why control

The Band

UK punk band at the center of the Liverpool punk rock scene that believed in what they stood for. Formed in 1977 previously called Bombsite after the fanzine that some of the members wrote. Featuring; Clif "Cookie" Ison (voc,), Colin Gronbach (bass), Martin Cass (gtr), Mark Hodgkinson (drms). Eric’s regulars they avoided the local art crowd and believed punk rock was about breaking down walls with raw energy, loud amps and broken speakers, not a stage pantomime wearing lampshades and plastic lobsters as silly props. The idea of a record deal or signing to big labels contradicted or eroded the origins of their ideology. Why Control were not interested in selling out to an establishment that controlled what people listened to, or what they could do.. They believed in truth and freedom and they were angry about the state of England at the time.

   

 

The band maintained a large following from Merseyside and North Wales and performed gigs around Chester, Liverpool, Queensferry and Ellesmere Port, songs included "England's Glory", "Why Control it", "I Hate", "Sold Out" and "History". Occasionally, they would support The Toilets, or The Brownshirt's. Addy, guitarist from the Brownshirt's practiced with the band a few times in 1978. Their sound was loud, chaotic and filled with energy, and many of their shows were surrounded with tension and fighting. Moreover, venues were becoming pressured by local authorities not to allow punk concerts, so finding gigs became difficult. So after about two years they called it a day. 

 

Their actions had nothing to do with the Stooges, the Ramones, or any other distant place or rock star. Their generation was broken and so was England, and it was up to them to fix .......