English virtuoso guitarist Keith Levene who played for a short while with The Clash
and several years/albums with Public Image Ltd, next to big mouth Johnny ‘Rotten’
Lydon and bass genius Jah Wobble passed away 2 days ago following liver cancer, only 65.
His metallic guitar sound was a fundamental part of P.i.L.’s sound and success. Rest in peace.
When legendary post-punk misfits Jah Wobble, Mark Stewart, Keith Levene and Richard Dudanski come together you know there’s electricity in the air. Critical electricity. Hectic electricity. Confrontational electricity and barbed songs with a razor-sharp message.
With ‘A VERY BRITISH COUP‘ this unique collaboration tackles the British Conservative hypocrites and their misleading and demagogic campaign with which they pushed voters to leave the European Union.
Musically the track is an electrifying banger driven by Jah Wobble‘s striking bass
grooves and Dudanski‘s repetitive solid drum beat, intensified with Levene‘s metallic
guitar resonance and Stewart’s nightmarish and reproachful voice navigating all over it. The final result is a kick-ass uppercut with an angry middle finger for all those lying politicians who messed-up really badly.
Here’s the funky coup…
Who’s who? Jah Wobble: original PiL bassist, mastermind of Invaders Of The Heart,
countless collaborations and initiator of this project Mark Stewart: co-founder of Bristol’s punk-funk innovators The Pop Group,
Godfather of the Maffia and tons of collaborations
Keith Levene: original PiL guitarist and several solo projects Richard Dudanski: drummer, best known as a former member of PiL,
but played with several other bands too
Martin Youth Glover: : Produced the song, best known as
a member of Killing Joke but also a successful producer
The late great Andrew Weatherall and Nina Walsh
added loops to the proceedings
A limited edition four-song EP (including this track)
on CD is for sale now at Amazon.
I guess this novel by Chris Mullin
was an inspiration for this song.