First ever vinyl LP from Gunfire Dance, the Birmingham glam-punk legends!
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Born sometime in the mid-80s in the UK’s motor city of Birmingham, Gunfire Dance had the looks, the chops and the sounds to go far. But throughout the annals of rock’n’roll history, how often have things worked out the way thy should have? Decades after they hung up their spurs, silk scarves and bangles, however, the band are revered by those in the know – the glam/sleaze/punk/rock’n’roll cognoscenti – and their scant releases change hands for a pretty penny. When they turn up at all, that is!
Playing every sweaty rock’n’roll dive from Birmingham’s infamous Barrel Organ to regularly selling out London’s Marquee and on to New York City’s iconic C.B.G.B’s and back again, Ant (vocals), Ozzie (drums), Darren ‘Rockin’ Ray’ Birch (bass) and Jeff Ward (guitar) were produced by The Damned’s Brian James and Rat Scabies and shared bills with the likes of Jayne County, Thee Hypnotics, Dogs D’Amour, D Generation, NY Loose, The Throbs… not to mention various alumni of The Heartbreakers, Hanoi Rocks and Lords Of The New Church…..
A million miles from the ‘Hair Metal’ and ‘Grunge’ eras they straddled, the Gunfires cooked up an intoxicating brew of Dolls-y R’n’B swagger and Raw Power-era Stooges venom in their voodoo cauldron. Out of step with the times, maybe. But these Sons of Brum wouldn’t go unsaluted. A handful of reunion shows in 2005 saw the band play to packed venues. Sadly, the following year, frontman Ant, following a long battle with depression and addiction, took his own life. Witness To The Crime is dedicated to his memory.
Ward later resurfaced in NYC’s Electrajets while Birch and Ozzie toured with both James and former Heartbreaker Walter Lure, before Birch joined The Godfathers and formed Birmingham proto-punk revivalists The Black Bombers.
Fully remastered for this edition, Witness To The Crime features four tracks produced by Brian James and Rat Scabies, and is limited to 450 12” vinyl copies, with sleeve and inner bag artwork designed by noted designer Dave Twist, including unseen photographs and full sleevenotes by J.D. Monroe.
Tracklist
Side A: 1. Blue, 2. Bliss Street, 3. Bird Doggin’, 4. Easy Come (You’ve Just Gone), 5. Break It Up, 6. Pretty As Sin
Side B: 1. Suit And Tie, 2. Make You Cry, 3. It Hurts, 4. Burnin’ Ambition, 5. Gimme Back My Heart, 6. Archway Of Thorns
“Gunfire Dance were everything righteous, sexy and dangerous that rock’n’roll was all about!!! God bless Ant.”
Jeff Dahl
“Bands with a rock’n’roll attitude were a rare pleasure in the 1980s. Gunfire Dance guested with the Lords Of The New Church on many occasions when we gigged north of Watford and become friends, so when I was asked to produce a couple of tracks for them I didn’t have to think twice, and hopefully added something to their session. Sadly neglected back in the day, my advice is to have a listen pronto.”
Brian James
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