Ski Patrol - first three 7" singles, 1980-81

Ski Patrol - First three 7" singles, '80-81

I've put off posting this band for quite awhile now I guess because I know some other blogs already have this stuff up. But this is probably one of my fave lesser known UK post-punk bands, I like them as much as the Distributors (though perhaps not as much as Gods Gift who I've been losing my mind over lately but that's another matter!). Ski Patrol were from Sunderland, England and released two of these singles on Killing Joke's label, Malicious Damage ("Cut" & "Agent Orange"). Annie's Animal's blog does a fine job of talking about the band here. She even posted the 4th 7" by Ski Patrol which I don't think even belongs in the same class as the first three and doesn't sound like the first three either. It's not right to say these guys sound like Killing Joke as they have more space in their sound than KJ's onslaught, but in their own way, they were just as fierce as the 'Joke. They were never anywhere near as dub-influenced as fellow Malicious Damage labelmates Red Beat, but personally I think "Cut" sounds a little like PIL. Singer Ian Lowery died in 2001 and you can read a lot more about him in detail here. Their myspace page is here if you need a quick fix of their music. You can even find their Peel Session here, though personally I found it to be a disappointment. Oh one more thing about this band is I've heard that "Agent Orange" gets played in goth clubs! Go figure.