Editor Nick Logan • •liltantEditor Ian Cranna FNtuf91Edltor David Hepworth D"4fn Steve Bush Edttorial AN!stants Bev Hillier, Diane Church Contributors Chris Hall C!iffWhrte Angie Errigo Robin Km Conny Jude Red Starr Adw~ent ExKUtiwe Rod Sopp Tel: 01-837 3699 Edltoriel Meneger Paul Flint reStralla Ian Oury front page pie by Adrian Boot Editonal address Smash Hit$. Cogent EIIIOCI tlouM. 14 GrHt Pulteney Street. London W.1. n,·s rr>IIQllLt,,.. pubhahed byEMAP ,.,._l Pubtic:at,ons Ud, Peterborough, end is pnnted by East Midland Litt.o Printers. Peterborougl'L Copynght exists on• tong£ appeanng ,n Smash HltS They must not be reprodocad w\thout the CDnMtll of !he copyngM holdet'I. GANGSTERS By The Specials on 2 Tone Records Bernie Rhodes knows, don't argue Can't interrupt while I'm talking Or they'll confiscate all your guit1r1 Why mu1t you record my phone calls? And Catch 22 says If I sing the truth Are you planning a bootleg L.P7 They won't make me an overnight star Said you've been threatened by gangsters Now it'1 you that's threatening me Don't offer us legal protection Thay use the law to commit crimes Can't fight corruption with con tricks I dread to think what the future will bring They use the law to commit crime When we're living In real gangster time And I dread, dread to think what the future'II bring When we're living in gang1ter time Bernie Rhodes knows, don't argue Don't call me scarface Words and mus,c by The Specials. Copyright Control. Reproduced by perm,ss,on. P1C ALLAN BALLARD Is She Really Going Out With Him? By Joe Jackson on A&M RJtcords Pretty w omen out walking with gorlllH down my atreet Rep11 11t chorus From my window I'm atarlng whlule my coffH go.. cold Look over there (where?) there, there'•• lady that I uMCI to know She's married now or engaged or something so I'm told But If looks could kill There's • m an there w ho's m arked down as dHd 'CauM I've had my fill - listen you Take your hands from her head Chorus I get so mean around t his around this scene la she ,.ally going out with him Hey hey hey Is she rHlly gonna take him home tonight Is she rHlly going out w ith him Repeat chorus 'CauM If my •Y" don't deceive me There's something going wrong around here (around here) Something going w rong around here Somet hing going wrong around here Something going wrong around here Tonight'• the night when I go to ell the partlff down my strHt Somet hing going w rong around I wash my hair and kid myHlf I look real smooth Look over there (where11 the,., here com.. Jeanie with her n- boy friend They say that looks don't count for much Words and music by Jo11 Jackson. If so there goes your proof Reproduced by permission A lbion Music IS SHE RE A LL Y GOING our WITH H1M t1 SMASH HrTS 9 By E.L.O. on J.t Record• 1979AUGUST Boots CreatSa,inJs G.-n .. ,u, -a,ing,,on nt'w rt·h-a,.,._ " · = ,. ,ingks and tapes. All Kind~of\lusic. Wide Range of Prices. to At i<-a,t l000 title.. in all 250 Rt nrd D1 -r 1-~rnc-nts. If you come to Boots between 30th July and Tapes 25th August you can buy singles for only 79p. A gn-ar sdl't"tion of artists. That's lOp less than our normal selling price ,t>·J,.,. and di,rounts. Singles of 89p. It's just one Better wlue than ever \1ost top ~ingles at lto,;s than part Of our exciting You s,·,·. although w,•110rmally li,r price. plus ,·xtra savin)!S. new Disc Deal - the s,•11 ,inglt's_ way l?l'low 1h,• m:om- More thanJustMusic • m1•nd,-d pnc,._ D,.,._. Dt•JI nwan, you Your guar.intl't' that Boot,­ AITt'ssorit',.l'omp,·titions. new music package g,·t ,·v,•n bt-n,•rvalu,· than you Rt'C'Ord D<'l)artmt-nh olfrr. p;·r,;cmal appt•aranl'l>s and from Boots. bar,r.tint'd for. fri,•ndly Sl'rvil't' loo. l~r1c;l.,..1,,'m'rt't'l ;U l111ll' ur ~11111): 30 July· 25 August tu 1m:,l'>. From Uuo1,•h't·ofcl I h 1,),illrtrnr·nt, ,ub)',·t Those art· lht"date" 10 n1nem­ ber for 79p ,i nglt-s from Boots ht ,1t-.·k a\,a1labehl\ Rt-cord Depanm,..nts- wht•rt.' Dist Dl'al means not only offl•n.. but a t'Omplt"te up,to•datc rec:ord. tapl' and a,-c:es.sori,..., wrvire. 8 SMASH HrTS ,. SKA WARS THE HOTTEST place In the nation Good newt for those of you this summer was the Electric who haven't yet seen them live Is Ballroom In Camden, North that the group have now 1igned London, on the Saturdey that The their 2 Tone label lo a distribution Special• w ound up their U.K. club deal with Chrysalis Records. This tour with • prestigious London means that "Gangsters" (the gig. lyrics of which are on page 4) The event attracted a curious can now be bought easily at most mixture of punks, skinheads and local record shops. mods (plus a few celebrities like The Special• have a follow-up, Joe Strummer of The Clesh) who " Too Much Too Young", already blocked traffic in the street recorded, but the second release outside. The gig sold out • good on 2 Tone will be a single from couple of hours before The London group Madness called Specials went on stege. "The Prince", a tribute to Inside, sweat dripped from the bluebeat legend Prince Butter. walls and the air was so heavy there w11 barely enough oxygen And the sk• revival goes on: to light a match. Apart from the Island Records have just released headliners, the bill featured two "Intensified", a compilation other act, on The Specials own 2 album of sixteen early '601 Tone label: The Selecter (the original ska recordings complete group feetured on the B aide of with authentic, primith,e aurfece The Specials "Gang1ters" single) crackle. Oldest track is the 1962 and Madneu. like The Specials, classic "Housewive's Choice" by both di1pense a heady mix of ska Derrick & Patsy. and bluebeat rhythms which go straight for the feet In a compulsive ru1h. Your Bitz reporter had 1ueh a hugely enfoyable time in the jostling, dancing mess that he was still 1miling ear-to-Hr a day or two after the event. It was possibly 1979'1 best rock gig. We've already raved twice about The Specials in Smash Hits (despite the commentl on the letters page) so we shouldn't leader over his production of need to remind you thel we rate NEW NUMAN their first single "Now It's this Coventry group II one of the Gone". They have now signed IN THE wake of the enormous best things to happen in a long to Polydor, are looking for a success of "Are Friends Electric?" while. new producer, and hope to and " Replicas", Beggars Banquet have their first single out Records are re-releasing the first shortly. Tubeway Army album, known as " The Blue Album", on August 4. At the same time, they will be making available Gary's first two singles, "That's Too Bad" and "Bombers", as a double-pack retailing at £1 .60. All three discs ware initially released as limited editions and have not been available for quite some time. Meanwhile Gary's newsingle, "Cars", should be released about the mlddle of this month, also on Beggars Banquet. Still no news of • fan club, however. CHORDS SIGN UP SOUTH London mod group The Chords (recently featured in Smuh Hits) have split from Jimmy Pursey's JP Productions after rowing with the Sham 69 REASONS TOBE BUZZCOCKS CHEERFUL HISTORY Part4 ONE OF the New Weve's most BY NOW you shouldn't need sought•aher pieces of history­ telling who Buddy Holly was, but the "Spiral Scratch" EP by the some of len Dury's other reasons original Buucocks - is about to to be cheerful might leave you become generally available once punled. We didn't know who again. Dmitri and Pasquale were until First put out in January 1977, it Ian filled us in, so here's a name was one of the first ever by name rundown of the rest of independent punk releases and the cast. was recorded by the first " Good Golly M iss Molly" Classic Buzzcocks line up of Howard rock 'n' roll record by little Devoto {vocals). Pete Shelley Richard (guitar), Steve Diggle {bass) and Elvl• and Scotty Scotty Moore John Maher (drums). was Presley's guitarist on his The EP contains four tracks: LAST ISSUE we gave you the updating the fun spirit of the earliest recordings " Boredom", "Time's Up", n•-on Sh•••• one ha" of the sixties beat groups. They'll be WM WIiiy Harris Flamboyant "Friends Of Mine" end old Rezlllo1 For thoM of you playing a healthy proportion of British rock 'n' roller of the 1950s. "Breakdown", and the original who've bean wondering what golden oldies again and the rest Dyed his hair pink recordings are being used. The Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds wlll ba complately new songs Stephen Biko Young South label and the artwork will be have been up to, the latHt Is that written by Fay, Eugene, HI-Fl and African civil rights leader who almost identical to the original, they too have a naw band Robo-Rhythm.