The Ruts - Peel Session 1979

[@nuwavegurl]

Great band, great music. RIP Malcolm Owen, Foxy, & John Peel. Thanks for sharing this.

[@Boiing008]

Super tight excellent band ❤🎉

[@willieluncheonette5843]

Got to get back to the Ruts. Don't think my admiration can grow much more for this band--it's already sky high. Was just listening last night to their complete Peel sessions CD and was pretty much again blown away by the level of musicianship on display. With their rousing songs and singing and unsurpassed playing, the Ruts leave most punk bands spinning in the dust. This is the first of their three Peels opening with a blistering Savage Circle. On the whole their Peel cuts are very close to the LP versions, but this Savage Circle smokes the one on the album. One of the great tragedies in punk was the death of their lead singer, Malcolm Owen, from a drug overdose in 1980. I know the "what if" question is kind of pointless, yet I can't help wondering about the future of this group had Owen not died. It seemed limitless to me. They accomplished so much in so little time. Certainly one of the greatest British bands of all time. Thankfully we still have the Ruts' recordings to listen to and marvel at Here is what I wrote about their Peel sessions album in my article on The Top 15 Punk Albums .Of All Time " " The Peel Sessions Album. Recorded 1979-1980. Finally released in album form in 1990. I know what you're saying. "Huh? Bro, where's their one 1979 classic album, The Crack, that reached #16 on the UK Charts?" A quick comparison of the tracks on The Crack and The Peel Sessions Album shows the latter to be far superior. Plus, the playing is just as good, with some tracks like "Savage Circle" even more blistering in the BBC Radio 1 session. The Ruts got together in London in 1977. A recently unearthed demo recording from that year shows they were legit card-carrying members of the punk class of '77 even though their professional career began in January, 1979 with the single "In A Rut" bw "H-Eyes" on the small collective-like People Unite label. It was followed by the chart success "Babylon's Burning" bw "Society" on Virgin in June, 1979. The Song "H-Eyes" is about heroin addiction and in an interview in July, 1979 their charismatic singer Malcolm Owen said in NME "... "...take the song "H-Eyes," about the smack, right? It's not saying naughty, naughty, you mustn't ever take smack. It's an observation of a guy I knew who died from smack. I've taken it before. I wouldn't write it otherwise--It's just: "You're so young/ You take smack for fun/ It's gonna screw your head/ You're gonna wind up dead." You know? It's not saying you mustn't do it...but let's face it, it's no good for you. It's nice when you take it, but it's going to fucking kill you if you get well into it. That's all. I'm just trying to put my own experiences over, a lot of people are impressionable." In one of the great tragedies in modern British music, Owen died of heroin overdose on July 14, 1980. This album consists of three Peel sessions from January 1979, May 1979 and February 1980. Stellar musicianship from Paul Fox, guitar, Vince Segs, bass and Dave Ruffy, drums, powerful songs throughout and Owen's robust singing straight from the heart. The three great tracks I've posted do not appear on The Crack. Absolutely top tier storming punk with some evocative reggae numbers thrown in. A stone cold masterpiece all in one take at the BBC. The Ruts leave 98% of punk bands spinning in the dust. How can you top this?"

[@mixn44]

Anyone watching in 2024 ? Babylon Burning with anxiety.

[@steve261brown]

One of the very best!

[@melthebell33]

best band ever

[@thedoc1210]

sounds amazing, and so ahead of their time♥

[@SaintMartins]

One of Henry Rollins' favorite bands of all time. I hope he notices this upload & confirms he's watched it.

[@christopherbest82]

Who cares what Henry Rollins likes! ‘No more hero’s’ - the stranglers. Fuck hero/celebrity worship!

[@JMarinelli]

I'm fairly certain that the music of this band as well as Empire shaped the DC punk scene as we know. it.

[@JMarinelli]

@@christopherbest82 Hank would likely agree. I believe his words were, "be inspired, not awed." I can get behind that.

[@christopherbest82]

@@JMarinelli Who cares if The ruts ‘fundamentally shaped the DC punk scene’! They also loved Ted Nugent and that asshole is about as boomer brain wormed as it gets. Look I love DC punk Void, United mutations, minor threat etc. But if you are worshipping these people you are missing their message entirely!

[@paulimhof7697]

Love it ❤, hot stuff .

[@johnh10069]

In my top 10 songs