AKA: THE INFAS
Formed: London, England, UK
Lee Wilson - Vocals
Barry D'Amery - Guitar
Floyd Wilson - Bass
Mark Reynolds - Drums
This was a popular skin/oi! quartet, formed in 1979 by Lee Wilson and his brother Floyd and heavily influenced by Angelic Upstarts. In fact, until very recently I was actually under the impression they too were from Sunderland. They were not.
They were in fact North Londoners and were championed by Upstarts' mouthpiece Mensi. Infa Riot's live debut was supporting the Upstarts in a North London pub, and their fourth ever show [at the Hornsey Community Centre] was featured in a positively glowing review in Sounds, written by none other than Mensi himself. In November 1980 they apparently blew both Chelsea and The Dark off the Lyceum stage and were suddenly a big thing in the punk/skin community. Garry Bushell took notice and invited them to appear on band to appear on Strength Thru Oi!, to which they contributed two feisty but not very good or memorable songs, 'Riot Riot' and 'We Out Number You'.
A record deal with Secret resulted in the Indie chart-troubling Kids Of The 80's, which come out in October 1981 to some acclaim (in the UK at any rate), which wasn't surprising because it was a pretty good song which chimed with the pre-youth/anti-authority sentiments of the times. They also appeared on the third Oi! comp, Carry On OI!, with 'Each Dawn I Die', a storming number with an extremely catchy chorus which was easily their best recording thus far. Following tours with The Business and The Exploited, where they played the opening night at the infamous Skunx venue, and in February 1982 played at the "Gathering Of The Clans" Festival in Scotland with numerous leading third wave punk bands.
They trotted out two more releases for Secret. The first was May's catchy follow-up 45, The Winner. The second was September's Still Out Of Order LP, which missed the Indie charts (because Secret was now distributed by a major label) but climbed to No 42 in the national charts, which was no mean feat for a band which was, let's a honest, a bit second rate. They ended 1982 with two more compilation appearances, on Wargasm and Britannia Waives The Rules.
When Secret went tits up in 1983 the band signed to Panache, changed its name to The Infas, and changed musical direction (more pop/rock, less punk). This was partially to distance themselves from the violence they were occasionally associated with. One such incident was a fracas at the 100 Club between them and the road crew for Skrewdriver.
In February 1984 the newly-christened band released the tame Sound And Fury, which sold bugger all, as did the single of the same name that followed it shortly after. The band struggled on for a year or thereabouts before quitting, although they attempted a comeback in November 1985 with a one-off show in Leeds which was recorded by Link Records and later released as Live And Loud!!
Lee Wilson is now an Antiques dealer by trade, but Infa Riot have reformed and are still going at it. God bless 'em.
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DISCOGRAPHY
Subsequent studio albums: Old And Angry (2017).
Singles & Albums / Extraneous Releases / Various Artists
Kids Of The 80's (7", 1981)
The Winner (7", 1982)
Still Out Of Order (LP, 1982)
Sound And Fury (LP, as The Infas, 1984)
Sound And Fury (7", as The Infas, 1984)
Extraneous Releases
Live And Loud!! (LP, 1988)
Singles & Rarities (tape, 1989)
Live And Loud!! (CD, split with The 4 Skins, 1993)
In For A Riot (CD, 1999)
The Best Of Infa-Riot (CD, 2005)
Kids Of The 80's (Early Singles And More) (LP, 2017)
Various Artists
Strength Thru Oi! UK LP 1981 (Decca): Riot Riot / We Outnumber You
Carry On OI! UK LP 1981 (Secret): Each Dawn I Die
Britannia Waives The Rules UK 12" 1981 (Secret): Feel The Rage
Wargasm UK LP 1982 (Pax): Power
The Secret Life Of Punks UK LP 1982 (Secret): Kids Of The 80's / Catch 22
Wave News 2 - Independent Smash Hits Germany LP 1982 (Intercord): The Winner
Oi! Chartbusters Volume 1 UK LP 1987 (Link): Five Minute Fashions
Oi! Chartbusters Volume 2 UK LP 1987 (Link): Riot Riot
Oi! Chartbusters Volume 4 UK LP 1988 (Link): Emergency
Oi! Chartbusters Volume 5 UK LP 1989 (Link): School's Out
Secret Records: The Punk Singles Collection UK CD 1993 (Anagram): Kids Of The 80's / The Winner / Feel The Rage
The Bright Side Of Oi! - Oi Classics Vol. I Germany LP 1994 (Street Kid's): Feel The Rage
Trouble On The Terraces UK LP 1994 (Step 1): Bootboys / Riot Riot Red
Secret Records: The Punk Singles Collection Volume 2 UK CD 1995 (Anagram): Still Out Of Order / School's Out
Pax Records Punk Collection UK CD 1996 (Anagram): Power
Oi! The Singles Collection Vol 1 UK CD 1995 (Captain Oi!): Kids Of The 80's / Still Out Of Order
Secret Records (The Best And The Rest) Italy LP 1997 (Get Back): Kids Of The 80's / The Winner
Lords Of Oi! UK 3xCD Box Set 1997 (Dressed To Kill): Five Minute Fashions / Riot Riot / Emergency / School's Out
Oi! This Is England UK 3xCD Box Set 1999 (Dressed To Kill): Five Minute Fashions / Riot Riot / Emergency / School's Out
Oi! Chartbusters Volume 3 UK CD 2002 (The Harry May Record Company): Boot Boys
Burning Britain - A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1980-1983 UK 4xCD 2018 (Cherry Red): Kids Of The 80's
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Links
