Penetration - Don't Dictate and Life's A Gamble Singles

Label: Virgin Records; Year: 1977; Format: 7" Single

When it comes to the very early UK punk bands that set Britain burning so to speak Penetration from the North-East are not mentioned often enough. Their story is a particularly interesting one and thanks to Alex Ogg's "No More Heroes" book I refreshed my memory about the early days of the band hailing from the mining village of Ferryhill in County Durham. If you were a teenager in 1976 and lived in London no matter how different the world was compared to today, chances were that you caught on to the latest music trend rather sooner than later due to the music press being so London centric. On the other hand if you lived in a small village in the North-East far removed from London things were very different and moved at a much slower pace. That's why I find bands like Penetration fascinating as they made it happen despite the geographical and cultural disadvantage. As a matter of fact Pauline Murray, the lead singer, can without doubt be described as one of the most talented and charismatic singers of the early punk days, and I am sure many would agree with that statement. It should therefore not come as a surprise that at some point Virgin Records sent the band into a studio to record demos which initially resulted in a one-off single deal in the form of the herein reviewed "Don't Dictate" b/w "Money Talks" single. Both tracks are wonderful examples of early punk rock written with a strong pop sentiment that will instantly lift your mood and put a big smile on your face. As soppy as that may sound go out there and find out for yourself should you not be familiar with this bunch. 

Label: Virgin Records; Year: 1978; Format: 7" Single

While "Don't Dictate" was recorded as a quartet with Gary Chaplin being the guitar player and main song writer things changed drastically after Gary's sudden departure in 1978. After the band gained more traction and Virgin Records extended their relationship with the band Penetration also signed a management deal with Quarry, the same company that looked after Status Quo and Rory Gallagher. Needless to say that those two acts attracted a different type of clientele and while on tour supporting Gallagher in France Penetration got bottled off stage nearly every night. According to Murray Chaplin got cold feet and felt under pressure and left the band. The band had very little time replacing him and found not just one but two guitar players in the form of Neal Floyd and Fred Purser. Without a shadow of a doubt their addition added a whole new dynamic to the song writing as the melodic and powerful yet somewhat unfinished song writing of the year passed turned into a real hit machine with "Life's A Gamble" being the best example of said progress. This is actually the band's third single, released a few months after "Firing Squad". Of course it's not the same as having seen the band in their hay day but I consider myself still lucky having witnessed Penetration live on stage in London during my period living there about fifteen years ago. Their gig at the 100 Club I still consider one of my favorite live music memories from London and rest assured that there will be more reviews of Penetration records in the future.