Newtown Neurotics
| The Newtown Neurotics | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Neurotics |
| Origin | Harlow, England |
| Genres | Punk, post-punk |
| Years active | 1979–1988 2006–present |
| Labels | Jungle Records |
| Website |
http://www.neurotics.org.uk/ http://steve-drewett.com/ |
| Members | Steve Drewett Adam Smith Simon Lomond |
| Past members | Colin Dredd Don Adams David Walsh Tig Barber |
The Newtown Neurotics (later just The Neurotics) are an English punk rock/post-punk group formed in Harlow, Essex, England, in 1979. They are noted for their openly political music.
As The Newtown Neurotics, the band began their career playing punk heavily indebted stylistically to The Clash and The Ramones. They released a series of singles from 1979 – later collected on the album 45 Revolutions per Minute – and debut album Beggars Can Be Choosers in 1983. Over the course of the 1980s, the band dropped the "Newtown" from its name and became simply The Neurotics; along with the name change came a stylistic broadening, including slower tempos and horn arrangements. They released several albums on noted UK postpunk label Jungle Records including Repercussions in 1986 and Is Your Washroom Breeding Bolsheviks in 1988.
Lead singer and guitarist Steve Drewett took openly socialist stances in his lyrics throughout the course of the band's career and currently displays an anarcho-syndicalist sticker on his guitar. From 1986 the Neurotics became one of the first Western bands to play behind the Iron Curtain, with successive tours of East Germany alongside artists like Billy Bragg and .
When bassist Colin Dredd contracted pleurisy, he left the band; Mac (Travis Cut /The Pharaohs /The Skabilly Rebels) was brought in to play bass for some farewell shows (at which the band's entire catalogue was played), and the band called it quits in October 1988.
Drewett went on to form "Afropunk" band The Indestructible Beat, which disbanded in 1995. Drewett also played sporadic solo gigs, including visits to North Korea and Cuba. He released his debut solo album KuJenga Society in 2015.
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