maximum rock n roll

The Mass Debate Never Ends
The Rudimentary Peni Story by Lance Hahn (taken from the Maximum Rock N' Roll #237 February 2003 issue)

THE MAIN FACTORS WERE NICK'S ORIGINALITY, MY POLITICS, AND THE FACT THAT ALL THREE OF US COULD MAKE QUITE A SOUND WHEN WE PLAYED. THE "CULT" ASPECT IS ALSO A REFLECTION OF THE FACT THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT OUR SOUND THAT WAS RARELY COMMERCIAL. - GRANT, BASSIST

No band from the anarcho punk scene has projected an image of mystery and mania like Rudimentary Peni. From the first note of "Media Person" to their most recent music, they've never released any music that's short of completely unique: from musical approach, to the lyrics, to the bizarre and beautiful imagery that they're associated with.

Founding member, bassist, and (despite what many people think) writer of at least fifty percent of the band's material, Grant was just fifteen when the band came together. Having been exposed to punk like many in the country, he was sent on a course that would change the rest of his life.

Grant, "As a teenager in Britain in 1977, it was impossible to avoid it. The impact of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc. was considerable at that time, and the media was full of it."

Meeting Nick Blinko through a friend, the two hit it off and decided to play music together. For drum duties, Nick brought in his old friend and band mate, Jon.

Grant, "I met Nick through a friend, and we "clicked" immediately. Jon and Nick had been at school together. Jon and Nick had played together in the Magits. Jon had also played for a band called Soft Drinks."

The Magits had been Nick's first serious band, releasing music in 1980. Having lost interest in that approach, Rudimentary Peni would start up within a year of the Magits demise.

Grant, "The Magits only put out one record. At that time, they were Nick and a friend of his. They were an avant-garde synthesizer band. They put the record out themselves as the first release on Outer Himalayan Records."

The Magits Fully Coherent 7" is a dark, almost gothic sounding band. With little relation to what they would be producing in Rudimentary Peni the following year, the record does give some insight to the haunting imagery that would become part of their identity. A second EP titled A Pawn in the Game was also recorded but never released.

Having seen Crass in 1979, Nick was well aware of them by the time Rudimentary Peni started playing and recording. But it was Grant who developed a general interest in the anarcho scene, which led to the band's connection to the Wapping Centre.

Grant, "In 1979 I bought The Feeding of the 5000 and at a similar time Nick saw them live. We didn't really get into the scene until the winter of 1981 and the opening of the Autonomy Centre in East London. It was really me who was more into that scene, than the others."

Moving away from the more drastic experimental ideas of the Magits, Rudimentary Peni's musical approach was more deeply rooted in what was happening with punk at the time.

Grant, "Yes. Inspiration came from the first Damned album, and also a song called "The Bitch" by Slaughter and the Dogs, also the first two Discharge EPs and the first Wire album. There were many other influences, these were the main ones, at least in the early days."

Selecting the band name was a seemingly random gesture determined by Grant's biology class.

Grant, "When I was at school studying biology, we were told that in the fetal stage the clitoris is a rudimentary penis. Then we had to dissect rabbit's testicles, at which point I fainted. For any deeper explanation you'd have to ask Freud."

Writing from the hip, the band's initial live set would determine the order of songs released on record. It was a direct process, not leaving room for disposable material.

Grant, "The early set was essentially the first EP plus some of the songs that eventually appeared on Farce. Songs called "Museum" and "Your Tribe" also come from the early days, and found their way onto later albums, though in a highly altered state. Not much got left behind."

Despite the common belief that Nick Blinko was the sole songwriter in the band, from the start, most of the music was a collaborative effort.

Grant, "In the early years, song writing was generally a combined effort, with one providing the lyrics and another providing the riff. For example, "Media Person" was Nick's lyrics and my riff. Most of the lyrics on the first EP were Nick's, apart from "Blind Dogs" which was entirely written by me. The lyrics to "B Ward" were to some extent a co-write between Nick and myself. Who writes what has varied tremendously over the years, however."

Throughout the band's existence, they didn't play many gigs. Even their first few gigs seemed random and varied.

Grant, "The first gig was a nerve-racking local affair. The second gig was a music competition, and we came in joint last. The third gig was in London with Flux of Pink Indians and the Subhumans. After that we did a series of gigs, mostly at anarcho-type venues in London, and these were some of the better ones. Gigs were extremely intense to do, so we didn't do that many."

All the while the band was practicing and moving forward, Nick would also be working on his artwork that would become so popular.

Grant, "He would spend up to eight hours a day on art, and then we would practice songs in the evening. I would suggest that the artwork was inspired by Nick's sensitivity and his melancholy."

With the band taking shape, they soon embarked on recording their first EP but not without recording demo tapes first.

Grant, "Yes, and these early recordings are crap."

The band's first venture into the studio was the low budget excitement that characterizes so many great debut records.

Grant, "Thrilling and nerve-racking. The studio was a shit-hole, and that was all we could afford. When Nick came to do the vocals, I remember the hippy dude engineer turning to me in horror and saying, "he's just bawling into the mike"."

The band recorded most of their live set in order, or at least as much as would fit on a 7" record. Having finished the recording, Blinko finished the project with some of the most original cover art seen at that point. It's strange and unnerving line drawing cover on the one hand depicted alienation and decay with the image of a strange human-like form still developing in the womb. It's inhuman qualities make it's sequestered joy entirely otherworldly.

Grant, "I thought it was great, and perfectly suited. Great artwork. Crap recording quality. Great vocals."

Rather than even considering looking for a record label to release the EP, the band decided to put it out on Outer Himalayan, the name used to release the Magits EP.

Grant, "That's what bands did back then. It was a cheap, if rather limited, way of getting your stuff out there. As already stated, the label name was pre-existing, and was perhaps funny, avant-garde and perhaps transcendent."

The resulting record was as original as the cover art. Twelve songs crammed onto a little 7" record, the self-titled debut is a concise and perfectly arranged series of explosions shaped by fluid bass playing and tight drumming. The un-self-conscious approach to vocals lent itself to some totally unique sounds and expressions ranging from deep gutteral tones to top of the range belts. The range of dementedly enjoyable vocals enhanced the also unique lyrical approach.