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Zounds

Zounds

Can't Cheat Karma

English anarcho-punk pioneers whose 1980 debut EP topped the UK Independent Chart on Crass Records.

APPLE MUSIC

Can't Cheat Karma

Zounds

About

MOODS · confrontational · raw · politically charged · driving · anarchic · restless · urgent · grimy · defiant

BIOGRAPHY

Zounds formed in 1977 around vocalist and bassist Steve Lake, who moved between Reading and Oxford gathering musicians drawn to a sound that spanned Velvet Underground drone and Sex Pistols snarl. Early gigs featured Lake, guitarist Steve Burch and drummer Jimmy Lacey, with Nick Godwin joining on guitar soon after. A chance breakdown of their van led them to Dial House, home of Crass, who helped with repairs and later released the band's debut EP, Can't Cheat Karma, in 1980. The record, featuring the track 'Subvert', went straight to the top of the UK Independent Chart. Zounds split in 1982 and reformed in 2007, remaining active since.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Zounds helped define the anarcho-punk sound of the late 1970s UK underground, fusing the hypnotic repetition of the Velvet Underground with punk's confrontational energy. Their path to Crass Records, sparked by a literal roadside breakdown near Dial House, became part of the scene's folklore, and the resulting Can't Cheat Karma EP, led by the anthemic 'Subvert', shot to the top of the Independent Chart in 1980, cementing their place in the movement's early canon.

ON WOKE-1

Played 2 times on WOKE-1.