The first wave of British punk was overrun with smart kids from upper-class backgrounds playacting at being working-class yobs. Sham 69 was different; every bit as thick-headed and provincial as the band sounded, they took a perversely populist pride in it's lack of musical or intellectual sophistication, just like The Exploited and Anti-Nowhere League. Side one of Tell Us The Truth was recorded live, and it perfectly captured the Cockney vibe, complete with football chants and a spontaneous chorus of "Knees Up, Mother Brown." Frontman Jimmy Pursey's banter with the audience is impressive, and all the songs are brimmed with straight-ahead live energy. The studio side is a template for brash UK punk rock: snotty, in-your-face, fast and loud. Tell Us The Truth is now available on 1000 individually numbered copies on red vinyl.
- 1. We Got a Fight
- 2. Rip Off
- 3. Ulster
- 4. George Davis Is Innocent
- 5. They Don't Understand
- 6. Borstal Breakout
- 7. Family Life
- 8. Hey Little Rich Boy
- 9. I'm a Man, I'm a Boy
- 10. What About the Lonely?
- 11. Tell Us the Truth
- 12. It's Never Too Late
- 13. Whose Generation!
