Post War Wage Slaves

Walking into the black hole that is the current day Zanzibar you could be excused for thinking that the gig was all over. Maybe The Maybes took their crowd with them post haste, not hanging around to hear the ego pop that was blasting into the echoic corners of the venue from teen band Six String Revolution.

These four youngsters belted a mature rock quality staggeringly belying their miniscule ages. Seventeen-year-old lead singer and bass player Lee staged his euphemistic eye line to the heavens as if in concentration for some audience to appear; he looked every inch the unique performer. They sang songs about Swedish people and spoke of purchasing a prostitute for a belittling 50p (the youth of today!).

Waiting in the wings was Rowyco, another teeny four piece band whose lead singer had just a ‘Slipknot’ voice and a fast ego that stripped off his ‘No Hope in New Jersey’ tee-shirt to reveal a skinny six pack that didn’t pop a bead of sweat during the heavy set. The ninja stylised drummer gave splashing cymbals and rolling drums, the bass was phat and the sound engineer done a top quality job. However, this thrash metal band could have cleared the room if it weren’t already in that very state.

Next up were DRB (Dirty Rotten Bastards) and these were in all honesty comedy value for the night. They were good but the lead singer’s huge ego took its toll for the swinging of the mic stand whacked his left side guitarist on the nut and he then went on to unwittingly pull the plug on his own mic with his cavorting and slinking about. If he had a larger platform, the man could have been dangerous! The lead guitarist was a Slash style runner. The drummer, with his padlocked choking lariat was a pearl in the oyster and raged a cruel war on the life of his skins - he rocked!

“And this is music” is how Post War Wage Slaves lead singer David Ruddock (pictured) introduced the band to which he was definitively telling the truth. The three boys from Huyton had the supremacy of the night and for the first time in the whole evening there were a group of people who took to the floor to circle and swing. Patrick, Andy and David sold themselves to brilliance, turfing out new innovative mastery of the strings and drums, the like of which the last decade has been searching for. Watch out for these lads who will take you on a carousel ride of honest urban punk. A more appropriate venue must be just around the corner.

Visit www.myspace.com/postwarwageslaveband for more info.

- Alicia Rose

Newcomers 'Post War Wage Slaves' are three Liverpool Lads who, in their own words, are from the "rough bit" of Huyton and they're on the starting blocks of their race to the top. The alchemic power of this trio is to be reckoned with and in all probability they will reach the heights of bands such as The Police, The Jam and Supergrass, but under their own branded genre of 'Urban Punk'.

Twenty-two year old lead guitar player and vocalist David Ruddock has a voice to match that of Kurt Cobain. Major influences to him are Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison of The Doors. David came up with the name of Post War Wage Slaves in empathy with all the millions of people who have to work, but don't want to.

Andy Cowan is twenty-one and he plays bass; it was a transition from years of playing guitar that he thought he would move his dark and melodic tunes to a deeper level. His main influences are Simon and Garfunkel and Paul Weller. Cowan spent six months at LIPA and says the course he attended gave him "great direction and opened doors". He was able to work with several successful 80s musicians; Keith Mullen from The Farm, Eddie Lunden from China Crisis and Matt Flinn from Honey Records who all gave him an insight into the musical arena.
The youngest member to conclude the threesome is "wanted and convicted" drummer Patrick Rossiter, 19. He was lured to the drums just two years ago, saying they have "a space age primitive quality". His musical inspirations are The Offspring, CKY, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Guns n Roses.

The boys give their first choice of bands they'd like to support as Dirty petty things,the enemy. In the next year or two they see themselves signed and on tour, or else in "AA meetings". One of their goals is to headline at the V Festival. We can expect their debut album before winter of 2006, filled with "hypnotic, melodic, groovy, bitey, rock”.

These mercurial lads don't have time for bands like McFly or My Chemical Romance, and they sure as hell aren't into "bubblegum pop music" saying it makes people wear dogs in their handbags; girlettes like Paris Hilton should be disallowed from the musical arena full stop.

Post War Wage Slaves are little known at the moment, however with boss tunes such as 'Sex in the City', a potential first single, 'Baby J' and 'Suicide Strangers' and an astonishing artillery of other anthems under their belts, they're likely to detonate before too long.

Website: www.myspace.com/postwarwageslaveband

- Alicia Rose