999 - 999

Stylish reissue of an early UK punk debut

999 had their roots in the pub rock scene. Singer Nicky Cash quit Ian Dury’s Kilburn & The High Roads in late 1976, after which he and Dury apparently never saw eye-to-eye again. With guitarist Guy Days, bassist Jon Watson and Pablo Labritain on drums, Cash put together one of our most enduring punk outfits that continues to this day. Initially, they performed under such monikers as The Dials, The Fanatics and 48 Hours, before settling on the emergency services number; a perfect choice, quite in keeping with the urgent and frantic scene they were joining. Their first single, released in August 1977, appeared on their own Labritain imprint, but they were soon snapped up by United Artists, who issued the superbly snarling Nasty Nasty three months later. That track wasn’t on the album when it hit the shops in early ’78, but, happily, it’s here among the bonus tracks on this neat digipak reissue. The whole album is redolent of the period, though the band’s musical skills were a cut above many of their contemporaries. Today, Cash’s shrill vocals still give them an identity all their own.

Captain Oi! | AHOY DPX 147

Reviewed by Shane Baldwin
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