Various
Greater Manchester Punk Vol 3 – Proud To Deviate
12″ Vinyl – Catalogue Number: VR026
Colour: Puke Green
Quantity: 500
Release Date Friday 27/02/2026
Available: Vinyl Revival Manchester
Proud to Deviate is a limited release on puke green vinyl, by Manchester record store Vinyl Revival. It’s packed full of gems from the 1977-1981 period, including Emergency, recorded at the legendary TJM rehearsal studio (home of Joy Division, Buzzcocks and many others), Pure Product, whose Rejection came out on Streets Ahead records (home to Fast Cars) and The Teardrops, (featuring then The Fall’s Karl Burns) – who can forget Blueser Blue and You Leave Me No Choice!). Others include Local Heroes, Chaos, The Things, Mellotron, and two tracks, never released on vinyl by The Cliches (Mark Burgess pre-Chameleons) and one of the UK’s rarest punk singles by Rochdale band The Singles, which has sold for £2800 and was recorded at the now legendary Cargo Studio with only 100 being pressed!
Volume 1 was compilation of the week on Lauren Lavern’s BBC6 morning show.
This is a cracking release, highlighting some real Manchester rarities. It really is like lifting the lid and peering in on the city’s DIY culture of the late ’70’s, and with 2026 being the 50th anniversary of punk this compilation is the ideal addition to any punk collection!
The Cliches
Mark Burgess, Kenneth Grimes, Carl Huddart
Formed in Middleton in 1978. Tracks Rock Of Ages and Whole Wide World recorded in Feb 1980 but never released until they appeared on a Mark Burgess compilation CD in 2004.
Mark went on to form The Chameleons in 1981 and Kenneth went to study at Oxford University.
Local Heroes
Ken Park, Colin Schofield, Alan Wild and Flea
Formed in Rochdale and recorded a handful of tracks at Cargo Studios and released one single Blast The Pop in 1980.
The Teardrops
Jim Donnely, John Key, Karl Burns and Trev Wain
Recorded at Smile Studios and released in 1979 on Tony Davidson’s TJM label.
Karl Burns was also a long standing member of The Fall.
Chaos
Mark Bill. Andrew Kynaston, Garry Abbott and Steve Brown
Formed in 1978 and tracks were recorded at Drone Studios Manchester.
Supported The Hoax, Seventeen (The Alarm) and due to their unruly behaviour were band from a number of venues.
The Singles
Niall Drennan, Gerard Towey, Mark Grabowski and Paul Taylor
Band members were from Rochdale and Oldham and formed in 1978. Recorded their only single at Cargo with a pressing of only 100 copies.
Now classed as one of the rarest Uk punk singles with one copy selling for £2800 in 2012.
Their claim to fame was they supported Siouxsie and The Banshees in Manchester in 1978.
The Things
Timothy Lyons, Dave Holmes, Joe Brehony, Ella Metcalfe and John Maher.
Formed in Manchester around 1980. John Maher joined after leaving the Buzzcocks.
Released one single Pieces Of You on the Manchester Imperial Records label in 1980.
Joe Brehony is currently still playing with The Distractions.
Twisting Ferraris
- Rae, Clive Wilkinson, Paul Nicholl and Phil Gorman
Little known about this band but recorded at Cargo in 1979 and released on local label Round Records (Moston0 in 1980.
Armed Force
Aki, Muppet, Lynda, Jim, Colin and Norman
Local favourites on the Manchester punk scene playing with bands such as Joy Division, The Fall etc.
Also recorded at Cargo studios in 1979 and released the same year on their own AFI label.
Pure Product
Phil Rainford, Andrew Ratcliffe, Chris Page, Peter Hooker and Dugald Somerville.
South Manchester based and released one single, Rejection on the Streets Ahead label run by Bob Jefferson who also used to promote local bands including the Joy Division at Bowdon Social Club in Altrincham.
Phil Rainford also joined The Durutti Column for a short time.
Emergency
Ralph Bowe, Stuart Bowe, Dave Midwood, John Midwood and Dave Murray
Another local live favourites who rehearsed at the now legendary TJM studios. Also headlined a gig at The Mayflower with Joy Division as support.
The band changed their name to Foreign Press in 1979, also releasing a single – Downpour on Streets Ahead, and had more success later signing to EMI records.
The Relatives
Shaun Carter, Ian Cameron, Raymond Lyness, and Dave Brown.
Oldham based band who recorded their only single at Smile Studios in 1980.
Septimus
John Kirkbride, Jonny Newman, Alex Flanagan and Andy Hurley
Another Oldham based outfit who recorded their single at Pennine Studios and released in 1977.
Mellotron
Dave Tucker, Pete Barnett, Maurice Vanderburgh and Karl Burns
Another band who rehearsed regular at TJM Studios and had one of their singles Warriors From Space appear on the TJM compilation Identity Parade.
Waystation was produced by Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks).
Tracklist
Side A
1 The Cliches Rock Of Ages
2 Local Heroes Sanctuary For Parliament
3 The Teardrops Seeing Double
4 Chaos Fakt
5 The Singles Mercy
6 The Things Pleasures Of The Mind
7 Twisting Ferraris Lipstick
Side B
1 Armed Force Attack
2 Pure Product You And Me And The Clothes People Wear
3 Emergency False Information
4 The Relatives As A Child
5 Septimus Do You Wanna Touch My Safety Pin
6 Mellotron Way Station
7 The Cliches Whole Wide World
The record is available from Vinyl Revival – 5 Hilton St, Manchester M4 1LP and all great record shops, including Rough Trade, Piccadilly Records, Banquet, Sister Ray and other great indies. Distributed via Little Amber Fish.
Words by Nigel Carr/Colin White. More writing by Nigel on Louder Than War can be found in his Author’s archive. You can find Nigel on Twitter and Facebook. Nigel is the Producer of New Dawn Fades – A Play About Joy Division and Manchester
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
