ADDICTION

Formed: Pontypridd, Wales, UK

Welsh punk band which existed between 1978 and 1980, originally with a guy called Steve Pittman on vocals, but he didn't last long (in the band, that is, we hope he is still alive!). It was Pittman's addiction to Evo-Stick that did for him, as least as far as the band went. The group was very young when they formed, with all four aged 15 or 16, which put them about ten years older than most of the audience at the debut gig, which was a kids' party arranged by one of the band's mothers!

The groups sole release during its brief life span was on the Is The War Over? compilation, which documented the local (Cardiff) punk/new wave scene. Their four songs - 'Violence', 'Stampede', 'Seek & Search', 'Killer' - were all recorded in one take with minimal overdubs and were played by John Peel. One track, 'Violence', received a TV airing on the BBC television programme Something Else, as background music. A so-called "demo tape" recorded in 1978 was posthumously issued in 2005 as The Tonypandy Tapes, a stupidly limited edition CDR with only 100 copies pressed.

Unfortunately, after this high spot the lineup cracked, with a new bassist and a new guitarist joining in mid-1979, but no new recordings were forthcoming. (Evans and Leander's new project was a "dirt punk" band called The Intruders.) The new lineup of Addiction carried on into Winter 1980/81 before morphing into Campaign 1 and playing post-punk stuff. Beva later sang with Temple Slang, a Goth band, and then formed Flare Up.

Lineup 1 (1978)

Steve Pittman - vocals
Ashley Evans (Willy Scream) - bass & vocals
Robert Leander (Blob) - guitar
Nicky Rees - drums

Lineup 2 (1978 - mid-1979)

Andy Bevan (Beva) - vocals
Ashley Evans (Willy Scream) - bass & vocals
Robert Leander (Blob) - guitar
Nicky Rees - drums

Lineup 3 (mid-1979 - 1980)

Andy Bevan (Beva) - vocals
Sian Williams - bass & vocals
Carl Hopkins - guitar
Nicky Rees - drums

Note: The abOve information is basically a condensed version of the entry in Alex Ogg's No More Heroes: A Complete History Of UK Punk From 1978 To 1980 (Cherry Red Books, 2006).

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles / Albums

Extraneous Releases
The Tonypandy Tapes (CDR, 2005)

Various Artists

Is The War Over? UK LP 1979 (Z Block): Violence / Stampede / Seek & Search / Killer

Messthetics #104 US CDR 2004 (Hyped To Death): Violence

Messthetics #5 UK '77-81 "D.I.Y" & DIY-Punk: "A" US CDR ???? (Hyped To Death): Violence

Links