UK punks The Chisel just released their killer sophomore album (and Pure Noise debut) What A Fucking Nightmare, which puts a fresh spin on Oi!/street punk and other forms of classic British punk, with a few other influences sprinkled in too. For the occasion, The Chisel vocalist Cal Graham has made us a list of his 10 favorite British punk and Oi! records, including Angelic Upstarts, The Business, Cockney Rejects, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sham 69, and more, with commentary on each pick. Read on for what he had to say.
Read our review of What A Fucking Nightmare here and pick up our exclusive red/black/white splatter vinyl variant.
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Cal Graham’s 10 Favorite British Punk & Oi! Records
Angelic Upstarts – Reason Why?
Teenage Warning and 2,000,000 Voices are usually the go to when it comes to The Upstarts. I fucking love both but Reason Why? just resonates with me, it feels like theres no filler on it at all and “Woman In Disguise,” what a track. There’s also a great documentary that accompanies it on YouTube about the docks closing in Newcastle. Mega.
The Business – Suburban Rebels
Iconic album from a band that were paramount for me getting into this music as a kid. The Business are one of those bands who really seemed to genre mash over the years and we take a lot of inspiration from that.
Conflict – Increase The Pressure
By far my favourite anarcho record. Start to finish it feels like an assault on the senses, Protest music.
The Exploited – Horror Epics
The Exploited are one of my favourite punk bands but I had never heard Horror Epics as I could never get hold of it as a kid. YouTube has now sorted that out and its easily my favourite Exploited album. Lyrically its sublime ‘Maggie you cunt, Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…. you fucking cunt’ and the music itself is a departure from their stuff before it. Think they might’ve been influenced by the tribal drumming of Killing Joke with this…. but they’d probably say “were we fuck”.
Cockney Rejects – Greatest Hits Vol 1
It still blows my mind that the Rejects wrote a lot if not most of these tunes when they were still in school. This album epitomises what its like to be a working class kid in my eyes. Just pure fucking mischief.
Siouxsie and the Banshees – The Scream
I bought this the very same day I got Infa Riot – Still Out Of Order in Blackpool and I still remember it to this day. I put it on thinking it would be an out and out punk album but of course I was in for a bit of a shock. I fucking hated it at the time but its become one of my favourite albums as I have gotten older.
The 4Skins – The Good, The Bad & The 4-Skins
I first heard the 4 Skins track “Lowlife” on a compilation with Discharge and I picked this up soon after. It is pure violence from start to finish and as with The Business, loved a bit of genre mashing as they cycled through vocalists
The Partisans – The Partisans
I was very late getting into The Partisans in that I just never bothered giving them a go when told to. Perfect record from start to finish, the demos included at the end on the extended version (i think?) are every bit as good as the record also. Politically charged whilst not shoving it down your throat. Real socialist music for the working class, love it.
Sham 69 – That’s Life
Perfect punk album which feels like a concept album. Not every song plays out like that but there is an overarching theme of a day in the life of someone. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is but I feel like this album’s got it all in terms of there’s something there for everyone, it’s an enjoyable listen from start to finish
Infa Riot – Still Out Of Order
The first Oi! record I ever purchased and it still resonates heavily with me to this day. Seeing Lee belt out these tunes on stage really takes me back and I felt proper fortunate to witness some of their first shows once they got properly going again. I still have my copy of ‘The Winner’ 7″ that I got when I was a little lad.
The Chisel — 2024 Tour Dates
02/16 Southhampton, UK @ The Joiners *
02/17 Bristol, UK @ Exchange *
02/18 Cardiff, UK @ The Globe *
02/23 Turnbridge Wells, UK @ Forum *
02/24 London, UK @ 100 Club *
02/25 Nottingham, UK @ The Bodega *
02/29 Drachten, NL @ Iduna ^
03/01 Essen, DE @ Westadthalle ^
03/02 Valenciennes, FR @ Salle Des Nympheas ^
03/03 Maastricht, NL @ Muziekgieterij ^
03/04 Strasbourgh, FR @ La Laiterie ^
03/05 Heidelberg, DE @ Karlstorbahnhof ^
03/06 Munchen, DE @ Backstage ^
03/07 Ostrava, CZ @ Barrak Music Club ^
03/08 Warzawa, PL @ Proxima ^
03/09 Dresden, DE @ Tante Ju ^
03/10 Berlin, DE @ Astra Kulturhaus ^
05/05 Boston, MA @ Middle East +
05/06 Philadelphia, PA @ Broken Goblet +
05/07 Washington, DC @ Union Stage +
05/08 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall +
05/09 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 +
05/10 Jacksonville, FL @ Jackrabbits +
05/11 Daytona, FL @ Welcome To Rockville
05/13 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Purgatory) +
05/14 Nashville, TN @ Exit In +
05/15 Louisville, KY @ The Portal +
05/16 Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge +
05/17 Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple
* w/ Rifle
^ w/ Madball, Scowl, Sunami, Mindwar
+ w/ Home Front
