City band to roll back years

Anarka and Poppy support anarchy-inspired punk band Zounds at The Bitter Suite.

They formed in 1982 and were made up of animal rights activists and anarchists, fuelling the subject matter of their songs.

The band played in Preston and surrounding areas including Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Bolton, St Helens and Wigan and gigged with the likes of The Subhumans, Chumbawamba, New Model Army, Membranes and Here and Now.

Their shows were almost always benefit gigs for causes close to their hearts.

They also produced their own magazines and literature comprised of animal rights and anarchist content.

After recording a single in 1983 which was never released, Anarka and Poppy split for reasons now long forgotten in late 1984.

The gig at the Fylde Road venue will also be the first time Zounds have played in Preston since 1982.

The band, famous for early 1980s releases on the Crass label, evolved around frontman Steve Lake’s jamming sessions with musicians and friends in Reading and Oxford.

They take in influences from the Velvet Underground to the Sex Pistols.

Their first album, 1981’s The Curse of Zounds, has been recognised as one of the classic punk albums of the early 1980s.

The band became more politicised owing to troubles with the police and the Cold War and became part of the free festival scene.

Other bands on the bill are The Astronauts, who played at Blackpool’s Rebellion Punk Festival this year and Liverpool’s Super Fast Girlie Show who played well-received shows in Preston recently with Goldblade and Vice Squad.

Doors open at 7.30pm on Saturday, September 21.

Advance tickets cost £8 and are available from The Bitter Suite, Action Records or online at www.ticketline.co.uk.