The Ruts - Live At The Marquee (1979)

The Ruts byli na pewno jednym z bardziej inspirujących zespołów pierwszej fali punk rocka, jednak z perspektywy czasu wydaję się niestety jednym z bardziej niedocenionych. W porównaniu z wieloma, które przez dwadzieścia lat tłuką to samo, Ruts wypada inaczej.

Szkoda, że kariera Ruts trwała tak krótko. Zespół co prawda wracał na scenę, ale, podobnie jak w przypadku podobnych, zabrakło już pewnego polotu. Nieco szorstkie granie, punkowa energia, charakterystyczne brzmienie i wokal są wizytówką nie do podrobienia dlatego też The Ruts trudno nazwać kapelą tuzinkową.

Fani The Ruts mają ich płyty w różnej postaci, wiele rzadkich nagrań ukazało się już wcześniej (m.in. na CD Rules) dlatego ta płyta nie jest jakimś specjalnym rarytasem. Będzie na pewno cennym uzupełnieniem nagrań zespołu dla tych, którzy mają tylko The Crack i chcieliby poznać jak prezentowali się podczas koncertów.

Paul Fox - guitar
Malcolm Owen - vocals
Vince Segs - bass
David Ruffy - drums

The Ruts like so many were born out of a pub rock band. This one was called Hit & Run that Dave Ruffy & Paul Fox played in. Ruffy was on bass, Paul on Guitar and Paul Mattock was on drums. Malcolm Owen a friend went with them on August 1977 to a rehearsal in Rotherhithe as a singer without knowing if he could sing!! Something clicked and 4 songs came out of it. Rich Bitch, Lobotomy, I Ain't Sofisticated and Out Of Order.

"I was really delighted when punk happened...I was into a lot of jazz...George Duke, Weather Report, Stanley Clarke...I never play them at all now. I was a regular at The Vortex. I used to be tied up in all sorts of...(bondage gear). I just totally went along with it. And it turned me on so much 'cause it was so energetic." Malcolm Owen 14.7.79 NME

A tape of demos got no interest from the record companies so The Ruts got down to playing. With a set list of originals comprising a very fluid reggae punk blend bar suprisingly one - Eat Your Heart Out - given to the band by Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy but subsequently dropped and never recorded.

"We gigged solidly in the RAR clubs with bands like Misty...We played gigs like that for a year with virtually nothing else... they were giving us gigs when noone else was." Malcolm Owen NME 24.3.79.

Their first gig was at a pub The Target in Northolt and their first RAR (Rock Against Racism) gig was with Misty at Southall Community Centre. "It was a shambles but it was fantastic. There was all these pogoing pakistanis". By no means political or militant, RAR was a means to an end for The Ruts while at the same time showing an alternative to the NF.

In A Rut their first record was financed by Misty and had taken the band seven months to get out. With support from John Peel it sold 20,000 copies. They signed with Virgin and released Babylons Burning which rocketed them to a top 10 position. More hits followed till shockingly Malcolm Owen was discovered dead from a heroin overdose. The one thing you notice though is the vein of sadness and irony in the lyrics that runs through some of the songs most obviously 'Love In Vain','H-eyes', 'West One' and 'In a Rut'. Malcolm was a heroin user before The Ruts but turned back to it after his wife left him... Malcolm Owen died on July 14th 1980 aged 26.

The Ruts live were fast, raw and very sweaty and Malcolm Owen was a livewire on stage.....an excellent frontman with a brilliant voice who channelled the intensity of the music which is why The Ruts DC ( the Ruts minus Malcolm) were always doomed to failure. The demos tho are brilliant and makes Malcolm's death even sadder because they had so much potential. They were great as a band . They weren't the punkiest looking of bands but that just goes to show don't it that spiky hair and all the clothes in the world don't mean jack shit if you ain't got the goods. (punk77.co.uk)

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