A Brief History of Z Block

Due to renewed interest in DIY, Z Block is scheduled to re-launch with a compilation of old and new DIY material. Check the site at Z Block Records 2006

Z Block Records was a whacky, late 70s adventure that left a lasting legacy, arguably the most important being the seminal Young Marble Giants album 'Colossal Youth'. This fabulous gem would almost certainly have remained an obscure, home-recorded cassette owned by a handful of Cardiffians had it not been for several quirks of fate that led to their inclusion on the first Cardiff compilation album, Is The War Over?.

Z Block Discography Image of the covers can be seen on the Z Block page of Cardiffians:

  • Z1 - Reptile Ranch - Lifeguard/WTB (May 1979)
  • ZA1 - Cardiff Compilation - Is The War Over? (October 1979)
  • Z2 - Reptile Ranch - Animal Noises EP (1980) (According to Johan's top 100 on Chuck Warner's Hyped2death "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 (one of the most under-rated bands of the last 15 years says I and ponder an upcoming UT article) are here channeled way before they even were formed by some UK art school kids. Fantastic Beefheart-y R.I.O-hybrid DIY. Passionate, crude and obnoxious, sending this record to the top shelf of any record room!" [Messthetics #1]
  • Z3 - Compilation EP - Rough Cuts EP (1980) (According to Johan's top 100 "Inspired sampler of four bands (The Boywonders, The Ghoulies, The Czechs and the Decadent Few) two of which tell us their age on the cover (The Boywonders are all 16, The Czechs are all 17). Humbling thought that such musical spirit could be mustered at such a tender age. Great variety of flavors too: The Boywonders great inept, spooky DIY strut where the band might think that a reggae influence is prevailing, us knowing that the stumbleblock shuffle bears more resemblance to ancient Celtic airs, the unbearable beauty of the Czechs utter disregard of tone, meter and signatures or the Ghoulies oddly Booker T-esque chug n' scrape. The business, all and all. [Czechs -Messthetics #7, Decadent Few on Messthetics #9? (both formerly Messthetics #1) - for your information Johan, apart from the ancient arch-Ghoulie, Charlie, everyone at Z Block was 19 or 20 at the time.

  • Spike, recording Animal Noises on the lovely Gibson L6S which was stolen in 1986 and sold on to a Bristol musician

Below is an article I wrote a couple of years ago taken from the Hyped2death site.

Z Block was founded in 1978 by Phil John, Andrew Tucker, Simon Smith and me [Spike] in the Ebbw valley in Gwent, South Wales. Scritti Politti provided the inspiration, the information and a great deal of moral support. The name Z Block came from a college annex we occupied for our entertainment (complete with 'borrowed' table tennis table). In fact, we struggled for another 6 months to find a name for the band ­ Reptile Ranch (a joke category in a tick-list from our collective film review book [a Reptile Ranch actually appears in The Rain People]) was a last-minute choice ­ we actually had the first single in our hands before we settled on the name.

In true indie fashion, we released our first single before we'd played our first gig. On the way back to Wales after picking up the blank-labeled singles, we bumped into Scritti Politti in a motorway service station (what are the chances???). Ian Penman (NME) was so struck by the coincidence that he reviewed the single ["Lifeguard" / "WTB": Z Block #1], giving us our first press.

In April 1979, Z Block moved out of the valleys and into 'the big city' ­ Splott, Cardiff. We worked from a small flat above a leading member of the Cardiff ('Berzerkers') Hells Angels. 1 Walker Road became notorious for our "Valleys boys" interpretation of a bohemian lifestyle ...with touches of Anarchy and Marxism thrown in for good measure.

Venues for punk and post-punk bands were few and far between so we, along with other bands in the same boat, began to build up a network of alternative venues. The first was 'Grassroots' coffee bar, where Reptile Ranch and Young Marble Giants played their debut gigs within 2 weeks of each other. Grassroots was one of the few safe havens for Cardiff's punks and redskins, and it became central to the post punk scene. That's where the poster inviting contributors to help create the first Cardiff compilation LP was posted in May '79. YMGs were not among the original list of 8 bands, and in fact they only ended up on the album when one of the bands dropped out, and they still had to be persuaded it was a good move. (This proved to be more significant than anyone could have imagined at the time...)

Is The War Over? was recorded in Grassroots over a couple of weekends ­ each band forked out around £120 for a block of 8 minutes to do with whatever they wanted, as long as it was original. The album was released in September/October '79 and featured on the John Peel show (all except Test To Destruction and YMGs, despite "Searching for Mr. Right"). However, prior to its release, YMGs decided they'd split up.

Then one day in late October, a 10 year old 'street kid' rang the bell to say there was a call for 'Z Block'. Rough Trade had called the number we'd listed, it was a public call box across the street. The caller said he really needed to speak to the YMGs. YMGs reformed, the rest is history.

Reptile Ranch split in November 1980 and Alison and I began work on a project that eventually became Weekend, signing to Rough Trade a year later.

You get the picture.

Back

A rock and a hard place - Portmanmoor Road, Splott, Cardiff 1979. The phonebox Rough Trade called to initially contact the Young Marble Giants is (out of picture) 5 yards to the left of the photographer, on Walker Road.

Cross Keys College common room circa 1976 (left to right: unidentified, Spike, Clyde 'Duck' Poole, Simon Smith). The Z Block annex was behind this building.

Reptile Cancer was a typical anarchist Z Block affair - just turn up and improvise something - and they did! This was the second and final Reptile Cancer free improvisation bashes, 1980. The first was in a green wooden scout hut tucked away on a hill in Blackwood in 1979 - the local villagers were surprisingly open-minded and supportive of this 'experimental' music.

Spike, Simon's widow's peak and Andrew Tucker

The final days of Z Block - Spike, Lisa and Simon go off trecking around north Wales 2 months before the demise of Reptile Ranch, October 1980