Search - Sham 69 :: The Punk Singles Collection: '77-'80

Good Fun Punk

D. Sippel | Chicago, IL United States | 05/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sham 69 was never meant to be the most important of punk bands. They wrote and performed, with abandon, a handful of memorable, simple sing-along anthems. Armies of guitars and vocals hit you over the head. Raise your pint glass and belt out those choruses! Since Sham 69 weren't the most consistent when it came to quality of songwriting, this collection is pretty much all you'll ever need. You get Borstal Breakout, If The Kids Are United, Hersham Boys, and a few other standouts, all together on one disc. This definitely belongs in your collection, if your collection includes things like Clash, Damned, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Buzzcocks, etc. If you don't have the seminal work from those bands, then you probably don't need this."

Punk Undiluted

M. Innocenti | Sherman Oaks, CA United States | 02/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You can't begin to understand classic 70's UK punk rock without reference to Sham 69. It's true they weren't cute and media positioned like the Pistols, didn't have any pretence to being "clever" like the Adverts, didn't have the inventiveness or the social awareness of the Clash. They were freakin' rabble rousers as every anthem on this album demonstrates. Full bore attack, with no mercy. This music is so raw it bleeds. Yes, as another reviewer notes, Sham did draw a heavyweight crowd that would probably have voted for the National Front if they'd known how to draw an 'x' on a ballot slip. Their performances did have a sense of 1930's Munich beer hall about them. Downright violent at times. But that was part of punk, ladies, it was a time of deep social divide, of mistrust, resentment and anger. This music tells it, in a way that the Pistols did not. There was nothing fashionable about Sham - it wasn't a bunch of middle class kids getting up on stage with safety pins through their noses. This was the real working class deal. And to his credit, lead singer Jimmy Pursey's stage command never allowed things to turn truly ugly. He could whip the crowd into a frenzy and with a word or a look stop them from going over the edge. To watch him perform was to understand what a working class hero looked like. Buy this music. Feel the sheer nobility of it, because beneath the juggernaut that is Sham 69 there is a purity and a dignity you simply have to respect."

How could you give anything less than 5 stars?

Tom Servo | Satelite of Love | 01/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a classic. Punk sounds good in the old days. This is REAL punk. Even if you like the poseur bands like the sex pistols, greenday, blink 182, and good charlotte, I still recommend you getting this. Sham 69 is not only better than those bands I just mentioned, but these guys are legitiment punks. This is a CD I can listen to from beginning to end and never miss a beat. This was a great investment, and I strongly recommend this to old school and new school punx! BUY NOW!!!"