same,
we're all playing their stupid game.

Eratics '80


"Parasite"


What are you trying to do to me?
You are blinding me, so I can't see,
Where's the hidden antidote,
I don't care if you give me the vote,
No, I don't care it's plain to see,
no I'm not anyones enemy,
it's not me who breaks the rules,
or gets involved in political brawls,

Parasite what a sight
Parasite guess who's right

No Im just another parasite who lives off the state
I'm another worker. For me it's too late,
I read it in the papers, I saw it in the "sun,
"go to work, cunt, or I'll smack your fuckin um"
what's the point, am I lazy,
do what your told, if you don't your crazy,
but I won't fucking do it, I won't comply,
I won't make money for old school tie,
'coz they're laughing at us,
in their old boys clubs,
and I'll go on scrounging,
untill the barstards go bust.


"Kama-Kharzi (Divine Wind)"


Squadron leader, Hiroshima
gets in his zero, one-time hero,
flys away, never to return,
swooping on the enemy,
Kamakazi burn,

Kama-kharzi, die for your country,
your life expectancy...... is NIL,

Flying coffin, bird of death,
fanatical jap with nothing left,
his guns are ready, a prayer to god,
nothing can save you, fanatical sod,

Ball of flame, chokeing smoke,
mission accomplished, kamakazi spoke,
the riseing sun has lost one more,
forgotten hero of the second world war,


"Intimidate"


They intimidate the people who try to think,
'coz they could be dangerous, see through
the trick,

They intimidate them so when they fight back,
they will put them away, crush them flat,

They give us all the usual lies,
they fill us full of crap,
moral standards must be upheld, does freedom
mean just that?
Well fuck your freedom, don't intimidate me,
fuck your police, your army,
'cos it don't mean nothing, it's worth sod all,
I just can't wait for the governments fall,

for fall it must, the system as well,
The whole fuckin' lot of you go to hell,
'coz you've intimidated me once too much,
and I'm gonna destroy you, turn you to dust.


"National Service"


They'll put you away,
lock you away,
forget all about you and throw away
your key,
It's an easy solution to all our problems,
take away you'r freedom, you've got the
right to chose,

National service, national service, national service is good for me,
National service, national service, national service is going to kill me.

they'll put you in the army, brainwash you,
teach you how fight and teach you how
to kill,
don't be afraid of them. Tell 'em what to
do,

National service, national service, national service is good for me
National service, national service, national service is going to kill me

they'll put you in the army, thats what they
want to do,
to stop rebellion and cure us all,
day to day orders on how you must behave,
a long life  of servitude to see you to the
grave.

National service, national service, national service is good for me
National service, national service, national service is going to kill me
National service, national service, national service is good for me


"Capital Punishment"


You wanna flog my back if i do something wrong,
you wanna flog my back if i step out of line,
bring back capital punishment,
scar me for life,
make me cry 'cos i carry a knife,

Violence breeds violence,

what do you expect?

Violence breeds violence,

you can't command respect, no.

if you've been treated like scum all your life,
and they've thrown the book at you for not looking nice,
then what do you expect,
when you don't turn out right and they wan't to beat you
'coz they say it'S right,

Violence breeds violence,

what do you expect?

Violence breeds violence,

you can't command respect, no.

wake up world it's 1979,
its a civilized society,
but there's still squallor and grim,
you can't turn the clock back a hundred years,
you can8t command respect if you rule by fears,

Violence breeds violence,

what do you expect?

Violence breeds violence,

you can't command respect, no.

punish, punish, punish
whip the punks,
punish the individuals who come from dumps,
bring back flogging say the old school tie,
punish, punish, punish,
why,why,why...............

Violence breeds violence,

what do you expect?

Violence breeds violence,

you can't command respect, no.

Downloads:

Unknown Demo(2 songs from the same session. One used for BS 1 and the other for Anti-Capitalism comp)
http://www.box.net/shared/r8td5yna3e0zls6rnuij
Live with the Sinyx at the Focus Southend, August, 1981
http://www.box.net/shared/3ulio60gt702kb8e69ic