Vice Squad (band)

Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Bond) was a founding member of the band. Although there was a period of time when the band had a different vocalist, she reformed the band in 1997. Since 2008, the band have been releasing records on their own label Last Rockers.

History

Original band

Vice Squad was formed in 1979 in Bristol. The initial line-up of Beki Bondage (vocals), Dave Bateman (guitar), Mark Hambly (bass guitar) and Shane Baldwin (drums), and played its first gig at Bristol University's Anson Rooms on 12 April 1979. Bateman and Baldwin had previously been members of the TV Brakes.

In 1981, the band signed with the major label EMI (on their Zonophone subsidiary), prompting criticism from many within the DIY punk scene. Their first album, No Cause For Concern, was released in late 1981, reaching number 32 in the UK Albums Chart. A second album, Stand Strong Stand Proud, followed in 1982, and the band embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada. On returning from the US, Bondage announced that she was leaving the band.

The album Punk Rock Radio was released in 2011.

In 2014, the album Cardboard Country was completed and released on the band's own Last Rockers Records label. The album was funded on with via the band's first ever PledgeMusic campaign. The first 500 copies of the album came with a 6 track EP.

During 2018, the band started recording the album, Battle of Britain. Six singles/EPs were released prior to the album's release, including two versions of Ignored To Death.

On 11 April 2020, due to the lockdown in the UK, The Beki and Lumpy Show was launched on Facebook, featuring Beki and Paul, with videos, chat and quizzes, broadcasting every Saturday evening. The album Battle of Britain was released in October by Last Rockers and Cargo Records.

On 30 January 2024, original drummer Shane Baldwin died. He had been ill and largely immobile for a few years, after suffering a bad fall which saw his body rapidly deteriorate. Despite this, his death was still unexpected. The cause of death was heart failure.

Discography

Studio albums

No Cause for Concern (1981) Zonophone (UK No. 32)

<sub>Track Listing:

A Side: Resurrection / We're Still Dying / Coward / Young Blood.

B Side: The Times They Are A Changing / 1981 / Change The Record / Saturday Night Special / Sell Out.</sub>

Live and Loud!! (1988) Link

Compilation albums

Last Rockers – The Singles (1992) Abstract
The Punk Singles Collection (1995) Anagram
The BBC Sessions (1997) Anagram
The Rarities (1999) Captain Oi!
The Very Best Of (2000) Anagram
Bang to Rights: The Essential Vice Squad Collection (2001) EMI
The Riot City Years (2004) Step-1
Fuck Authority (2007) Anarchy
Punks for a Princess Vol.2 (2012)

Singles and EPs

"Last Rockers" (1980) Riot City (UK Indie No. 7)
"Resurrection" (1981) Riot City (UK Indie No. 4)

Other appearances

Studio tracks

{| class="wikitable"

! style="text-align:center; width:33px;"|Year

! style="text-align:center; width:200px;"|Track name

! style="text-align:center;"|Release

! style="text-align:center;"|Label

! style="text-align:center;"|Catalogue Number

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|2020

|"Lithium"

|Punk N' Bleach – A Tribute to Nirvana

|Cleopatra Records

|CLO1802VL

|"Enter Sandman"

|A Punk Tribute to Metallica