The Heretics – Private Tape – 1980

Stepping Stone / Nazi Born And Bred / Mania / Napalm Babies / Death Or Glory

Indebted to Chris Low for lend of this tape, in turn indebted to Sii from The Heretics for taping it for Chris and sending him photos in the first place.

As you can imagine, the master tape of this bedroom / practice / live session, after almost 30 years is a little knackered, but still shows signs of some kind of musical (in)ability now and again!

This band I know very little about apart from the name, which has hovered in my conscience for decades. In fact apart from the Toxic Grafity piece which will be uploaded shortly (when Chris finds his copy in all the shoe boxes he seems to keep this kind of stuff in), most of the info I have cobbled together in my mind recently, is from reading Rich Kids (Jake, the growler on these tracks), Sams and Sii’s numerous comments on another post (The Chris Low Obscure Punk Tape Post HERE ) mixed up with stories from Andy Martin of The Apostles told to me decades ago.

Could this band be as legendary as The Turdburglars, another band that people know the name of, but who never released anything or know little of…?

I hope someone will enlighten me more on this band via the comments.

Toxic Grafity interview below.

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92 comments
  1. Sam
    Sam
    November 23, 2009 at 2:57 am

    This thread has been left unattended for the best part of a year and is beginning to gather dust. Shame on you all.

  2. baron von zubb
    baron von zubb
    November 24, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    every dog has its day boss..

  3. Jah Pork Pie
    Jah Pork Pie
    November 26, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    Went for a blood test this morning and was reminded of the Velvets’ Sister Ray…

    The nurse tried both my arms 3 times with the vacuum needles, got nothing out and actually *did* resort to hitting my mainline sideways (then pulling the needle back through into the vein) in the end. She’d never have stood the pace in ’79!

  4. Sam
    Sam
    November 26, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Funny how needles give me the horrors. If there’s a shooting up scene in a movie or documentary I find myself sitting there with my hands over my eyes. I always dread blood tests as I’ve got a very visible abcess scar on my inside left elbow.

  5. Jah Pork Pie
    Jah Pork Pie
    November 26, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    I got into body piercing 13 years or so ago and got up to about 27 holes in me. However, since becoming a grumpy old curmudgeon I come over all jelly-kneed at the sight of the things. Weird!

    I wouldn’t feel self-conscious about your scar though – they say that a scar is worth 10 tattoos every time, and they’re right mate!

  6. Siii
    Siii
    May 5, 2010 at 12:39 am

    Achtung Heretics!!

    Hello Sam and Jake, I don’t know if you’ll receive this or not, the t’interweb remains a mystery to me. I have a favour to ask, my firstborn Marlonski is trying to set up a little one man t-shirt venture on ebay and eventually at Camden Market and for some bizarre reason wants to knock out some t’s of the Heretics (I pointed out that at best maybe 50 people had ever hear of us) but he foolishly seems to thinks the photos are what the Young Bucks of Camden would love to adorn their slender young chests. Obviously as he’s my lad I don’t give a monkey’s, but I told him I would have to ask you before I gave him the go-ahead. Sam it’s basically the t-shirt he did I sent you (Jake if you give me your address I’ll post a copy for your approval, I know you will will want to consult your team of lawyers to make sure it doesn’t infringe on your strict image rights deal!!).

    Obviously once the T-shirts hit HMV and feckin’ Top Shop we will have to put our foot down, but unless you have any strong objections, i’ll give the young fella the go-ahead?

    Jake if you can mail me your real address I’ll have the lad send a t-shirt down for your approval.

    Apologies to KYPP but I haven’t got Herr Baron’s e-mail address.

    Fantastic site by the way, I can’t believe Pat Dasso has cropped up on here! A true 70’s character, who from what I gather from a mutual family friend is fit and well, married with sprogs and a dog and doing very well. Maybe just maybe Thixofix wasn’t just a glue…

  7. Sam
    Sam
    May 5, 2010 at 4:41 am

    Hello Si. Fine by me. Hate to be petty (as you well know) but personally I’d go with the crap magic markered lettering from the fanzine. I actually wore mine to work the other day though. Pat Dasso is enjoying his second career on here. From man-with-scales to 70s icon.

  8. Siii
    Siii
    May 5, 2010 at 9:51 am

    Cheers Sam,

    I’ll suggest the hand scrawled lettering to the lad.

    You petty?…Never.

  9. baron von zubb
    baron von zubb
    May 5, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    never sell my soul so that the neutered youth of today can exploit something they can never understand.
    in other words yeh, no worries good luck to him. if it ever does get onto the high st then maybe its the avenue out of penury that i know is my right…
    i’ll mail ya

  10. Jah Pork Pie
    Jah Pork Pie
    July 27, 2010 at 4:25 am

    (repost from Gary’s thread)

    *All* you guys – Jake and Dave especially:

    Circle Line Pub Crawl for the Gary Critchley Fighting Fund…

    Get in a very reasonable state of refreshment and help a mate who needs you too..

    Saturday August 21st. Starts at the Wetherspoons Pub in Victoria Station. 10.00 in the morning. £20 to participate -buy a T-shirt for another tenner if you like. Beer should cost about fifty quid. Factor in food for another tenner or so (unless you’re particularly posh, in which case bring a butler, hamper and a rack of Waitrose organic marching powder for the rest of us).

    Continues around the Circle Line quite literally ad nauseam a half pint at a time until we get to Sloane Square around about 11pm, at which point anyone who is completely compost mentis (sic – check your “Jah Porg is quide liderally shit at Ladin, made” textbook) is welcome to pile down the King’s Road shouting at all the shops that used to be like magnets to us when we were children.

    I think that in between, we could have rather a good time. I’m planning to, anyway!

    Can I remind you all that it is only a half pint in each boozer. Everyone who does any of the pubs is making money for Gary if they get sponsored. Let’s face it, all your friends have an idea about how much you can drink. If that idea is three halves and you manage six, then we’re that much nearer to getting Gary a walk.

    Please, all of you guys who know me and are still in the UK, come along. If you can’t make it, then get in touch with Tony or Penguin and stick a few quid in (if you’re betting, my tip is Porky Boy to go a bit green around High Street Ken).

    Gary’s team need the money. He’s one of us. Don’t let the man down. Even if you’re not going to have a drink, please come along and support the day – dish out some flyers, talk in a sober way to some people who do’t know about Gary’s plight.

    Please come along, or sort out some way of sponsoring your favourite drunk per pub via Pengers or Tony if you really can’t make it. Don’t let us down: I’m risking a lower intestine for this

  11. baronvonzubb
    baronvonzubb
    August 7, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Hope u all enjoyed muchly.
    its garys birthday soon and he wants cards.
    also the heretics have gone global !!
    thers now a t shirt.
    when i know where to buy them from, ie when si lets us know, i think e bay and camden, i’ll let you all know.
    its Si’s sons idea, maybe we can persuede him to donate some funds to the campaign.
    🙂

  12. Chris L
    Chris L
    September 1, 2010 at 3:15 am

    Let us know about the shirts, can’t find them anywhere on Ebay.

    And thought you slackers would have had a Heretics facebook ‘fan-site’ up by now? There’s already three other impostors who need to be shown the door…

    Last time I was at the Vice magazine office one of the guys there was saying something about doing a piece on the Gary Critchley campaign. Does anyone know if that happened? If not i’ll get on the case.

  13. Sam
    Sam
    October 14, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    Punkest band ever. I love this. Cheers Chris.

  14. Sam
    Sam
    October 16, 2011 at 1:01 am

    Come on people…where’s the adulation?

  15. Jah Pork Pie
    Jah Pork Pie
    November 2, 2011 at 9:47 am

    ‘punkest’ = least likely to believe in superlatives and the hierarchies which they describe.

    => The punkest band = the band least happy to be so described?

    😉

  16. Sam
    Sam
    November 4, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    At the time or now Pork?

  17. Sam
    Sam
    February 18, 2013 at 12:42 am

    I feel like no one will read this but….I think this is ‘the lovely Liz’ from Campbell Buildings. Robbo hunted her up and she’s now a famous author. Elizabeth Fremantle.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6Rv_KL2qI

  18. baronvonzubb
    baronvonzubb
    October 7, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    aha liz.

  19. baronvonzubb
    baronvonzubb
    October 7, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    that vids a bit mad

  20. Sam
    Sam
    October 10, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    Why’s that?

  21. baronvonzubb
    baronvonzubb
    October 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Wotcha, you about then?
    Mad, because after so long shes unrecognisable.
    Made me think that i must be too
    I was just gonna email you but wanted to post the above on an FB thread on Dels page about C Buildings.
    I trust things are going well mate , or at least as well as they can under the circumstances.
    And i hope those ‘A T S ‘ links were useful rather than overpowering, or a complete load of kack.. I can get a bit evangelical….
    ‘meditate and destroy’ 😉

  22. Sam
    Sam
    October 23, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    Cheers Jake. Still off FB but shoot me an email. I did look at the meditate and destroy things. I’m interested in meditation but my own prejudices come into play with west coast punk. Dunno why….skateboards, sunshine and ocean views. ” What’s all the fighting about? Learn to live with your neighbours. Compromise a little”. If only the Yid Kids had preached our gospel of world peace things may have been very different.

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