The Pop Group was a post-punk band from Bristol, England whose uncompromising, dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were, more often than not, political in nature. Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... This article is about the English city. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the Queen. See also Proposed English National Anthems. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Funk is an African American musical style. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Formed in 1978 by Mark Stewart (lyrics, vocals), John Waddington (guitar), Gareth Sager (guitar), Simon Underwood (bass) and Bruce Smith (drums, percussion), they issued their debut single, "She is Beyond Good and Evil" on the Radar label the following year. Mark Stewart is a British musician and founding member of the Pop Group. ... Sager in 1980. ...

Their debut album Y, was produced by reggae veteran Dennis Bovell to critical acclaim but low sales figures. Although it did not chart, the album's success was sufficient to convince Rough Trade to sign the band, but not before more line-up changes, with Dan Katsis replacing Underwood on bass. Y is a 1979 album by The Pop Group. ... Dennis Bovell (1953, Saint Peter, Barbados, West Indies) is a legendary reggae guitarist and music producer. ... Rough Trade Records, now a member of the RIAA[1], began as an independent record label, based in London, England. ...

The band's career with Rough Trade commenced with what is possibly their best-known single "We Are All Prostitutes", which featuring a guest appearance by free improviser Tristan Honsinger on cello. This was followed the release of their second album, For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? in 1980, which included a contribution from US proto-rappers The Last Poets. Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the taste or inclination of the musician(s) involved; in many cases the musicians make an active effort to avoiding overt references to recognizable musical genres. ... Tristan Honsinger is a cello player active in free jazz and free improvisation. ... Rapping is one of the elements of hip hop and the distinguishing feature of hip hop music; it is a form of rhyming lyrics spoken rhythmically over musical instruments, with a musical backdrop of sampling, scratching and mixing by DJs. ... The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movements black nationalist thread. ...

Shortly afterwards The Pop Group released a split single, "Where There's a Will...", with The Slits, a band with whom they now shared a drummer and managers (Christine Robertson and Dick O'Dell), as well as a growing interest in exploring musical genres such as dub and funk rhythms. The Slits are an all female punk rock band. ... Funk is an African American musical style. ...

The band split in 1981, after legal wranglings and internal disagreements. Members of the group went on to form bands including Pigbag, Maximum Joy, Head and Rip Rig & Panic, the latter notable for the involvement of Neneh Cherry. Pigbag were a Jazz Revival band who came to prominence in the early 1980s on the back of the post-punk movement. ... Head was an English rock band of the late 1980s. ... Rip Rig & Panic was a post-punk band, founded in 1981. ... Neneh Cherry performing live in Vienna (ca. ...

Singer Mark Stewart, meanwhile, collaborated with the On-U Sound posse, issuing records firstly as Mark Stewart and Maffia, then as a solo artist. On-U Sound Records is an English record label best known for releasing its own unique flavour of dub music since the 1980s. ...

The Pop Group and associated bands started a Bristol 'scene' that would later spawn trip-hop. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Discography

• Y (1979, Radar Records) (album) (reissued on CD by Radar in 1996 and Rhino in 2007)
• "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" (1979, Radar Records) (single)
• For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? (1980, Rough Trade Records- includes collaboration with The Last Poets) (album)
• "We Are All Prostitutes" (1980, Rough Trade Records) (single)
• "Where There's A Will..." (1980, Rough Trade (split release with The Slits: "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm"))
• We Are Time (1980, Rough Trade semi-bootleg compilation of live tracks, demos and out-takes) (album)
• We Are All Prostitutes (1980, Radar Records (retrospective compilation)) (album)
• Idealists In Distress In Bristol (2007, Vinyl Japan (official bootleg compilation)) (double CD album, Japanese only release)

Y is a 1979 album by The Pop Group. ... Radar Records was the label formed by Jake Rivera in 1978 after he had previously founded Stiff Records. ... For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? was released on the Rough Trade label in 1980 by UK post-punk band The Pop Group. ... Rough Trade Records, now a member of the RIAA[1], began as an independent record label, based in London, England. ... The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movements black nationalist thread. ... An assortment of bootleg recordings A bootleg recording (or simply bootleg or boot) is an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist, or under other legal authority. ...

References

• The Great Alternative and Indie Discography (Martin C Strong)

External links

• Fan site
• Review of Y on HeadHeritage, Julian Cope's site