There’s a tendency to see Punk and Post-Punk bands on their 40, and in some cases 50, year celebrations and sigh a bit. The youthful vigour has gone, the glories are all in the past. In some cases, if we’re honest, we’re projecting our own lost youth on the spectacle before us. Most of the bands we love go one of two ways: play the hits (sometimes ‘the’ hit) or pretend the intervening years have been one long creative continuum in which the new stuff has as much value as what has gone before. The REALLY canny bands mix the two and will disgorge their new musings before throwing the crowd the one or two songs they came for. No criticism here for either approach. The market dictates, the bands know what the people want. Very few stay as vital, though, as they wish to be seen. Very few bands manage to dodge this trap. Ruts DC are an honourable and timeless exception to this generalisation.

In the buzz/haze/wonder/disappointment of the current spectacle, it’s easy to lose sight of where these bands found their voices in the first place. That’s why this unearthed gem by The Members is so important. This pair of recordings showcases a band before they scaled the giddying heights of Top Of The Pops-ness and became known for one thing. These rescued recordings represent a band knocking on the door of fame and giving their best songs their best shot. No fat, no self-indulgence.

At The Coach House and The Lost Masters is The Members capturing their then best songs without the pressure that having to repeat commercial success would subsequently bring. The sessions, steered by Steve Lillywhite and recorded at Eddy Grant‘s Coach House Studios, find the band in exuberant and eclectic form, showing the diversity of their influences. The songs range from shoutalong pure punk (Chelsea Nightclub, Phone-in Show, Solitary Confinement) through pub rock and powerpop (Sally) to ska-tinged pop punk (Don’t Push) and bass-heavy pure dub (Standup and Spit, Electricity). Not superbly polished, but enough to get them the deal that led to Sound Of The Suburbs which will always remain one of British Post-Punk’s most apposite (sub)urban anthems. The ghost of Nick Tesco haunts these moments, one of too many of the OGs that have passed in recent years.

In many ways, these recordings are a 70s Rosetta Stone in that the songs’ diversity decode the musical roots of the rebellion. Punk was never one thing. Which is ironic as, so many years on, the general perception of this band is based on one thing, their signature song. They did so much more. The Members are and always will be much, much more than what they are best known for. This collection is testament to that, to their musicality and proficiency. In fact, ‘that’ song has probably become an albatross they have to carry as well as the golden ticket to nostalgia-fests the length of the land. So yeah, enjoy this important document nostalgically. Educate yourself and relive just a little moment from the 1978/79 ripples of the big bang that started it all. Recommended.

The Members At The Coachouse / End Of Term: The Lost Masters EP is out now on Cadiz Music.

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