The Jukebox Rebel

Kudos to the fearless and ferocious five who dare to go where pop groups do not: Mark Stewart (vocals), John Waddington (guitar), Dan Catsis (bass guitar), Gareth Sager (guitar, saxophone) and Bruce Smith (drums, percussion). Putting the punk in funk in a Captain Beefheart meets George Clinton kind-of-way, “Justice” was the big stand out on their second long-player: “A man had to have his balls removed! / After being kicked by the SPG! / Doesn’t look like justice to me!” Ouch. Having your balls removed is pretty grim it must be said, but not quite as bad as actually being murdered. Liddle Towers and Blair Peach spring to mind right away.

The anti-fascist protester Blair Peach was almost certainly killed by the SPG at a demonstration in 1979. The Met resisted publishing any material relating to the death of Peach for almost 30 years, but the confidential 130 page report produced at the time by Commander John Cass was eventually leaked in 2010. Sneaky bastards.

• Peach was almost certainly killed by an officer from its elite riot squad, known as the Special Patrol Group (SPG). A number of witnesses said they saw him being struck by a police officer, and the report found that “there is no evidence to show he received the injury to the side of his head in any other way”.

• Despite concluding Peach was killed by a police officer, Cass said there was insufficient evidence to charge any officer over the death, a decision echoed by the director of public prosecutions, to whom his report was delivered. An inquest into the death later returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

• Suspicions centred on the SPG carrier U.11, the first vehicle to arrive on Beechcroft Avenue, the street where Peach was found staggering around and concussed. Cass said there was an “indication” that one officer in particular, who first emerged from the carrier but whose name has been redacted from the report, was responsible.

Read more of the 2010 leak via the Guardian report.

The Jukebox Rebel
01–Dec–2016

A1	[02:33] The Pop Group - Forces Of Oppression (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk
A2	[04:15] The Pop Group - Feed The Hungry (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk
A3	[01:52] The Pop Group - One Out Of Many (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Hip Hop / Rap
A4	[04:03] The Pop Group - Blind Faith (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk
A5	[04:57] The Pop Group - How Much Longer (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk
B1	[03:06] The Pop Group - Justice (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk
B2	[04:13] The Pop Group - There Are No Spectators (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Dubbeat
B3	[04:40] The Pop Group - Communicate (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Prog
B4	[02:18] The Pop Group - Rob A Bank (Mark Stewart, John Waddington, Gareth Sager, Dan Catsis, Bruce Smith) Post-Punk

ratings by TJR