Glaxo Babies: Dreams Interrupted

Glaxo Babies - Dreams Interrupted (Heartbeat/Cherry Red)

Awkward, shy, obstinate and bloody minded, the Glaxo Babies were the unsung pioneers of Bristol’s post punk scene. Frequently overlooked their handful of records and live gigs in the late 1970s would prove enormously influential. And important. Debut single This Is Your Life remains a true punk classic of focussed anger and dismay at the world of work, while the seething Christine Keeler pointed to cult stardom. Like John Profumo, it never came. Internal politics, alright ‘musical differences’, caused their death in infancy. The bile and contempt of the early releases were skewered through with disco in an attempt to create a funk-punk fusion. It was only partially successful, not everyone’s heart was in it by then. While the wrong-jazz experimentation Free Dem Cells is an eerie and chilling pre-cursor to the dreaded T*** H** of a decade later, the dancefloor directed Shake (The Foundations) just sounds like the Average White Band, with Mrs Mills on piano. And yet it’s strangely brilliantNow an esteemed music journalist, singer Rob Chapman’s liner notes are excellent, explaining just how stubbornly off message The GBs were in the face of fashion directives from London. A stance that would benefit later Bristol bands no end.