Crass Records to release The Cravats & Rubella Ballet as part of vinyl reissue series

‘2 By 2 And Back Again’   Crass Records 12” vinyl reissue series #7 out September 6th   The Cravats – ‘Rub Me Out’ single (1982) Rubella Ballet – ‘Money Talks’ single (1985)   Smartlink ‘Rub Me Out’ Spotify ‘Money Talks’ Spotify

“The Cravats were one of the strangest outfits to emerge from post-punk’s gold rush” – Record Collector   “The wonderful thing about Rubella Ballet is that they have always embraced Anarcho-punk hallmarks as much as they toss them aside” – Punk News   “The furiously political British anarchist collective Crass lived their dogma with admirable rigor” – Rolling Stone   Punk pioneers Crass continue their vinyl reissue series, re-pressing their limited releases by adjacent artists through Crass Records, in association with One Little Independent. The series, including over twenty bands and solo artists recorded at the legendary Southern Studios and produced by Penny Rimbaud, continues with two more historic pieces from the Crass Records catalogue; ‘Rub Me Out’ by The Cravats and ‘Money Talks’ by Rubella Ballet.   They follow records from the likes of Captain Sensible, Omega Tribe, Honey Bane, Jane Gregory, Lack of Knowledge, Sleeping Dogs, Rudimentary Peni, Zounds, Flux Of Pink Indians, Annie Anxiety, D&V and Alternative. First released on 7” vinyl, limiting the sound, the new series has been remastered for 12” by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios, allowing them to be heard as never before. This, plus enlarged replicas of the original covers, brings new gusto to their already radical sound.   Absurdist, jazz-infused post-punks The Cravats originally released single 'Rub Me Out' with Crass Records in 1982. A favourite of John Peel's, the Redditch band left a long legacy, reforming in 2009.   Penny tells us; “Fast, furious, fiery and often very funny, the Cravats were nothing like the average punk band, indeed, like Zappa before them, their sensibilities leant more towards progressive jazz mixed in with an ample helping of gallows humour; ‘make mine rare’. Dada also comes to mind as The Shend weaves his way through the complex vagaries of everyday existence. ‘Now you see me, now you don’t’. There’s no doubt about it, the Cravats are worth keeping your ears open, and your eyes out for, but mind the gaps!”   Rubella Ballet are a gothic punk band formed in 1979 known for their unique ultraviolet shows, wearing home-made Day-Glo clothes created by vocalist Zillah Minx. Rubella Ballet's first gig supporting Crass and Poison Girls led to their own headline and support tours with the likes of Death Cult, The Damned, Faith No More, The Mission, Doctor and the Medics, Flux Of Pink Indians, Sex Gang Children, Conflict, Alien Sex Fiend, and so many more.   Penny continues; “Rubella Ballet, 'the one that got away'. Sid and Zillah, the key members of this progressively colourful outfit, are true punk warriors, indeed, they're an unstoppable force. They'd have been released on Crass Records way before now but, back in the day, one of their other band members had a gripe with Crass, and put the mockers on it, so it never happened. But now, after the best part of fifty years, Crass Records are joyful to announce that Rubella Ballet are on board at last. Let the rainbows shower fairy dust on us all.”   Penny finally notes that “Our (Crass’) interest was never in personalities, profits or power, and neither did we have time for reformist liberals. Our position was solidly revolutionary; we took no prisoners. Ours wasn’t a show, it was a battle, not a living, but a lifestyle, a lifestyle with a difference – rather than looking only to ourselves, we sought to share our gains. I feel that this willingness added great strength to the form of anarchism that we practiced both on stage and out on the street.”   In giving a platform to an impressive array of other bands, Crass Records broadened the front of what popularly became known as anarcho-punk. Not, it must be said, a moniker that Crass themselves much favoured. In this respect, Crass’ classic line, “There is no authority but yourself”, makes its point. Crass sought to empower others, and the output of Crass Records does much to confirm this, while ‘2 By 2 And Back Again’ seems to nail it – “get out of your own way, we’re all in this together”.   Tracklist   The Cravats – ‘Rub Me Out’ single   Rub Me Out When Will We Fall   Rubella Ballet – ‘Money Talks’ single   Money Talks False Promises   Follow Crass   Website Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Twitter Spotify