By Monk
I think it might be fair to admit that even the most diehard adherent of the original punk wave might struggle to remember the name of Satan’s Rats, lost as it seems to have been in the dusty annals of the genre’s back catalogue for nigh on 40-plus years. They did, however, have their moment in the sun, supporting the Pistols, playing the famed Roxy Club and releasing a trio of singles that subsequently have become prized collectors’ items. Not the least of these was ‘You Make Me Sick’, originally released in 1978 and produced by Vic Maille, who, unfortunately for the band, at the time was more intent on his work by another little known outfit by the name of Motörhead…
Now, some 44 years later, that same song has been unearthed, thanks to a collaboration between the remaining original members of the Rats (guitarist Steve Eagles, drummer Olly Harrison and bassist Dave Sparrow) and a certain Puss Johnson, the notorious frontwoman of oft ÜR championed garage punk ‘n’ rollers Pussycat And The Dirty Johnsons, and given a gold old-fashioned makeover, along with three other Rats tunes.
The result is an unapologetic and uncompromising harkening back to those original days of the punk movement, when “singers” literally spat their vocals into the microphone (and subsequently their audiences) because it was seen to be cool to do so. ‘You Make Me Sick’ itself makes you wonder why it wasn’t bothering the charts long before the re-invented band ultimately did so as the Wendy Wu-fronted The Photos, while ‘Facade’ and ‘Year Of The Rats’ possess the sort of pop punk energy that the likes of Toyah and Wendy James went on to capture to such great commercial effect.
The only downside to this timely reminder of one of long-lost gems of the original punk rock movement is the inclusion of a pointless, pub-rock reworking of Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Rocker’ which adds absolutely nothing to the original less than it does to this otherwise very worthy revisitation of one of the most overlooked bands of their generation.
- ‘Satan’s Cats’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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