No Defences

    In 1980, founding member  Dik started the band Toxic. Originally Dik sang and played guitar along with friends Sid on guitar, Bev on drums and James on bass. In 1982, Iggy (first bass then vocals) and Woody (drums) joined  with Bev switching to guitar and Dik to bass. James became a poet and occaisionally gigged alongside. They recorded a demo with one track appearing on Crass Records Bullshit Detector 2- Tradition of Slaughter. At the end of 1983, Andy took on the drumming and Toxic was renamed No Defences. Another track, Wall in the Mind, appeared on Bullshit Detector 3.

     Dik stated this about the name, "Never choose a name by committee! That's what we did and we never were really happy with it. It was supposed to be about not having defences around yourself to others, rather than being a slightly bland anti-nuclear name, which it always sounded like. In some ways I almost preferred our old name of Toxic even though we dumped it as it seemed too spikey-top/glue-sniffing punk."

Early in 1984 they moved from Essex to South London and became part of the squat scene there. Over the next two years they played gigs with many bands including Slave Dance  (Andy drummed for them too), Crucifix, Annie Anxiety, Crass, Karma Sutra and Chumbawamba. Most were in and around London but some further afield, including a tour with Chumbas in October 1985. On stage they had a slide show of lyrics and relevant images,  operated by Tod.  

     Towards the end of 1985, they began recording at Southern Studios for an album on the Crass Records label. Five tracks (total time 31:10) were recorded, with Pete Wright producing, but the album was never finished. Around that time, Iggy also decided that she wanted to leave No Defences, and without her involvement the general consensus in the band was that it was no longer worth continuing.

 With the original  2" tapes lost, only rough-mixed studio cassettes remained.  After 30 years, Sean from Demo Tapes Records persuaded all five ex-band members to release it on vinyl.  The music was remastered, and cover and 12-page booklet were constructed from archive material. This process took 18 months and the album was made available in March  2017.

"Tradition of Slaughter"


The peeling skin he drags behind him
They groan and cry for help
But there is nothing I can do
These pallid ghosts with faces like masks
Walk slowly past me towards the stream
They're all crouching at the water's edge
Trying to quench a never-ending thirst
Condemned by a tradition of slaughter to die


Soon to come Downloads:

Bullshit Detector 2 track-Tradition of Slaughter(1982)
http://www.box.net/shared/ev6dh05gksdzv2gu376v
Practice tape
http://www.box.net/shared/bqkeh8xhgs00jaks983b
Unreleased L.P. 1984
http://www.box.net/shared/b77b0bryinoliioda293
Bullshit Detector 3 track-Work to Consume(1983)
http://www.box.net/shared/5p4fl7vpvcjr7qepg1sl
Live Luton Library Theatre 30/5/85(Crystal clear quality)
http://www.box.net/shared/49magtu8jdqoon9pf49y
Live compilation tracks from the 'Shine on" compilation(new)
http://www.box.net/shared/yeztt7kctdeo1yooyrfg